Dr. Ayoub Loutfi is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Studies at the University of Hassan II-Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Casablanca. He received his PhD/Doctorate from the University of Mohammed V-Rabat in 2017, with a dissertation focusing on the Syntax and Morphology of Arabic. Dr. Loutfi served as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA (2015-2016). His scholarly interests include theoretical linguistics, Interlanguage Pragmatics, and economics and language policy.
الفعل في العربية بين الصرف والدلالة والتركيب, 2024
This paper attempts to argue in favor of a constructionist/syntactic approach to the derivation o... more This paper attempts to argue in favor of a constructionist/syntactic approach to the derivation of verbs in both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. Using the precepts of Distributed Morphology, I argue that the meaning of verbs derives from the syntactic structure in which they are merged. This argument is substantiated by proposing a syntactic decomposition of the traditional VP into three independently motivated heads, principally voice, light v, and the √Root. All other things being equal, the derivation of the different verbal constructions boils down to the featural content of the functional heads: voice and light v.
In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist ... more In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist theories, might not be needed to derive verbal's argument structure. I instead support the hypothesis that a verb's meaning emerges as a result of the syntactic structure in which it is merged and that the role of lexical items/roots reduces to their idiosyncratic encyclopedic content. These two assumptions are executed via adopting the proposal that splits the traditional VP structure into two main functional heads, namely VoiceP and vP, and via endorsing the architectural assumptions advanced in the framework of Distributed Morphology. The main empirical support for this claim comes from verbs that appear in syntactic structures that are not in consonance with their semantic-conceptual content, Arabic varieties that lost their vocalic melodies that would otherwise encode thematic roles, and spray-load alternation. This paper concludes by exploring language-particular processes whose non-applicability goes beyond morphology, the analysis of which supports the role of the Encyclopedia.
This paper explores the nature of the post-syntactic operations responsible for the representatio... more This paper explores the nature of the post-syntactic operations responsible for the representations of the linear order of terminal nodes. In particular, it argues in favor of a unified model of the morphosyntax and morphophonology, wherein the theory of Distributed Morphology and Optimality Theory operate in a single module. The testing ground is an investigation of the formation of morphological causatives in Moroccan Arabic. Herein, the process of realizing causatives is morphological gemination, whereby the second consonant of the root is doubled. Investigating the question of what triggers the infixal process, I argue against the linearization algorithm suggested in Embick & Noyer (2001), Embick & Marantz (2008), and Embick (2006, 2010). Instead, the claim I defend here is that the onus of the linearization process falls on the prosody in Arabic, the central assumption being that the morphosyntactic structure, the output of the syntactic derivation, is the input to OT morphophonological constraints. These constraints are responsible for the linearization of the terminal nodes of the syntactic derivation. I show that adopting one theory over others misses important generalizations about the language.
This paper has a twofold goal. First, it attempts to argue that the circumfixal nature of the neg... more This paper has a twofold goal. First, it attempts to argue that the circumfixal nature of the negative morpheme in Moroccan Arabic supports the existence of impenetrable (cyclic) domains, as in Chomsky's (2001) Derivation by Phase. The second goal is to propose a principled account of the long-standing puzzle of the co-occurrence restriction holding between the post-verbal negative marker {-ʃ} and negative polarity items in an adjacent domain. Applying the precepts of Distributed Morphology, my proposal consists of formalizing this restriction in the form of a general constraint banning the realization of multiple negative morphemes in the same spell-out domain, with the effects being the deletion of the post-verbal negative marker. This is achieved via postulating post-syntactic morphological operations. I show that this prediction is not only borne out in MA but also cross-linguistically.
This paper addresses two issues that characterize the (morpho)-syntax of sentential negation in S... more This paper addresses two issues that characterize the (morpho)-syntax of sentential negation in Standard Arabic (SA) and modern Arabic varieties. The first one is parametric and addresses the location of negation in the clause structure. The second issue concerns the agreement markers realized on the negative particle laysa along with the temporal interpretation that some of the negative markers in SA encode, namely lan and lam. Two views have been contrasted in the literature: the Low-Neg analysis, according to which Neg is the complement of TP, and the High-Neg analysis whereby Neg is higher than T. In this study, I will argue that while the two views account form a good range of empirical facts, Low-Neg analysis lacks empirical adequacy. Similarly, the High-Neg view is hard to reconcile within the Spec-head agreement and the standard Agree approach. However, I will show that the High-Neg analysis can be still maintained under the Feature-Inheritance approach, in which T inherits its ø-features and Tense feature from C.
Journal of Applied Language and Culture Studies, 2018
The present dissertation is a defense of the hypothesis that word formation is syntactic. As its ... more The present dissertation is a defense of the hypothesis that word formation is syntactic. As its title indicates, two lines of investigations are pursued. The first one has to do with clause structure, in which we examine the role of functional heads in determining grammatical processes in both Standard Arabic (SA) and Moroccan Arabic (MA). The functional heads investigated are: VoiceP, vP and NegP. As far as VoiceP and vP are concerned, we explore their role in introducing arguments into verbal argument structures. The effects of the split VP structure proposed are further adumbrated with data from double object constructions, location verbs, causatives, anticausatives and passives. As for NegP, we show how it interacts with TP and CP to derive Subject-Neg agreement and the temporal interpretation associated with lam and lan in SA. We take these two properties to be explained using Chomsky’s (2005) Feature Inheritance mechanism.
The other formal line of investigation concerns word formation, in which we investigate the mechanisms whereby morphologically simplex and complex words are formed. The claim we defend here is that the structure below the word level and the structure above the word level are derived using the same formal syntactic rules. For example, negation in MA supports the assumption that word structure and syntactic structure share the same general formal properties. In this regard, we provide an analysis of the distribution of the discontinuous negative morpheme and the co-occurrence restriction that holds between {-ʃ} and Negative Polarity Items. For the former, it is shown that the distribution of negation supports the existence of syntactic phenomenon at the word level, namely the existence of phase-by-phase Spell-Out. For the latter, a general context-sensitive constraint is developed to capture this generalization, which is shown to be an instance of Syntactic Haplology.
In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist ... more In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist theories, might not be needed to derive verbal’s argument structure. Instead, I support the hypothesis that verbs’ meaning emerges as a result of the syntactic structure in which they are merged and that the role of lexical items/roots reduces to their idiosyncratic encyclopedic content. These two assumptions are executed via adopting the proposal that splits the traditional VP structure into two main functional heads, namely VoiceP and vP, and via endorsing the architectural assumptions advanced in the framework of Distributed Morphology. The main empirical support to this claim comes from verbs that appear in syntactic structures that are not in consonance with their semantic-conceptual content, Arabic varieties that lost their vocalic melodies that otherwise encode thematic roles, and spray-load alternation. This paper concludes by exploring language-particular processes whose non-applicability goes beyond morphology, the analysis of which supports the role of the Encyclopedia.
This study is an investigation of the formation of the morphological causative in Moroccan Arabic... more This study is an investigation of the formation of the morphological causative in Moroccan Arabic à la Optimality Theory. The process realizing this construction is morphological gemination, whereby the second consonant of the root is doubled (e.g. ktəb ~ kəttəb). What is puzzling is why the process of gemination/infixing reduplication invariably targets the second consonant, excluding ill-formed words such as *kktəb and *ktəbb. The claim defended here is that the linearization of the causative morpheme in MA is the result of phonological well-formedness interacting with the morphological process of causativization, with the resulting affixal process being infixation. This phenomenon is shown to be an example of the Emergence of the Unmarked (McCarthy and Prince, 1994; Alderete et al. 1996, 1997), wherein the otherwise inactive markedness constraint *COMPLEXONSET in the language bears the burden of the explanation. The strength of the analysis suggested herein resides in the treatment of the infixal process as resulting from simple and universal constraints. This primarily achieved through well-motivated demands on prosodic well-formedness without reference to language-particular templatic patterns. This is coupled with a systematic explanation of why reduplicants tend to be of unmarked structure, a state of affairs of which argues in favor of the universality of OT constraints.
Turkish International Journal of Special Education and Guidance & Counseling, 2023
In 2022, the new minister of Moroccan Higher Education and Scientific Research amended the LMD (L... more In 2022, the new minister of Moroccan Higher Education and Scientific Research amended the LMD (License, Master, Doctorate) system to ensure the implementation of soft skills (Miraoui, 2022). As soft skills gain greater recognition in education reform, this study aimed to examine how EFL students at the Ben Msik faculty of Letters and Humanities perceive the role of these skills. The study involved conducting a focus group interview with 22 students from this faculty in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco to gather insights. Based on the students' responses, the five most significant soft skill development strategies to be incorporated into EFL classrooms were discussions and debates, voluntary work and community service, virtual platforms and exchange, making presentations, and projects.
Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 2023
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the Englis... more This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track in preparing students for the job market in Morocco. A questionnaire survey was conducted with alumni of the program to assess the extent to which the program facilitated their employment, career advancement, and fulfillment of professional expectations. The results revealed that involving alumni in the development and renewal of the track is crucial. However, a significant number of participants expressed dissatisfaction with the current curriculum, citing difficulties in professional integration. The findings suggest that incorporating practical training and offering more elective courses could better equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the job market. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing the English studies track, including the routine evaluation of academic programs to align with market needs and promote curriculum changes and innovations. It is believed that these recommendations will ultimately improve students' professional integration in the job market.
Dar Al Mawsoua, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fes, Morocco, 2022
This paper explores students' attitudes, use, and motivation toward using WhatsApp as a learning ... more This paper explores students' attitudes, use, and motivation toward using WhatsApp as a learning application in their studies. Using a five-point Likert scale survey as our datagathering device, students were assessed on the basis of six parameters. These are Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Computer self-efficacy, Attitude, Intention to use, and Frequency of use. 142 students participated in this study. To get a holistic view of students' perceptions and attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp as a learning application, we targeted different age groups and students from different semesters and universities in Morocco. The findings reveal that students use WhatsApp for educational purposes. In particular, they find WhatsApp to be useful, user-friendly, and fun. They also expressed willingness and interest in using it in their formal learning. The paper concludes with raising a few concerns and suggesting some possible future research.
The International Journal of Applied Language Studies and Culture, 2021
This article purports to examine how the expectations of the educational reforms in Moroccan high... more This article purports to examine how the expectations of the educational reforms in Moroccan higher education have impacted the teaching and testing of tertiary level grammar. In particular, the hypothesis we defend here is that teaching and testing tertiary level grammar remain constant; therefore, the impact of the various reforms on tertiary level testing is of little consequence. In pursuance of this aim, this paper uses a qualitative approach and content analysis method of the course descriptions of the grammar courses that were suggested across the various reforms. The course descriptions we attempt to analyze are adopted in the English Studies tracks of four major departments in Moroccan universities. The main dimensions that we look at and examine here as the measures for our comparative evaluation are; course objectives, time allotted, the syllabi they contain, teaching methodology, and evaluation modes. The findings confirm that the various reforms, have had little impact on the teaching and testing of grammar in higher education. The paper concludes by suggesting a few pedagogical recommendations vis-à-vis the teaching and testing of grammar in Moroccan Departments of English studies.
Chomsky’s generative paradigm has swept through and informed linguistic research and hence all li... more Chomsky’s generative paradigm has swept through and informed linguistic research and hence all linguistic subfields. The field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has not been exempted from this ostensible invasion. Yet, research conducted within this new paradigm has focused only on exploring and teaching formal grammatical forms; other components of linguistic competence, namely Pragmatics, have been pushed to the edges. More recently (Kasper & Blum-Kulka, 1993; Kasper, 1992; Ishihara & Cohen, 2010 among others), however, a growing interest in the effects of culture and native language on the development of the learners’ L2 has brought into focus the fact that for non-native speakers/ L2 learners to achieve a fully-fledged competence in the target language, they have, of necessity, to consider the sociocultural and pragmatic aspects of the target language. For this reason, the present paper is couched within the area of Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP), the aim being to address the issue of the role of pragmatic competence in SLA in general and, more particularly, in a Moroccan EFL context. Conducted within the framework of the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP), this study, then, purports to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into the Interlanguage of Moroccan learners of English, particularly when these learners make requests in English. The two main hypotheses that the present paper attempts to defend are: (i) pragmatic transfer is observable in the English requests produced by Moroccan learners of English, both from a Pragmalinguistic and Sociopragmatic perspective; (ii) L2 pragmatic competence acquisition is still wanting among Moroccan advanced students. The participants involved in this study are Moroccan university learners of English (second year and third year) and native speakers of English whose production of the speech act of request is compared. Finally, this study will further attempt to explore whether or not formal education plays a role in pragmatic competence. The paper concludes with some pedagogical implications.
The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant ... more The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant development, with a concomitant impact on the quality of education and training. The drive is mostly due to the rapidly changing world characterized by globalization and the result of openings on other fields of research. One area that has informed this field is the teaching of L2 pragmatic competence, with the commonly expressed generalization being that there is a gap between what research in pragmatics has found and how language is generally taught today (Ishihara & Cohen, 2010). On this view, this paper purports to investigate the role of pragmatic competence in the teaching of English. We provide evidence that language proficiency should not only be equated with grammatical well-formedness, but also with how to use it appropriately and efficiently in the target language. This being the case, however, we will show that the implementation of this view is far from being easy, especially in a trend that has for long been characterized by a focus on the grammatical competence, both in terms of training and curriculum design. This is paired with a similar difficulty in terms of how to translate the pragmatically-based approach into L2 classroom practices and how to identify modes of assessment. Addressing these issues, we believe, will shed light on some of the challenges and implications on the teaching of English along with the applicability of the suggested approach to the current ELT reform in the Arab world in general and in Morocco in particular.
La Revue Marocaine de la Pensée Contemporaine, Jul 1, 2020
The present paper addresses the issue of language policy and language planning in Morocco. In par... more The present paper addresses the issue of language policy and language planning in Morocco. In particular, it argues that there is a lack of a clear language planning strategy that is based on a sound political, socioeconomic , ideological and academic justification. This problem has resulted in an inconsistent education approach, creating an incompatibility between different levels of education (e.g. high schools vs. universities), social classes (e.g. low class vs. middle/high class) and professional environments (e.g. academia vs. job market). For this reason, we suggest that three elements need to be integrated into any language planning effort. These are Literacy Prestige, Economic Prestige and Academic/Scientific Prestige.
English has undeniably become the lingua franca of the world. Indeed, it has become, so to speak,... more English has undeniably become the lingua franca of the world. Indeed, it has become, so to speak, the predominant language of globalization. Likewise, English has managed to infiltrate into the Moroccan linguistic market. The present paper, then, brings to the fore the historical overview of the spread of English in Morocco. More specifically, it is going to trace back the three major historical stages that English has gone through in the Moroccan territory, namely: the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial. To meet this end, the paper seeks to answer the following questions: (i) what are the historical stages of the English spread in Morocco? (ii) When and how English was introduced to the Moroccan linguistic market? (iii) What are the motivations that lie behind the spread of English in Morocco?
The International Journal of Applied Language Studies and Culture, 2020
The linguistic market in Morocco has been characterized by its richness and complexity in that a ... more The linguistic market in Morocco has been characterized by its richness and complexity in that a number of local as well as foreign languages co-exist. Given this multiplicity and diversity in its linguistic landscape, Morocco has opted for Arabization as a language policy in education, its ultimate goal being, as it were, to safeguard and maintain its national identity (Ennaji, 2003). Achieving this goal, however, is far from being without glaring shortcomings. Arabization has, inter alia, marginalized mother tongues, the latter being relegated to daily communication only with a devalued and denigrated status. On this view, the present paper brings to the fore the status of languages in use in Morocco and, more precisely, will bring into focus the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues. What is more, the study attempts to shed light on the Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues. In pursuance of this aim, the study will address the following research questions, principally (i) What is the status of Arabic in Morocco? (ii) What is the nature of Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues, namely Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan Amazigh? (iii) What is the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues in Morocco?
The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into th... more The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into the interlanguage of Moroccan learners of English, namely when these learners make requests in English. More specifically, this study seeks to compare the average frequencies of direct and indirect strategies used by both native Moroccan English as a foreign language learners and native English speakers. Finally, this study will further attempt to explore whether transfer decreases as the study level increases, namely the case of the Moroccan EFL university learners at the first and the third level of University. A number of sixty subjects take part in the present study. They are divided into two groups. The first group involves the Moroccan learners of English who in turn bifurcated into two groups of academic level: Second Year (N=20) and Third year (N=20). The subjects in the second group are 20 native speakers of English. In order to answer the research questions addressed in this study, the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) is adopted. This DCT provides the subjects with a number of seven situations in which different situations are controlled, namely social distance, power relation, and the degree of imposition. A Moroccan Arabic DCT is also used in order to examine how Moroccan students perform requests in their mother tongues. The results reveal that evidence of pragmatic transfer is found in the requests produced by Moroccan learners of English. Thus, the first hypothesis is confirmed. The second finding is that academic level does not play a major role in pragmatic ability. For this fact, the second research hypothesis is rejected in favor of the null hypothesis drawing the conclusion that pragmatic transfer is not related to academic level. To sum up the whole, a number of research and pedagogical implications are suggested.
This book is a study of the verbal system of Arabic, both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Ara... more This book is a study of the verbal system of Arabic, both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. In particular, it develops a theory of the syntax-morphology interface under the purview of the Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology, the ultimate purpose being to explore the claim that syntax is the only generative mechanism responsible for the formation of words, phrases and sentences. The bulk of the relevant evidence coming from the derivation of verbs, causative formation, passive and anticausative constructions seem to substantiate a number of the claims the theory of DM espouses, most important of which is that there is no generative lexicon. The work also advances the major claim that DM and Optimality Theory can operate in a single grammar. The book is assumed to target a wide range of audience, among whom students, teachers of Arabic, typologists, and theoretical linguists are only ones.
Journal of Applied Language and Culture Studies, 2019
This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis of the representation of rape within the Moroccan cul... more This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis of the representation of rape within the Moroccan culture. In particular, it attempts to show the constitutive role of language when it comes to people's (verbal) reaction to rape incidents in social networking sites, namely Facebook and YouTube. This is achieved by analyzing the language used as a reaction to the recent attempted sexual assault incidents taking place in different areas in Morocco, with the aim being to depict the linguistic and discursive features via which gender-discriminatory ideologies are circulated and reinforced in these e-platforms. The discursive strategies analyzed show how women who are victims of rape are subjected to another subtler form of violence-verbal violence-in social media. The data gathered herein have affirmed our gendered performances, unravelling some culturally powerful definitions of social reality/practices, where women are still held responsible for men's sexual aggression. The implications of this study have far-reaching consequences, most important of which is that they will deepen our understanding of the structuring effects of language.
الفعل في العربية بين الصرف والدلالة والتركيب, 2024
This paper attempts to argue in favor of a constructionist/syntactic approach to the derivation o... more This paper attempts to argue in favor of a constructionist/syntactic approach to the derivation of verbs in both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. Using the precepts of Distributed Morphology, I argue that the meaning of verbs derives from the syntactic structure in which they are merged. This argument is substantiated by proposing a syntactic decomposition of the traditional VP into three independently motivated heads, principally voice, light v, and the √Root. All other things being equal, the derivation of the different verbal constructions boils down to the featural content of the functional heads: voice and light v.
In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist ... more In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist theories, might not be needed to derive verbal's argument structure. I instead support the hypothesis that a verb's meaning emerges as a result of the syntactic structure in which it is merged and that the role of lexical items/roots reduces to their idiosyncratic encyclopedic content. These two assumptions are executed via adopting the proposal that splits the traditional VP structure into two main functional heads, namely VoiceP and vP, and via endorsing the architectural assumptions advanced in the framework of Distributed Morphology. The main empirical support for this claim comes from verbs that appear in syntactic structures that are not in consonance with their semantic-conceptual content, Arabic varieties that lost their vocalic melodies that would otherwise encode thematic roles, and spray-load alternation. This paper concludes by exploring language-particular processes whose non-applicability goes beyond morphology, the analysis of which supports the role of the Encyclopedia.
This paper explores the nature of the post-syntactic operations responsible for the representatio... more This paper explores the nature of the post-syntactic operations responsible for the representations of the linear order of terminal nodes. In particular, it argues in favor of a unified model of the morphosyntax and morphophonology, wherein the theory of Distributed Morphology and Optimality Theory operate in a single module. The testing ground is an investigation of the formation of morphological causatives in Moroccan Arabic. Herein, the process of realizing causatives is morphological gemination, whereby the second consonant of the root is doubled. Investigating the question of what triggers the infixal process, I argue against the linearization algorithm suggested in Embick & Noyer (2001), Embick & Marantz (2008), and Embick (2006, 2010). Instead, the claim I defend here is that the onus of the linearization process falls on the prosody in Arabic, the central assumption being that the morphosyntactic structure, the output of the syntactic derivation, is the input to OT morphophonological constraints. These constraints are responsible for the linearization of the terminal nodes of the syntactic derivation. I show that adopting one theory over others misses important generalizations about the language.
This paper has a twofold goal. First, it attempts to argue that the circumfixal nature of the neg... more This paper has a twofold goal. First, it attempts to argue that the circumfixal nature of the negative morpheme in Moroccan Arabic supports the existence of impenetrable (cyclic) domains, as in Chomsky's (2001) Derivation by Phase. The second goal is to propose a principled account of the long-standing puzzle of the co-occurrence restriction holding between the post-verbal negative marker {-ʃ} and negative polarity items in an adjacent domain. Applying the precepts of Distributed Morphology, my proposal consists of formalizing this restriction in the form of a general constraint banning the realization of multiple negative morphemes in the same spell-out domain, with the effects being the deletion of the post-verbal negative marker. This is achieved via postulating post-syntactic morphological operations. I show that this prediction is not only borne out in MA but also cross-linguistically.
This paper addresses two issues that characterize the (morpho)-syntax of sentential negation in S... more This paper addresses two issues that characterize the (morpho)-syntax of sentential negation in Standard Arabic (SA) and modern Arabic varieties. The first one is parametric and addresses the location of negation in the clause structure. The second issue concerns the agreement markers realized on the negative particle laysa along with the temporal interpretation that some of the negative markers in SA encode, namely lan and lam. Two views have been contrasted in the literature: the Low-Neg analysis, according to which Neg is the complement of TP, and the High-Neg analysis whereby Neg is higher than T. In this study, I will argue that while the two views account form a good range of empirical facts, Low-Neg analysis lacks empirical adequacy. Similarly, the High-Neg view is hard to reconcile within the Spec-head agreement and the standard Agree approach. However, I will show that the High-Neg analysis can be still maintained under the Feature-Inheritance approach, in which T inherits its ø-features and Tense feature from C.
Journal of Applied Language and Culture Studies, 2018
The present dissertation is a defense of the hypothesis that word formation is syntactic. As its ... more The present dissertation is a defense of the hypothesis that word formation is syntactic. As its title indicates, two lines of investigations are pursued. The first one has to do with clause structure, in which we examine the role of functional heads in determining grammatical processes in both Standard Arabic (SA) and Moroccan Arabic (MA). The functional heads investigated are: VoiceP, vP and NegP. As far as VoiceP and vP are concerned, we explore their role in introducing arguments into verbal argument structures. The effects of the split VP structure proposed are further adumbrated with data from double object constructions, location verbs, causatives, anticausatives and passives. As for NegP, we show how it interacts with TP and CP to derive Subject-Neg agreement and the temporal interpretation associated with lam and lan in SA. We take these two properties to be explained using Chomsky’s (2005) Feature Inheritance mechanism.
The other formal line of investigation concerns word formation, in which we investigate the mechanisms whereby morphologically simplex and complex words are formed. The claim we defend here is that the structure below the word level and the structure above the word level are derived using the same formal syntactic rules. For example, negation in MA supports the assumption that word structure and syntactic structure share the same general formal properties. In this regard, we provide an analysis of the distribution of the discontinuous negative morpheme and the co-occurrence restriction that holds between {-ʃ} and Negative Polarity Items. For the former, it is shown that the distribution of negation supports the existence of syntactic phenomenon at the word level, namely the existence of phase-by-phase Spell-Out. For the latter, a general context-sensitive constraint is developed to capture this generalization, which is shown to be an instance of Syntactic Haplology.
In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist ... more In this paper, I argue in favor of the view that a generative lexicon, as advanced in lexicalist theories, might not be needed to derive verbal’s argument structure. Instead, I support the hypothesis that verbs’ meaning emerges as a result of the syntactic structure in which they are merged and that the role of lexical items/roots reduces to their idiosyncratic encyclopedic content. These two assumptions are executed via adopting the proposal that splits the traditional VP structure into two main functional heads, namely VoiceP and vP, and via endorsing the architectural assumptions advanced in the framework of Distributed Morphology. The main empirical support to this claim comes from verbs that appear in syntactic structures that are not in consonance with their semantic-conceptual content, Arabic varieties that lost their vocalic melodies that otherwise encode thematic roles, and spray-load alternation. This paper concludes by exploring language-particular processes whose non-applicability goes beyond morphology, the analysis of which supports the role of the Encyclopedia.
This study is an investigation of the formation of the morphological causative in Moroccan Arabic... more This study is an investigation of the formation of the morphological causative in Moroccan Arabic à la Optimality Theory. The process realizing this construction is morphological gemination, whereby the second consonant of the root is doubled (e.g. ktəb ~ kəttəb). What is puzzling is why the process of gemination/infixing reduplication invariably targets the second consonant, excluding ill-formed words such as *kktəb and *ktəbb. The claim defended here is that the linearization of the causative morpheme in MA is the result of phonological well-formedness interacting with the morphological process of causativization, with the resulting affixal process being infixation. This phenomenon is shown to be an example of the Emergence of the Unmarked (McCarthy and Prince, 1994; Alderete et al. 1996, 1997), wherein the otherwise inactive markedness constraint *COMPLEXONSET in the language bears the burden of the explanation. The strength of the analysis suggested herein resides in the treatment of the infixal process as resulting from simple and universal constraints. This primarily achieved through well-motivated demands on prosodic well-formedness without reference to language-particular templatic patterns. This is coupled with a systematic explanation of why reduplicants tend to be of unmarked structure, a state of affairs of which argues in favor of the universality of OT constraints.
Turkish International Journal of Special Education and Guidance & Counseling, 2023
In 2022, the new minister of Moroccan Higher Education and Scientific Research amended the LMD (L... more In 2022, the new minister of Moroccan Higher Education and Scientific Research amended the LMD (License, Master, Doctorate) system to ensure the implementation of soft skills (Miraoui, 2022). As soft skills gain greater recognition in education reform, this study aimed to examine how EFL students at the Ben Msik faculty of Letters and Humanities perceive the role of these skills. The study involved conducting a focus group interview with 22 students from this faculty in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco to gather insights. Based on the students' responses, the five most significant soft skill development strategies to be incorporated into EFL classrooms were discussions and debates, voluntary work and community service, virtual platforms and exchange, making presentations, and projects.
Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 2023
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the Englis... more This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the sixth semester of applied linguistics in the English studies track in preparing students for the job market in Morocco. A questionnaire survey was conducted with alumni of the program to assess the extent to which the program facilitated their employment, career advancement, and fulfillment of professional expectations. The results revealed that involving alumni in the development and renewal of the track is crucial. However, a significant number of participants expressed dissatisfaction with the current curriculum, citing difficulties in professional integration. The findings suggest that incorporating practical training and offering more elective courses could better equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the job market. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing the English studies track, including the routine evaluation of academic programs to align with market needs and promote curriculum changes and innovations. It is believed that these recommendations will ultimately improve students' professional integration in the job market.
Dar Al Mawsoua, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fes, Morocco, 2022
This paper explores students' attitudes, use, and motivation toward using WhatsApp as a learning ... more This paper explores students' attitudes, use, and motivation toward using WhatsApp as a learning application in their studies. Using a five-point Likert scale survey as our datagathering device, students were assessed on the basis of six parameters. These are Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Computer self-efficacy, Attitude, Intention to use, and Frequency of use. 142 students participated in this study. To get a holistic view of students' perceptions and attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp as a learning application, we targeted different age groups and students from different semesters and universities in Morocco. The findings reveal that students use WhatsApp for educational purposes. In particular, they find WhatsApp to be useful, user-friendly, and fun. They also expressed willingness and interest in using it in their formal learning. The paper concludes with raising a few concerns and suggesting some possible future research.
The International Journal of Applied Language Studies and Culture, 2021
This article purports to examine how the expectations of the educational reforms in Moroccan high... more This article purports to examine how the expectations of the educational reforms in Moroccan higher education have impacted the teaching and testing of tertiary level grammar. In particular, the hypothesis we defend here is that teaching and testing tertiary level grammar remain constant; therefore, the impact of the various reforms on tertiary level testing is of little consequence. In pursuance of this aim, this paper uses a qualitative approach and content analysis method of the course descriptions of the grammar courses that were suggested across the various reforms. The course descriptions we attempt to analyze are adopted in the English Studies tracks of four major departments in Moroccan universities. The main dimensions that we look at and examine here as the measures for our comparative evaluation are; course objectives, time allotted, the syllabi they contain, teaching methodology, and evaluation modes. The findings confirm that the various reforms, have had little impact on the teaching and testing of grammar in higher education. The paper concludes by suggesting a few pedagogical recommendations vis-à-vis the teaching and testing of grammar in Moroccan Departments of English studies.
Chomsky’s generative paradigm has swept through and informed linguistic research and hence all li... more Chomsky’s generative paradigm has swept through and informed linguistic research and hence all linguistic subfields. The field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has not been exempted from this ostensible invasion. Yet, research conducted within this new paradigm has focused only on exploring and teaching formal grammatical forms; other components of linguistic competence, namely Pragmatics, have been pushed to the edges. More recently (Kasper & Blum-Kulka, 1993; Kasper, 1992; Ishihara & Cohen, 2010 among others), however, a growing interest in the effects of culture and native language on the development of the learners’ L2 has brought into focus the fact that for non-native speakers/ L2 learners to achieve a fully-fledged competence in the target language, they have, of necessity, to consider the sociocultural and pragmatic aspects of the target language. For this reason, the present paper is couched within the area of Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP), the aim being to address the issue of the role of pragmatic competence in SLA in general and, more particularly, in a Moroccan EFL context. Conducted within the framework of the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP), this study, then, purports to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into the Interlanguage of Moroccan learners of English, particularly when these learners make requests in English. The two main hypotheses that the present paper attempts to defend are: (i) pragmatic transfer is observable in the English requests produced by Moroccan learners of English, both from a Pragmalinguistic and Sociopragmatic perspective; (ii) L2 pragmatic competence acquisition is still wanting among Moroccan advanced students. The participants involved in this study are Moroccan university learners of English (second year and third year) and native speakers of English whose production of the speech act of request is compared. Finally, this study will further attempt to explore whether or not formal education plays a role in pragmatic competence. The paper concludes with some pedagogical implications.
The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant ... more The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant development, with a concomitant impact on the quality of education and training. The drive is mostly due to the rapidly changing world characterized by globalization and the result of openings on other fields of research. One area that has informed this field is the teaching of L2 pragmatic competence, with the commonly expressed generalization being that there is a gap between what research in pragmatics has found and how language is generally taught today (Ishihara & Cohen, 2010). On this view, this paper purports to investigate the role of pragmatic competence in the teaching of English. We provide evidence that language proficiency should not only be equated with grammatical well-formedness, but also with how to use it appropriately and efficiently in the target language. This being the case, however, we will show that the implementation of this view is far from being easy, especially in a trend that has for long been characterized by a focus on the grammatical competence, both in terms of training and curriculum design. This is paired with a similar difficulty in terms of how to translate the pragmatically-based approach into L2 classroom practices and how to identify modes of assessment. Addressing these issues, we believe, will shed light on some of the challenges and implications on the teaching of English along with the applicability of the suggested approach to the current ELT reform in the Arab world in general and in Morocco in particular.
La Revue Marocaine de la Pensée Contemporaine, Jul 1, 2020
The present paper addresses the issue of language policy and language planning in Morocco. In par... more The present paper addresses the issue of language policy and language planning in Morocco. In particular, it argues that there is a lack of a clear language planning strategy that is based on a sound political, socioeconomic , ideological and academic justification. This problem has resulted in an inconsistent education approach, creating an incompatibility between different levels of education (e.g. high schools vs. universities), social classes (e.g. low class vs. middle/high class) and professional environments (e.g. academia vs. job market). For this reason, we suggest that three elements need to be integrated into any language planning effort. These are Literacy Prestige, Economic Prestige and Academic/Scientific Prestige.
English has undeniably become the lingua franca of the world. Indeed, it has become, so to speak,... more English has undeniably become the lingua franca of the world. Indeed, it has become, so to speak, the predominant language of globalization. Likewise, English has managed to infiltrate into the Moroccan linguistic market. The present paper, then, brings to the fore the historical overview of the spread of English in Morocco. More specifically, it is going to trace back the three major historical stages that English has gone through in the Moroccan territory, namely: the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial. To meet this end, the paper seeks to answer the following questions: (i) what are the historical stages of the English spread in Morocco? (ii) When and how English was introduced to the Moroccan linguistic market? (iii) What are the motivations that lie behind the spread of English in Morocco?
The International Journal of Applied Language Studies and Culture, 2020
The linguistic market in Morocco has been characterized by its richness and complexity in that a ... more The linguistic market in Morocco has been characterized by its richness and complexity in that a number of local as well as foreign languages co-exist. Given this multiplicity and diversity in its linguistic landscape, Morocco has opted for Arabization as a language policy in education, its ultimate goal being, as it were, to safeguard and maintain its national identity (Ennaji, 2003). Achieving this goal, however, is far from being without glaring shortcomings. Arabization has, inter alia, marginalized mother tongues, the latter being relegated to daily communication only with a devalued and denigrated status. On this view, the present paper brings to the fore the status of languages in use in Morocco and, more precisely, will bring into focus the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues. What is more, the study attempts to shed light on the Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues. In pursuance of this aim, the study will address the following research questions, principally (i) What is the status of Arabic in Morocco? (ii) What is the nature of Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues, namely Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan Amazigh? (iii) What is the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues in Morocco?
The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into th... more The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into the interlanguage of Moroccan learners of English, namely when these learners make requests in English. More specifically, this study seeks to compare the average frequencies of direct and indirect strategies used by both native Moroccan English as a foreign language learners and native English speakers. Finally, this study will further attempt to explore whether transfer decreases as the study level increases, namely the case of the Moroccan EFL university learners at the first and the third level of University. A number of sixty subjects take part in the present study. They are divided into two groups. The first group involves the Moroccan learners of English who in turn bifurcated into two groups of academic level: Second Year (N=20) and Third year (N=20). The subjects in the second group are 20 native speakers of English. In order to answer the research questions addressed in this study, the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) is adopted. This DCT provides the subjects with a number of seven situations in which different situations are controlled, namely social distance, power relation, and the degree of imposition. A Moroccan Arabic DCT is also used in order to examine how Moroccan students perform requests in their mother tongues. The results reveal that evidence of pragmatic transfer is found in the requests produced by Moroccan learners of English. Thus, the first hypothesis is confirmed. The second finding is that academic level does not play a major role in pragmatic ability. For this fact, the second research hypothesis is rejected in favor of the null hypothesis drawing the conclusion that pragmatic transfer is not related to academic level. To sum up the whole, a number of research and pedagogical implications are suggested.
This book is a study of the verbal system of Arabic, both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Ara... more This book is a study of the verbal system of Arabic, both Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. In particular, it develops a theory of the syntax-morphology interface under the purview of the Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology, the ultimate purpose being to explore the claim that syntax is the only generative mechanism responsible for the formation of words, phrases and sentences. The bulk of the relevant evidence coming from the derivation of verbs, causative formation, passive and anticausative constructions seem to substantiate a number of the claims the theory of DM espouses, most important of which is that there is no generative lexicon. The work also advances the major claim that DM and Optimality Theory can operate in a single grammar. The book is assumed to target a wide range of audience, among whom students, teachers of Arabic, typologists, and theoretical linguists are only ones.
Journal of Applied Language and Culture Studies, 2019
This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis of the representation of rape within the Moroccan cul... more This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis of the representation of rape within the Moroccan culture. In particular, it attempts to show the constitutive role of language when it comes to people's (verbal) reaction to rape incidents in social networking sites, namely Facebook and YouTube. This is achieved by analyzing the language used as a reaction to the recent attempted sexual assault incidents taking place in different areas in Morocco, with the aim being to depict the linguistic and discursive features via which gender-discriminatory ideologies are circulated and reinforced in these e-platforms. The discursive strategies analyzed show how women who are victims of rape are subjected to another subtler form of violence-verbal violence-in social media. The data gathered herein have affirmed our gendered performances, unravelling some culturally powerful definitions of social reality/practices, where women are still held responsible for men's sexual aggression. The implications of this study have far-reaching consequences, most important of which is that they will deepen our understanding of the structuring effects of language.
The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant ... more The field of language teaching and curriculum development has been characterized by its constant development, with a concomitant impact on the quality of education and training. The drive is mostly due to the rapidly changing world characterized by globalization and the result of openings on other fields of research. One area that has informed this field is the teaching of L2 pragmatic competence, with the commonly expressed generalization being that there is a gap between what research in pragmatics has found and how language is generally taught today (Ishihara & Cohen, 2010). On this view, this paper purports to investigate the role of pragmatic competence in the teaching of English. We provide evidence that language proficiency should not only be equated with grammatical well-formedness, but also with how to use it appropriately and efficiently in the target language. This being the case, however, we will show that the implementation of this view is far from being easy, especially in a trend that has for long been characterized by a focus on the grammatical competence, both in terms of training and curriculum design. This is paired with a similar difficulty in terms of how to translate the pragmatically-based approach into L2 classroom practices and how to identify modes of assessment. Addressing these issues, we believe, will shed light on some of the challenges and implications on the teaching of English along with the applicability of the suggested approach to the current ELT reform in the Arab world in general and in Morocco in particular.
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The other formal line of investigation concerns word formation, in which we investigate the mechanisms whereby morphologically simplex and complex words are formed. The claim we defend here is that the structure below the word level and the structure above the word level are derived using the same formal syntactic rules. For example, negation in MA supports the assumption that word structure and syntactic structure share the same general formal properties. In this regard, we provide an analysis of the distribution of the discontinuous negative morpheme and the co-occurrence restriction that holds between {-ʃ} and Negative Polarity Items. For the former, it is shown that the distribution of negation supports the existence of syntactic phenomenon at the word level, namely the existence of phase-by-phase Spell-Out. For the latter, a general context-sensitive constraint is developed to capture this generalization, which is shown to be an instance of Syntactic Haplology.
A number of sixty subjects take part in the present study. They are divided into two groups. The first group involves the Moroccan learners of English who in turn bifurcated into two groups of academic level: Second Year (N=20) and Third year (N=20). The subjects in the second group are 20 native speakers of English. In order to answer the research questions addressed in this study, the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) is adopted. This DCT provides the subjects with a number of seven situations in which different situations are controlled, namely social distance, power relation, and the degree of imposition. A Moroccan Arabic DCT is also used in order to examine how Moroccan students perform requests in their mother tongues.
The results reveal that evidence of pragmatic transfer is found in the requests produced by Moroccan learners of English. Thus, the first hypothesis is confirmed. The second finding is that academic level does not play a major role in pragmatic ability. For this fact, the second research hypothesis is rejected in favor of the null hypothesis drawing the conclusion that pragmatic transfer is not related to academic level. To sum up the whole, a number of research and pedagogical implications are suggested.
The other formal line of investigation concerns word formation, in which we investigate the mechanisms whereby morphologically simplex and complex words are formed. The claim we defend here is that the structure below the word level and the structure above the word level are derived using the same formal syntactic rules. For example, negation in MA supports the assumption that word structure and syntactic structure share the same general formal properties. In this regard, we provide an analysis of the distribution of the discontinuous negative morpheme and the co-occurrence restriction that holds between {-ʃ} and Negative Polarity Items. For the former, it is shown that the distribution of negation supports the existence of syntactic phenomenon at the word level, namely the existence of phase-by-phase Spell-Out. For the latter, a general context-sensitive constraint is developed to capture this generalization, which is shown to be an instance of Syntactic Haplology.
A number of sixty subjects take part in the present study. They are divided into two groups. The first group involves the Moroccan learners of English who in turn bifurcated into two groups of academic level: Second Year (N=20) and Third year (N=20). The subjects in the second group are 20 native speakers of English. In order to answer the research questions addressed in this study, the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) is adopted. This DCT provides the subjects with a number of seven situations in which different situations are controlled, namely social distance, power relation, and the degree of imposition. A Moroccan Arabic DCT is also used in order to examine how Moroccan students perform requests in their mother tongues.
The results reveal that evidence of pragmatic transfer is found in the requests produced by Moroccan learners of English. Thus, the first hypothesis is confirmed. The second finding is that academic level does not play a major role in pragmatic ability. For this fact, the second research hypothesis is rejected in favor of the null hypothesis drawing the conclusion that pragmatic transfer is not related to academic level. To sum up the whole, a number of research and pedagogical implications are suggested.