THE SYNTAX OF SENTENTIAL NEGATION IN STANDARD ARABIC AND JAZANI DIALECT

Abstract

Negation in Standard Arabic (SA) and colloquial Arabic dialects is expressed in diverse ways that have led to its being studied extensively by many linguists (e.g., Al-Shurafa & Al-momani 2011; Al-tamari 2001; Benmamoun 2000; Eid 1991; Harrama 1983). This paper highlights the varied syntactic structures of sentential negation in SA and Jazani dialect. The negative marker maa is from SA, while ʃ developed from the word ʃayʔ, which means ‘thing’ (Ouhalla 2002). Benmamoun (2000) stated that ʃ seems to have evolved relatively recently to reinforce the negative maa. This two-negation elements pattern maa and -ʃ do not exist in SA.