Predicate Actants Valency-controlled by Arabic verbs

1
Predicate Actants Valency-controlled by Arabic
verbs

• Presented by Dina EL KASSAS
• Paris VII University, France
• Miniya University, Egypt
• dinaelkassas_at_hotmail.com

The Second International AUC OXF Conference on
Languages and Linguistics
2
Overview

• Theoretical framework
• Syntactic functions
• Arabic complex predicate syntactic structure
• Conclusion
• Perspective

3
Meaning Text Theory
Theoritical Framework
Semantic Representation
multistratal
Deep Syntactic Representation
synthesis
Surface Syntactic Representation
Deep Morphological Representation
Surface Morphological Representation
4
Surface Syntactic Representation (SSyntR)
(Part of speech)
flexionnel categories
surface syntactic relation (SSyntR)
(Part of speech)
flexionnel categories
5
Example
?akala ate
(V) Voice active Mode indicative Tense past
subject
dir-obj
tuffah??at appel
walad boy
(N) Def indef Num singular
(N) Def def Num singular
?akala alwaladu tuffah?atan (V)PAST
DEF(N)NOM (N)ACCINDEF The boy ate an apple.
6
SSyntRel controlled by verb valency

• Subject
• Propositional Subject
• Direct object
• Indirect object
• Pseudo object
• Oblique object I
• Oblique object II

Actancial relations

• Prépositionnel Agent
• Quotative complement
• Attribute
• Copredicate subject
• Copredicate object
• Propositionnel object I
• Propositionnel object II

Circonstancial relations

1. Circonstanciel complement

1. Circonstanciel aspect complement

Other Relations

1. Adjonctionnel relation
2. Parenthetic relation

1. Proleptic relation
2. Relation of reduplication

7
Grammaticalised biclausal constructions V1?V2
(V1)
(V) Voice active Mode indicative Tense ?
Jonction
(V2)
(V) Voice active Mode indicative Tense
? (present)
8
Some grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• Inna_V
• V_Vsubordinate

9
Verbal jonctionnel SSyntRel
Kaana_V
kaana
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense ?
Verbal jonctionnel
subject
(V)
(N)
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense ?
subject
(PRO)
kaana NS1P1 V PROS2P2 
kaana al?at?faalu jal?abuun humu (V)PAST
DEF(N)PLNOM (V)PRESENT (PRO) was les
enfants play they Children was
playing. (??? ??????? ??????)
10
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• Inna_V
• V_Vsubordinate

11
Attributive SSyntRel
Vstatic_V
?amsaa
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense ?
Attributive
subject
(V)
(N)
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense ?
subject
(PRO)
?amsaa NS1P1 V PROS2P2 
?amsaa al?at?faalu jal?abuun
humu (V)PAST DEF(N)PLNOM (V)PRESENT
(PRO) pass the night les enfants play
they Children passed the night playing. (????
??????? ??????)
12
Other examples
Vstatic_V

• as?bah?a  al?awlaadu jal?abuun humu
• (V)PAST DEF(N)NOM (V)PRESENT PRO
• pass the morning children play they
• Økaana al?awlaadu jal?abuun humu
• kaana al?awlaadu jal?abuun humu
• ad?h?aa al?awlaadu jal?abuun humu
• baata al?awlaadu jal?abuun humu

13
A particularity of kaana
Vstatic_V
kaana
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense ?
Verbal jonctionnel
subject
(V)
(N)
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense
present
subject
attributive
(V)
(PRO)
(V) Voice active, Mode indicative, Tense
present
subject
(PRO)
kaana NS1P1 Static Verb PROS2P2 V PROS3P3 

• kaana al?awlaadu jamsuun humu jal?abuun
  humu
• Children was spending night playing. (???
  ???????? ????? ??????)

14
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• Inna_V
• V_Vsubordinate

15
Phase verbs in Traditional arabic grammar (TAD) I
Vphase_V

• TAD mixed together sixteen verbs under the name
  of kaada and its sisters (??? ????????). These
  verbs are categorised also as incomplete verbs
  (????? ?????). They are also called verbs of
  approximation and strarting. (????? ????????
  ???????).
• According to the traditional analyse, this group
  of verbs governed an ?ism a substantive in the
  nominative case and a propositional ?abar. The
  syntactic head of the so-called ?abar is a verb
  in present tense, governing a subjective pronoun
  corefering with the ?ism. That mean that these
  verbs has a predicate syntactic actant.

16
Phase verbs in Traditional arabic grammar (TAD) II
Vphase_V

• According to their semantic, these verbs are
  subdivised to
• Inchoative verbs  e.g. bada?a, ?a?aða and qaama
• Evaluative verbs e.g. kaada, a?rafa, karuba et
  aw?aka nearly, almost.
• Verbs expressing the desir that an action occur
  when the opposite is apprehended e.g. ?asaa,
  h?arij, u?lawlaq on the condition that/ hoping
  that.

17
Direct-objectival SSyntReland phase verbs
Vphase_V
A phase verb may governed one of the following
syntactic structures
18
But inchoative verbs governed also this
construction
Vphase_V
19
The V1?V2 and inchoative verbs
Vphase_V

• Object complement relation

?a?aða start
(V1) Voice active Mode indicative
Tense past
subject
dir-obj-propositionnel 1
zajd
juðaakiru study
(N)
(V2) Voice active Mode indicative
Tense present
subject
(PRO)
?a?aða zajdun juðaakiru huwa (V)PAST (N)NO
MINDEF (V)PRESENT start Zayd study
he Zayd start studying. (??? ???? ?????)
20
Another Example
Vphase_V

• ?aqbala1 qaama1 al?awlaadu ja?maluun humu
• (V)PAST DEF(N)NOM (V)PRESENT
• Start children work (they)
• Children start working. (???? ??? ???????
  ??????)
• vs
• ?aqbala2 qaama2 al?awlaadu
• (V)PAST DEF(N)NOM
• Came nearer stand up children
• Children came nearer stant up. (???? ???
  ???????)

21
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• Inna_V
• V_Vsubordinate

22
Valency of PCU verbs
VPCU_V
Verbe PCU

• By PCU verbs, we refere to the group named z?anna
  estimate and its sisters (?? ????????) and the
  group called ?araa see and its sisters (???
  ????????).

(V) Voice x Mode y, Tense z
dir-obj propositionnel 2
(V2)
(V) Voix indicative Mode y, Tense z
prolepse
(PRO)
?anna
(PREPé)
Prep-evidentiality
(N)
23
VPCU_V
The construction V1?V2 and PCU verbs

• Direct-object complement

h?asiba
h?asiba
(V1)
(V1)
Dir-obj-prop2
Dir-obj-prop2
?anna
juðaakiru
(V2)
(V2)
subject
Dir-obj
copredicate
prolepse
juðaakiru
walad
(PRO)
(V3)
?anna
(PRO)
(N)PL, DEF
(PRO)
prep-evidentiality
walad
(N)PL, DEF
h?asiba zajdun ?anna al?awlaada
juðaakiruun humu (V)PAST (N)NOMINDEF (PREPe)
DEF(N)ACC (V)PRESENT (PRO) thought Zayd
about children study they Zayd thought
children was studying. (??? ??? ?? ???????
???????)
24
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• V_Vsubordinate
• Inna_V

25
Objective-copredicative SSyntR
Vmodal_V
taraktu
(V)ind, past
subject
dir-obj
obj-copred
?anaa
walad
la?iba
(PRO)1,SG
(N,masc) PL,DEF
(V)ind, present
subject
huwa
(PRO)
taraktu ?anaa al?awlaada jal?abuun
humu (V1)PAST DEF(N)ACC (V2)PRESENT left
I les enfants play they I left children
playing. (???? ???????? ??????)
26
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• V_Vsubordinate
• Inna_V

27
A particular subordinated construction
ðaakir study
(V1) Voice active Mode imperative
subject
cicronstancial
?anta
tan?ah?a success
(N)
(V2) Voice active Mode imperative
subject
?anta
ðaakir ?anta tan?ah?a ?anta (V)Imperative (V)I
mperative If you study you will
success. Study to success. (???? ????)
28
Another exampleAn indirect speech

• sa?altuhu ?anaaP1 maaðaa juriidu
  huwaP2
• (V1)PAST(PRO) (ADV) (V2)PRESENT
• askedhim I what wants he
• I asked him what did he want.
• Je lui ai demandé ce quil voulait. (????? ????
  ????)

29
Some asyndetic grammaticalised jonctions

• Kaana_V
• VStatic_V
• Vphase_V
• VPCU_V
• Vmodal_V
• V_Vsubordinate
• Inna_V

30
?innas groupverb or a preposition
inna
(V)
((V)ind, past
prolepse
subject
copredicate
dir-obj
inna
(V)
(N)
(PRO)
(PRO)
(PREPe)
prep-evidential
(PRO)
(N)
case accusative
?inna huwa al?awlaada ?akaluu humu
altuffaah??a (ka?anna la?alla)
al?awlaada ?akaluu humu altuffaah??a
31
Conclusion

• Predominance of parataxis aspect in arabic
• Particular interpropositionnel syntactic relation

32
Perspective

• An exhaustive inventory of verbs admitting a
  finite verb as a syntactic actant.
• More studies about the parataxis aspect of arabic
  language.

33
Thank you