Root syntax, with roots as primitive lexical units, is an influential theme in building the lexicon in linguistic theory, typically in Distributed Morphology, and the generative model of minimal computation. Implementing important fragments of the Arabic lexicon, the book presents a comprehensive… read more
In light of recent generative minimalism, and comparative parametric theory of language variation, the book investigates key features and parameters of Arabic grammar. Part I addresses morpho-syntactic and semantic interfaces in temporality, aspectuality, and actionality, including the… read more
The investigation of the structure of Arabic comparative constructions raises a number of significant questions, among which are: (a) the question of the nature of the complement of the comparative word and its variation in elative comparatives, or (b) that of the complement of the degree… read more
Various grammatical phenomena have been analyzed so far as essentially formal, or interfacing with PF syntax. Verb subject agreement asymmetries, subject pronoun deficiency (or ‘Pro drop‘), and morpho-syntactic variation in reciprocal expressions in Arabic have been treated as such. The article… read more
This paper investigates the properties of generic, mass, quantificational, and definite reference, in relation to the overt/covert expression of determiners, and shows that Arabic bare nouns are typically indefinite, while generic and mass interpretations require the overt expression of articles. I… read more
DPs and BNs are used parametrically in Arabic (as well as in other languages) to express generic/existential contrasts, and mass/count oppositions. Unlike English and Romance, Arabic BNs behave like overt indefinites, give rise to bare singulars, and to numeral BNs, obviating scope or opacity… read more
