Acknowledgements

Since its inception, the Arabic Linguistics Society (ALS) has assembled a selection of papers from each of its annual meetings in a volume entitled Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics, published in the Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (CILT) series. The present volume continues this tradition. The papers included were presented at the 34th Arabic Linguistics Symposium (ASAL34), which was held at the University of Arizona, Tucson on February 28-March 1, 2020. The event featured Professor Noam Chomsky, who gave a short guest talk about the state-of-the-art in linguistics and how Arabic linguistics has contributed to the development of the field since his early days at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Following the established tradition of a rigorous peer review process including the keynote addresses, only high-quality submissions were accepted in this volume. Eleven papers out of twenty-two submissions considered for publication were accepted. The contributions fall under three areas of linguistics: Phonology and phonetics; syntax and semantics; and language acquisition, language contact, and diglossia. They reflect some various perspectives and emphases. I would like to thank all who served as reviewers for these papers.

I gratefully acknowledge the funds provided by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the many other sponsoring units at the University of Arizona for their financial support to organize the conference. I would like to thank the student volunteers in the Arabic Program and the Graduate Student Association for their help with the organization. Also, I am grateful to the staff at the business office in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences for their help with the event’s finances.

Also, I would like to thank the Executive Director of the Arabic Linguistics Society, Dr. Hamid Ouali, for his guidance during the review and preparation of this volume. Last, I would like to thank Drs. Elabbas Benmamoun and Enam Al-Wer, series editors of Arabic Linguistics in the Current Issues in Linguistic Theory series, and their anonymous reviewers for their considerable assistance. The editor, of course, bears responsibility for any shortcomings.