Subject, Theme and Agent in Modern Standard Arabic
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A01=Hussein Abdul-Raof
Agentive Verb
Arab Grammarians
Arabic syntax analysis
Author_Hussein Abdul-Raof
case
Case Frame
Case Marker
case marking in Arabic
Case Roles
Category=GTM
classical
Classical Arab Grammarians
Coreferential Pronoun
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
Extraposed THEMES
Fronted SUBJECTS
functional grammar theory
Genitive Case Marker
grammarians
Higher Animate
information structure linguistics
initial
Initial Constituents
Initial Np
marker
Nominal Constituent
nominative
Nominative Case Marker
noun phrase roles
position
Post-verbal Np
pragmatic functions in Modern Standard Arabic
pronoun
resumptive
Resumptive Pronoun
Semantic Nature
sentence
Sentence Initial Position
Simple Sentence
Subject Np
Subject Suffix
Syntactic SUBJECT
Verbal Suffix
VP NP1
word order variation
Product details
- ISBN 9781138996618
- Weight: 453g
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 09 Jun 2016
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Investigates the universal categories 'subject', 'theme', and 'agent' with special reference to their functional status in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and how these three distinct functions may or may not coincide in Arabic sentences. These functions are inexplicitly characterised by classical and modern Arab linguists and Arabists alike.
It has been found that the pre- (viz. sentence - initial) or post-verbal noun phrase (NP) in Arabic can be assigned the syntactic function 'subject' but may not necessarily assume the semantic function 'agent', that the pre-verbal NP, which may not necessarily be the 'subject', has the pragmatic function 'theme', and that these distinct functions sometimes cluster around a single NP in certain sentences, depending on genre.
It has also been found that in MSA the order of sentence constituents is relatively free, subject to a verb-initial preference, especially when needed to prevent ambiguity.
The present study reveals the fact that although coding features such as word order, case marking, and cross-referencing (viz. agreement) may provide a clear indication of which NPs are 'subjects' in MSA, they do not provide a clear-cut indication of semantic relations such as 'agent'; the 'subject' position in MSA is not necessarily the canonical 'agent' position.
