عنوان

Existential and Negative Existential Constructions in Arabic:

Number

TLpq2226590438

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Existential and Negative Existential Constructions in Arabic:

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Alsaeedi, Mekhlid Owaidh M.

Title Proper by Another Author

Typology and Syntax

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

van Gelderen, Elly

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Arizona State University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2019

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

159

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

Arizona State University

Text preceding or following the note

2019

Text of Note

This dissertation investigates the copular/locative and existential predications in Arabic. The main focus is on the typology and syntax of the existential predications. The negation of such predications reveals interesting results. The Negative Existential Cycle (Croft, 1991) is a model that describes the process by which verbal negators arise from existential negators. I discuss data of existentials and negative existentials from Standard Arabic, Saudi Arabic dialect, and Gulf Pidgin Arabic. I argue for canonical vs. non-canonical word orders in copular/locative and existential sentences, respectively. I examine the grammaticalization path of the existentials from their locative content in each language form. Then, I investigate the syntactic word order of the copular/locative and existential constructions in each variety. I investigate the negation of the existential construction in each variety. First, Standard Arabic is shown to be at stage A in the Negative Existential Cycle. The Hijazi and Najdi Arabic spoken by elders show further developments. Hijazi Arabic appears to be at stage B, while Najdi Arabic appears to be at stage B and an intermediate stage B ~ C. Second, I show that in Saudi Arabic the negative existential has been extended to the verbal domain. Saudi Arabic is at stages A, B, and B ~ C, while Qassimi Arabic is at stages A and B. Third, I show that the existential construction in Gulf Pidgin Arabic is only negated by the negative existential predicate, while the verbal sentences are negated by the negative existential and the verbal negator. Therefore, Gulf Pidgin Arabic is at stages B and C in the Negative Existential Cycle. Finally, I discuss the syntax of copular/locative and existential predications in each variety. I propose a unified syntactic structure. Existential and possessive predications are analyzed as inverse copular sentences (Moro, 1997) as opposed to the canonical copular/locative sentences. The unified structure accounts for the agreement facts, such as partial vs. full agreement in existential and copular/locative predications, respectively. The data investigated here will contribute to Arabic comparative and historical linguistics. More Arabic dialects' data is needed to determine their stages in the Negative Existential Cycle.

Linguistics

Alsaeedi, Mekhlid Owaidh M.

van Gelderen, Elly

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y