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ENGL 540 Dr. Scheibman 11-29-2011 Morphology Exercise: Modern Standard Arabic

Examine the following data from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and answer the subsequent questions (Ryding, 46, 49, 156, 157, 441- 443). Note that present tense verb conjugations in MSA are achieved with circumfixes. (M)=masculine, (F)=feminine. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. [yaktubna] [kitab] [katabtu] [alsamak] [katabta] [istaxdamuhu] [kataba] [katib] they write (F) book I wrote the fish you wrote (M) they used it (M) we wrote writer 9. [wasaf] 10. [katabi] 11. [alxubz] 12. [kataba] 13. [qabalna katiban] 14. [katabat] 15. [katabu] 16. [alsharaf] described you wrote (F) the bread he wrote we met a writer she wrote they wrote (M) the honor

A. List and gloss the following morphemes in these data: 1SG.PST ______ write.PST ______ 2FSG.PST ______ 1PL.PST ______ it ______ 3MSG.PST ______ 2MSG.PST ______ DEF.ART ______ 3FSG.PST ______ B. Give the MSA word/s for the following English translations: 1.________________________________ They described it. (M) 2.________________________________ They wrote the book. (F) C. Based on the limited data, what kind of morphology does MSA exhibit in terms of fusional and synthesis indexes? Explain.

Discussion and Solutions A. To solve this problem, isolate the morphemes by comparing forms, such as past tense verb conjugations, and note the differences. Ex. [katabtu] I wrote [kataba] we wrote. 1SG.PST -tu 1PL.PST -a 2MSG.PST -ta write.PST katabit -hu DEF.ART al2FSG.PST -i 3MSG.PST -a 3FSG.PST -at

B. To answer number 1 of this question, 15, 9, and 6 from the data set are needed to deduce that the answer is one word, and to understand the correct order of the morphemes. Number 2 requires more work. The past tense feminine form of write has to be established. This is done by using 1 from the data set and comparing it to the past tense forms of the verb listed, noting that the past tense form only uses suffixes. Using 13 from the data set helps to establish that they wrote the book would be two separate words in MSA. 1.[wasafuhu] 2.[katabna alkitab] They described it. (M) They wrote the book. (F)

C. This is a tricky question*. Using the limited data set, the past tense [katab] and present tense [ktub] MSA verb stem for to write can be isolated, while [katib], writer and [katiban] a writer are provided. In each instance it can be observed that the same three consonants (velar voiceless stop, alveolar voiceless stop, and bilabial voiced stop) are present and occur in the same sequence, [k-t-b], with different vowels woven between the consonants. This is sign of interweaving morphemes and indicates discontinuous or nonconcatenative morphology. However, the easily identifiable suffixing used for conjugating the past tense form of to write implies otherwise. Therefore, the examples provided seem to show that MSA has polysynthetic (many morphemes per word and multiple stems and roots) traits and as well as aspects of agglutination. *The MSA examples may give the impression that its morphemes are more or less easily segmented into their parts (an agglutinating trait) but this is not the case of the language as a whole, which exhibits more fusional traits (Ryding, 2005, p. 45).

References Ryding, C. K. (2005). A reference grammar of modern standard Arabic. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.