Document Type : Orginal Articles
Author
English Language Teaching Department, Tishk International University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Abstract
This study investigates the syntax of exceptive constructions that involve various Arabic exceptive markers, namely siwā, ghayr, (mā)khalā, (mā)ʻadā and ḥāshā ‘except’. These markers exhibit distinct syntactic properties and distributional patterns. Drawing on the analyses of Saeed (2022) and Al-Batianeh (2021), this paper argues that while these exceptive forms possess unique grammatical traits, they all share a foundational underlying structure rooted in an Exceptive Projection headed by these elements. The study also explores how, in constructions lacking explicit antecedents (empty exceptives), some markers, particularly siwā and ghayr, convey a restrictive interpretation that leads to a different syntactic configuration than constructions with antecedents. These two are shown to establish a syntactic role in their constructions due to their nominal properties. More specifically, siwā and ghayr are shown to function in both restrictive (R-ExP) and subtractive (S-ExP) constructions, depending on context. Conversely, (mā)khalā, (mā)ʻadā and ḥāshā, which are limited to affirmative exceptive constructions, are not verbal or prepositional elements, but function as distinct grammatical heads within exceptive clauses.
Keywords
Article Title [کوردی]
The Syntax of siwā, ghayr, (mā)khalā, (mā)ʻadā and ḥāshā
Author [کوردی]
- سمیره توفیق سعید
بەشی فێرکردنی زمانی ئینگلیزی، زانکۆی تیشکی نێودەوڵەتی، هەرێمی کوردستان، عێراق
Abstract [کوردی]
This study investigates the syntax of exceptive constructions that involve various Arabic exceptive markers, namely siwā, ghayr, (mā)khalā, (mā)ʻadā and ḥāshā ‘except’. These markers exhibit distinct syntactic properties and distributional patterns. Drawing on the analyses of Saeed (2022) and Al-Batianeh (2021), this paper argues that while these exceptive forms possess unique grammatical traits, they all share a foundational underlying structure rooted in an Exceptive Projection headed by these elements. The study also explores how, in constructions lacking explicit antecedents (empty exceptives), some markers, particularly siwā and ghayr, convey a restrictive interpretation that leads to a different syntactic configuration than constructions with antecedents. These two are shown to establish a syntactic role in their constructions due to their nominal properties. More specifically, siwā and ghayr are shown to function in both restrictive (R-ExP) and subtractive (S-ExP) constructions, depending on context. Conversely, (mā)khalā, (mā)ʻadā and ḥāshā, which are limited to affirmative exceptive constructions, are not verbal or prepositional elements, but function as distinct grammatical heads within exceptive clauses.
Keywords [کوردی]
- Arabic
- antecedent
- syntactic analysis
- excepted element
)