The Derivation of Vocative Exclamatives with the Particle ʔaya in Gulf Arabic

Ghada Alkuwaihes

doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.11

Abstract

Research into vocative exclamatives (VocEs) is based on the traditional grammar of Standard Arabic (SA) which considers the structure of VocEs to be like that of vocatives due to the use of the vocative particle yā. The problem with this traditional view lies in the fact that it only accounts for VocEs in terms of their similarity to vocatives, and identifies only one type of VocEs with the particle yā that exists in SA. However, other types of VocEs, their underlying structure and derivation have not been given much attention. Therefore, this paper examines the syntactic structure and the derivation of vocative exclamatives in Gulf Arabic with the particle ʔaya which does not exist in SA. It provides an analysis of the data within the Minimalist Framework and sheds light on the main differences between their structure and that of vocatives in terms of definiteness and projection.

Highlights

Exclamatives are a type of sentence that expresses surprise or feelings
This paper argues that vocative exclamatives with ʔaya are derived from a wh-exclamative via ellipsis
The following are examples of common vocative exclamatives found in Gulf Arabic: The above data indicates that vocative exclamatives with the particle ʔaya have a specific structure and syntactic features

Summary

Introduction

Exclamatives are a type of sentence that expresses surprise or feelings. Their structure has not been focused on as much as the structure of interrogatives and declaratives. Researchers, including [15] divided exclamative sentences into two main types based on their syntactic structure: exclamation and exclamative. Since Arabic dialects are not much studied, this research aims at investigating the syntactic structures and properties of vocative exclamatives with the particle ʔaya in Gulf Arabic to enrich the linguistic data. This type of VocEs is worth investigation because it does not exist in SA, and it has not been tackled in the traditional grammar. This paper argues that vocative exclamatives with ʔaya are derived from a wh-exclamative via ellipsis.

Vocatives

Particles

Wh-Exclamatives

Syntactic Properties of Vocative Exclamatives with ʔaya

Proposal

Conclusion