Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Submitted by:
Abdeljabar Taoufikallah
Supervisor:
Prof. Karim Bensoukas
Spring 2015
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would love to thank my supervisor, Prof. Karim Bensoukas, for his hard work
and great contribution in this work; his patience, presence and corrections were
invaluable. Without him, this work would have been a bit more difficult and perhaps
unbearable.
I would also like to thank the rest of the professors; among whom are Prof.
Amrous and Prof. Zeddari. Thanks to all the professors I had in the faculty I learned and
sharpened my English skills.
I would love to thank all my seminar classmates with whom I had valuable
discussions concerning this work.
ii
ABSTRACT
The present paper aspires to deal with one aspect of Moroccan Arabic
morphology namely hollow verbs. The major role is to investigate their roots. The reason
behind choosing this topic is the need of tackling a real issue in MA, such as identifying
the root of HVs from a morphological and a phonological perspective.
There was no need to collect data from individuals other than myself because HVs
are very few in MA and can be collected in a short amount of time. To help identify the
root of HVs in MA, I was required to start by collecting HVs in the perfect tense in the
third person singular, or to use Harrells term dictionary form of HVs and then
conjugate these verbs in the imperfect tense to inspect the changes that occur along the
conjugation. Then, we investigate the changes that occur in verbal nouns and causatives
derived from HVs.
iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
HV
MA
VN
Hollow Verb
Moroccan Arabic
Verbal noun
iv
Table of Contents
DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. II
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... III
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... IV
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
PART ONE: ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 38
APPENDIXES .................................................................................................................. 40
vi
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
We will provide evidence for the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels as
most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal skeleton.
Data description and analysis are divided into three categories. First, we check
whether HVs are based originally on the pattern CaC or CuC, CiC, and CaC for some
verbs which keep the medial /a/. We then investigate the causatives and VN that are
derived from HVs to verify whether the stems of the HVs are CuC, CiC and Cac or CwC
and CjC. On the basis of causative verb formation, it is better to consider the underlying
forms of VHs as consisting of medial glides.
This monograph consists of two parts. In the first part, we will discuss the major
features of MA morphology, verbs derivation, nouns derivation, adjectival inflection, the
comparative, and the Nisba.
In the second part, we will focus on HVs in MA, as the main topic of this
monograph, to find out their root system. We will have to investigate HVs in the
imperfect, VNs derived from HVs, and causatives derived from HVs in order to
determine the root system of HVs in MA.
PART ONE:
This part aims to deal with the morphology of MA. We will identify the verbal
inflection and see how the perfect and imperfect tenses work; we will also see how the
participles work in MA. We will examine the nominal inflection, considering gender and
number. We will consider adjectival inflection, the Nisba, the diminutive and the
comparative in MA. We start with the root and pattern conception of MA morphology.
1.1.
Types of roots
There are three basic types of roots in MA. Triliteral roots are composed of three
consonants. They are divided into two categories: strong and weak. Strong triliteral roots
are divided into two categories. They are called sound if all the consonants are different
as in XF of xf he kidnapped, and are called doubled if the second sound is doubled
as in MDD of mdd he handed. Weak triliteral roots are also divided into two categories.
Middle-weak triliteral roots have a vowel in the middle as af to see, and final-weak
triliteral roots have a vowel in the end. Based on Harrell (1962), quadriliteral roots are
composed of four consonants, and they are also divided into two categories: strong and
weak. In strong quadriliteral roots, the first two consonants are reduplicated as in SRSR
to ring. In weak quadriliteral roots, there are two categories; second element weak in
which the second sound is a vowel, or a fourth element weak in which the fourth sound is
a vowel.
1.2.
Types of patterns
There are two types of patterns in MA. According to Ennaji et al (2004, the
simple pattern has none, one or two vowels inserted in the root as is the case with the
verb qtl to kill which has a vowel between the second and third consonants. The
complex pattern is a pattern joined with an affix. For example, qiti you read (past) is a
complex pattern because it has the suffix [+ti] in it.
2. Verbal Morphology
2.1.
Finite Verbs
-t
-ti
you sing.
he
-at / -t
she
-na
we
-tiw / -tu
you pl.
-u / -w
they
A few changes occur in the perfect tense with different stem endings.
In stems ending in -C, the schwa moves backwards after the first consonant.
This change occurs in the third person singular feminine and the third person plural only
as is the case in the example below:
2)
ktb-t
I wrote
ktbna
we wrote
ktb-ti
you wrote
ktbtu
ktb
he wrote
ktbu
they wrote
ktbat
she wrote
In stems ending in -aC, the last -a changes to a - in the first and second
I sold
bna
we sold
bt
you sold
btu
he sold
bu
they sold
bt
she sold
In stems ending in a doubled consonant, an -i is inserted between the stem and
the endings of the first and second person as shown in the example below:
4)
mmit
I smelt
mmina
we smelt
mmiti
you smelt
mmitu
mm
he smelt
mmu
they smelt
mmat
she smelt
In stems ending in -a, in the first and second person singular and plural the final a is changed to -i before the endings as is the case in the example below:
5)
qit
I read
qina
we read
qiti
you read
qitu
qa
he read
qaw
they read
qat
she read
n-
t-
you sing.
t- + -i
he
t-
she
n- + -u / -w
we
t- + -u / -w
you pl.
i- + -u / -w
they
In Stems ending in eC, a schwa is inserted between the prefix and the stem in the
first and second person singular. In the second person singular feminine and the first,
second and third plural, the - is moved from the third position to the second position.
7)
nktb
I write
nktbu
we write
tktb
you write
tktbu
tktbi
iktb
he writes
iktbu
they write
tktb
she writes
In most of the HVs, the medial -a- changes to -i- or -u- as is the case with the
verb mal to tend and the verb daz to pass in the examples below:
8)
nmil
I tend
nmilu we tend
tmil
you tend
tmili
imil
he tends
tmil
she tends
9)
nduz
I pass
nduzu we pass
tduz
you pass
he passes
tduz
she passes
A category in which there is no change is that of the stems ending in a as is the case
with the verb tma to walk:
10)
ntma
I walk
ntmaw
we walk
ttmea
you walk
ttmaw
ttmeai
itma
he walks
itmaw
they walk
ttma
she walks
I cover
niwwe cover
ti
you cover
tiw
ii
he covers
iiw
they cover
ti
she covers
2.2.
Participles
In MA, participles are of three kinds: active participles, passive participles and the
flan participles.
The general pattern of the active participle in MA is fal as in za planting. In
double verbs, the schwa is deleted between the last two consonants; for example, sadd
10
closing is the active participle of sdd to close. In HVs, j is inserted before the schwa
as in ba to sell / baj selling. In defective verbs, the final -a is replaced by -i as in
ma / mai.
The general pattern of the passive participle in MA is mful as in mrub. In
HVS a -j is inserted after the first consonant to function as the second consonant in
mful as is the case with the verb ba / mbju. In defective verbs the final u is
replaced by an -i as in ra to buy/ mri sold.
The flan participle is mostly derived from intransitive verbs, and the following
is a set of examples:
13)
brd
brdan
feeling cold
ja
jjan
getting tired
fan
happy
2.3.
Derived verbs
There are three derived verbs in MA: causatives, reflexives and reciprocals.
Causative verbs show a relation of cause and effect. In MA they are formed by
escape
ktb
write
drink
qa
read
11
Reflexive verbs are formed by adding the prefix n- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For example, na he slaughtered becomes na he
committed suicide, and kf he discovered becomes nkaef he got discovered.
Reciprocal verbs are formed by adding the prefix t- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For instance, the verb fhm he understood becomes tfahm he
made an agreement with someone.
3. Nominal Morphology
3.1.
Gender
The feminine in MA is formed by adding the suffix a(t) to the root; however, some
nouns do not have feminine counterparts or have irregular feminine formation. The
examples below show how the feminine is formed in MA:
15)
klb
male dog
bib
drri
boy
drrija girl
Some nouns are originally feminine and do not have masculine counterparts:
16)
misara
ruler
aia
jacket
abbua
blackboard
3.2.
Verbal nouns
VN are derived from verbs and are formed in a variety of ways; these forms are
unpredictable. The following are examples showing different forms of VN:
12
17)
sl
to wash
sil
washing
rkab
to ride
rkub
riding
to eat
3.3.
The plural
mard sickness
makla eating, food
There are three types of plurals in MA: plurals with suffixes, internal plurals and mixed
ones.
3.3.1. Plurals with the suffix in
Nouns referring to parts of the body are likely to take the suffix in to form the plural.
18)
jd
rl
Nouns referring to crafts also take the suffix in to form the plural.
19)
xjja
xjja-in
tailors
ar
ar-in
perfume vendor
ab
ab-in
herbage seller
Nouns borrowed from Standard Arabic also form their plurals this way:
20)
muhndis
muhndis-in
engineers
muami
muami-in
lawyers
muallim
muallim-in
teachers
13
gzzara
butchers
xjja
xjjaa
tailors
flla
fllaa
peasants
mlaja
blankets
maa
maat
combs
warqa
warqat
papers
kswa
kswat
dresses
Triconsonantal stems
There are various patterns that are used to form the plurals of MA.
i.
23)
CCC
mel
mal
camels
CCC
wld
wlad
boys
CuC2C2
mu
ma
cats
CCC
bnt
bnat
girls
CCCa
wqa waq
CCiC(a)
mri
papers
mra sick
14
ii.
24)
CuC
suq
CuC2C2
fumm ffam
CaC
xal
iii.
swaq
xwal
This stem is used particularly to form the plural of the singular stem CiC.
25)
id
jad
feasts
kis
kjas
bags
The CwC-a(t) stem is the plural of the singular stem CuCi as indicated in the example
below.
26)
fuqijja
v.
fuqijjat
The CwCi stem
The singular stem CaCi-a becomes CwaCi in the plural as shown in the examples below.
27)
sarja
swari pillars
afja
wafi fires
buqa
vi.
CaCC
xatm
xwatm
rings
CaCC-a
makla
mwakl
meals
CCuC
anut
want
stores
CaCuC-a(t)
naura
nwar
wheels
CaCuCi-ja
namusijja
nwams
beds
CaCiC-a(t)
kasia
kwas
tapes
CaCaC-a(t)
alaqa
walq
earrings
vii.
This stem functions as the plural of the singular stem CiC as shown in the example
below.
29)
CiC
ir
jur
birds
in
jun
eyes
viii.
This stem is used to form the plural of the singular stem CaC-a(t) as shown in the
examples below.
30)
Taqa
Tjiq
small window
ala
jil
rooms
ix.
Most nouns with doubled roots and the stem CC2C2a form the plural by inserting a
schwa between the geminated consonant and deleting the ending a. The following is a
set of examples:
31)
16
drra drr
scarfs
xa x
fountains
3.3.3.2.
In MA, internal plurals of quadriliteral stems have the same pattern CCaCC for
all nouns. The following is a set of examples showing all the different quadriliteral in the
plural:
i. The CCCuC stem
32)
xnfu
xnaf
ugly
gnfud
gnafd
hedgehogs
mnar
knives
msmar
msamr
nails
sdadr
mattresses
bTaTn
blankets
17
qnadl
candle-stick
brmil
braml
barrel
crutches
ram
mnl
mnal
viii.
windows
38)
slsla
slasl
chains
nra
nar
pressure-cooker
3.3.3.3.
Mixed plurals
39)
rifi
rjafa
bli
bala
18
tunsi
twansa
Tunisians
mribi
marba
Moroccans
ii)
40)
fur
furat
breakfasts
zjut
zjutat
oils
smn
smunat
hot butter
bl
bulat
mountains
iii)
41)
kas
kisan
cups
fas
fisan
axes
bab
biban
doors
iv)
42)
CCaC
blad
bldan
countries
CCiC
riq
rqan
roads
CCuC
xruf
xrfan
sheep
19
4. Adjectival Morphology
4.1.
Gender
In MA, gender in adjectives is marked by the suffix a as is the case with the
4.2.
i. Attributive adjective
The attributive adjective occurs after the noun it modifies; however, in a
construct-state it occurs after the last element of this construct.
43)
had lam zin
rathum dad.
4.3.
Number
Adjectives in MA take on plural forms just the same way nouns do. There are a
few patterns adjectives follow to form the plural, and here are a few examples:
20
urq blue
sfr
sufr
yellow
iwr blind
5. The Nisba
The nisba in MA is formed by adding the suffix i to a stem. For example, the
nisba of the stem fas Fes is formed by adding an i to get fas-i a person from Fes.
However, a few morphological changes occur when forming the Nisba in MA. These are
listed below:
i.
47)
rb
rbawi
ra rawi
ii.
48)
qahwa
qahwi
coffee-colored
sma
smawi
sky blue
iii.
49)
luwwl
luwwlani
first
lxxr
lxxrani
last
21
6. The diminutive
In MA, both nouns and adjectives take the diminutive form. In general, as Harrell
(1962) states, the diminutive is formed by a cluster of the first two consonants followed
by /i/. The following are examples of different patterns in MA; some are taken from
Ennaji et al (2004):
i.
Triliteral monosyllables
50)
bl
bijjl
mule
klb
klijjb
dog
ii.
Middle-weak triliterals
51)
bab
bwijjb
door
far
fwijjr
mouse
iii.
52)
bnt
bnita
girl
rl
rila
foot
iv.
53)
kl
kil
black
wil
wiwl
tall
22
v.
54)
bgra
bgira
cow
nmi
nimi
lamb
blija
a place
daa
dija
chicken
vi.
Quadriliteral roots
56)
kskas
ksiks
couscous pot
zrbijja
zribijja
carpet
7. The comparative
In MA, very few adjectives take the comparative form. The general form of the
comparative is by clustering the first two consonants followed by a schwa. Here are a few
examples of how different patterns form the comparative in MA:
i.
57)
ir
smaller
was
ws
wider
ii.
58)
xjr
xir
iii.
better
59)
dida dd
xfif
xff
iv.
60)
nqi
nqa
cleaner
lu
la
sweeter
v.
The stem fl
61)
kl
kl
blacker
bj
bj
whiter
24
PART TWO:
25
1. Data description
In this part, we are going to describe the data collected during this research. The
data is divided into three categories: HVs conjugated in the imperfect, VNs derived from
HVs, and causative verbs derived also from HVs.
1.1.
We start with HVs in the imperfect. Our data is organized in three sets:
a) Verbs whose internal /a/ changes into /u/
1)
Perfect
Imperfect
Gloss
bal
ibul
To urinate
dab
idub
To melt
aq
iuq
To taste
iu
To spread
ag
iug
To drive
Imperfect
Gloss
ba
ibi
To sell
ii
To be lost
qas
iqis
To measure
ab
iib
To be cooked
zad
izid
To add
Perfect
Imperfect
Gloss
ban
iban
To appear
bat
ibat
To stay over
sal
isal
To ask
xaf
ixaf
To fear
In order to conjugate HVs in the imperfect tense in MA the medial /a/ needs to be
changed into /i/, /u/ or kept as it is. As the data shows in the table above, there is no way
to tell when a certain verb will change /a/ into /i/ or /u/, or retain it.
1.2.
Verbal Nouns
We shall now move on to the VNs and describe the changes that occur while
converting HVs to nouns. Our data is again organized in three sets:
a) Verbs with the medial /i/ in the imperfect
4)
Perfect
Imperfect
Verbal noun
Gloss
ba
ibi
bi
Selling
ab
iib
ijab
Absence
ar
iir
iran
Flying
faq
ifiq
fjaq
Waking up
ab
iib
jab
Cooking
qas
iqis
qjas
measuring
aq
iiq
jaqa
Showing off
27
Perfect
Imperfect
Verbal noun
Gloss
bal
ibul
bul
Urine
dab
idub
duban
Melting
mat
imut
mut
Death, dying
af
iuf
ufan
Seeing
al
iul
ulan
Travelling around
ra
iru
awa
Salability
af
iuf
awaf
Turning/walking around
ar
iur
jjara
Visit
Imperfect
Verbal noun
Gloss
bat
ibat
mbata
Staying over
ban
iban
(*)
xaf
ixaf
xuf
fear
To derive nouns from HVs in MA a few changes occur. Verbs that have the vowel
/u/ in the middle in the imperfect tense tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /w/ or keep it
as it is in order to get the VN. Nouns that keep the vowel /u/ tend to have the patterns
CuC, CuCa, and CuCan, while verbs that change /u/ to the semi-vowel /w/ tend to have
the pattern CawaC and very rarely the pattern CawCa.
(*) could not find the verbal noun that is derived from the verb ban/iban to appear.
28
Verbs that have /i/ in the middle tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /i/ or keep it
the same. Nouns that retain /i/ have the patterns CiC, CiCa and CiCan, while nouns that
change the /u/ into /w/ tend to have the pattern CjaC and CjaCa.
Last, there are very few verbs that keep the /a/ in the imperfect tense of which the
patterns of their derived VN are mCaCa and CuC. The verb zar he visited izur he
visits should derive a verbal noun with the pattern CuC, CuCa, CuCan or CawaC but it
does not; instead it has the pattern CjaCa, which is found mostly in verbal nouns derived
from verbs that have /u/ in the middle.
1.3.
The causative
Imperfect
causative
Gloss
bal
ibul
bwwl
dab
idub
dwwb
to melt something
aq
iuq
awwq
ar
iur
awwr
to turn something
mat
imut
mwwt
to kill
ad
iud
awwd
qam
iqum
qawwm
to fix something
iu
aww
iu
aww
zal
izul
zwwl
to remove
29
zar
izur
zawwr
iu
ww
to starve someone
Imperfect
causative
Gloss
ab
iib
ajjb
ii
ajj
sal
isil
sjjl
zad
izid
zjjd
idi
ajj
to lose
faq
ifiq
fajjq
to wake someone up
ab
iib
ajjb
to be absent
ar
iir
ajjr
to perplex
mal
imil
mjjl
ar
iir
ajjr
Imperfect
causative
Gloss
xaf
ixaf
xawwf
to scare
ban
iban
bjjn
to show
bat
ibat
bjjt
30
To derive the causative from HVs in MA, we need to start from the imperfect
tense. The middle vowel changes into its corresponding glide and is then geminated.
Verbs that have /u/ in the middle tend to change it into /w/, while verbs that have /i/ tend
to change it into /j/. However, verbs that keep the vowel /a/ in the imperfect tend to
change it either to /j/ or /w/. Therefore, the patterns of the causatives derived from HVs
are CjjC and CwwC.
2. Data analysis
To account for the HV stems internal changes in MA, we need to examine these
verbs in the imperfect tense, the verbal nouns and the causatives. Why does /a/ always
change into another vowel or a semi-vowel? Let us first consider the data in the imperfect
tense.
2.1.
Let us now analyze the data above. Harrell (1962) says that HVS in MA change
/a/ into either /i/ as in a/ii it gets wasted or /u/ as in mat/imut he dies, or retain it
in some verbs as in bat/ibat he stays over. If we consider that this hypothesis is true,
then /a/ should always change into /i/ or /u/ or always stays the same, but this does not
seem to be the case. We cannot maintain this hypothesis because we cannot predict when
/a/ will change into /i/ or /u/. Therefore, we have got a problem of predictability. Let us
now suggest another possibility.
Another hypothesis would be that /i/ and /u/ are original sounds in HVs. In order
to conjugate HVs in the perfect tense in MA, we need to change /i/ and /u/ into /a/ in the
third person, i.e. both /u/ and /i/ change into /a/ in the third person in the perfect tense.
31
The problem of predictability is solved. So far, the patterns of HVs in MA are CuC, CiC,
and CaC in verbs that retain /a/ both ways. The process involved is vowel change.
In brief, we have shown that moving from CaC to CiC or CuC is unpredictable.
Therefore, we claim, in contrast with Harrell (1962), that CaC is not the root stem of HVs
in MA but rather CiC, CuC, and CaC depending on the behavior of the verb. We shall
now move on to verbal nouns and investigate the changes that occur while deriving
verbal nouns from HVs in MA.
2.2.
Verbal Nouns
In the data above under 1.2), we notice that most nouns keep the vowels /u/ and
/i/; however some change /u/ and /i/ into the semi-vowels /w/ and /j/.
Let us first start with verbs that have /u/ in the middle in the imperfect. As we
found in the previous part, the VN that keep the vowel /u/ have the patterns CuC as in
mut death, and CuCan as in ulan touring around; and a very small number of nouns
change /u/ into its corresponding glide /w/ with the pattern CawaC as in awaf turning
around. The reason /w/ appears in the pattern CawaC could be that /u/ changes into /w/
only to avoid a vowel sequence; i.e. we cannot have a structure like CauaC in MA.
Therefore, we move from CauaC to CawaC. While some nouns keep the vowel /u/, other
nouns change into the semi-vowel /w/ in order to avoid a vowel sequence.
Likewise, HVs that have /i/ in the imperfect either keep it or change it into /j/.
Nouns that keep /i/ have the patterns CiC as in bi selling and CiCan as in iran flying.
Verbs that change /i/ into the corresponding glide /j/ have the patterns CjaC as in as in
jab cooking and CjaCa as in jaqa arrogance. The vowel /i/ changes into the semi-
32
vowel /j/ for the same reason /u/ changes into /w/: to avoid a vowel sequence and the
process involved here is glide formation.
Therefore, since /i/ and /u/ are the underlying sounds in verbal nouns, we can still
say that CiC, CuC and CaC are the stems of HVs in MA. Let us now account for the
changes that occur in causatives that are derived from HVs.
2.3.
The causative
Generally in MA, to derive the causative from verbs, we take the root and
geminate the second consonant and insert a schwa before and after the geminated
consonant. Vowels cannot be geminated. Therefore, we move from the perfect to the
imperfect and then change the medial vowel in the imperfect to its corresponding glide
and geminate it. However, there are two hypotheses that we can explore. Let us examine
the first hypothesis.
In HVs, the vowels /i/ and /u/ change into /j/ and /w/, respectively, and the latter
are geminated to derive the causative. Take for example, the verbs ba to sell and gal
to say:
10)
ba
he sold
ibi
he sells
bjj
gal
he said
igul
he says
gwwl
The phonological process involved in changing /i/ into /j/ and /u/ into /w/ is vowel
devocalization. Vowel devocalization consists of changing the vowels /i/ and /u/ into their
corresponding glides. The rule to account for this change is as follows:
33
11)
+ syllabic
_ consonant
+ high
{HV in the
imperfect}
_ syllabic
/C_C
{causative}
However, verbs that have the medial /a/ in the imperfect change it into either /j/ or
/w/. The vowel /a/ should correspond to one glide only, but it does not. Therefore, we
have got a problem of predictability. The only explanation for this issue is that the medial
/a/ in xaf he feared and ixaf he fears is originally the vowel /u/ as found in the verbal
noun xuf fear; in bat he stayed over and ibat he stays over, it is originally an /i/ as in
bit room, and in ban he appeared and iban he appears it is originally the vowel /i/ as
in the verbal noun tbjan making clear. Thus, this shows that /a/ cannot be an original
sound in HVs.
This hypothesis encounters many difficulties. The first one is that what seems to
be a simple process is accounted for in a quite complex way. A rule is needed to
transform a vowel into a glide and then morphological gemination, responsible for
causative verb derivation applies. The second problem is that a rule like (11) above is
difficult to justify. What would force a vowel occurring between two consonants to
change into a glide, another consonant?
The second hypothesis consists in considering the medial segment in HVs to be a
glide underlyingly. Accordingly, the class of HVs would be a special class of CCC verbs.
in causative verb derivation, the medial consonant is geminated just like normal
consonants (ktb/kttb write; bj/ bjj sell).
34
If /j/ and /w/ are the original sounds in the stem instead of /i/ and /u, then how do
they change to the corresponding vowels in the imperfective? The phonological processes
to account for this change are syllabification and vocalization. /i/ and /u/ are syllabified
and vocalized whenever they occur mid-consonantly. The rule postulated is as follows:
12)
_ syllabic
_ consonant
+ high
{causative}
+ syllabic
/C_C
{HV in the
imperfect}
35
GENERAL CONCLUSION
36
This paper has dealt with one aspect of the morphology of MA, attempting to
investigate the root of HVs. In order to do so, I have investigated HVs in the imperfect
tense, and investigated the derivation of verbal nouns and causatives.
The data provided in this paper has been collected using a computer program, a
basic algorithm to list all the HVs in MA. As the algorithm cannot tell whether a given
entry is a real word in MA or not, I had to filter the data manually.
We have investigated and illustrated the morphology of MA, inspecting how
words are formed. We have dealt with the verbal inflection, the noun inflection, and the
adjectival inflection. We have shown that words in MA are based on a root-pattern
schema.
We have provided evidence of the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels. This
is supported by the fact that most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal
root.
The data description and analysis part has been divided into three categories.
First, we have checked whether HVs are based on the pattern CaC only or the different
patterns CuC, CiC, and CaC for some verbs which keep the medial /a/. We have then
investigated the causatives and verbal nouns derived from HVS to verify whether the root
of the HVS is CuC, CiC and CaC or CwC and CjC. We have found that it is better to
consider the medial segment in HVs in MA a glide.
37
REFERENCES
38
Ennaji, M., Makhoukh A., Es-Saiydy H., Moubtassime M., and Slaoui S. (2004). A
Grammar of Moroccan Arabic. Fs: Publications of the faculty of Letters, Dhar El
Mehraz.
Harrell, Richard S. (1962). A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic.
Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press.
Lieber, Rochelle (2009). Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
39
APPENDIXES
40
Perfect
Imperfect
Gloss
ba
bal
ban
bas
bat
ba
dab
aq
dar
ar
ax
daz
a
faq
fat
faz
ab
gal
ar
kal
kan
la
lam
lan
mal
mat
ad
qal
qam
qas
rab
ab
a
a
a
ab
af
ag
a
sal
aq
ar
at
a
ibu
ibul
iban
ibus
ibat
ibi
idub
iuq
idir
iur
iux
iduz
ii
ifiq
ifut
ifuz
iib
igul
iir
ikul
ikun
ilu
ilum
ilin
imil
imut
iud
iqul
iqum
iqis
irib
iib
iu
iu
iu
iib
iuf
iug
iu
isil
iiq
iir
iut
ii
to reveal
to urinate
to appear
to kiss
to stay over
to sell
to melt
to taste
to do
to turn
to be dizzy
to pass
to be lost
to wake up
to pass
to win
to be absent
to say
to be perplexed
to eat
to be
to throw
to blame
to be soft
to lean, to incline
to die
to get up
to say
to stand
to touch
to crumble
(of milk) to ferment
to move aside
to go
to spread
to grow grey hair
to see
to drive
to redact
to leak
to care
to mention
to shoot
to be left
41
a
tab
ab
af
a
al
ar
a
xab
xad
xaf
xan
zad
za
zal
zar
ab
al
a
ab
ad
aq
a
ii
itub
iib
iuf
ii
iul
iir
ii
ixib
ixud
ixaf
ixun
izid
izi
izul
izur
iib
iul
iu
iib
iud
iiq
ii
to spread
to repent
to be cooked
to turn around
to fall
to take long
to fly
to obey
to be disappointed
to take
to fear
to betray
to add
to be bold
to disappear
to visit
to bring
to wander
to be hungry
to fault
to return
to see through
to live
42
Perfect
Verbal Noun
Gloss
bal
bas
bat
ba
daq
dar
ar
ax
a
faq
ab
ar
lam
mat
ad
a
ab
af
sag
a
tab
ab
af
al
ar
a
xab
xaf
zad
za
zar
al
ab
ad
aq
a
Bul
Busan
Mbata
bi
Duqan
Djar
uran
uxa
ja
Fjaq
iba
ira
Luma
Mut
udan
awa
ib
ufa
Sugan
jaa
Tuba
jab
awaf
ul
iran
aa
Xiba
Xuf
Zjada
zjaa
zjjara
ula
ib
awda
jaqa
ia
urine
kissing
staying over
selling
tasting
doing
turning
dizziness
losing
waking up
absence
perplexity
blame
death
getting up
saleability
growing grey hair
look
driving
leftover
repentance
cooking
turning around
length
flying
obedience
deception
fear
addition
boldness
visit
tour
fault
return
arrogance
living
43
Perfect
causative
Gloss
bal
ban
bat
ba
dab
aq
ar
ax
daz
a
faq
fat
ab
ar
kan
lan
mal
mat
ad
qam
qas
rab
ra
ra
ra
sal
aq
ab
af
ar
a
ab
af
a
al
ar
xab
xaf
xan
zad
zal
zar
a
ab
bwwl
bjjn
bjjt
bjj
dwwb
awwq
awwr
awwx
dwwz
ajj
fajjq
fwwt
ajjb
ajjr
kwwn
ljjn
mjjl
mwwt
awwd
qawwm
qajjs
rjjb
raww
raww
raww
sjjl
awwq
jjb
wwf
jjr
ajj
ajjb
awwf
ajj
awwl
ajjr
xajjb
xawwf
xawwn
zjjd
zwwl
zawwr
ww
ajjb
ad
aq
a
awwd
ajjq
ajj
45