‫‪Definiteness and Indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻌﻨﻮﺍﻥ‪:‬‬

‫ﺍﻟﻤﻮﻣﻨﻲ‪ ،‬ﺭﻳﻢ ﺃﺣﻤﺪ ﺭﺿﻮﺍﻥ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻤؤﻟﻒ ﺍﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ‪:‬‬

‫ﺟﺎﺑﺮ‪ ،‬ﻋﺰﻳﺰ)ﻣﺸﺮﻑ(‬ ‫ﻣؤﻟﻔﻴﻦ ﺁﺧﺮﻳﻦ‪:‬‬
‫‪2019‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺘﺎﺭﻳﺦ ﺍﻟﻤﻴﻼﺩﻱ‪:‬‬
‫ﺇﺭﺑﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﻮﻗﻊ‪:‬‬
‫‪Al-Yarmouk University‬‬
‫‪1 - 86‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺼﻔﺤﺎﺕ‪:‬‬
‫‪Faculty of Arts‬‬
‫‪1106202‬‬ ‫ﺭﻗﻢ ‪:MD‬‬
‫ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻴﺔ‪Department of English Language‬‬
‫‪and Literature‬‬
‫ﺭﺳﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﻧﻮﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﺘﻮﻯ‪:‬‬
‫‪English‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻠﻐﺔ‪:‬‬
‫ﺭﺳﺎﻟﺔ ﻣﺎﺟﺴﺘﻴﺮ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺟﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ‪:‬‬

‫ﺍﻟﻴﺮﻣﻮﻙ ‪Definiteness and Indefiniteness in‬‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ‬

‫‪Jordanian‬‬ ‫‪Arabic‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ‪:‬‬
‫ﻛﻠﻴﺔ ﺍﻵﺩﺍﺏ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻜﻠﻴﺔ‪:‬‬
‫‪By‬‬
‫ﺍﻻﺭﺩﻥ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟﺔ‪:‬‬
‫‪Reem Ahmad Radwan Al-Momani‬‬
‫‪Dissertations‬‬ ‫ﻗﻮﺍﻋﺪ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎﺕ‪:‬‬
‫ﺍﻟﻠﻬﺠﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﺍﻟﻠﻬﺠﺔ ﺍﻷﺭﺩﻧﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﺍﻟﻨﺤﻮﻳﺔ‪ ،‬ﺍﻟﻨﻜﺮﺓ ﺍﻟﺪﻻﻟﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻣﻮﺍﺿﻴﻊ‪:‬‬
‫‪http://search.mandumah.com/Record/1106202‬‬ ‫ﺭﺍﺑﻂ‪:‬‬
‫‪Supervisor‬‬

‫‪Dr. Aziz Jaber‬‬

‫‪Program: Linguistics‬‬

‫‪2019‬‬

‫© ‪ 2022‬ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻈﻮﻣﺔ‪ .‬ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﺤﻘﻮﻕ ﻣﺤﻔﻮﻇﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺩﺓ ﻣﺘﺎﺣﺔ ﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻹﺗﻔﺎﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﻮﻗﻊ ﻣﻊ ﺃﺻﺤﺎﺏ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ‪ ،‬ﻋﻠﻤﺎ ﺃﻥ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻣﺤﻔﻮﻇﺔ‪ .‬ﻳﻤﻜﻨﻚ ﺗﺤﻤﻴﻞ ﺃﻭ ﻃﺒﺎﻋﺔ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺩﺓ ﻟﻼﺳﺘﺨﺪﺍﻡ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺸﺨﺼﻲ ﻓﻘﻂ‪ ،‬ﻭﻳﻤﻨﻊ ﺍﻟﻨﺴﺦ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﻮﻳﻞ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻋﺒﺮ ﺃﻱ ﻭﺳﻴﻠﺔ )ﻣﺜﻞ ﻣﻮﺍﻗﻊ ﺍﻻﻧﺘﺮﻧﺖ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﺒﺮﻳﺪ ﺍﻻﻟﻜﺘﺮﻭﻧﻲ( ﺩﻭﻥ ﺗﺼﺮﻳﺢ ﺧﻄﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺻﺤﺎﺏ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﺃﻭ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻈﻮﻣﺔ‪.‬‬
 ‫ﻟﻺﺳﺘﺸﻬﺎﺩ ﺑﻬﺬﺍ ﺍﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﻗﻢ ﺑﻨﺴﺦ ﺍﻟﺒﻴﺎﻧﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﺣﺴﺐ ﺇﺳﻠﻮﺏ ﺍﻹﺳﺘﺸﻬﺎﺩ ﺍﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺏ‪:‬‬

‫ﺇﺳﻠﻮﺏ ‪APA‬‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻮﻣﻨﻲ‪ ،‬ﺭﻳﻢ ﺃﺣﻤﺪ ﺭﺿﻮﺍﻥ‪ ،‬ﻭ ﺟﺎﺑﺮ‪ ،‬ﻋﺰﻳﺰ‪Definiteness and Indefiniteness in Jordanian .(2019) .‬‬
‫‪)Arabic‬ﺭﺳﺎﻟﺔ ﻣﺎﺟﺴﺘﻴﺮ ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﻨﺸﻮﺭﺓ(‪ .‬ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﻴﺮﻣﻮﻙ‪ ،‬ﺇﺭﺑﺪ‪ .‬ﻣﺴﺘﺮﺟﻊ ﻣﻦ‬
‫‪http://search.mandumah.com/Record/1106202‬‬
‫ﺇﺳﻠﻮﺏ ‪MLA‬‬
‫‪Al-Yarmouk‬‬
‫‪ "Arabic Jordanian in Indefiniteness and‬ﺭﺳﺎﻟﺔ‬ ‫‪University‬‬
‫"‪Definiteness‬‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻤﻮﻣﻨﻲ‪ ،‬ﺭﻳﻢ ﺃﺣﻤﺪ ﺭﺿﻮﺍﻥ‪ ،‬ﻭ ﻋﺰﻳﺰ ﺟﺎﺑﺮ‪.‬‬
‫ﻣﺎﺟﺴﺘﻴﺮ‪ .‬ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﻴﺮﻣﻮﻙ‪ ،‬ﺇﺭﺑﺪ‪ .2019 ،‬ﻣﺴﺘﺮﺟﻊ ﻣﻦ ‪1106202/Record/com.mandumah.search//:http‬‬
‫‪Faculty of Arts‬‬
‫‪Department of English Language and Literature‬‬

‫‪Definiteness and Indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic‬‬

‫‪By‬‬

‫‪Reem Ahmad Radwan Al-Momani‬‬

‫‪Supervisor‬‬

‫‪Dr. Aziz Jaber‬‬

‫‪Program: Linguistics‬‬

‫‪2019‬‬

‫© ‪ 2022‬ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻈﻮﻣﺔ‪ .‬ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﺤﻘﻮﻕ ﻣﺤﻔﻮﻇﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺩﺓ ﻣﺘﺎﺣﺔ ﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻹﺗﻔﺎﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﻮﻗﻊ ﻣﻊ ﺃﺻﺤﺎﺏ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ‪ ،‬ﻋﻠﻤﺎ ﺃﻥ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻣﺤﻔﻮﻇﺔ‪ .‬ﻳﻤﻜﻨﻚ ﺗﺤﻤﻴﻞ ﺃﻭ ﻃﺒﺎﻋﺔ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺩﺓ ﻟﻼﺳﺘﺨﺪﺍﻡ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺸﺨﺼﻲ ﻓﻘﻂ‪ ،‬ﻭﻳﻤﻨﻊ ﺍﻟﻨﺴﺦ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﻮﻳﻞ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻋﺒﺮ ﺃﻱ ﻭﺳﻴﻠﺔ )ﻣﺜﻞ ﻣﻮﺍﻗﻊ ﺍﻻﻧﺘﺮﻧﺖ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﺒﺮﻳﺪ ﺍﻻﻟﻜﺘﺮﻭﻧﻲ( ﺩﻭﻥ ﺗﺼﺮﻳﺢ ﺧﻄﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺻﺤﺎﺏ ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﺃﻭ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻈﻮﻣﺔ‪.‬‬
 Al-Yarmouk University
Faculty of Arts
Department of English Language and Literature

Definiteness and Indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic

By

Reem Ahmad Radwan Al-Momani

Supervisor

Dr. Aziz Jaber

Program: Linguistics

2019
 Dedication

I dedicate this humble thesis to the source of happiness in my life: my precious

family who has always supported me in all fields of my life. My father the source of

eternal inspiration, my mother the greatest source of patience, my brother the perfect

source of safe, and my four sisters the most loyal friends in my life. I also dedicate this

work to my precious husband for his devotion, kindness and his endless support when I

was disappointed. Besides, I dedicate this work to my father-in-law, mother-in-law,

instructor, friends, and everyone who has supported me during my life. I also would like

to dedicate this work to the one who gave me a distinctive kind of love, to the source of

endless love and giving, my compassionate grandfather Radwan.

II
 Acknowledgment

First and foremost, I want to express my thanks to Allah, the Almighty, for

giving me the well and patience to complete this study. I also would like to express my

thanks to my supervisor Dr. Aziz Jaber who made great efforts to read my thesis. I am

really grateful for the insightful comments he made in order to help me during my

writing phase of this thesis. My sincere thanks also to Dr. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq for

his kindness and for his efforts he made to read and reinforce my thesis. I also would

like to express my sincere thanks to the second reader of my thesis Dr. Osama Omari. I

am very grateful for his kindness and support. I also would like to express my sincere

thanks to our guest Dr. Ahmad Sharif for his coming. I am really grateful for his

heartened comments about my thesis. My sincere thanks to my instructors in the

Department of English Language and Literature at Al-Balqa Applied University who

taught me during my BA. My sincere thanks also to my instructors in the Department of

English Language and Literature at Al-Yarmouk University who guided me during my

MA studies.

III
 Table of Contents

Dedication …………………………………………………………………………..…...II

Acknowledgment ……………………………………………………………………...III

Table of contents …………………………………………………………………….. IV

Arabic Consonant Phonemes ……………………………………….……………... VII

Arabic Vowel Phonemes …………………………..……………………………… VIII

List of Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………….. IX

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….. X

Chapter One: Introduction and Literature review..................................................... 1

1.1 General Introduction ………………………………………………….……… 1

1.1.1. Statement of the Problem …….…………………………..…………. 5

1.1.2. Purpose of the study ……….………………….……………………. 6

1.1.3. Significance of the study ………………….……………..…………. 7

1.1.4. Data collection …….…………………………….…………..………. 7

1.2. Literature Review ………………………….……………………….……….8

1.3. Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………………. 16

Chapter Two: Definiteness in Jordanian Arabic …………………..…………… 18

2.1 What is Definiteness?……………………………………………………………. 18

2.2 Semantic Definiteness vs. Grammatical Definiteness …..…………………… 20

2.2.1 Semantic Definiteness: Successful Reference ……………………… 22

2.2.1.1 Familiarity ………………………………………………….. 22

2.2.1.2 Identifiability …………………………………………………. 26

2.2.1.3 Uniqueness ……………………………………………………….. 28

IV
2.3 The Traditional Grammarians’ View of Definiteness in Arabic ………………… 29

2.4 Definiteness in Jordanian Arabic: Revisited …………………………….……… 35

2.4.1 The canonical use of the definite article ‘al’ in Jordanian Arabic ………. 35

2.4.1.1 Familiarity …………………………………………….………… 36

2.4.1.2 Identifiability ……………………………………………….…… 40

2.4.1.3 Uniqueness ……………………………………………..………. 40

2.4.2 Other Uses of ‘al’ in Jordanian Arabic ……………….………………… 41

2.4.2.1 The Use of ‘al’ in Indefinite Environments in Jordanian Arabic …... 41

2.4.2.2 Obligatory ‘al’ in Indefinite Environments ………………………….. 45

2.4.2.3 Other Obligatory Uses of ‘al’ ……………………………………… 48

2.5 Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………………………… 53

Chapter Three: Indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic ………………………………… 55

3.1 What is Indefiniteness? …………………………………………………………… 55

3.2 Semantic Indefiniteness vs. Grammatical Indefiniteness ……….………………… 58

3.3 The Traditional Grammarians’ View of Indefiniteness in Arabic ………………… 59

3.4 Indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic: Revisit…………………………………………… 66

3.4.1 The canonical use of indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic …………………. 66

3.4.2 Other uses of Bare NPs in Jordanian Arabic ………………………….… 68

3.4.2.1 The Use of an Indefinite NP in a Definite

Environment in Jordanian Arabic …………………………….. 69

3.4.2.2 Other Obligatory Uses of Indefinite NPs in Definite

Environments in Jordanian Arabic ……………………………… 72

3.4.2.3 Other Uses of Grammatically Definite NPs Replaced with its

Indefinite Counterpart in Indefinite Environment ………………….. 73

V
3.5 Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………………………… 76

Chapter Four: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations ………..……………….. 78

4.1 Summary …………………………………………………………………………… 78

4.2 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………81

4.3 Recommendations ………………………………………………………………… 82

References ……….......................................................................................................... 84

Abstract in Arabic .............................................................................................................. 86

VI
Arabic Consonant Phonemes:

Labi Inte

labia o- r- Alveol Palat Vel Uvul Pharyng Glott

l dent dent ar al ar ar eal al

al al

t ‫ت‬
_ K ‫ك‬ q ‫ق‬ ʔ‫ء‬
tˤ ‫ط‬

Stops d‫د‬
b
+ dˤ
‫ب‬
‫ض‬

_
Affricates
+ dʒ ‫ج‬

s‫س‬ ʃ‫ش‬
_ f ‫ف‬ θ‫ث‬ x‫خ‬ ħ‫ح‬ h ‫هـ‬
sˤ ‫ص‬
Fricatives
ð‫ذ‬
+ z‫ز‬ ɣ‫غ‬ ʕ‫ع‬
ðˤ ‫ظ‬

Nasals m‫م‬ n‫ن‬

Laterals l ‫ل‬

Trill r ‫ر‬

Semi w
_ j ‫ي‬
Vowels ‫و‬

(Approxima
+
nts)

VII
Arabic vowel Phonemes:

Short Long

Front Back Front Back

Close /i:/ /u:/

/i/ /u/
Mid /e:/ /o:/

Open /a/ /a:/

Diphthong /aw/, /aj/

VIII
List of Abbreviations

JA: Jordanian Arabic

MSA: Modern Standard Arabic

NP: Noun Phrase

NPs: Noun Phrases

NnnS: Nunnation Suffix -n

IX
 Abstract

This study tackles the notions of definiteness and indefiniteness in Jordanian Arabic (JA). It

shows that the traditional grammarians’ view of definiteness and indefiniteness becomes

problematic and not sufficient to describe this notion in JA. The traditional grammarians’ view of

definiteness and indefiniteness argues that every noun phrase (NP) with the article ‘al’ is

semantically and grammatically definite as well as every NP without the article ‘al’ is semantically

and grammatically indefinite. However, this study aims at showing the real use of the article ‘al’ in

JA in which the presence of the article ‘al’ does not function as a pure definite article since it can

appear in indefinite environments and it can serve other grammatical functions. On the other hand,

the absence of the article ‘al’ is no longer function as a pure indefinite marker in JA since there are

some bare NPs that can be found in definite environments.

This study aims at investigating the semantic and grammatical functions of the article ‘al’ in

JA. It also aims at discriminating some of the circumstances where the presence and the absence of

the definite article have nothing to do with the semantic function of the NP. Besides, it aims at

showing that there ought to be a kind of new explanation or new attitude toward the use of

definiteness and indefiniteness in JA. However, the researcher finds that the traditional

grammarians’ view of definiteness and indefiniteness is no longer sufficient to determine

definiteness and indefiniteness in JA. The researcher finds that it is the semantic category that

determines the status of definiteness and indefiniteness but not the grammatical category. It is worth

noting that some of the embedded examples are taken from the daily life speech of Jordanian

speakers and others are taken from the researcher’s imagination who is a native speaker of Jordanian

Arabic (JA).

Key words: definiteness, indefiniteness, Jordanian Arabic, semantic definiteness, grammatical

definiteness, semantic indefiniteness, grammatical indefiniteness.

X
 Chapter One

Introduction and Literature Review

1.1 Introduction

Languages all over the world have different linguistic tools that are used to

facilitate the process of understanding between interlocutors. Speakers of any language

need to be familiar with its strategies which help them to express their needs more

easily. However, a lot of these tools have changed and modified by time. Definiteness

and indefiniteness phenomena are crucial tools at the disposal of speakers. Definiteness

and indefiniteness are semantic phenomena found in most languages based on the

notion of what is known and what is unknown between interlocutors and depending on

the shared knowledge of the speakers of that language. For instance, English uses the

article ‘the’ in order to indicate definiteness and the article ‘a, an or zero article for

plurals’ in order to indicate indefiniteness. In addition, Italian also has definite and

indefinite articles that help the hearer know more information about the NPs such as the

gender and the number. For example, ‘il’ in Italian comes with the masculine singular

definite noun phrases (NPs) and comes with masculine plural definite NPs. Besides,

Italian uses the article ‘un’ with indefinite NPs under some conditions such as gender (1).

Other languages may not have articles for definiteness and indefiniteness such as

Russian (See Naħla 1999).

However, languages that deal with this semantic category normally have

morphological markers for definiteness and indefiniteness. In Modern Standard Arabic

(MSA) and Jordanian Arabic (JA), for example, the morphological marker of definites

1
( )website:https://onlineitalianclub.com/free-italian-exercises-and-resources/online-italian-course-
beginner-level-a1/articoli-determinativi-e-indeterminativi/?fbclid=IwAR11EcYlDlZ96babhHRHWBgHxw-
WJ7azyruB8QOD1g40hq2jq6oBACpZTIw.

1
is the presence of the definite article ‘al’. Although ‘al’ is the only apparent article for

definiteness (i.e. unlike proper nouns, demonstratives, and pronouns which are definites

without ‘al’) in JA, still this article can go with singular, plural, countable, and

uncountable NPs. Thus, it is a morphological marker that indicates definiteness in JA.

However, the morphological marker of definiteness in English is the definite article

‘the’ and the morphological markers of indefiniteness in English are the indefinite

articles ‘a, an’ or zero article in plurals. However ‘a, an’ English articles can go only

with singular countable NPs. Still, speakers of any language can easily determine

whether a particular noun phrase (NP) is definite or not even without paying attention to

the form of the noun phrase itself depending on their general shared knowledge and

their daily life way of speech. They understand that any singular definite noun phrase

must concern with a particular, identified referent known to the interlocutors. This

idiosyncrasy can be a major distinction that distinguishes definite and indefinite noun

phrases. So, any noun phrase that might contain any general information according to

the hearer or might have more than one referent will be indefinite since definiteness is

predominantly determined by the hearer. That’s because the speaker already knows

what he\she is talking about but he\she highlights the referent for the hearer. So it is

definite according to the speaker anyway. On this notion, De Mulder& Carlier (2010)

comment that definite articles in any language have main meanings of their use; the first

one is related to the hearer which is “Referential use” and the second one is related to

the speaker which is “Expressive use”:

“Definite article:

- Referential use: hearer‐oriented, guides the hearer to the intended referent

2
 - Expressive use: speaker‐oriented, highlights the referent as discourse

prominent” (De Mulder& Carlier 2010, P.3).

However, many researchers such as Turner (2018), Jaber (2014), Von Heusinger

(2013), De Mulder& Carlier (2010), Abbott (2004), and Lyons (1999), focus on this

particular notion in order to find a stable form for definiteness. Most of them agree that

most languages have, at least, one specific element that determines whether a particular

noun phrase is definite or not. These elements vary cross-linguistically. Naħla (1999)

argues that some languages do not have an apparent definite ingredient such as Turkish,

others do not have an apparent indefinite article such as ancient Greek, and others have

neither definite nor indefinite markers such as Latin and Russian. In addition, Abbott

(2004) argues that possessive NPs, proper names, the first name alone, and full proper

names are considered definites as well as NPs with words such as ‘each, every, and all’.

She claims that all these expressions are used to indicate a particular and specific entity

or group of entities. On the other hand, she argues that some expressions in English

such as ‘any, no, most, a/an, something, some, several, a few, many, and few’ indicate

the indefiniteness of the NPs that appear with it.

However, there is a particular element in Jordanian Arabic that determines

whether the NP is definite or indefinite which is the definite article ‘al’. Al-Ashram

(2001) states that there are many types of ‘al’ definite article, one of them is called ‘al

Al-Ahdija’ ‘Familiarity’. He states that this ‘al’ can appear with: an NP which has been

introduced maybe before awhile, an NP which is implicitly known to the interlocutors

but not introduced yet, or an NP which can be realized in the moment of speech or in

the visible situation.

3
 Besides, Jaber (2014), Von Heusinger (2013), Lyons (1999), Al-Harami (2005),

and many others indicate that definite NPs, proper names, personal pronouns,

demonstratives, and possessive constructions are considered definites. Many of these

linguists agree on the notion that definite NPs should concern with one particular

referent which can be attained through connecting with one of the following concepts:

familiarity, identifiability, uniqueness, and inclusiveness. (See Jaber2014; Von

Heusinger 2013; Lyons 1999). On the other hand, Arab grammarians, such as Al-

Harami (2005) and Al-Ashram (2001), said that any Arabic NP preceded by ‘al’ is

definite and that adding ‘al’ to any NP will change its form from indefinite to definite.

On the contrary, in the last few years, modern linguists such as Jaber (2014) and Afifi

(1999) noticed that the traditional Arabic view of definiteness and indefiniteness is

problematic. For example; traditional grammarians believe that the use of ‘al’ in a

definite noun phrase such as ‘Al-Kitab’ ‘the book’ indicates that the speaker means a

particular ‘book’ ‘kitab’, thus its referent is predominantly specific and familiar to the

hearer since it is inescapably known to the speaker. Whereas ‘kitab’ ‘a book’ indicates

that it is only the speaker who knows which ‘kitab’ ‘book’ is intended. That’s to say the

reference is not known to both interlocutors. One cannot consider this view as

completely false but modern linguists such as Jaber (2014) and Afifi (1999) start

noticing that this view is no longer sufficient to address definiteness in Arabic. They

believe that the grammatical properties of the definite article are not sufficient to

consider an NP definite.

Coincidently, Al-Ashram (2001) indicates that the definite Arabic article ‘al’

changes the status of an NP from indefinite to definite. From this viewpoint, one can

conclude that definiteness comes after indefiniteness since the referent becomes definite

after adverting it in one way or another. That’s to say, the indefinite becomes definite

4
when the speaker marks it exclusively to the hearer. On this notion, Afifi (1999) says

that he cannot totally believe in this idea because of the following reason: if one

supposes that indefiniteness precedes definiteness that means he\she indicates that every

definite NP must have indefinite NP. But this is not true since there are some words that

are definite and do not have indefinite forms such as demonstratives and pronouns.

However, Lyons (1999) indicates that NPs with definite or indefinite overt

ingredient, whether it is an affix such as ‘al’ definite article in JA or a lexical item such

as definite and indefinite English items ‘the, a, an’, are called “simple definiteness and

simple indefiniteness” (Lynos 1999, P.2). On the other hand, Lyons (1999) indicates

that complex definiteness does not depend on the presence of the definite articles of the

language but rather it depends on what definiteness means. He also indicates that

complex definiteness includes demonstratives, proper nouns, possessives, and personal

pronouns.

1.1.1 The Statement of the Problem

Although definiteness and indefiniteness in Arabic have been studied for many

years, no stable and sufficient analysis has been reached. Traditional Arab grammarians,

such as Al-Harami (2005) and Al-Ashram (2001), said that one type of definites in

Arabic is the NP preceded by ‘al’, and that adding ‘al’ to an NP changes its form from

indefinite to definite NP. This view was adopted by many linguists for many years.

Traditional linguists such as Al-Harami (2005) and Al-Ashram (2001) used to

discriminate definite NP from indefinite NP through using ‘al’ definite article. They

used to add ‘al’ to an indefinite NP in order to change it to a definite NP. They also used

to judge NPs with ‘al’ definite article as semantically and grammatically definite

directly without paying attention to its referents. However, it has been noticed, in the

5
last few years, that this traditional view of definiteness and indefiniteness in Arabic

became problematic. Modern linguists, such as Jaber (2014) and Afifi (1999) argue that

we cannot consider every NP preceded by ‘al’ as definite and that there are some uses of

‘al’ where the NPs are still indefinite. So, it is not inevitable that every NP with ‘al’

definite article is definite. This problematic use of the definite article ‘al’ appears in

many Arabic dialects such as the Jordanian dialect.

1.1.2 Purpose of the study

The current study primarily aims at discussing and extracting a new turn of the

use of Arabic definite article ‘al’. It seeks to investigate the effects that the

presence/absence of the definite marker ‘al’ makes on NPs. This study also tries to pick

out the constraints that govern the use and non-use of the definite article in JA. Hence,

the current study tries to answer the following questions:

A. What is the difference between grammatical definiteness and semantic

definiteness pertaining to JA?

B. To what extent does morphology fully represent semantic definiteness and

indefiniteness?

C. How does the definite article ‘al’ truthfully represent semantic definiteness in

JA?

D. How are definiteness and indefiniteness marked in JA?

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1.1.3 Significance of the study

A lot of studies have been carried out definiteness and indefiniteness in Arabic.

For example, studies on definiteness in Arabic such as Al-Harami (2005) and Al-

Ashraam (2001) argue that every NP with ‘al’ is semantically and grammatically

definite. However, this notion started to change. Modern linguists such as Turner

(2018), Jaber (2014), and Afifi (1999) revisited the function of ‘al’ definite article after

noticing that the traditional view of ‘al’ definite article is problematic and not sufficient.

Although there are many studies on ‘al’ definite article in Arabic, the researcher has not

found any study on ‘al’ definite article in JA. Therefore, this study aims to study the

status of ‘al’ definite article in JA trying to fill the gap in the literature.

So, the significance of this study springs from the changes in the view toward

the use of the Arabic definite article ‘al’ and the meaning it carries. This study aims to

provide more details about these uses, which will help teachers and other specialists to

investigate new teaching materials with new understanding, attitudes and uses toward

definiteness and indefiniteness phenomena in JA. Moreover, the findings of this study

can be in the domain of interest of linguists who seek to compare language functions. It

can also help those foreigners who seek to know more about Arabic semantics,

providing them with sufficient interpretation. So it is for the benefit of the speaker and

the learner.

1.1.4 Data collection

This study employs a theoretical approach that is based on analyzing sentences and

contexts across daily life speech of JA. Therefore, the data for this study are based on

the judgment of the researcher who is a native speaker of JA. The data will also be

judged by three other native speakers of JA.

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1.2 Literature Review

This section provides some main studies on definiteness and indefiniteness in

Arabic language in general.

Jaber (2014) studies definiteness in MSA as a semantic phenomenon that is

connected with at least one of these three concepts: familiarity, identifiability, and

uniqueness. He argues that it is important to pay attention to the referent that the

definite NP referred to. That is to say, linguists have to determine definiteness

semantically but not only morphologically. He argues that the traditional Arabic view of

definiteness is somehow inaccurate and problematic since traditional grammarians used

to determine definiteness based on morphology only. They used to depend mainly on

the presence of the Arabic definite article ‘al’ in order to judge an Arabic NP as definite.

Jaber (2014) noticed that not every NP with the definite article ‘al’ is definite in the real

sense. He suggests that linguists have to look at the reference of the NP determining

whether it meets one of the meanings of definiteness, which are familiarity,

identifiability, and uniqueness, or not. So it is about determining the definiteness of the

reference itself. He even says that there are some languages where the definite articles

are considered semantically empty; i.e., do not have any role in the process of

determining definiteness. However, Jaber (2014) says that Arabic speakers sometimes

introduce NPs which are syntactically definite but semantically not when they use the

definite article ‘al’ with indefinite meaning or referent.

He also illustrates that there is a crucial difference between grammatical

definiteness and semantic definiteness in which each of which has some different

indication. He illustrates that a definite NP can be considered as grammatically definite

because of the presence of the definite article ‘al’ at the beginning of it while a definite

8
NP can be considered as semantically definite when the referent is successfully definite

i.e. the referent matches one of the definiteness concepts which are: familiarity,

identifiability, and uniqueness.

Jaber (2014) shows that “If the article is not intended to instruct the hearer to

single out the referent, if there is no unique referent in the context domain, and if there

is no individual that satisfies the descriptive content of the NP, the article cannot be

taken to mark definiteness. In this case, there is a possibility that the appearance of ‘al’

serves other grammatical functions or restrictions entertained by the grammar of the

language in which such constructions exist.”(Jaber 2014, P.50).

He also argues that although familiarity is considered an important issue in

determining whether an NP is definite or not still this category does not always work.

He argues that familiarity concept needs some kind of modification. That’s because

there are some uses of definite NPs, with the article ‘al’, where the hearer is not familiar

with the referent because of the use of ‘al’ but because of the commonsense knowledge.

Zuhair and Tawfeeq (2007) indicate that Arabic can refer to three kinds of

referents which are: specific reference, generic reference, and unique reference. Specific

reference can be attained when the NP is mentioned for the second time. Thus the

referent becomes specific because it is already mentioned and now it is familiar for both

interlocutors. They also indicate that not only definite NPs have specific referents but

also indefinite ones; that’s because speakers normally know what referents are talking

about. That is to say, in the case of definite NP the specific reference is known for both

interlocutors while in the case of indefinite NP the specific reference is known for the

speaker only. Besides, Generic reference can be attained if the NP is used in order to

mean the whole class or group of that NP. In this use, the NP is used not to mean one

9
specific referent but the whole group. In addition, the reference, in this case, does not

match a specific reference known between the interlocutors. They also mention that

people also can use an indefinite NP in order to mean a generic reference.

Zuhair and Tawfeeq (2007) also argue that ‘al’ definite article in Arabic can

serve not only these types of referents but also it can serve other categories such as the

proper names. It has been known that all proper names do not need to be defined by the

definite article ‘al’ since they are considered as definites by themselves.

Notwithstanding, people sometimes use ‘al’ definite article with the proper nouns in

order not to mean that this proper name is definite but in order to denote one of the

person’s characteristics. For example, they suggest that people sometimes use the

following name: ‘Hasan came’ in order to mean that a person whose name is ‘Hasan’

came. While adding ‘al’ to it to become: ‘Al-Hasan came’ “shows that the person is

also called ‘Hasan’ and, at the same time, has the characteristics implied in his name

[‫ = الحسـن‬the handsome] (Zuhair and Tawfeeq 2007, P.281) Thus, it is in order to denote

that this person has the peculiarity of being ‘handsome’.

Tobachi and Hamood (2008) indicate that the relationship between the

definiteness and the indefiniteness is like the relationship between the known and the

unknown among the interlocutors. They also indicate that traditional grammarians

believe that indefiniteness is stronger than definiteness and that indefiniteness is the

origin of definiteness. They suggest that traditional grammarians built their notions on

the idea of the stem and the branch. They say that “indefiniteness is like a ‘stem’ based

their ideas on a grammatical rule which states that distinctive morphemes are found in

the branches; the stems are not marked” (Tobachi and Hamood 2008, P. 71). Thus,

according to them, indefiniteness is a stem that does not need a marker while

10
definiteness is a branch so it needs a marker. Thus, this is the reason for adding ‘al’

definite article as a marker for definites which serves as a branch but not as a stem.

They suggest that there are different ways that distinguish between definite and

indefinite NPs. One of which is that there are some nouns that do not need for a definite

article since they are definites by themselves such as pronouns, proper nouns,

demonstratives, and the relative pronouns. Another way to distinguishing between the

definite and the indefinite NPs is the use of a structural form such as the prefix ‘al’ and

the vocative ‘ya’.

Jarrah and Zibin (2016) suggest that few studies have been made on definiteness

in Arabic that utilizes semantic or pragmatic functions. They indicate that the definite

article can serve as a discourse building device in which definiteness can be used for

anaphorical uses; the definite article refers back to a previous referent that has been

mentioned in the previous discourse. Whereas indefinite NPs provide new information

which have not been mentioned before. They also indicate that ‘al’ definite article can

be used to mark generic readings in which the definite article comes with an NP in order

not to mean a specific referent but in order to mean any singular entity of the whole

group.

However, they indicate that there are no clear and sufficient studies about the

indefinite article which is the “nunnation suffix –n (NnnS)” (Jarrah and Zibin 2016, P.3)

and that they do not consider it as an indefinite marker since it can come with proper

nouns which are definite. They say that if they suggest that NnnS is a morphological

indefinite marker for indefiniteness, a problematic illustration will be faced. Whereas

there will be no problem if they consider that the presence of NnnS indicates that the

mentioned NP, whether it is definite or indefinite, needs for more information to be

11
illustrated and known. Thus, the actual function of NnnS is that it can provide a space

for the speaker to add more information about the mentioned NP. According to them,

there is no clear interpretation of why the indefinite NPs need to be followed by other

information in order to save the acceptability of the sentence. For example, they suggest

that the following sentence (P.57):

 “tazʔaru ʔusuud-u-n fi-s-sahil”

(Some lions roar in the plain)

In this example, they indicate that it is necessary for the acceptability of the

sentence to be followed by the prepositional phrase ‘fi-s-sahil’ ‘in the plain’. Thus,

deleting the PP ‘fi-s-sahil’ ‘in the plain’ makes the sentence unacceptable.

Another support, according to them, that NnnS is not a morphological form to

indicate indefiniteness is “its behavior in conjunction with construct-state nominals. In

Arabic, there are two realizations of definiteness: synthetically (by virtue of prefixing

the definite article -ʔal to nouns) or analytically where an indefinite DP is annexed to a

definite DP” (Jarrah and Zibin.2016, P.4). They conclude with the notion that the use of

NnnS is not for indicating indefiniteness; it is not a morphological marker for

indefiniteness, but rather it is used when indefiniteness is used. It is the status of the NP

that governs the use of the NnnS in which the use of NnnS with definite NPs is not

licensed, while the use of NnnS with indefinite NPs is licensed and requires the speaker

for more details and information.

They talk briefly about the behavior of the prefix ‘ha’ in some Arabic dialects

including Jordanian Arabic. They indicate that this prefix can serve as a specificity

marker in which the referent of the NP is specific. Consider his example (P.62).

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  “lageet ha-z-zalamih bi-s-suuq”

(“I found the man in the market”)

Turner (2018) reintroduces the notion of definiteness and indefiniteness in

Arabic depending on many dialects which are Sana’ani (Yemen), Central Asian, Rural

Sudanese, Hassaniya (Mauritania & Mali), Moroccan, and Levantine (Lebanon &

Syria). Although Turner does not study JA in particular, still he talks about Levantine

(Lebanon & Syria). Turner argues that definiteness and indefiniteness have been

traditionally described with a binary system of terms which can be determined through

the presence and the absence of the definite article ‘al’. He argues that definiteness and

indefiniteness in Levantine are more complex nowadays than the past suggesting that

even though this study was on Syrian Arabic, it can still be applicable for all Levantine

dialects. Anaphoric definites in Levantine Arabic, he argues, are needed to be preceded

by the definite article ‘al’. Additionally, he suggests that it is obligatory for the NPs

with anaphoric reference to be marked not only with the Arabic definite article ‘al’ “but

also with the unstressed demonstrative adverb ha-” (Turner 2018, P.147). He says that

Levantine people use the unstressed demonstrative ‘ha’ in the second mention of the

NP. Turner (2018) suggests the following example (P.147):

 “ʕendana ʒar bhdˤ-dˤajʕah beħb en-num kteer. wella nayem haz-zalameh

wmartuh qʕadeh bha-nhar ʕn tʃtɣel” (Turner 2018, P.147).

(“We had this neighbor in the village who really loved to sleep. So the

man was sleeping while his wife was sitting that day knitting”). (Turner

2018, P.147)

There is no use for the unstressed demonstrative ‘ha’ at the first mention of

the word ‘ʒar’ ‘neighbor’ whereas, at the second mention, the speaker used the

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