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Part of
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXVI: Papers from the annual symposium on Arabic Linguistics. New York, 2012
Edited by Reem Khamis-Dakwar and Karen Froud
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 2] 2014
► pp. 243–260

Terms of endearment and anger 
in Levantine Arabic

Praying for and against someone

| University of Texas at Austin

This article provides a detailed description of a specific structure in Arabic referred to as “God-wishes” by Fergusson (1997). In spite of their singular third person agreement features, the article argues that they are actually imperatives in disguise. Evidence supporting this conclusion is cited across the paper. The data described is derived from hundreds of hours of television series in Levantine Arabic broadcast in Ramadan over the last fifteen or so years.

Published online: 30 October 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.2.16moh
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