Against An Auxiliary-based Categorization of Modals in Jordanian Arabic

Mohammed Ali Malahmeh

Abstract


Abstract

This paper provides a detailed morphosyntactic analysis of modals in Jordanian Arabic (JA henceforth). It is mainly concerned withdefending an alternative perspective of the conventional auxiliary-based categorization of modals in Arabic in general and in JA in particular.Contra to the long-held belief in the literature of Arabic where modals are categorized as auxiliary verbs, the paper shows with empirical evidence that the auxiliary-based analysis fails to account for the inconsistent and non-coherent morphosyntactic behavior of the JA modals laazim‘must’,mumkin/yemkin ‘may/might’ andbigdar ‘can/could’. The paper also shows that only the modal bigdar ‘can/could’ is the closest modal to the auxiliary category in JA. However, the paper argues that such modal should belong to a ‘quasi-auxiliary’ category rather than the ‘conventionalauxiliary’category. 

 

 

 

 

قراءة مغايرة في تصنيف التراكيب الدالة

 على الاحتمال والضرورة في اللهجة الأردنية كأفعال مساعدة

 

 

ملخص

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تقديم قراءة نحوية وصرفية تفسيرية دقيقة للتراكيب الدالة على الضرورة والاحتمال والاستطاعة في اللهجة الأردنية. وقد قدمت الدراسة تصنيفًا نحويًا وصرفيًا مغايرًا  للتصنيف النحوي والصرفي الشائع والذي كان يصنِّف هذه التراكيب كأفعال مساعدة في اللهجة الأردنية واللهجات العربية السابقة. وبخلاف الدراسات السابقة والتي كانت تصنِّف هذه التراكيب كأفعال مساعدة، أظهرت الدراسة أن التصنيف النحوي والصرفي الشائع لهذه التراكيب لا يمكن أن يفسرالنمط النحوي والصرفي لهذه التراكيب (لازم، ممكن وبقدر) والذي يتصف بكونه نسقًا غير مترابط وغير متسق نحويًا وصرفيًا. أما التراكيب الدالة على الاستطاعة، مثل "بقدر"، فقد خَلُصَت الدراسة إلى أن هذه التراكيب هي الأقرب نحويا وصرفيا للأفعال المساعدة في اللهجة الأردنية، وأوصت الدراسة بضرورة تصنيفها تحت مسمى جديد وهو "شبه فعل مساعد" وليس "فعل مساعد" كما هو الحال في التصنيفات النحوية الشائعة.

 


Keywords


Modals, Categorization, Morphosyntactic Features, Jordanian Arabic, Auxiliary Analysis.التراكيب الدالة على الضرورة والاحتمال والاستطاعة، التصنيف النحوي والصرفي، أقسام الكلام، اللهجة الأردنية.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.35682/1756

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