Minimal word constraints and possible triggers for suppletion: the "short" imperatives in Arabic
Result description
This contribution examines the class of imperatives in Arabic that form a minimal content word, consisting of a CV structure. These forms are derived from the so-called doubly weak verbs, such as raʔā 'to see' or wafā 'to fulfill', whose regularly formed imperatives are respectively ra and fa. Based on examination of a corpus of historical Arabic (CLAUDia) and present-day Arabic dialects, it is argued that there is an observable tendency to avoid such forms and substitute them by either 1) suppletion of one form (Classical Arabic raʔā ~ unẓur 'look, see') or the whole paradigm (dialectal šāf 'to see' ~ šūf 'see [imp.]') or 2) strengthening the original form by some morphological means, usually employment of the geminated verbal stem (Classical Arabic waqā > waqqā 'to protect', dialectal raʔā > ʔara:/yuri: or warra/yiwarri 'to see'), but also simple extension (ǧiʔ > Morrocan Arabic aži 'come'). Short imperatives of CV structure are thus already strongly disfavored in Classical Arabic, and such forms are almost extinct in modern dialects of Arabic.
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The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
Result on the web
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Minimal word constraints and possible triggers for suppletion: the "short" imperatives in Arabic
Original language description
This contribution examines the class of imperatives in Arabic that form a minimal content word, consisting of a CV structure. These forms are derived from the so-called doubly weak verbs, such as raʔā 'to see' or wafā 'to fulfill', whose regularly formed imperatives are respectively ra and fa. Based on examination of a corpus of historical Arabic (CLAUDia) and present-day Arabic dialects, it is argued that there is an observable tendency to avoid such forms and substitute them by either 1) suppletion of one form (Classical Arabic raʔā ~ unẓur 'look, see') or the whole paradigm (dialectal šāf 'to see' ~ šūf 'see [imp.]') or 2) strengthening the original form by some morphological means, usually employment of the geminated verbal stem (Classical Arabic waqā > waqqā 'to protect', dialectal raʔā > ʔara:/yuri: or warra/yiwarri 'to see'), but also simple extension (ǧiʔ > Morrocan Arabic aži 'come'). Short imperatives of CV structure are thus already strongly disfavored in Classical Arabic, and such forms are almost extinct in modern dialects of Arabic.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60203 - Linguistics
Result continuities
Project
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)
Others
Publication year
2019
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Book/collection name
Diachronic Perspectives on Suppletion
ISBN
978-3-935536-81-3
Number of pages of the result
16
Pages from-to
271-286
Number of pages of the book
288
Publisher name
Baar-Verlag
Place of publication
Hamburg
UT code for WoS chapter
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Basic information
Result type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
OECD FORD
Linguistics
Year of implementation
2019