Abstract
This paper attempts to investigate word order and verbal movement in Moroccan Arabic in the Minimalist framework. We observe that the unmarked word order in MA is SVO while the derived structure is VSO. SVO follows an English-like derivation where the subject moves from [Spec, vP] to [Spec, TP] whilst the verb moves from v to T. This paper raises the issue of the verbal movement when it comes to VSO order in languages that have VSO as the derived order and SVO as the underlying order. To derive VSO, we propose that the verb moves from T to Focus based on pragmatic reasons: verbs positioned in the left-periphery denote new information that is focused compared to SVO. We also test our new proposal against the marginal word orders OSV and OVS and propose that object topicalization is the result of the object moving to [Spec, TopicP] which dominates FocusP. Moreover, we go back to the issue of verbal movement and trace the verbal cyclic movement. We argue that the verb moves from V to v based on the position of the adverb. The verb further moves to T based on the quantifier evidence and feature checking: Focus and T form a complex and probe into v to check [TNS] and [V] features. Moreover, T-to-Focus occurs in wh-constructions except when /lli/ ‘that’ is present. In WH-VO (WH as a wh-subject), the verb stays in T while the wh-subject stays in [Spec, TP]. If /lli/ ‘that’ is present, then the wh-subject is forced to move further to [Spec, FocusP]. In WH-SV, the wh-elements move to [Spec, FocusP] while the subject moves to [Spec, TopicP] and the verb moves to Topic. In WH-VS, the wh-elements move to [Spec, FocusP] while the verb moves to Focus.
Highlights
1 1.1 The Minimalist Program: an Overview The Minimalist Program (MP) is a program that tries to explain the syntactic structures using the principles of simplicity, economy, and parsimony (Chomsky, 1995)
To derive VSO, we propose that the verb moves from T to Focus based on pragmatic reasons: verbs positioned in the left-periphery denote new information that is focused compared to SVO
In WH-SV, the wh-elements move to [Spec, FocusP] while the subject moves to [Spec, TopicP] and the verb moves to Topic
Summary
Considering an Alternative The Minimalist Program aims at realizing the ‘simplest grammar’, which is the main aim of the Generative framework since its emergence in the 1950s. We need to present other word orders that are less commonly used in MA and see if we can retain the analysis proposed in 2.2 Consider the following examples: In both cases, the object /t-tffaħa/ ‘the apple’ is fronted to the left periphery. 3.2 v-to-T Movement Revisited: Feature Checking Throughout the paper we argued for the verbal movement using the adverbial position (for V-to-v movement), floating quantifiers (for v-to-T movement), and VSO/SVO order 10 VSO/SVO order, floating quantifiers, and adverbial position can be considered empirical evidence, feature strength and interpretability are theoretical evidence that give motivations for the movement of the verb. In a sentence like /ħməd kla t-tffaħa/ ‘Ahmed ate the apple’, the verb /kla/ ‘ate’ has the feature [+N] in order to indicate that it requires the object /t-tffaħa/ ‘the apple’. After we talked about the workings of the verb on T, the section revisits the movement of the verb from T to Focus using the word order evidence
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