Restructuring and control in Arabic

Abstract

This paper examines verbal complex constructions in two varieties of Arabic, namely: Moroccan Arabic (MA) and Najdi Arabic (NA). We provide a novel analysis that departs from the two previous studies that discussed this phenomenon in Lebanese Arabic (LA): Hallman (2011), and Ouwaydah & Shlonsky (2016). We argue that verbal complex constructions are derived using a monoclausal restructuring strategy (Wurmbrand 1998, 2001) in which the matrix control verb of nisa/forget-type instantiates a monoclausal structure. This analysis is novel in various aspects. First, it departs from and argues against control-based theories and, consequently, a biclausal structure. Second, it provides an account for various properties, including: agreement facts, Cinque’s restrictions on adverb distribution, tense and aspect absence on subordinate verbs, and the unexpected occurrence of the VVSO word order. Third, it analyzes new data related to the requirement of voice matching.