1887
Volume 37, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0920-9034
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9870
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Abstract

Abstract

The particle is used in Classical Arabic as a local and temporal preposition, ‘in’. In the contemporary Arabic dialects, it has the same meaning, but in addition it is used in some dialects as an existential, ‘there is/are’. In a number of Arabic work-related pidgins, such as Gulf Pidgin Arabic and Pidgin Madame, has acquired new functions. It does not only denote nominal predication, location, and possession, but is also used in combination with verbal forms. Several proposals have been made to explain this use of . Avram (2012) regards as a progressive aspect marker, while Potsdam & Alanazi (2014) deny the verbal nature of the construction and regard as a copula. Bakir (2014) analyzes as a marker of verbality of the predicate. The present paper suggests that the general function of is to mark the link between topic and focus as assertive rather than modal and looks for parallels of this use in a few other work-related pidgins.

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2022-03-23
2025-04-25
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Arabic pidgins; copula; existential; factual marker; work-related jargons
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