Details

Subject(s)

• Arabic language—Tense [Browse]
• Arabic language—Verb [Browse]

Series

• Studies in Semitic languages and linguistics ; 85. [More in this series]
• Studies in Semitic languages and linguistics, 0081-8461 ; volume 85 [More in this series]

Summary note

In 'Tense and text in classical Arabic', Michal Marmorstein presents a new discourse-oriented analysis of the indicative tense system in Classical Arabic. Critical of commonly held assumptions regarding the binary structure of the tense system and the perfect-imperfect asymmetry, the author redefines the discussion by analysing the extended syntactic and textual environments in which the paradigm of the indicative forms is used. The study shows that the function of Classical Arabic tenses is determined by the interaction of their inherent grammatical meaning and the overall dialogic, narrative, or generic contexts in which they occur. It also demonstrates the particularizing effect of context, so that temporal and aspectual meanings are always more nuanced, delicate, and pragmatically motivated in actual discourse.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-252) and index.

Contents

• Introduction
• The verb in Arabic grammatical tradition
• The verb in Arabistic literature
• The structure of context
• The verbal inventory
• The syntagmatic structure of the clause
• The verbal paradigm in embedded clauses
• The predicative paradigm
• The verbal paradigm in the narrative
• The verbal paradigm in the generic utterance
• Conclusions.

Show 8 more Contents items

ISBN

• 9789004307476 (hardback : alk. paper)
• 9004307478 (hardback : alk. paper)

LCCN

2016008584

OCLC

947282924

Statement on responsible collection description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...