Negation in Arabic
A Study in Linguistic History
by Werner Diem
Hardback (Published)
(February 2014)
ISBN: 9783447101172
6.65 x 9.45 inches
Price: $82.00
Out of stock
The present monograph is devoted to what is probably the most interesting development in the history of negation in Arabic. This development, which began in Classical Arabic and continued in the post-classical period of the language, consists of the combination of the inherited preverbal particles of negation and a newly developed postverbal element. In Negation in Arabic it is shown how this postverbal negative element developed from the adverbial expression say’an, “a bit” – which in Classical Arabic was originally confined to certain verbs marked +[quantifiable] -, and how this emphasising negation was gradually generalised for any verbs and, subsequently, other word classes until it finally became the normal, unmarked negation. Further developments consisting in the weakening or the deletion of the first element, which is the old inherited negation, are also treated. Certain details of this development resemble the development of the circumfixal negations of the type ne ? pas in French, and therefore the history of negation in French is referred to where this is helpful in order to understand the specific Arabic development. Theoretical approaches concerning the development and function of negative polarity items (NPI) are also taken into consideration.
The present monograph is devoted to what is probably the most interesting development in the history of negation in Arabic. This development, which began in Classical Arabic and continued in the post-classical period of the language, consists of the combination of the inherited preverbal particles of negation and a newly developed postverbal element. In Negation in Arabic it is shown how this postverbal negative element developed from the adverbial expression say’an, “a bit” – which in Classical Arabic was originally confined to certain verbs marked +[quantifiable] -, and how this emphasising negation was gradually generalised for any verbs and, subsequently, other word classes until it finally became the normal, unmarked negation. Further developments consisting in the weakening or the deletion of the first element, which is the old inherited negation, are also treated. Certain details of this development resemble the development of the circumfixal negations of the type ne ? pas in French, and therefore the history of negation in French is referred to where this is helpful in order to understand the specific Arabic development. Theoretical approaches concerning the development and function of negative polarity items (NPI) are also taken into consideration.
- By (author) Werner Diem
Similar Books
Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s translation of and commentary on Fusus al-Hikam By Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
Volumes 1-4
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie
The Arts and Archaeology of Funerary Cultures in Islam
Volume 10.0
Boğazköy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesinde Bulunan Boğazköy Tabletleri (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Volume 3
Co-production of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Artefacts, Rituals, Communities, Narratives, Doctrines, Concepts
Volume 1
Discerning Religious Truth
A Didactic Exposition of the Logic and Epistemology of the Islamic Sciences
Volume 1
Explorations in Islamic Archaeology
Material Culture, Settlements, and Landscapes from the Mediterranean to Western Asia
Volume 7
Language, Semantics, and Cognition in Ancient Egypt and Beyond
Proceedings of the International Conference, Yale University, April 16-18, 2021
Volume 14
Life on the Farm in Late Medieval Jerusalem
The Village of Beit Mazmil, its Occupants and their Industry over Five Centuries
Linguistic Fragmentation and Cultural Inclusion in the Middle Ages
Translation, Plurilingualism, Multilingualism
Volume 22
