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The Underlying Representation of Hollow Verbs in Moroccan Arabic End of Studies Project Thesis
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Mohammed V University
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences
Department of English
The Underlying Representation of Hollow Verbs in
Moroccan Arabic
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
License Degree in English Studies
Submitted by: Supervisor:
Abdeljabar Taoufikallah Prof. Karim Bensoukas
Module 38: End-of-Studies Project
Seminar: Word-Formation in Moroccan Languages
Spring 2015
i
DEDICATION
I dedicate this piece of work to my family,
To my father and mother,
To my brothers and sisters,
To my nephews and nieces,
To my cousins,
To my newborn nephew,
To all my family members, close or remote,
And to all my friends.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would love to thank my supervisor, Prof. Karim Bensoukas, for his hard work
and great contribution in this work; his patience, presence and corrections were
invaluable. Without him, this work would have been a bit more difficult and perhaps
unbearable.
I am truly indebted to my dear professor, Ms. Emily Pollokoff, whom I had in
Paragraph Writing in S1, for showing me how to excel at writing. Her comments were
mostly helpful in helping me promote my writing skills.
I would also like to thank the rest of the professors; among whom are Prof.
Amrous and Prof. Zeddari. Thanks to all the professors I had in the faculty I learned and
sharpened my English skills.
I would love to thank all my seminar classmates with whom I had valuable
discussions concerning this work.
I cannot express enough gratitude to my dear parents for standing by my side
during all the years I have spent in the university.
iii
ABSTRACT
The present paper aspires to deal with one aspect of Moroccan Arabic
morphology namely hollow verbs. The major role is to investigate their roots. The reason
behind choosing this topic is the need of tackling a real issue in MA, such as identifying
the root of HVs from a morphological and a phonological perspective.
There was no need to collect data from individuals other than myself because HVs
are very few in MA and can be collected in a short amount of time. To help identify the
root of HVs in MA, I was required to start by collecting HVs in the perfect tense in the
third person singular, or to use Harrells term dictionary form of HVs and then
conjugate these verbs in the imperfect tense to inspect the changes that occur along the
conjugation. Then, we investigate the changes that occur in verbal nouns and causatives
derived from HVs.
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
HV Hollow Verb
MA Moroccan Arabic
VN Verbal noun
v
TTaabbllee ooff CCoonntteennttss
DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. II
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... III
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... IV
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
PART ONE: ........................................................................................................................ 4
1. THE ROOTS AND THE PATTERNS ............................................................................... 5 1.1. Types of roots ................................................................................................. 5
1.2. Types of patterns ............................................................................................. 6 2. VERBAL MORPHOLOGY ........................................................................................... 6
2.1. Finite Verbs ..................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Participles ...................................................................................................... 10 2.3. Derived verbs ................................................................................................ 11
3. NOMINAL MORPHOLOGY ....................................................................................... 12 3.1. Gender ........................................................................................................... 12
3.2. Verbal nouns ................................................................................................. 12
3.3. The plural ...................................................................................................... 13
4. ADJECTIVAL MORPHOLOGY ................................................................................... 20 4.1. Gender ........................................................................................................... 20
4.2. Agreement between noun and adjective ....................................................... 20 4.3. Number ......................................................................................................... 20
5. THE NISBA ............................................................................................................. 21
6. THE DIMINUTIVE .................................................................................................... 22 7. THE COMPARATIVE ................................................................................................ 23
PART TWO: ..................................................................................................................... 25
1. DATA DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................ 26
1.1. HVs in the imperfect tense ............................................................................ 26 1.2. Verbal Nouns ................................................................................................ 27 1.3. The causative ................................................................................................ 29
2. DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 31
2.1. HVs in the Imperfect Tense .......................................................................... 31 2.2. Verbal Nouns ................................................................................................ 32 2.3. The causative ................................................................................................ 33
GENERAL CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 36
vi
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 38
APPENDIXES .................................................................................................................. 40
1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
2
As a native speaker of Moroccan Arabic, I resorted to work on its morphology,
specifically on finding out the root of hollow verbs. To find out the root of HVs in MA, I
will have to consider them in the imperfect tense as well as investigate the derivation of
their corresponding verbal nouns and causatives.
As we are going to focus on the morphology of MA in this paper, and on hollow
verbs specifically, it is only natural to provide a definition of morphology, MA and HVs.
Morphology, according to Lieber (2009:2), is the study of word formation,
including the ways new words are formed in the languages of the world and the way
forms of words are varied depending on how theyre used in sentences.
MA, as Ennaji et al. (2004:25) characterizes, Moroccan Arabic has a typically
Semitic morphology in which morphological categories are represented not only by
prefixes and suffixes but also by non-concatenative structures built on non-concatenative
stems, each of which is being composed if a radical made up of non-syllabics
(consonants and semi-vowels).
HVs, according to Harrell (1962:30), are based on a triliteral middle-weak root
system. That is, they consist of two consonants and a vowel in the middle: the vowel a.
This vowel changes into i or u or is retained in the imperfect tense; i and u change
into j and w in causatives derived from HVs, and in some verbal nouns also derived
from HVs.
The data analyzed in this paper is collected computationally. I created a small
computer program, an algorithm, to list all the words with the pattern CaC sorted
alphabetically, and then filtered them out manually. I kept those I recognized as verbs in
MA and left out the rest.
3
We will provide evidence for the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels as
most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal skeleton.
Data description and analysis are divided into three categories. First, we check
whether HVs are based originally on the pattern CaC or CuC, CiC, and CaC for some
verbs which keep the medial /a/. We then investigate the causatives and VN that are
derived from HVs to verify whether the stems of the HVs are CuC, CiC and Cac or CwC
and CjC. On the basis of causative verb formation, it is better to consider the underlying
forms of VHs as consisting of medial glides.
This monograph consists of two parts. In the first part, we will discuss the major
features of MA morphology, verbs derivation, nouns derivation, adjectival inflection, the
comparative, and the Nisba.
In the second part, we will focus on HVs in MA, as the main topic of this
monograph, to find out their root system. We will have to investigate HVs in the
imperfect, VNs derived from HVs, and causatives derived from HVs in order to
determine the root system of HVs in MA.
4
PART ONE:
MMOORROOCCCCAANN AARRAABBIICC MMOORRPPHHOOLLOOGGYY
5
This part aims to deal with the morphology of MA. We will identify the verbal
inflection and see how the perfect and imperfect tenses work; we will also see how the
participles work in MA. We will examine the nominal inflection, considering gender and
number. We will consider adjectival inflection, the Nisba, the diminutive and the
comparative in MA. We start with the root and pattern conception of MA morphology.
1. The roots and the patterns
MA words are constructed on a basic consonantal skeleton called the root which
appears in different patterns according to the grammatical function of the word (Harrell:
1962). The root has to do with a general meaning which is expanded by the pattern. For
example, FR is a basic root having to do with joy. With various patterns, this root
gives fr he got happy, fru they got happy, and fran being happy, for example.
1.1. Types of roots
There are three basic types of roots in MA. Triliteral roots are composed of three
consonants. They are divided into two categories: strong and weak. Strong triliteral roots
are divided into two categories. They are called sound if all the consonants are different
as in XF of xf he kidnapped, and are called doubled if the second sound is doubled
as in MDD of mdd he handed. Weak triliteral roots are also divided into two categories.
Middle-weak triliteral roots have a vowel in the middle as af to see, and final-weak
triliteral roots have a vowel in the end. Based on Harrell (1962), quadriliteral roots are
composed of four consonants, and they are also divided into two categories: strong and
weak. In strong quadriliteral roots, the first two consonants are reduplicated as in SRSR
to ring. In weak quadriliteral roots, there are two categories; second element weak in
6
which the second sound is a vowel, or a fourth element weak in which the fourth sound is
a vowel.
1.2. Types of patterns
There are two types of patterns in MA. According to Ennaji et al (2004, the
simple pattern has none, one or two vowels inserted in the root as is the case with the
verb qtl to kill which has a vowel between the second and third consonants. The
complex pattern is a pattern joined with an affix. For example, qiti you read (past) is a
complex pattern because it has the suffix [+ti] in it.
2. Verbal Morphology
2.1. Finite Verbs
2.1.1. Perfect Tense
The perfect tense in MA is realized by adding suffixes to the main root of the
verb.
1)
First person singular -t I
Second person singular -ti you sing.
Third person singular masc. -no change he
Third person singular fem. -at / -t she
First person plural -na we
Second person plural -tiw / -tu you pl.
Third person plural -u / -w they
7
A few changes occur in the perfect tense with different stem endings.
In stems ending in -C, the schwa moves backwards after the first consonant.
This change occurs in the third person singular feminine and the third person plural only
as is the case in the example below:
2)
ktb-t I wrote ktbna we wrote
ktb-ti you wrote ktbtu you pl. wrote
ktb he wrote ktbu they wrote
ktbat she wrote
In stems ending in -aC, the last -a changes to a - in the first and second
person as shown in the example below:
3)
bt I sold bna we sold
bt you sold btu you pl. sold
b he sold bu they sold
bt she sold
In stems ending in a doubled consonant, an -i is inserted between the stem and
the endings of the first and second person as shown in the example below:
4)
mmit I smelt mmina we smelt
mmiti you smelt mmitu you pl. smelt
mm he smelt mmu they smelt
mmat she smelt
8
In stems ending in -a, in the first and second person singular and plural the final -
a is changed to -i before the endings as is the case in the example below:
5)
qit I read qina we read
qiti you read qitu you pl. read
qa he read qaw they read
qat she read
2.1.2. The imperfect tense
The imperfect tense in MA is realized by adding prefixes to the main root of the
verb, and in the plural we add suffixes to indicate the plural as shown below:
6)
First person singular n- I
Second person singular t- you sing.
Second person singular t- + -i you sing. fem.
Third person singular masc. i- he
Third person singular fem. t- she
First person plural n- + -u / -w we
Second person plural t- + -u / -w you pl.
Third person plural i- + -u / -w they
In Stems ending in eC, a schwa is inserted between the prefix and the stem in the
first and second person singular. In the second person singular feminine and the first,
second and third plural, the - is moved from the third position to the second position.
9
7)
nktb I write nktbu we write
tktb you write tktbu you pl. write
tktbi you fem. write
iktb he writes iktbu they write
tktb she writes
In most of the HVs, the medial -a- changes to -i- or -u- as is the case with the
verb mal to tend and the verb daz to pass in the examples below:
8)
nmil I tend nmilu we tend
tmil you tend tmilu you pl. tend
tmili you fem. tend
imil he tends imilu they tend
tmil she tends
9)
nduz I pass nduzu we pass
tduz you pass tduzu you pl. pass
tduzi you fem. pass
iduz he passes iduzu they pass
tduz she passes
A category in which there is no change is that of the stems ending in a as is the case
with the verb tma to walk:
10
10)
ntma I walk ntmaw we walk
ttmea you walk ttmaw you pl. walk
ttmeai you fem. walk
itma he walks itmaw they walk
ttma she walks
However, in some verbs the final -a changes to -i as in ea to cover in the example
below:
11)
ni I cover niwwe cover
ti you cover tiw you pl. cover
ii he covers iiw they cover
ti she covers
2.1.3. The imperative
To form the imperative in MA, we take the imperfect tense form without the
prefixes for example:
12)
ba to sell tbi you sell bi sell (you sing.) biu sell (you pl.)
2.2. Participles
In MA, participles are of three kinds: active participles, passive participles and the
flan participles.
The general pattern of the active participle in MA is fal as in za planting. In
double verbs, the schwa is deleted between the last two consonants; for example, sadd
11
closing is the active participle of sdd to close. In HVs, j is inserted before the schwa
as in ba to sell / baj selling. In defective verbs, the final -a is replaced by -i as in
ma / mai.
The general pattern of the passive participle in MA is mful as in mrub. In
HVS a -j is inserted after the first consonant to function as the second consonant in
mful as is the case with the verb ba / mbju. In defective verbs the final u is
replaced by an -i as in ra to buy/ mri sold.
The flan participle is mostly derived from intransitive verbs, and the following
is a set of examples:
13)
brd brdan feeling cold
ja jjan getting tired
f fan happy
2.3. Derived verbs
There are three derived verbs in MA: causatives, reflexives and reciprocals.
Causative verbs show a relation of cause and effect. In MA they are formed by
infixation and gemination. In triconsonantal verbs, a - is inserted after the first
consonant, and second consonant is doubled. Here are a few examples:
14)
hb escape hb make someone escape
ktb write kttb make someone write
b drink b make someone drink
qa read qa make someone read
12
Reflexive verbs are formed by adding the prefix n- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For example, na he slaughtered becomes na he
committed suicide, and kf he discovered becomes nkaef he got discovered.
Reciprocal verbs are formed by adding the prefix t- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For instance, the verb fhm he understood becomes tfahm he
made an agreement with someone.
3. Nominal Morphology
3.1. Gender
The feminine in MA is formed by adding the suffix a(t) to the root; however, some
nouns do not have feminine counterparts or have irregular feminine formation. The
examples below show how the feminine is formed in MA:
15)
klb male dog klba female dog
bib male doctor biba female doctor
drri boy drrija girl
Some nouns are originally feminine and do not have masculine counterparts:
16)
misara ruler
aia jacket
abbua blackboard
3.2. Verbal nouns
VN are derived from verbs and are formed in a variety of ways; these forms are
unpredictable. The following are examples showing different forms of VN:
13
17)
sl to wash sil washing
rkab to ride rkub riding
mad to get sick mard sickness
kla to eat makla eating, food
3.3. The plural
There are three types of plurals in MA: plurals with suffixes, internal plurals and mixed
ones.
3.3.1. Plurals with the suffix in
Nouns referring to parts of the body are likely to take the suffix in to form the plural.
18)
jd hand jddin hands
rl foot rlin feet
Nouns referring to crafts also take the suffix in to form the plural.
19)
xjja xjja-in tailors
ar ar-in perfume vendor
ab ab-in herbage seller
Nouns borrowed from Standard Arabic also form their plurals this way:
20)
muhndis muhndis-in engineers
muami muami-in lawyers
muallim muallim-in teachers
14
3.3.2. Plurals with the suffix a(t)
The suffix a(t) is used to form the plural of masculine substantives with the CCCaC
stem:
21)
gzzar gzzara butchers
xjja xjjaa tailors
flla fllaa peasants
Feminine nouns also end in a(t) as is shown by the following:
22)
mlaja mlaja blankets
maa maat combs
warqa warqat papers
kswa kswat dresses
3.3.3. Internal plurals
3.3.3.1. Triconsonantal stems
There are various patterns that are used to form the plurals of MA.
i. The CCC stem
23)
CCC mel mal camels
CCC wld wlad boys
CuC2C2 mu ma cats
CCC bnt bnat girls
CCCa wqa waq papers
CCiC(a) mri mra sick
15
ii. The CwC stem
24)
CuC suq swaq
CuC2C2 fumm ffam
CaC xal xwal
iii. The CjC stem
This stem is used particularly to form the plural of the singular stem CiC.
25)
id jad feasts
kis kjas bags
Other patterns are also used:
iv. The CwC-a(t) stem
The CwC-a(t) stem is the plural of the singular stem CuCi as indicated in the example
below.
26)
fuqijja fuqijjat
v. The CwCi stem
The singular stem CaCi-a becomes CwaCi in the plural as shown in the examples below.
27)
sarja swari pillars
afja wafi fires
buqa bqai pieces of land
vi. The CwCC stem
This stem functions as the plural of the following singular stems:
28)
16
CaCC xatm xwatm rings
CaCC-a makla mwakl meals
CCuC anut want stores
CaCuC-a(t) naura nwar wheels
CaCuCi-ja namusijja nwams beds
CaCiC-a(t) kasia kwas tapes
CaCaC-a(t) alaqa walq earrings
vii. The plural stem CjuC
This stem functions as the plural of the singular stem CiC as shown in the example
below.
29)
CiC ir jur birds
in jun eyes
viii. The plural stem CjiC
This stem is used to form the plural of the singular stem CaC-a(t) as shown in the
examples below.
30)
Taqa Tjiq small window
ala jil rooms
ix. The plural stem CC2C2
Most nouns with doubled roots and the stem CC2C2a form the plural by inserting a
schwa between the geminated consonant and deleting the ending a. The following is a
set of examples:
31)
17
drra drr scarfs
xa x fountains
3.3.3.2. Internal plurals of quadriliteral stems
In MA, internal plurals of quadriliteral stems have the same pattern CCaCC for
all nouns. The following is a set of examples showing all the different quadriliteral in the
plural:
i. The CCCuC stem
32)
xnfu xnaf ugly
gnfud gnafd hedgehogs
ii. The CCCaC stem
33)
mnar mnar knives
msmar msamr nails
iii. The stem CCCaCi
34)
sddari sdadr mattresses
iv. The stem CeCCaCij-a
35)
beTTanijja bTaTn blankets
18
v. The stem CeCCiC
36)
qndil qnadl candle-stick
brmil braml barrel
vi. The stem CuCCaC
37)
ukkaz kakz crutches
vii. The stem CCCC
rm ram windows
mnl mnal
viii. The stem CCCC-a(t)
38)
slsla slasl chains
nra nar pressure-cooker
3.3.3.3. Mixed plurals
Mixed plurals consist of two morphological processes: internal change and
suffixation. Ennaji et al. (2004:69) state that the mixed plural in MA consists of the two
mechanisms involved in internal plurals and external plurals. The following is a set of
examples showing the different forms nouns and adjectives take to form the plural.
i) The CC-(t) / CCCC-(t) stem
39)
rifi rjafa people from the Rif
bli bala people from the Jbel
19
tunsi twansa Tunisians
mribi marba Moroccans
ii) The CCuC-t stem
40)
fur furat breakfasts
zjut zjutat oils
smn smunat hot butter
bl bulat mountains
iii) The CiC-an stem
41)
kas kisan cups
fas fisan axes
bab biban doors
iv) The CCC-an stem
42)
CCaC blad bldan countries
CCiC riq rqan roads
CCuC xruf xrfan sheep
In summary, the plural in MA is divided into three categories: external plurals,
internal plurals, and mixed plurals. External plurals are formed by adding a suffix to
nouns or adjectives; internal plurals are formed by an internal change in the stem, and
mixed plurals are formed by an internal change plus adding a suffix.
20
4. Adjectival Morphology
4.1. Gender
In MA, gender in adjectives is marked by the suffix a as is the case with the
adjectives sxun/sxuna, jjan/jjana and fran/frana.
4.2. Agreement between noun and adjective
i. Attributive adjective
The attributive adjective occurs after the noun it modifies; however, in a
construct-state it occurs after the last element of this construct.
43)
had lam zin this year is great.
falsafa djal aflaon siba Platos philosophy is hard.
ii. Predicative adjective
Predicative adjectives occur either as a predicate complement or as an adjective
complement as shown in the example below:
44)
kanu msajin they were crazy
rathum dad. I turned them new again
4.3. Number
Adjectives in MA take on plural forms just the same way nouns do. There are a
few patterns adjectives follow to form the plural, and here are a few examples:
21
i) The plural stem CuCC
45)
rq urq blue
sfr sufr yellow
ii) The plural stem CiCC/CiwC
46)
wr iwr blind
5. The Nisba
The nisba in MA is formed by adding the suffix i to a stem. For example, the
nisba of the stem fas Fes is formed by adding an i to get fas-i a person from Fes.
However, a few morphological changes occur when forming the Nisba in MA. These are
listed below:
i. Adding aw before the suffix i
47)
rb rbawi from the west
ra rawi a person from the desert
ii. Dropping the ending a
48)
qahwa qahwi coffee-colored
sma smawi sky blue
iii. Adding ni and ani instead of i
49)
luwwl luwwlani first
lxxr lxxrani last
22
6. The diminutive
In MA, both nouns and adjectives take the diminutive form. In general, as Harrell
(1962) states, the diminutive is formed by a cluster of the first two consonants followed
by /i/. The following are examples of different patterns in MA; some are taken from
Ennaji et al (2004):
i. Triliteral monosyllables
50)
bl bijjl mule
klb klijjb dog
ii. Middle-weak triliterals
51)
bab bwijjb door
far fwijjr mouse
iii. Triliteral monosyllables with a schwa
52)
bnt bnita girl
rl rila foot
iv. Adjectives of color, defect adjectives of the pattern fila
53)
kl kil black
wil wiwl tall
23
v. The stems fl and fl + vowel
54)
bgra bgira cow
nmi nimi lamb
The stems fla / fila
55)
blaa blija a place
daa dija chicken
vi. Quadriliteral roots
56)
kskas ksiks couscous pot
zrbijja zribijja carpet
7. The comparative
In MA, very few adjectives take the comparative form. The general form of the
comparative is by clustering the first two consonants followed by a schwa. Here are a few
examples of how different patterns form the comparative in MA:
i. The stems fil and fal
57)
ir r smaller
was ws wider
ii. The fijjl stem
58)
xir xjr better
iii. The stem fil
24
59)
dida dd
xfif xff
iv. The stem fi and fu
60)
nqi nqa cleaner
lu la sweeter
v. The stem fl
61)
kl kl blacker
bj bj whiter
To conclude, this part has sought to examine the different aspects of MA
morphology. We have seen how verbal inflection works in MA by illustrating the forms
and examples of the perfect, imperfect tenses, and the three different types of participles:
the active participle, the passive participle, and the flan form. We have also checked
nominal inflection by demonstrating how gender and number function in MA. We have
seen that the plural in MA is expressed by three categories: the internal plural, the
external plural, and the mixed plural. We have also seen adjectival inflection and shown
how the attributive and predicative adjectives work. Finally, we have described the Nisba,
the diminutive and the comparative in MA. In the next part, we will deal with HVs in the
imperfect, VNs, and causatives derived from HVs. We will attempt an analysis of the
underlying structure of HVs in MA.
25
PART TWO:
DDAATTAA DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN AANNDD AANNAALLYYSSIISS
26
1. Data description
In this part, we are going to describe the data collected during this research. The
data is divided into three categories: HVs conjugated in the imperfect, VNs derived from
HVs, and causative verbs derived also from HVs.
1.1. HVs in the imperfect tense
We start with HVs in the imperfect. Our data is organized in three sets:
a) Verbs whose internal /a/ changes into /u/
1)
Perfect Imperfect Gloss
bal ibul To urinate
dab idub To melt
aq iuq To taste
a iu To spread
ag iug To drive
b) Verbs whose internal /a/ changes into /i/
2)
Perfect Imperfect Gloss
ba ibi To sell
a ii To be lost
qas iqis To measure
ab iib To be cooked
zad izid To add
c) Verbs whose internal /a/ is retained
3)
27
Perfect Imperfect Gloss
ban iban To appear
bat ibat To stay over
sal isal To ask
xaf ixaf To fear
In order to conjugate HVs in the imperfect tense in MA the medial /a/ needs to be
changed into /i/, /u/ or kept as it is. As the data shows in the table above, there is no way
to tell when a certain verb will change /a/ into /i/ or /u/, or retain it.
1.2. Verbal Nouns
We shall now move on to the VNs and describe the changes that occur while
converting HVs to nouns. Our data is again organized in three sets:
a) Verbs with the medial /i/ in the imperfect
4)
Perfect Imperfect Verbal noun Gloss
ba ibi bi Selling
ab iib ijab Absence
ar iir iran Flying
faq ifiq fjaq Waking up
ab iib jab Cooking
qas iqis qjas measuring
aq iiq jaqa Showing off
b) Verbs with the medial /u/ in the imperfect
5)
28
Perfect Imperfect Verbal noun Gloss
bal ibul bul Urine
dab idub duban Melting
mat imut mut Death, dying
af iuf ufan Seeing
al iul ulan Travelling around
ra iru awa Salability
af iuf awaf Turning/walking around
ar iur jjara Visit
c) Verbs that retain /a/ in the imperfect
6)
Perfect Imperfect Verbal noun Gloss
bat ibat mbata Staying over
ban iban (*)
xaf ixaf xuf fear
To derive nouns from HVs in MA a few changes occur. Verbs that have the vowel
/u/ in the middle in the imperfect tense tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /w/ or keep it
as it is in order to get the VN. Nouns that keep the vowel /u/ tend to have the patterns
CuC, CuCa, and CuCan, while verbs that change /u/ to the semi-vowel /w/ tend to have
the pattern CawaC and very rarely the pattern CawCa.
(*) could not find the verbal noun that is derived from the verb ban/iban to appear.
29
Verbs that have /i/ in the middle tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /i/ or keep it
the same. Nouns that retain /i/ have the patterns CiC, CiCa and CiCan, while nouns that
change the /u/ into /w/ tend to have the pattern CjaC and CjaCa.
Last, there are very few verbs that keep the /a/ in the imperfect tense of which the
patterns of their derived VN are mCaCa and CuC. The verb zar he visited izur he
visits should derive a verbal noun with the pattern CuC, CuCa, CuCan or CawaC but it
does not; instead it has the pattern CjaCa, which is found mostly in verbal nouns derived
from verbs that have /u/ in the middle.
1.3. The causative
We now consider causative verbs derived from HVs.
a) Verbs turning /u/ into /w/
7)
Perfect Imperfect causative Gloss
bal ibul bwwl to make someone urinate
dab idub dwwb to melt something
aq iuq awwq to make someone taste something
ar iur awwr to turn something
mat imut mwwt to kill
ad iud awwd to make someone get up
qam iqum qawwm to fix something
a iu aww to take someone out
a iu aww to make something spread
zal izul zwwl to remove
30
zar izur zawwr to make someone visit
a iu ww to starve someone
b) Verbs turning i into j
8)
Perfect Imperfect causative Gloss
ab iib ajjb to make fun of someone
a ii ajj to make someone live
sal isil sjjl to make something leak out
zad izid zjjd to make something pass
a idi ajj to lose
faq ifiq fajjq to wake someone up
ab iib ajjb to be absent
ar iir ajjr to perplex
mal imil mjjl to make something incline
ar iir ajjr to make something fly
c) Verbs turning a either into j or w
9)
Perfect Imperfect causative Gloss
xaf ixaf xawwf to scare
ban iban bjjn to show
bat ibat bjjt to make someone stay
31
To derive the causative from HVs in MA, we need to start from the imperfect
tense. The middle vowel changes into its corresponding glide and is then geminated.
Verbs that have /u/ in the middle tend to change it into /w/, while verbs that have /i/ tend
to change it into /j/. However, verbs that keep the vowel /a/ in the imperfect tend to
change it either to /j/ or /w/. Therefore, the patterns of the causatives derived from HVs
are CjjC and CwwC.
2. Data analysis
To account for the HV stems internal changes in MA, we need to examine these
verbs in the imperfect tense, the verbal nouns and the causatives. Why does /a/ always
change into another vowel or a semi-vowel? Let us first consider the data in the imperfect
tense.
2.1. HVs in the Imperfect Tense
Let us now analyze the data above. Harrell (1962) says that HVS in MA change
/a/ into either /i/ as in a/ii it gets wasted or /u/ as in mat/imut he dies, or retain it
in some verbs as in bat/ibat he stays over. If we consider that this hypothesis is true,
then /a/ should always change into /i/ or /u/ or always stays the same, but this does not
seem to be the case. We cannot maintain this hypothesis because we cannot predict when
/a/ will change into /i/ or /u/. Therefore, we have got a problem of predictability. Let us
now suggest another possibility.
Another hypothesis would be that /i/ and /u/ are original sounds in HVs. In order
to conjugate HVs in the perfect tense in MA, we need to change /i/ and /u/ into /a/ in the
third person, i.e. both /u/ and /i/ change into /a/ in the third person in the perfect tense.
32
The problem of predictability is solved. So far, the patterns of HVs in MA are CuC, CiC,
and CaC in verbs that retain /a/ both ways. The process involved is vowel change.
In brief, we have shown that moving from CaC to CiC or CuC is unpredictable.
Therefore, we claim, in contrast with Harrell (1962), that CaC is not the root stem of HVs
in MA but rather CiC, CuC, and CaC depending on the behavior of the verb. We shall
now move on to verbal nouns and investigate the changes that occur while deriving
verbal nouns from HVs in MA.
2.2. Verbal Nouns
In the data above under 1.2), we notice that most nouns keep the vowels /u/ and
/i/; however some change /u/ and /i/ into the semi-vowels /w/ and /j/.
Let us first start with verbs that have /u/ in the middle in the imperfect. As we
found in the previous part, the VN that keep the vowel /u/ have the patterns CuC as in
mut death, and CuCan as in ulan touring around; and a very small number of nouns
change /u/ into its corresponding glide /w/ with the pattern CawaC as in awaf turning
around. The reason /w/ appears in the pattern CawaC could be that /u/ changes into /w/
only to avoid a vowel sequence; i.e. we cannot have a structure like CauaC in MA.
Therefore, we move from CauaC to CawaC. While some nouns keep the vowel /u/, other
nouns change into the semi-vowel /w/ in order to avoid a vowel sequence.
Likewise, HVs that have /i/ in the imperfect either keep it or change it into /j/.
Nouns that keep /i/ have the patterns CiC as in bi selling and CiCan as in iran flying.
Verbs that change /i/ into the corresponding glide /j/ have the patterns CjaC as in as in
jab cooking and CjaCa as in jaqa arrogance. The vowel /i/ changes into the semi-
33
vowel /j/ for the same reason /u/ changes into /w/: to avoid a vowel sequence and the
process involved here is glide formation.
Therefore, since /i/ and /u/ are the underlying sounds in verbal nouns, we can still
say that CiC, CuC and CaC are the stems of HVs in MA. Let us now account for the
changes that occur in causatives that are derived from HVs.
2.3. The causative
Generally in MA, to derive the causative from verbs, we take the root and
geminate the second consonant and insert a schwa before and after the geminated
consonant. Vowels cannot be geminated. Therefore, we move from the perfect to the
imperfect and then change the medial vowel in the imperfect to its corresponding glide
and geminate it. However, there are two hypotheses that we can explore. Let us examine
the first hypothesis.
In HVs, the vowels /i/ and /u/ change into /j/ and /w/, respectively, and the latter
are geminated to derive the causative. Take for example, the verbs ba to sell and gal
to say:
10)
ba he sold ibi he sells bjj make someone sell
gal he said igul he says gwwl make someone say
The phonological process involved in changing /i/ into /j/ and /u/ into /w/ is vowel
devocalization. Vowel devocalization consists of changing the vowels /i/ and /u/ into their
corresponding glides. The rule to account for this change is as follows:
34
11)
+ syllabic _ syllabic / C _ C _ consonant
+ high
{HV in the {causative}
imperfect}
However, verbs that have the medial /a/ in the imperfect change it into either /j/ or
/w/. The vowel /a/ should correspond to one glide only, but it does not. Therefore, we
have got a problem of predictability. The only explanation for this issue is that the medial
/a/ in xaf he feared and ixaf he fears is originally the vowel /u/ as found in the verbal
noun xuf fear; in bat he stayed over and ibat he stays over, it is originally an /i/ as in
bit room, and in ban he appeared and iban he appears it is originally the vowel /i/ as
in the verbal noun tbjan making clear. Thus, this shows that /a/ cannot be an original
sound in HVs.
This hypothesis encounters many difficulties. The first one is that what seems to
be a simple process is accounted for in a quite complex way. A rule is needed to
transform a vowel into a glide and then morphological gemination, responsible for
causative verb derivation applies. The second problem is that a rule like (11) above is
difficult to justify. What would force a vowel occurring between two consonants to
change into a glide, another consonant?
The second hypothesis consists in considering the medial segment in HVs to be a
glide underlyingly. Accordingly, the class of HVs would be a special class of CCC verbs.
in causative verb derivation, the medial consonant is geminated just like normal
consonants (ktb/kttb write; bj/ bjj sell).
35
If /j/ and /w/ are the original sounds in the stem instead of /i/ and /u, then how do
they change to the corresponding vowels in the imperfective? The phonological processes
to account for this change are syllabification and vocalization. /i/ and /u/ are syllabified
and vocalized whenever they occur mid-consonantly. The rule postulated is as follows:
12)
_ syllabic + syllabic / C _ C _ consonant
+ high
{causative} {HV in the
imperfect}
Therefore, in order to avoid a cluster of a semi-vowel between two consonants in HVs in
MA, the semi-vowel is changed into a vowel.
In summary, /j/ and /w/ are the original sounds in HVs; this leads us to the
assertion that CiC, CuC and CaC are not the underlying representations of HVs in MA.
The second hypothesis seems to account for the facts in a better way.
To conclude this part, we have investigated the HVs in MA in order to find out
their root patterns. We have found that HVs cannot be based on the stem CaC but rather
on the stems CiC, CuC and CaC in verbs that keep the medial /a/ even in the imperfect
tense. We have also investigated the causative and the verbal nouns derived from HVs to
find out the root of HVs. Causative formation facts suggest that the underlying form of
HVs is one which contains a glide rather than a vowel.
36
GENERAL CONCLUSION
37
This paper has dealt with one aspect of the morphology of MA, attempting to
investigate the root of HVs. In order to do so, I have investigated HVs in the imperfect
tense, and investigated the derivation of verbal nouns and causatives.
The data provided in this paper has been collected using a computer program, a
basic algorithm to list all the HVs in MA. As the algorithm cannot tell whether a given
entry is a real word in MA or not, I had to filter the data manually.
We have investigated and illustrated the morphology of MA, inspecting how
words are formed. We have dealt with the verbal inflection, the noun inflection, and the
adjectival inflection. We have shown that words in MA are based on a root-pattern
schema.
We have provided evidence of the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels. This
is supported by the fact that most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal
root.
The data description and analysis part has been divided into three categories.
First, we have checked whether HVs are based on the pattern CaC only or the different
patterns CuC, CiC, and CaC for some verbs which keep the medial /a/. We have then
investigated the causatives and verbal nouns derived from HVS to verify whether the root
of the HVS is CuC, CiC and CaC or CwC and CjC. We have found that it is better to
consider the medial segment in HVs in MA a glide.
38
REFERENCES
39
Ennaji, M., Makhoukh A., Es-Saiydy H., Moubtassime M., and Slaoui S. (2004). A
Grammar of Moroccan Arabic. Fs: Publications of the faculty of Letters, Dhar El
Mehraz.
Harrell, Richard S. (1962). A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic.
Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press.
Lieber, Rochelle (2009). Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
40
APPENDIXES
41
Perfect Imperfect Gloss
ba ibu to reveal bal ibul to urinate ban iban to appear bas ibus to kiss bat ibat to stay over ba ibi to sell dab idub to melt aq iuq to taste dar idir to do ar iur to turn ax iux to be dizzy daz iduz to pass a ii to be lost faq ifiq to wake up fat ifut to pass faz ifuz to win ab iib to be absent gal igul to say ar iir to be perplexed kal ikul to eat kan ikun to be la ilu to throw lam ilum to blame lan ilin to be soft mal imil to lean, to incline mat imut to die ad iud to get up qal iqul to say qam iqum to stand qas iqis to touch rab irib to crumble ab iib (of milk) to ferment a iu to move aside a iu to go a iu to spread ab iib to grow grey hair af iuf to see ag iug to drive a iu to redact sal isil to leak aq iiq to care ar iir to mention at iut to shoot a ii to be left
42
a ii to spread tab itub to repent ab iib to be cooked af iuf to turn around a ii to fall al iul to take long ar iir to fly a ii to obey xab ixib to be disappointed xad ixud to take xaf ixaf to fear xan ixun to betray zad izid to add za izi to be bold zal izul to disappear zar izur to visit ab iib to bring al iul to wander a iu to be hungry ab iib to fault ad iud to return aq iiq to see through a ii to live
43
Perfect Verbal Noun Gloss
bal Bul urine bas Busan kissing bat Mbata staying over ba bi selling daq Duqan tasting dar Djar doing ar uran turning ax uxa dizziness a ja losing faq Fjaq waking up ab iba absence ar ira perplexity lam Luma blame mat Mut death ad udan getting up a awa saleability ab ib growing grey hair af ufa look sag Sugan driving a jaa leftover tab Tuba repentance ab jab cooking af awaf turning around al ul length ar iran flying a aa obedience xab Xiba deception xaf Xuf fear zad Zjada addition za zjaa boldness zar zjjara visit al ula tour ab ib fault ad awda return aq jaqa arrogance a ia living
44
Perfect causative Gloss
bal bwwl to make someone urinate ban bjjn to show bat bjjt to make someone stay ba bjj to sell someone out dab dwwb to melt something aq awwq to make someone taste something ar awwr to turn something ax awwx to dizzy someone daz dwwz to make someone pass a ajj to lose faq fajjq to wake someone up fat fwwt to make someone pass ab ajjb to be absent ar ajjr to perplex kan kwwn to create lan ljjn to soften mal mjjl to make something incline mat mwwt to kill ad awwd to make someone get up qam qawwm to fix something qas qajjs to try on rab rjjb to demolish ra raww to move something aside ra raww to take someone out ra raww to make something spread sal sjjl to make something leak out aq awwq to care ab jjb to make someone grow grey hair af wwf to make someone see ar jjr to throw a ajj to leave something for later use ab ajjb to cook af awwf to take someone on a tour a ajj to trip someone down al awwl to lengthen ar ajjr to make something fly xab xajjb to deceive, to make something ugly xaf xawwf to scare xan xawwn to accuse someone of betrayal zad zjjd to make something pass zal zwwl to remove zar zawwr to make someone visit a ww to starve someone ab ajjb to make fun of someone
45
ad awwd to make someone adopt a habit aq ajjq to act arrogantly a ajj to make someone live
DEDICATIONACKNOWLEDGMENTSABSTRACTLIST OF ABBREVIATIONSGENERAL INTRODUCTIONPART ONE:1. The roots and the patterns1.1. Types of roots1.2. Types of patterns
2. Verbal Morphology2.1. Finite Verbs2.1.1. Perfect Tense2.1.2. The imperfect tense2.1.3. The imperative
2.2. Participles2.3. Derived verbs
3. Nominal Morphology3.1. Gender3.2. Verbal nouns3.3. The plural3.3.1. Plurals with the suffix in3.3.2. Plurals with the suffix a(t)3.3.3. Internal plurals3.3.3.1. Triconsonantal stems3.3.3.2. Internal plurals of quadriliteral stems3.3.3.3. Mixed plurals
4. Adjectival Morphology4.1. Gender4.2. Agreement between noun and adjective4.3. Number
5. The Nisba6. The diminutive7. The comparative
PART TWO:1. Data description1.1. HVs in the imperfect tense1.2. Verbal Nouns1.3. The causative
2. Data analysis2.1. HVs in the Imperfect Tense2.2. Verbal Nouns2.3. The causative
GENERAL CONCLUSIONREFERENCESAPPENDIXES