Dr. Abdulrahman Hamad Almansour | King Saud University (original) (raw)

Papers by Dr. Abdulrahman Hamad Almansour

This paper presents a phase-based analysis of the derivation of the status constructus (or constr... more This paper presents a phase-based analysis of the derivation of the status constructus (or construct state). That analysis is built on two arguments. First, I contend that a construct state in Classical/Standard Arabic contains a phase the head of which is K. Second, I claim that the head noun is a full indefinite DP the functional projection of which is similar to regular definite DPs. I maintain that a process of repeated External Merge merging the genitive phrase with the head noun culminates in a KP. Because of a ban on the co-occurrence of two syntactic functional projections of the same type in the same Spell-Out domain, I argue that the head noun is moved via Internal Merge from the complement of the phase head K to the edge of the phase. Since K is a phase boundary, it provides protection for the head noun DP from the genitive phrase DP, allowing the phase domain to be spelled out. That the genitive phase DP must be assigned only a genitive case, while the head noun DP can be assigned any one of the three cases can be derived from Chom-sky's (1998, 1999, 2001) Phase Impenetrability Condition.

In this study I explore the structure and meaning of partitive constructions. I investigate the r... more In this study I explore the structure and meaning of partitive constructions. I investigate the relation between partitivity and specificity, and argue that partitives in Classical/Standard Arabic manifest the same type of ambiguity with regard to specificity that is manifested by regular indefinite noun phrases. I also shed light on a phenomenon that has never been noticed in the literature. Specifically, I uncover a use of the nominal –n suffix that has never been brought to light before. I argue that this suffix is required to be attached to certain determiners in partitive constructions to satisfy a structural function.

This paper investigates the constraints that underlie the licensing of negative polarity items in... more This paper investigates the constraints that underlie the licensing of negative polarity items in Classical/Standard Arabic, aspiring to be the first study that provides a comprehensive account that defines the condition under which those items are licensed in that language. I demonstrate that negative polarity items are licensed only in non-veridical contexts in Classical/Standard Arabic. It is contended that downward entailment, Strawson-downward entailingness, polarity lattices, binding, or anti-upward entailingness do not predict the right distribution of negative polarity items in Classical/Standard Arabic. Furthermore, it is argued that the strength of negative expressions dictates a variation in the licensing of the negative polarity items under consideration. Specifically, it is shown that a weak (or broad) negative polarity item is sanctioned with questions, imperatives, adversative predicates, protasis of conditionals, modal verbs, the future, restrictor of every, the habitual, and volitional verbs, whereas strong (or strict) ones are only licensed by regular negation. That negative polarity items are licensed in veridical non-monotonic contexts in a language such as English, while they are not allowed in these contexts in Classical/Standard Arabic corroborates recent proposals that call for a variation approach to the licensing of negative polarity items cross-linguistically. The analysis entertained in this paper not only highlights the condition responsible for the sanctioning of negative polarity items in Classical/Standard Arabic, but also provides evidence for a hierarchy of negative expressions strength.