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Research Interests:
This study cross-compares three basic phonological approaches to syncope and vowel shortening in Cairene Arabic. The phenomena addressed have been examined within the rule-based, autosegmental and Optimality Theory frameworks with the aim... more
This study cross-compares three basic phonological approaches to syncope and vowel shortening in Cairene Arabic. The phenomena addressed have been examined within the rule-based, autosegmental and Optimality Theory frameworks with the aim of assessing the effectiveness and shortcomings of using inviolable rules vis-à-vis universal violable constraints. Findings show that the strict application of the general rules and principles within the rule-based and autosegmental approaches often results in some ill-formed output. This, therefore, rationalizes the frequent resort to language-specific rules to account for particular grammatical constructions. Optimality Theory, on the other hand, compels no language-specific restrictions on the input as the optimal form is not emanated by principles or parameters. Rather, it is derived by satisfying the maximum number or incurring the least violations of the relevant universal constraints. Accordingly, principles and generalizations are expresse...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study aimed at explicating the use of tense and aspect in the academic writing of Arab L2 learners of English. The scope was restricted to two absolute tenses (simple present and simple past), perfective and imperfective aspects, and... more
This study aimed at explicating the use of tense and aspect in the academic writing of Arab L2 learners of English. The scope was restricted to two absolute tenses (simple present and simple past), perfective and imperfective aspects, and verb-form errors arising from the deletion or addition of the third person singular-s besides the omission of copula and auxiliary verbs. The study was conducted on the basis of a comparative, quantitative analysis of the target forms between a learner corpus and a similar-sized native one. In pursuing and achieving the stated objectives, it also concentrated on the types and sources of the tense, aspect and verb form errors in learners’ performance. In addition to the significant disparity between the two corpora in terms of the frequency count and percentage of most of the target forms, the findings confirmed learners’ tendency to use more verbs than native speakers. Results also showed that learners’ use of the preterit (simple past), and perfec...
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study seeks to explore the use of inflation and over-assertion devices, verbal voices and polyphonic visibility in L2 learners' and native speakers' academic writing. For specific contrastive goals, special attention has... more
This study seeks to explore the use of inflation and over-assertion devices, verbal voices and polyphonic visibility in L2 learners' and native speakers' academic writing. For specific contrastive goals, special attention has been paid to hedges and downtoners. ...
Research Interests:
This study presents a constraint-based analysis of Jordanian Arabic phonotactics within the Optimality Theory framework. The corpus providing the database for the study is restricted to Karak Arabic, a variety spoken in the Karak... more
This study presents a constraint-based analysis of Jordanian Arabic phonotactics within the Optimality Theory framework. The corpus providing the database for the study is restricted to Karak Arabic, a variety spoken in the Karak Governorate in the middle part of Jordan. Historically and geographically, Karak Arabic belongs to Levantine Arabic varieties spoken in what was known as Greater Syria. The variety under analysis distinguishes itself from most other Arabic or even Jordanian varieties in several features. Chief among them are the opacity in word final non-geminate complex codas, the adherence of complex codas to the Sonority Sequencing Principle, and the presence of a rarely found ultra-heavy syllable. In spite of the shared approach, this paper, to a great extent, deviates from other studies conducted on some Levantine dialects (Adra, 1999; Abuabbas, 2003, to name but two) in some core arguments and analytical procedures, which are, consequently, reflected in the type and r...
Research Interests:
This study aims to expound on case licensing and word order alternation in Standard Arabic within the optimality theory framework. To these ends, preand post-verbal DPs in both SV and VS word orders, along with DPs in verbless sentences... more
This study aims to expound on case licensing and word order alternation in Standard Arabic within the optimality theory framework. To these ends, preand post-verbal DPs in both SV and VS word orders, along with DPs in verbless sentences and in isolation have been considered. Findings reveal, among other things, that NOM, which is the default case in Standard Arabic, is assigned to all DPs in isolation and verbless sentences, and to preverbal DPs in SV patterns. This study also purports that DPs in SV orders are basegenerated in Spec TP while they are base-generated in Spec VP in VS patterns. Accordingly, the SV structure is not derived from the VS pattern by A-movement. Rather, they are derived from two distinct patterns as the movement of the preverbal DPs in SV order is incompatible with the A-movement analysis.
Research Interests:
In spite of the intensive research on Austin's Speech Acts Theory and Burke's Motive Theory over the past few decades, it is still hardly enough to find any piece of literature devoted to explore the areas of convergence and... more
In spite of the intensive research on Austin's Speech Acts Theory and Burke's Motive Theory over the past few decades, it is still hardly enough to find any piece of literature devoted to explore the areas of convergence and divergence between these theories. So, this paper aims to fill in the gap by exploring the degree of isomorphism between the two theories concerning the relationship between text and meaning, and how a text can be interpreted using Austin's locutionary forces and Burke's pentad. Findings show that no matter how different Austin and Burke seem to be, they still share the same underlying logic of what meaning is and how it governs our actions. Burke reinforces Austin's and Searle's notion of relativity. Austin and Searle, on the other hand, reinforce Burke's notion of permanent change.
Research Interests:
Perhaps rarely is there any piece of Pre-Islamic Arabic literature where color features more strongly and less naturally than in Antara’s poetry. Therefore, the intended message of color in Antara’s poetry is adequately understood... more
Perhaps rarely is there any piece of Pre-Islamic Arabic literature where color features more strongly and less naturally than in Antara’s poetry. Therefore, the intended message of color in Antara’s poetry is adequately understood inasmuch as the pragmatic implicatures of color are worked out. Evidence in literature explicitly attributes Antara’s extraordinary concern with color to the dramatic impact of his dark complexion, which is, in turn, closely reflected in his careful choice of the lexical elements and black poetic images and metaphors throughout his poetic works. However, none of the previous attempts, devoted to analyzing his poetry, has pointed to the possibility of the involvement of pragmatics, pretext or abstract context in the interpretation of color. That is, color has been always interpreted literally in all the previous studies devoted to exploring Antara’s poetry. This article argues that much of the message of color in Antara’s works goes beyond the natural or li...
Research Interests:
This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intra- sentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual Jordanian Ar-... more
This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intra- sentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual Jordanian Ar- abic-English students pursuing their higher education at Arizona State Universi- ty. Findings show that participants don't accept switching into another language after a grammatical morpheme. The more the morpheme is dependent on the fol- lowing lexical item, the less language switching is acceptable. The study also re- veals that the participant's general attitude towards code-switching and the peri- od of time s/he has been exposed to language switching influence his/her evalua- tion and acceptance of utterances featuring code-switching.
Research Interests:
This study provides data-driven insights and analyses on lexical and post-lexical resyllabification in Standard Arabic within the framework of Optimality Theory. More particularly, the study is devoted to examining the impact of... more
This study provides data-driven insights and analyses on lexical and post-lexical resyllabification in Standard Arabic within the framework of Optimality Theory. More particularly, the study is devoted to examining the impact of prosthesis, voweled letters, affixation, and vowel epenthesis and shortening on resyllabification processes within words and across word boundaries. Results show that Standard Arabic typically makes use of prothesized non-phonemic segments, voweled letters and epenthesis to avoid inadmissible clusters. Findings also reveal that in certain cases this variety shortens long vowels to avoid lexical and post-lexical trimoraic syllables. Moreover, the data provided have well proven that complex codas resulting from the deletion of word-final short vowels or nunation utterance finally do not often adhere to the Sonority Sequencing Principle.
Research Interests:
This study aimed at explicating the use of tense and aspect in the academic writing of Arab L2 learners of English. The scope was restricted to two absolute tenses (simple present and simple past), perfective and imperfective aspects, and... more
This study aimed at explicating the use of tense and aspect in the academic writing of Arab L2 learners of English. The scope was restricted to two absolute tenses (simple present and simple past), perfective and imperfective aspects, and verb-form errors arising from the deletion or addition of the third person singulars besides the omission of copula and auxiliary verbs. The study was conducted on the basis of a comparative, quantitative analysis of the target forms between a learner corpus and a similar-sized native one. In pursuing and achieving the stated objectives, it also concentrated on the types and sources of the tense, aspect and verb form errors in learners' performance. In addition to the significant disparity between the two corpora in terms of the frequency count and percentage of most of the target forms, the findings confirmed learners' tendency to use more verbs than native speakers. Results also showed that learners' use of the preterit (simple past), and perfective and imperfective aspects were largely constrained by their L1 grammar and semantic interpretation of verbs (independent of the target language norm). Moreover, the findings revealed some common inconsistent erroneous forms attributed to the omission or addition of the third person singulars and the omission of copula and auxiliary verbs. Several main factors were identified as potentially responsible for learners' errors, that is, inconsistency inherent in L2 rules, learners' limited exposure to (authentic) L2, overgeneralization, redundancy reduction, and language transfer. The findings suggest the need to introduce appropriate pedagogical methods to best present the target language rules.
Research Interests:
This study presents a corpus-based investigation of how Arab students of English use modality in academic writing. Although the primary focus of the study is on the writing of Arab L2 learners, regular comparisons have been conducted with... more
This study presents a corpus-based investigation of how Arab students of English use modality in academic writing. Although the primary focus of the study is on the writing of Arab L2 learners, regular comparisons have been conducted with native-speakers' writing with the aim of delineating the areas of similarities and differences between the two groups (leaners and native speakers). Furthermore, in an attempt to check whether the features characterizing the use of modality in Arab L2 academic writing is part of a general tendency or an idiosyncratic creation that exclusively applies to Arab students of English, results have been frequently checked against some other relevant studies. The study reveals a gap between native speakers and learners in terms of the frequency count of the modals used. Findings also show that many of the modality features used in the learner corpus reflect a general tendency on the part of most L2 learners. Yet, some other features, including the overuse of 'must', 'can' and 'should' and the underuse of the epistemic modals 'may', 'might', 'would', and 'could', are likely to be attributed to both learners' general tendency and L1 rhetoric, where certainty-oriented and collectivistic-oriented styles prevail.
Research Interests:
This study cross-compares three basic phonological approaches to syncope and vowel shortening in Cairene Arabic. The phenomena addressed have been examined within the rule-based, autosegmental and Optimality Theory frameworks with the aim... more
This study cross-compares three basic phonological approaches to syncope and vowel shortening in Cairene Arabic. The phenomena addressed have been examined within the rule-based, autosegmental and Optimality Theory frameworks with the aim of assessing the effectiveness and shortcomings of using inviolable rules vis-à-vis universal violable constraints. Findings show that the strict application of the general rules and principles within the rule-based and autosegmental approaches often results in some ill-formed output. This, therefore, rationalizes the frequent resort to language-specific rules to account for particular grammatical constructions. Optimality Theory, on the other hand, compels no language-specific restrictions on the input as the optimal form is not emanated by principles or parameters. Rather, it is derived by satisfying the maximum number or incurring the least violations of the relevant universal constraints. Accordingly, principles and generalizations are expressed more straightforwardly and economically with the constraint-based approach of Optimality Theory.
Research Interests:
This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intrasentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual Jordanian... more
This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intrasentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual Jordanian Arabic-English students pursuing their higher education at Arizona State University. Findings show that participants don't accept switching into another language after a grammatical morpheme. The more the morpheme is dependent on the fol- lowing lexical item, the less language switching is acceptable. The study also reveals that the participant’s general attitude towards code-switching and the period of time s/he has been exposed to language switching influence his/her evaluation and acceptance of utterances featuring code-switching.
Research Interests:
This study aims to expound on case licensing and word order alternation in Standard Arabic within the optimality theory framework. To these ends, pre-and post-verbal DPs in both SV and VS word orders, along with DPs in verbless sentences... more
This study aims to expound on case licensing and word order alternation in Standard Arabic within the optimality theory framework. To these ends, pre-and post-verbal DPs in both SV and VS word orders, along with DPs in verbless sentences and in isolation have been considered. Findings reveal, among other things, that NOM, which is the default case in Standard Arabic, is assigned to all DPs in isolation and verbless sentences, and to preverbal DPs in SV patterns. This study also purports that DPs in SV orders are base-generated in Spec TP while they are base-generated in Spec VP in VS patterns. Accordingly, the SV structure is not derived from the VS pattern by A-movement. Rather, they are derived from two distinct patterns as the movement of the preverbal DPs in SV order is incompatible with the A-movement analysis.
Research Interests:
Perhaps rarely is there any piece of Pre-Islamic Arabic literature where color features more strongly and less naturally than in Antara’s poetry. Therefore, the intended message of color in Antara’s poetry is adequately understood... more
Perhaps rarely is there any piece of Pre-Islamic Arabic literature where color features more strongly and less naturally than in Antara’s poetry. Therefore, the intended message of color in Antara’s poetry is adequately understood inasmuch as the pragmatic implicatures of color are worked out. Evidence in literature explicitly attributes Antara’s extraordinary concern with color to the dramatic impact of his dark complexion, which is, in turn, closely reflected in his careful choice of the lexical elements and black poetic images and metaphors throughout his poetic works. However, none of the previous attempts, devoted to analyzing his poetry, has pointed to the possibility of the involvement of pragmatics, pretext or abstract context in the interpretation of color. That is, color has been always interpreted literally in all the previous studies devoted to exploring Antara’s poetry. This article argues that much of the message of color in Antara’s works goes beyond the natural or literal meaning, and thus, much of the color story has not been revealed yet. To this end, an attempt is made here to reveal the color subtext via a psycho-pragmatic construct. Results reveal that Antara skillfully and purposely uses color in an attempt to: (i) alleviate the negative connotations clung to blackness via associating it with all that of precious values, immortality, elegance, eternity and strength and (ii) belittle the prevailing social values associated with whiteness by using it in contexts where blackness outweighs whiteness.
Keywords: Color; Pragmatics; Intention; Non-literal Meaning; Pretext; Thematic Inferencing
Keywords: Color; Pragmatics; Intention; Non-literal Meaning; Pretext; Thematic Inferencing
Research Interests:
This study seeks to explore the use of inflation and over-assertion devices, verbal voices and polyphonic visibility in learners and native speakers’ academic writing. For purposive contrastive goals, special attention has been also paid... more
This study seeks to explore the use of inflation and over-assertion devices, verbal voices and polyphonic visibility in learners and native speakers’ academic writing. For purposive contrastive goals, special attention has been also paid to hedges and downtoners. Deliberate attempts have been made throughout the paper to uncover the reasons underlying the deviation in the learners’ use of the target features. The database for the study consists of two equal-sized corpora, namely, the Interlanguage Corpus of Arab Students of English (ICASE) and a similar size from Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS).
Findings show that learners’ L2 writing is characterized by numerous rhetorical features primarily attributed to L1 influence and learners’ general tendencies. Chief among these features are learners’ overuse of intensifiers, underuse of passive voice, and clear visibility in the text.
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Keywords: rhetoric, intensifiers, hedges, verbal voices, personal pronouns
Findings show that learners’ L2 writing is characterized by numerous rhetorical features primarily attributed to L1 influence and learners’ general tendencies. Chief among these features are learners’ overuse of intensifiers, underuse of passive voice, and clear visibility in the text.
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Keywords: rhetoric, intensifiers, hedges, verbal voices, personal pronouns
Research Interests:
This paper is meant to delineate the syntax of wh-movement in Standard Arabic within the Opti- mality Theory framework. The scope of this study is limited to examine only simple, relativized and indirect verbal information questions.... more
This paper is meant to delineate the syntax of wh-movement in Standard Arabic within the Opti- mality Theory framework. The scope of this study is limited to examine only simple, relativized and indirect verbal information questions. Further restrictions also have been placed on tense and negation in that only past tense affirmative questions are tackled here.
Results show that Standard Arabic strictly adheres to the OP SPEC constraint in the matrix as well as the subordinate clauses. Findings also show that *Prep-Strand violation is intolerable in all types of information questions. Furthermore, the phonological manifestation of the com- plementizer is obligatory when the relative clause head is present or when the relative clause head is deleted and a resumptive pronoun is left behind.
KEYWORDS: Wh-movement; constraints; questions; resumptive pronouns; relative clauses.
Results show that Standard Arabic strictly adheres to the OP SPEC constraint in the matrix as well as the subordinate clauses. Findings also show that *Prep-Strand violation is intolerable in all types of information questions. Furthermore, the phonological manifestation of the com- plementizer is obligatory when the relative clause head is present or when the relative clause head is deleted and a resumptive pronoun is left behind.
KEYWORDS: Wh-movement; constraints; questions; resumptive pronouns; relative clauses.
Research Interests:
In spite of the intensive research on Austin's Speech Acts Theory and Burke's Motive Theory over the past few decades, it is still hardly enough to find any piece of literature devoted to explore the areas of convergence and divergence... more
In spite of the intensive research on Austin's Speech Acts Theory and Burke's Motive Theory over the past few decades, it is still hardly enough to find any piece of literature devoted to explore the areas of convergence and divergence between these theories. So, this paper aims to fill in the gap by exploring the degree of isomorphism between the two theories concerning the relationship between text and meaning, and how a text can be interpreted using Austin’s locutionary forces and Burke’s pentad.
Findings show that no matter how different Austin and Burke seem to be, they still share the same underlying logic of what meaning is and how it governs our actions. Burke reinforces Austin’s and Searle’s notion of relativity. Austin and Searle, on the other hand, reinforce Burke’s notion of permanent change.
Keywords: SpeechActs;Motives;Meaning;Text;Context
Findings show that no matter how different Austin and Burke seem to be, they still share the same underlying logic of what meaning is and how it governs our actions. Burke reinforces Austin’s and Searle’s notion of relativity. Austin and Searle, on the other hand, reinforce Burke’s notion of permanent change.
Keywords: SpeechActs;Motives;Meaning;Text;Context
Research Interests:
Abstract. This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intra- sentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual... more
Abstract. This study investigates the issue of code-switching, particularly, intra- sentential switches, that is, mixing within an utterance. The corpus providing the database of this study comes from the responses of eight bilingual Jordanian Ar- abic-English students pursuing their higher education at Arizona State Universi- ty. Findings show that participants don't accept switching into another language after a grammatical morpheme. The more the morpheme is dependent on the fol- lowing lexical item, the less language switching is acceptable. The study also re- veals that the participant’s general attitude towards code-switching and the peri- od of time s/he has been exposed to language switching influence his/her evalua- tion and acceptance of utterances featuring code-switching.
Research Interests:
This study presents a constraint-based analysis of Jordanian Arabic phonotactics within the Optimality Theory framework. The corpus providing the database for the study is restricted to Karak Arabic, a variety spoken in the Karak... more
This study presents a constraint-based analysis of Jordanian Arabic phonotactics within the Optimality Theory framework. The corpus providing the database for the study is restricted to Karak Arabic, a variety spoken in the Karak Governorate in the middle part of Jordan. Historically and geographically, Karak Arabic belongs to Levantine Arabic varieties spoken in what was known as Greater Syria. The variety under analysis distinguishes itself from most other Arabic or even Jordanian varieties in several features. Chief among them are the opacity in word final non-geminate complex codas, the adherence of complex codas to the Sonority Sequencing Principle, and the presence of a rarely found ultra-heavy syllable. In spite of the shared approach, this paper, to a great extent, deviates from other studies conducted on some Levantine dialects (Adra, 1999; Abuabbas, 2003, to name but two) in some core arguments and analytical procedures, which are, consequently, reflected in the type and ranking of the universal constraints even when handling similar data. The paper presents a thorough analysis of and answers to three major debatable issues: (i) assignment of unlicensed segments to semisyllables, (ii) representation of geminates, and (iii) reduction of unlicensed segments in ultra-heavy syllables by morphology.