Properties of the Arabic language
5.4 Testing Levin’s Alternations for Arabic
5.4.1 Causativity alernations
Causative verbs typically have the readingx cause y to V-intransitive(Levin,1993).
As mentioned in section (4.2.1) Arabic recourses to morphological marking in order to signal the causative alternations. Causative verbs can be decausativized by adding prefixes like Pin-or ta-which cause the omission of the causative predicate [CAUSE] and its argument agent from the semantic structure and promote the object in the subject position on the syntactic level. Some verbs however, attest a covert marking of decausativization similar to English.
5.4.1.1 Middle alternation (17) a. The butcher cuts the meat.
b. The meat cuts easily. (Levin,1993, 25–26)
(18) * The tree cuts.
(19) a. yaqt
˙aca l-fallaah
˙-u ˇs-ˇsajarat-a.
cuts DEF-farmer-NOM DEF-tree-ACC
‘The farmer cuts the tree.
b. tan-qat
˙aca-t ˇs-ˇsajarat-u bi-suhuulat-in.
INCH-cuts DEF-tree-NOMwith-easiness-GEN
‘The tree cuts easily.
(20) tan-qat
˙icu ˇs-ˇsajarat-u.
INCH-cuts DEF-tree-NOM
‘The tree has been cut.’
Comment:
The middle alternation as found in English rather describes the property of an object than the event associated with the verb. Accordingly, it does not contain a time reference. It differs from the reflexive (section 5.4.7) in that it entails an unexpressed but understood agent who is not to be identified with the patient. It is also different form the inchoative (section5.4.1.2) in that it requires the presence of an obligatory adverbial or modal element. In this sense, the middle alternation is not found in Arabic, since, unlike English, the absence of an adverbial or modal element does not lead to ungrammaticality (20).
5.4.1.2 Causative/Inchoative alternation (21) a. Janet broke the cup.
b. The cup broke (Levin, 1993, 29)
(22) a. kasara t
˙-t
˙ifl-u n-naafid
¯at-a.
broke DEF-child-NOM DEF-window-ACC
‘The child broke the window.’
b. Pinokasara-ti n-naafid
¯ap-u.
broke-F DEF-window-NOM
‘The window broke.’
(23) Verbs of Change of State
a. caddana‘metalize’,callaka‘caramelize’, caqqada‘complicate’,caqqama ‘ster-ilize’, ˇsawwat
˙a ‘grieve’, qaddasa ‘make holy’, cakkara ‘discolor’, h
˙ayyada
‘neutralize’,Paddaba ‘make erudite’,Pacazza‘glorify’, h
˙araqa‘burn ’, fatah
˙a
‘open’, ˙galaqa ‘close’, Pajjaja ‘fan’, Palhaba ‘fan’, Panaara‘light’, Pannaqa
‘make elegant’, Pancaˇsa ‘reanimate’, Paws
˙ada ‘close’, xas
˙s
˙aba ‘fertilize’, t˙arrafa ‘radicalize’, ballala ‘wet’, basotara ‘pasteurize’, bassah
˙a ‘simplify’, dah˙ad
˙a ‘falsify’, dahowara‘deteriorate’, falt
˙ah
˙a ‘flatten’, fannada ‘nullify’, Pawqada ‘light’, Paws
˙ada ‘close’, Pistas
˙lah
˙a ‘reform’ Pazzama ‘aggravate’,
caqqada‘complicate’, s
˙aqala ‘shine’, lammaca‘glaze’, dah
˙wara ‘deteriorate’, dajjana ‘domesticate’, faaqama ‘aggravate’, falt
˙ah
˙a‘flatten’, fannada ‘nul-lify’, garraba ‘make strange’, gayyara ‘change’, hajjana ‘hybridize’, laxxas
˙a
‘summarize’, nawwaca‘diversify’,Pawojaza‘abbreviate’, xattana‘circumcise’, Payoqad
¯˙a ‘waken’. . .
c. Zero-related to Nouns s
˙annama ‘idolize’, ˇsayyaca ‘make to a Shiite’,
carraba ‘arabize’, cassala‘make to honey’, Pisotacobada ‘enslave’, Paksada
‘oxidize’, Pammama ‘nationalize’, Pannat
¯a‘feminize’, damaqrat
˙a ‘democra-tize’, dastara ‘constitutionalize’, jabbana ‘make to cheese’, zabbada ‘make to butter’, jannasa ‘naturalize’, kabrata‘sulfurize’, kallasa ‘calcify’, maPsasa
‘institutionalize’, maddana ‘urbanize’, magnat
˙a ‘magnetize’, rajjala ‘make to a man’, rasmala ‘capitalize’, nas
˙s
˙ara ‘christianize’, qannana ‘legalize’, d¯ahhaba‘make to gold’, xas
˙xas
˙a ‘privatize’, karmala‘caramelize’ . . .
d. Zero-related to Country Names fatnama‘vietnamize’,carqana‘irakize’, Paf ˙gana ‘afghanize’, Pafraqa ‘africanize’, Pamraka ‘americanize’, Pasobana
‘make Spanish’, Pasorala ‘Israelize’, Pawraba ‘make European’, s
˙awmala
‘somalize’, balqana ‘balkanize’, farnasa ‘frenchify’, Pasobana ‘hispanize’, jaromana ‘germanize’, labnana ‘libanize’, magraba ‘moroccanize’ . . .
e. -ana verbs: calmana‘mondialize’, ˇsaxs
˙ana‘personalize’, Panosana ‘human-ize’, caqlana ‘make rational’ . . .
(24) a. carraba-ti l-h
˙ukuumat-u t-tadriis-a.
arabized-F DEF-government-NOM DEF-studies-ACC.
‘The government arabized the studies.’
b. ta-carraba t-tadriis-u.
INCH-arabized DEF-studies-NOM.
‘The studies arabized.’
(25) Verbs of Degradation of Material Integrety a. qat
˙ara ‘split’, ˇsaqqa ‘cleave’, ˇsarˇsara ‘chip’, batala‘cut’, batara‘truncate’, batta‘cut’, battala‘cut’, bazala‘clip’, fas
˙s
˙ala
‘truncate’, fas
˙as
˙a ‘rip’, fallad
¯a‘cut’, faraa‘clip’, farama ‘fleece’, faxata ‘cut’, jad¯ama‘cut’, jabba‘truncate’, jadaca‘cut’, jaraza‘cut’, jazala‘chop’, jazama
‘clip’, jazza‘snip’, jazzaPa‘shear’, mazzaqa‘rip’, qas
˙s
˙a ‘chop’, xazala ‘truncate’
b. kasara ‘break’ verbs: ˇsad
¯˙d
¯˙aa ‘split’, ˇsadaxa ‘fracture’, ˇsaqqa ‘crack’, ˇsaqqaqa ‘INTS-crack’, h
˙at
˙t
˙ama ‘crumble’, fakkaka‘fragment’, falaqa ‘split’, fataqa ‘tear’, haˇsˇsama ‘smash’, has
˙ara break’, haad
˙a ‘fragment’, harasa
‘shatter’, kasara ‘break’, kassara ‘INTS-break’, . . .
(26) a. kasara s
˙-s
˙abiy-u l-kaPs-a.
broke DEF-boy-NOM DEF-glass-ACC
‘The boy broke the glass.’
b. Pn-kasara z-zujaaj-u
INCH-broke DEF-glass-NOM
‘The glass broke.’
(27) dammara ‘destroy’ verbs:
Pabaada ‘exterminate’, Pahlaka‘destroy’,Patlafa ‘devastate’, d
˙acd
˙aca‘raze’, h˙at
˙t
˙ama ‘wreck’, t
˙amasa ‘unmake’, dakka ‘ruin’, dammara ‘destroy’, fasaxa
‘annihilate’, haˇsˇsama ‘desecrate’, hadama ‘demolish’, hadda ‘ruin’, haddama
‘demolish’, laaˇsaa‘annihilate’, naqad
(28) a. dammara l-waaqic-u Pah
˙laam-a-hu.
destroyedDEF-reality-NOMdreams-ACC-his
‘The reality destroyed his dreams.’
b. ta-dammara-t Pah
˙olaam-u-hu.
INCH-destroyed-PLdreams-NOM-his
‘His dreams have been destroyed.’
(29) mazaja ‘mix’ verbs: Paalafa ‘consolidate’, Pallafa‘consolidate’,Paqrana
‘join’, ˇsaabaka‘connect’, jamaca‘join’, laPama‘join’, laah
˙ama‘unite’, maazaja
‘intermix’, mazaja ‘mix’, qarana ‘join’, rabat
˙a‘tie’, waˇsˇsaja ‘tie’, wah zaawaja ‘pair’, zawwaja‘pair’, . . .
(30) a. mazaja-t salmaa l-bayod
˙-a wa-l-h
˙aliib-a.
mixed-F salma(-NOM) DEF-eggs-ACC and-DEF-milk-ACC
‘Salma mixed the eggs with milk.’
b. Pi-mtazaja l-bayd
˙u wa-l-h
˙aliib-u.
INCH-mixed DEF-eggs-NOMand-DEF-milk-NOM
‘The eggs and the milk mixed.’
(31) sallaa‘amuse’verbs: dammara‘break’, faajaPa‘surprise’, fatana‘seduce’, haddada ‘menace’, hamma ‘sadden’, hammasa‘enthuse’, istafazza ‘provoke’, jad¯aba ‘attract’, jarah
˙a ‘hurt’, mattaca ‘amuse’, qazzaza ‘disgust’, raaca
‘disgust’, sarra‘gratify’, waasaa ‘console’, zaczaca‘distabilize’, . . . (32) a. sallaa l-bahlawaan-u l-Pat
˙faal-a.
amused DEF-clown-NOM DEF-children-ACC
‘The clown amused the children.’
b. ta-sallaa l-Pat
˙faal-u.
INTR-amused DEF-children-NOM
‘The children were amused.’
(33) * Pah
˙abba ‘love’ verbs: Pacd
˙ama ‘glorify’, Pacazza ‘cherish’, Pa ˙gbat
˙a
‘envy’, Pah
˙abba ‘love’, Pat
˙aaqa ‘tolerate’, Paat
¯ara ‘prefer’, Pajalla ‘glorify’, Pallaha ‘idolize’, Panifa ‘reject’,Pb ˙gad
˙a ‘abhor’, caˇsiqa ‘love’, caafa ‘detest’, h˙asada ‘envy’, fad
˙d
˙ala ‘prefer’, ictabara‘consider’,Pizdaraa ‘debase’, kariha
‘hate’, maqata‘abominate’, . . .
(34) a. yakrahu nabil-un t
¯-t
¯awm-a hates Nabil-NOM DEF-garlic-ACC
‘Nabil hates garlic.’
b. * Pin-karaha t
¯-t
¯awm-u.
INCH-hates DEF-garlic-NOM
* ‘Garlic hates.’
(35) Verbs of change of possession a. * Pact
˙aa ‘lend’ verbs: Pact
˙aa ‘lend’, Pacaara ‘give’, Paata‘lend’, Pajjara
‘lease’, Paqad
˙a ‘lend’, Phodaa ‘present’, baaca ‘sell’, karaa ‘lease’, mallaka
‘CAUS-own’, manah
˙a ‘give’, naawala ‘hand’, . . . b. *Pawrat
¯a‘bequeath’verbs: Paqt
˙aca‘allocate’,Pawrat
¯a‘bequeath’, kataba
‘allocate’, qat
˙aca ‘allocate’, taraka ‘leave’, warrat
¯a ‘bequeath’, xas
˙s
˙as
˙a ‘allot’
c. * radda ‘give back’ verbs: Pacaada ‘give back’, Paddaa ‘pay’, Parjaca
‘turn back’,cahida‘confide’, h
˙awwala ‘send’, dafaca‘pay’, farraqa‘distribute’, qaddama ‘give’, radda ‘turn back’, rajjaca‘turn back’, saddada pay back’, wazzaca‘distribute’
(36) a. Pact
˙aa caliy-un l-kitaab-a li-s
˙adiiq-in.
gave Ali-NOM DEF-book-NOMto-friend-GEN
‘Ali gave the book to a friend.’
b. * Pin-cat
˙aa l-kitaab-u li-s
˙-s
˙adiiq-i.
INCH-gaveDEF-book.NOMto-DEF-friend-GEN.
* ‘The book gave to the friend.’
(37) Verbs of Contact by impact:
a. s
˙araqa ‘cuff ’, daqqa‘hit’, faˇsaxa
‘spank’, falaqa‘hit’, kasaca‘hit’, lat
˙aca‘spank’, lat
˙ama‘spank’, lakaPa‘punch’, lakama ‘punch’, lakaza ‘punch’, lakka ‘punch’, . . .
b. dama ˙ga ‘hit-on-the-head’ verbs: carqaba‘hit-on-the-ankle’, d
˙alaca ‘hit-on-the-side’, dama ˙ga‘hit-on-the-head’, jalada ‘belt’, karaca‘hit-on-the-ankle’, qafaa ‘hit-on-the-nape’, qarana ‘hit-on-the-horn’, raPasa ‘hit-on-the-head’,
caqaba‘hit-on-the-ankle’, d
˙alaca ‘hit-on-the-rib’, h
˙aˇsaa‘hit-on-the-stomach’, qafada ‘hit-on-the-neck’, qah
˙afa ‘hit-on-the-head’, daqana ‘hit-on-the-chin’, kacaba ‘hit-on-the-ankle’, bat
˙ana‘hit-on-the-stomach’, jabah
˙a ‘hit-on-the-forehead’
(38) a. yad
˙ribu l-h
˙addaad-u l-macdin-a bi-l-mit
˙raqat-i.
hits DEF-forger-NOM DEF-metal-ACC with-DEF-hammer-GEN.
‘The forger hits the metal with the hammer.’
b. Pin-d
˙araba l-macdin-u bi-l-mit
˙raqat-i.
INCH-hits DEF-metal-NOM with-DEF-hammer-GEN
‘The metal has been hit with the hammer.’
(39) Verbs of Killing
a. qatala ‘murder’ verbs: Pacdama ‘execute’, Pabaada ‘exterminate’, Pahlaka ‘perish’, Pamaata ‘CAUS-die’, Pardaa ‘kill’, caqara‘immolate’, s
˙affaa
‘execute’, d
¯akkaa ‘immolate’, dabah
˙a ‘butcher’, i ˙gtaala ‘murder’, nah
˙ara
‘butcher’, qatala ‘kill’
b. sammama ‘poison’ verbs: Pa ˙graqa ‘drwon’, ˙garraqa ‘drown’, s
˙alaba ‘cru-cify’, t
˙acana ‘knife’, rajama ‘stone’, samma ‘poison’, sammama ‘poison’, xanaqa‘suffocate’, ˇsanaqa ‘hang’
(40) a. sammama l-jaasuus-u l-qaaPid-a.
poisoned DEF-spy-NOM DEF-leader-ACC
‘The spy poisoned the leader.’
b. ta-sammama l-qaaPid-u.
INCH-poisoned DEF-leader-NOM
‘The leader has been poisoned.’
(41) * Verbs of Message Transfer
a. ˇsarah
˙a ‘explain’ verbs: Pad
¯˙hara ‘show’, Paftaa ‘dictate’,Palqaa ‘recite’, Pamlaa ‘dictate’,Pawd
˙ah
˙a ‘clarify’, callala‘prove’, ˇsarah
˙a ‘explain’, h
˙akaa
‘narrate’, barrara‘explain’, bayyana ‘show’, fas
˙s
˙ala‘explain’, fassara ‘inter-pret’, jallaa ‘explain’, qas
˙s
˙a ‘narrate’, qaala ‘tell/say’, qaraPa‘read’, rawaa
‘narrate’, sarada ‘narrate’, talaa ‘read’, wad
˙d explainedDEF-teacher-NOM DEF-verse-ACC
li-t˙-t
˙alabat-i-hi.
to-DEF-students-GEN-his.
‘The teacher explained the verse to his students.’
b. * Pin-ˇsarah
˙a l-bayot-u li-t
˙-t
˙alabat-i.
INCH-explainedDEF-verse-NOM to-DEF-students-GEN
* ‘The verse explained to the students.’
(43) wad
˙aca: ‘put’ class: Padraja ‘insert’, Padxala ‘CAUS-enter’, Parsaxa
‘plant’, t
¯abbata‘position’, ˙garasa‘plant’, h
˙at
˙t
˙a‘place’, t
˙amara‘bury’, dafana
‘bury’, mawd
˙aca ‘place’, mawqaca ‘position’, qabara ‘bury’, rakana ‘park’, rakaza ‘position’, rakkaza‘position’, ramasa ‘bury’, rassaxa ‘plant’, wad
˙aca put DEF-functionary-NOM DEF-dossiers-ACC in d-daraji.
DEF-drawer-GEN
‘The functionary put the dossiers in the drawer.’
b. Pin-wad
˙aca-ti l-milaffaat-U fii d-daraji.
INCH-put DEF-dossiers-NOMin DEF-drawer-GEN
‘The dossiers have been put in the drawer.’
Comment:
The causative/inchoative alternation is a very frequent alternation in Arabic.
However it is not always triggered by the presence of a causative predicate in the semantic composition of verbs. Thus, although verbs of message transfer
or possession transfer involve a causative meaning, they are not found with the inchoative alternation. However, unlike English all causative verbs of change of position in Arabic such as wad
˙aca ‘put’, callaqa ‘hang’ are found in the inchoative alternation. Some causative psych verbs of the class Pah
˙abba ‘love’ are found with the inchoative alternation in some colloquial variations of Arabic (Egyptian Arabic). In modern standard Arabic however, there is no evidence of this use.
According to the derivational model adopted in this work, the inchoative meaning of a verb can be encoded as a simple form or as a derived form. As we have seen, simple forms typically have the pattern CaCaCa, CaCiCaor CaCuCa. Derived inchoative verbs show one various, e.g. pattern Pin-CaCaCa, ta-CaCCala. Thus, most change of state verbs that incorporate adjectives are noncausative in the base form and causative in the derived form (45). They will be treated separately in association with the Arabic-specific alternationnoncausative/causative alternation in section 6.1. However, change of state verbs with a zero-relation to nouns like maddana ‘urbanize’ are mostly causative in the base form and inchoative in the derived form ta-maddana ‘INCH-urbanize’. They accordingly reflect the derivational direction shown in (46).
(45) Root =⇒Inchoative form =⇒Causative form =⇒. . . (46) Root =⇒Causative form =⇒Inchoative form =⇒. . .
The inchoative in Arabic, as well as in many Semitic languages and also in some romance languages, often intersects with the reflexive in using the same morpho-logical material. This intersection has lead Chierchia (1989) to consider them as being an identical phenomena. He claims that in both cases the morphology attributes the instigation of the denoted event to the patient (or theme) itself.
However, as Doron(2003) demonstrates, this is only true for reflexives and not for inchoatives. Thus, as in Hebrew, the Arabic verb Pin-walada‘INCH-bear’ cannot be paraphrased as ‘give birth to itself ’, as is the case in the reflexive reading of a verb like Pi-gotasala ‘REFL-wash’ which allows the paraphrase ‘to wash himself ’.
The inchoative always entails an understood causer which cannot be identified with the undergoer. With the reflexive however, the causer and the undergoer are identical. This consideration has two implications: First, not all verbs that
allow for the inchoative also allows for the reflexive. Consequently not all verbs that allow for the reflexive allow for the inchoative. However, this does not mean that the inchoative and the reflexive are mutually exclusive. Some verbs allow for both readings at the same time. For instance, the verb jahhaza ‘equip’ of the class jahhaza ‘equip’ has one derived form ta-jahhaza which can have two interpretations: ‘y is equipped with z (by x) where x is an understood agent’, and
‘z equips themself with y where z is (also) an agent’. This is also true for some causative psych verbs like sallaa ‘amuse’. The middle form of these verbs, for instance ta-sallaa ‘MID-amuse’, has the interpretation of ‘y is amused (by x)’,and
‘ y amuse him/herself ’. A test to distinguish the reflexive from the inchoative is to use the verb in a complement of najah
˙a ‘succeed’ shown in (47) and (48).
(47) najah
˙a s
˙-s
˙abiy-ui fiyPano yai-tasallaa.
succeeded DEF-boy-NOM in that he-amuse
‘The boy succeeded in amusing himself.’
,
(48) * najah
˙a s
˙-s
˙abiy-ui fiy Pano yai-h
˙zana.
succeeded DEF-boy-NOMin that he-sadden
* ‘The boy succeeded in being sad.’
This test succeeds only with verbs whose external argument can be correferent to the subject of the matrix verb, in other words, it is only applicable for verbs whose subject has the same semantic properties as the subject of the matrix verb najah
˙a
‘succeed’. These properties are mainly agentive features like volition, sentience, perception, etc (Dowty, 1991). Thus, the verb ta-sallaa ‘MID-amuse’ passes the test, whereas the verb h
˙azina ‘MID-sadden’ of the same class does not, which means that it can only be used with the inchoative.
5.4.1.3 Induced action alternation
(49) a. Sylvia jumped the horse over the fence.
b. The horse jumped over the fence. (Levin, 1993, 31) (50) qafaza ‘jump’ verbs
Pafaqa‘travel’,Pahraca‘speed’,Pakraba‘rush’,Pasraa‘walk by night’,caama
‘swim’, cadaa ‘run’, caraja ‘limp’, d
¯˙alaca ‘limp’, h
˙abaa ‘crawl’, t
˙aara ‘fly’, t˙afara ‘jump’, baxtara ‘strut’, dabba ‘crawl’, daraja ‘step’, farqaca ‘run’, hafaa ‘jump’, harwala ‘trot’, hazaca ‘hurry’, jaaba ‘tour’, jaraa ‘run’, . . . (51) a. qafaza l-h
˙is
˙aan-u calaa l-h
˙aajiz-i.
jumpedDEF-horse-NOM over DEF-barrier-GEN
‘The horse jumped over the barrier.’
b. qaffaza l-faaris-u l-h
˙is
˙aan-a calaa l-h
˙aajiz-i.
jumpedDEF-cavalier-NOM DEF-horse-ACC over DEF-barrier-GEN
‘The cavalier jumped the horse over the barrier.’
Comment:
This alternation is found with intransitive verbs of motion involving an active and volitional instigator. It is considered an instance of the causative alternations since it increases the valency of the verbs by introducing a new argument wich has the role cause. It differs form the causative/inchoative alternation in several points:
1. It shows the inverse derivational direction since the intransitive verb is the base form and the transitive verb is the derived form.
2. Accordingly, the derived causative form is marked morphologically, whereas the intransitive form is not.
3. The derived causative form is marked by the prefix Pa- jaraa/Pa-jraa
‘run/CAUS-run’ or by the gemination of the second root consonantqafaza/qaffaza
‘jump/CAUS-jump’.
4. The subject of the intransitive verb is not assigned an undergoer role but volitional agent-like role (volitional theme).
Similar to the run class in English, these verbs in Arabic involve an accompanied motion of the cause. The example sentence in (51) has the meaning of the cavalier causing the horse to jump, without implying an accompanied motion, because the cavalier is not riding the horse. The other meaning involves an accompanied motion since the cavalier is riding the horse.
Similar to the indirect causative, the subject in the b-variant can be an abstract cause or a natural force.
5.4.1.4 Substance/Source alternation (52) a. Heat radiates from the sun.
b. The sun radiates heat. (Levin,1993, 32–33)
(53) Verbs of substance emission
a. nazafa ‘bleed’ verbs: nazafa ‘bleed’, wakafa ‘drip’, saala ‘leak’, nataca
‘ooze’, natah
˙a ‘seep’, raˇsah
˙a ‘exude’, Pazaba ‘gush’, wazaba ‘squirt’, qat
˙ara
‘drip’, . . .
b. Pafraza‘secrete’verbs: Pafraza‘secrete’,Paxraja‘exude’, bacat
¯a‘radiate’, dafaca ‘emanate’, nafat
¯a ‘putt’, sajama ‘leak’, d
¯arafa ‘drip’, . . . (54) a. nazafa d-dam-u min l-jurh
˙-i
bled DEF-blood from DEF-wound-GEN
‘The blood dripped from the wound.’
b. nazafa l-jurh
˙-u dam-an.
bled DEF-wound-NOMbleed-ACC
‘The wound dripped blood’
Comment:
The main property of thesubstance/source alternationis the alternating realization of the theme (the substance) and the source (the emitter) in the subject position.
In the base construction in (54a), the substance is realized as the subject and the source is realized as the object of the preposition min‘from’. In the derived construction in (54b), the source is realized as the subject and the theme as the direct object. Most verbs of the class nazafa ‘bleed’ require no morphological marking to participate in this alternation. That is, for the base form as well as for the transformed form, the verb has the same morphological form. Verbs of the class Pafraza ‘secrete’ however, mark the accusative verb form in some cases, e.g.
Pa-xraja/xaraja ‘CAUS-exude/INCH-exude’ and the intransitive unaccusative verb form in other cases bacat
¯/Pin-bacat
¯ ‘radiate/INCH-radiate’.
5.4.1.5 Unspecified object alternation (55) a. Mike ate the cake.
b. Mike ate. (→Mike ate a meal or something one typically eats.) (Levin, 1993, 33)
(56) callama ‘teach’ verbs: callama‘teach’, darrasa ‘teach’, laqqana ‘teach’
(57) a. yudarrisu l-rriyaad
˙iy-u l-jabr-a.
teaches DEF-mathematician-NOM DEF-algebra-ACC
‘The mathematician teaches algebra.’
b. yudarrisu l-rriyaad
˙iy-u.
teaches DEF-mathematician-NOM
‘The mathematician teaches’
(58) gannaa ‘sing’verbs: Panˇsada‘chant’, rattala‘carol’,Pirtajala‘improvise’, laciba‘play’, ˇsadaa ‘sing’, mat
¯t
¯ala ‘act’, kataba ‘write’, Pallafa ‘compose’, gannaa ‘sing’, rasama ‘paint’, . . .
(59) a. rasama-t salmaa lawh
˙at-an.
painted-FSalma tableau-ACC
‘Salma painted a tableau.’
b. rasama-t salmaa.
painted-FSalma
‘Salma painted.’
(60) Pakala ‘eat’ verbs: Pakala ‘eat’,PaklaPa ‘eat’ (for animals) , calafa ‘eat’
(for animals), ˇsariba‘drink’, t
˙acima‘eat’, kalaPa‘eat’ (for animals), rad
˙aca
‘INCH-suckle, warada ‘drink’ (for animals)
(61) a. Pakala t
˙-t
˙ifl-u l-kackat-a.
ate DEF-child-NOM DEF-cake-ACC
‘The child at the cake.’
b. Pakala t
˙a‘explain’verbs (some): Paftaa‘dictate’,Pamlaa‘dictate’,Pawd
˙ah
˙ala‘explain’, fassara‘interpret’, qaraPa‘read’, . . .
(63) a. ˇsarah
˙a l-mucallim-u d-dars-a.
explainedDEF-teacher-NOM DEF-lection-ACC
‘The teacher explained the lection.’
b. ˇsarah
˙a l-mucallim-u.
explainedDEF-teacher-NOM
‘The teacher explained.’
Comment:
This is one of the most frequent alternations in Arabic and is often related to activity verbs. The object of the transitive verb can either be specified or not.
The verb in the intransitive variant does not require morphological marking. The understood object in the intransitive reading is characterized to be a typical object of the verb. Thus, the understood (unspecified) object of a verb like ‘Pakala ‘eat’
in the b-variant of (61) is typically and unambiguously a comestible and solid object.
5.4.1.6 Understood body-Part object alternation (intransitive) (64) a. The departing passenger waved his hand at the crowd.
b. The departing passenger waved at the crowd. (Levin,1993, 34–35) (65) Verbs of gestures/signs involivng body parts:
a. * lawwah
˙a ‘wave’ verbs: Paˇsaara ‘point’, PawmaPa ‘wink’, Pawmad
˙a
˙a ‘wave’, wamaPa ‘wink’, xafaqa ‘cock’, gamaza ‘wink’, . . .
b. fagara ‘open (mouth)’ verbs (some): fagara ‘open (mouth)’, qat waved DEF-traveler-NOMhand-ACC-his
‘The traveler waved his hand.’
b. lawwah
b. lawwah