Cover not available
Part of
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXII: Papers selected from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Tempe, Arizona, 2018
Edited by Elly van Gelderen
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 9] 2020
► pp. 71–108

On the syntax of correlation: Evidence from Egyptian Arabic

| Middlebury College

The goal of this paper is to describe and analyze the syntax of two types of correlation structures (CSs) in Egyptian Arabic (EA): A structure introduced by the quantifier kull (‘every’), and another introduced by the measure PP ʕalā Ɂadd (literally, ‘on/by amount’). More specifically, it is shown that both types of structures involve subordination, where the first clause is subordinate to the second. A syntactic analysis along the lines of den Dikken (2005) and Taylor (2013) for comparative correlatives is first shown to account for the main grammatical properties of both types of CSs in EA. A cartographic implementation of the analysis is then proposed to account for a wider range of empirical data related to CSs, including their information structure properties. The data and analysis presented in this paper thus add to the body of empirical literature on CSs cross-linguistically, while showing that their grammatical properties do follow under standard syntactic analysis, and that analyzing such structures as ‘constructional’ primitives of the grammar is unnecessary.

Keywords: correlation structures, comparative correlatives, left-periphery, clausal cartography, Arabic syntax, Egyptian Arabic
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The grammatical properties of correlation structures in EA
    • 2.1Type A of correlation structures in EA
    • 2.2Type B of correlation structures in EA
  • 3.The macro-syntax of correlation structures
  • 4.The micro-syntax of correlation structures
    • 4.1Deriving correlation structures in EA
    • 4.2Lexical doubling in CSs as a post-syntactic operation
    • 4.3Summary
  • 5.A cartographic analysis of the micro-syntax of correlation structures
  • 6.Brief remarks on ‘constructions’
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 28 August 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.9.04sol
References
Abeillé, A., & Borsley, R. D.
(2008) Comparative correlatives and parameters. Lingua, 118, 1139–1157. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Abu Ħayyān
(1256–1344) Al-Baħr Al-Muħīṭ. A 1993 edition. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Kutub Al-ʕilmiya.Google Scholar
Al-Khalīl (718–786) & Sībawayh (ca. 765–796)
Al-Kitāb. A 1988 edition. Cairo, Egypt: Al-Khangi Bookshop.
Alqurashi, A. A., & Borsley, R. D.
(2014) The Comparative correlative construction in Modern Standard Arabic. In S. Müller (Ed.), Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, University at Buffalo (pp. 6–26). Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.Google Scholar
Az-Zamakhšari
(1075–1144) Al-Kaššāf. A 2009 edition. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Ma’rifa.Google Scholar
Beck, S.
(1997) On the semantics of comparative conditionals. Linguistics and Philosophy, 20, 229–271. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bhatt, R.
(2009) Comments on ‘Comparative correlatives in Greek: The syntax of oso’ . In C. Halpert, J. Hartman, & D. Hill (Eds.), MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 57: Proceedings of the 2007 Workshop on Greek Syntax and Semantics at MIT (pp. 107–122). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.Google Scholar
Borgonovo, C., & Valmala, V.
(2010) The syntax of Spanish comparative correlatives. In B. Hollebrandse, B. Kampers-Manhe, & R. Bok-Bennema (Eds.), Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2008: Selected Papers from ‘Going Romance’ Groningen 2008 (pp. 17–35). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borsley, R. D.
(2003) On the Polish periphery: Comparative correlatives in Polish. In P. Banski & A. Przepiórkowski (Eds.), GLIP-5: Proceedings of Fifth Generative Linguistics in Poland Conference (pp. 15–28). Warsaw, Poland: Polish Academy of Science.Google Scholar
(2004) An Approach to English Comparative Correlatives. In S. Müller (Ed.) Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (pp. 70–92). Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.Google Scholar
(2011) Constructions, functional heads, and comparative correlatives. In O. Bonami & P. C. Hofherr (Eds.), Empirical Issues in Syntax and Semantics 8 (pp. 7–20). Available at: [URL]
Chaves, R.
(2012) On the grammar of extraction and coordination. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 30, 465–512. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chomsky, N.
(1995) The minimalist program. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
(2000) Minimalist inquiries: The framework. In M. Roger, D. Michaels, & J. Uriagereka (Eds.), Step by Step: Essays on Minimalist Syntax in Honor of Howard Lasnik (pp. 89–156). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
(2001) Derivation by Phase. In M. Kenstowicz (Ed.), Ken Hale: A Life in Language (pp. 1–52). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Culicover, P. W., & Jackendoff, R.
(1999) The View from the periphery: The English comparative correlative. Linguistic Inquiry, 30, 543–571. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
den Dikken, M.
(2005) Comparative correlatives comparatively. Linguistic Inquiry, 36, 497–532. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dooley, S.
(2014) The Swedish comparative correlative construction: Ju… Desto… and variations. In B. Lyngfelt & C. Wide (Eds.), a special issue of Constructions. Available at: [URL]
E, C.
(2014) The Syntax of comparative correlatives in Mandarin Chinese. PhD Dissertation, University of Arizona.Google Scholar
Fillmore, C.
(1987) Varieties of conditional sentences. ESCOL, 3, 163–182.Google Scholar
Heim, I.
(1982) The semantics of definite and indefinite noun phrases. PhD Dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.Google Scholar
Hsiao, S.
(2003) On proportional correlative constructions in Chinese and Mongolian. Journal of Taiwanese Languages and Literature, 1, 239–267.Google Scholar
Huber, S.
(2007) Comparative correlatives – The case of German. In T. Crane, O. David, D. Fenton, H. J. Haynie, S. Katseff, R. Lee-Goldman, R. Rouvier, & D. Yu (Eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (pp. 220–231). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ibn Hišām
(1309–1360) Mughnī Al-Labīb. A 1964 edition. Damascus, Syria: Dar Al-Fikr.Google Scholar
Iwasaki, E., & Radford, A.
(2009) Comparative correlatives in English: A minimalist-cartographic analysis. Essex Research Reports in Linguistics, Vol. 57.6. University of Essex, Colchester, UK. Available at: [URL]
Jespersen, O.
(1961) A modern English grammar on historical principles. London: George Allen and Unwin/Copenhagen: Munksgaard.Google Scholar
Kapetangianni, K., & Taylor, H. L.
(2009) Comparative correlatives in Greek: The syntax of oso . In C. Halpert, J. Hartman, & D. Hill (Eds.), MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 57: Proceedings of the 2007 Workshop on Greek Syntax and Semantics at MIT (pp. 91–105). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.Google Scholar
Leung, T. T-C.
(2003) Comparative correlatives and parallel occurrence of elements. PhD screening paper, University of Southern California.Google Scholar
Lewis, D.
(1975) Adverbs of quantification. In E. Keenan (Ed.), Formal Semantics of Natural Language (pp. 3–15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lin, J.
(2007) On the semantics of comparative correlatives in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Semantics, 24, 169–213. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCawley, J. D.
(1988) The comparative conditional constructions in English, German and Chinese. In S. Axmaker, A. Jaisser, & H. Singmaster (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (pp. 176–187). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Michaelis, L.
(1994) A case of constructional polysemy in Latin. Studies in Language, 18, 45–70. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pesetsky, D.
(1987) Wh-in-situ: Movement and unselective binding. In E. J. Reuland & A. G. B. ter Meulen (Eds.), The representation of (in)definiteness (pp. 98–129). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Rizzi, L.
(1997) The fine structure of the left periphery. In L. Haegeman (Ed.), Elements of Grammar (281–337). Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ross, J. R.
(1967) Constraints on variables in syntax. PhD Dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar
Soltan, U.
(2009) Agree in the functional domain: Evidence from the morphosyntax of positive and negative imperatives in Standard Arabic. In A. Ojo & L. Moshi (Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (pp. 86–99). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. Available at: [URL]
(2011) On strategies of question-formation and the grammatical status of the Q-particle huwwa in Egyptian Arabic wh-questions. In L. Friedman (Ed.), University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics Volume 17: Issue 1, Article 24. Available at: [URL]
(2019) On Two Types of Correlation Structures in Egyptian Arabic. In R. Stockwell, M. O’Leary, Z. Xu, and Z. L. Zhou (Eds.), Proceedings of the 36th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (pp. 316–325). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. Available at: [URL]Google Scholar
Srivastav, V.
(1991) The syntax and semantics of correlatives. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 9, 637–686. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taylor, H. L.
(2006) Out on Good Syntactic Behavior. Generals Paper, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar
(2013) Grammar deconstructed: Constructions and the curious case of the comparative correlative. PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar