This work places the theory of Transformational Grammar into the foreground presenting it applied to Arabic and partly to Hebrew.
In the first part of this work the theory is presented summarizing all rules and principles that are relevant for this subject.
In the second and third part of this work the analyses of Abdelkader Fassi-Fehri and Ur Shlonsky are examined with regard to the syntactic structure of Arabic and Hebrew.
Finally, it may be observed that this work more or less applies a syntactic theory to a language rather than advancing a new one itself.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
I. TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR. A BRIEF OVERVIEW.
1. Looking At Other Linguists´ Theories
II. A STUDY OF SEMITIC SYNTAX
1. ANALYZING FASSI-FEHRI`S THEORY
1.1. How Are Words Formed In Arabic?
1.1.1. Summary
1.2. Word Order In Arabic
1.2.1. S-V-O versus V-S-O
1.2.2. Case Assignment
1.2.3. The EPP
1.3. Summary
2. SHLONSKY`S APPROACH
2.1. The Order Of Inflectional Elements In Hebrew And Arabic
2.1.1. Imperfectivity In Hebrew And Arabic
2.2. Word Order In Hebrew
2.2.1. Negation And Word Order In Arabic
- The ‘laa’ Negation
- The ‘laysa’ Negation
- The ‘maa’ Negation
2.3. Summary
III. CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This work explores the application of Transformational Grammar to the syntax of Semitic languages, primarily Arabic, with comparative observations on Hebrew. It investigates how established linguistic theories, developed for Indo-Germanic languages, explain the syntactic behavior of Semitic language structures.
- Application of Transformational Grammar to Semitic languages.
- Linguistic analysis of word formation and order in Arabic.
- Comparative syntax study between Arabic and Hebrew inflectional systems.
- Examination of negation, case assignment, and the Extended Projection Principle (EPP).
Extract from the Book
1.2.1. S-V-O versus V-S-O
Fassi-Fehri first makes a distinction between four different kinds of Agr which he makes responsible for the existence of these two interchangeable word orders. Poor Agr exhibits at most gender agreement whereas rich Agr is also specified for number. Furthermore there is strong Agr assigning and/or checking NOM case, whereas weak Agr is not involved in the assignment and/or checking of NOM case.
In V-S-O languages Agr is both poor and weak, Fassi-Fehri claims, and even if in Arabic some morphemes may be rich Agr still remains weak. He argues that this weakness of Agr designates the “parametric categorial property of Agr” meaning that in a natural language Agr may be either nominal or non-nominal.
In the Arabic canonical clause structure the subject is base-generated in [Spec,VP], which, if we take into consideration that the occurrence of NPs at Deep Structure is licensed only through the existence of their thematic relationship, has to occur in [Spec,VP] rather than in [Spec,IP]. V raises to I°, thus generating the dominant V-S-O structure, and stops there not raising further to C° since there are a number of categories like ModP and NegP which precede the verb, but follow CP.
Summary of Chapters
INTRODUCTION: Outlines the goal of applying Transformational Grammar to Semitic languages, focusing on Arabic syntax.
I. TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR. A BRIEF OVERVIEW.: Introduces the core principles of the syntactic theory, including X-bar theory and movement transformations.
II. A STUDY OF SEMITIC SYNTAX: Analyzes the specific syntactic structures of Arabic and Hebrew, drawing on the works of Fassi-Fehri and Shlonsky.
III. CONCLUSION: Summarizes the findings regarding the variation of syntactic parameters and agreement mechanisms in Semitic languages.
Keywords
Transformational Grammar, Semitic Syntax, Arabic, Hebrew, S-V-O, V-S-O, Agreement, Case Assignment, Negation, EPP, Fassi-Fehri, Shlonsky, Morphology, Syntax, Linguistics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary objective of this publication?
The work aims to apply the syntactic theory of Transformational Grammar to Semitic languages, specifically investigating how Arabic and Hebrew structures differ from Indo-Germanic models.
What are the core thematic fields covered?
The research focuses on word formation, word order, inflectional systems, negation, and case assignment mechanisms within the Semitic language family.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author employs the framework of Transformational Grammar, utilizing tree diagrams, head-movement analysis, and parametric variation theory to explain syntactic phenomena.
What does the main part of the work address?
The main part provides a critical analysis of the theories proposed by linguists Abdelkader Fassi-Fehri and Ur Shlonsky concerning the internal structure of Arabic and Hebrew clauses.
What is the significance of the "Agr" (Agreement) in this study?
Agreement (Agr) is treated as a critical parametric factor that triggers movement and dictates the surface word order (S-V-O vs. V-S-O) in Arabic and Hebrew.
What characterize the work in terms of keywords?
The study is characterized by concepts such as syntactic parameters, head movement, agreement morphology, and the cross-linguistic application of formal grammar.
How does the study explain the Arabic V-S-O vs. S-V-O word order?
The author argues that these orders are governed by the richness of the Agreement (Agr) morphology, where rich Agr triggers subject raising to an S-V-O position, while poor Agr leads to V-S-O structures.
What is the role of the 'laysa' negation in Arabic as described by Shlonsky?
The study explains that 'laysa' moves from Neg° to T° and further to AgrS°, behaving similarly to other negative particles but specifically interacting with imperfect verbs and nonverbal predicates.
- Quote paper
- Dagmar Engberth (Author), 2000, Studies in Semitic Syntax, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/110658
