The Syntactic Structure of an Introductory PP in Standard Arabic: A Non-Transformational Approach

Abstract

The paper discusses the structure of a particular prepositional phrase (PP) that is commonly used in Standard Arabic, especially in formal contexts. This PP is used when a speaker wants to start an utterance with an expression that denotes a general observation or impression without referring to its source. It can be described as ‘an introductory PP’. It consists of the preposition min and its complement like the PP min al-mutawaqqaʕ which expresses a meaning similar to ‘it is expected that ...’. Syntactically, the occurrence of this introductory PP, compared with other PPs, is distinct in that it is restricted to three structural patterns. Although the use of this PP is common, its structure is still not studied thoroughly in the literature. Hence, the paper aims to contribute to the current linguistic research by exploring the structure of this introductory PP. The paper offers both a data-based description and a non-transformational analysis of the relevant linguistic properties of this PP and the constructions in which it occurs. The theoretical framework that is used here is Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar.