Meanings and functions of the Arabic article al- 'the' with reference to the concept of definiteness

Abstract

This study presents a descriptive-analytical argument for exploring the concept of definiteness in Arabic adopting Chesterman's theory of definiteness as a scalar and non-binary system. It investigates the meanings and functions of the Arabic article al- focusing on the divergent nature of definiteness as indicated by this article. Results have shown that al- has different meanings which serve various functions of which definiteness is only one. It has three distinct structures (a) nominal al- (al al-mawsula) which functions as a relative noun, (b) an article of definiteness (al al-ta'rif) and (c) augmented al- (al al-z'ida). When used as a definite article, al- does not always indicate true definiteness; it can be used pragmatically to indicate verbal 'non-referential' definiteness (ta'rif lafzi) equal to what Chesterman refers to as 'inclusiveness' as an area of opposition in definiteness. This paper concludes that definiteness in Arabic is a scalar rather than a bi-polar concept where al- does serve, though not in all cases, as an article of definiteness. The oppositions indicated in the way definiteness are linguistically encoded and semantically decoded by Arabic definiteness constructions in general, and those indicated by the Arabic article al- in particular, are not discrete but scalar. It is recommended that definiteness is viewed as a continuum of scales and degrees depending on contextual pragmatic factors.