Moroccan Arabic Multiverb Constructions and the Verbal Prefix k-¹
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2011
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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Abstract
This thesis is an investigation into the multiverb constructions of Moroccan Arabic—that is, verb phrases where two or more verbs are strung together without using a coordinating or subordinating particle to connect them. These constructions appear on the periphery of numerous articles and reference grammars on Moroccan Arabic that were consulted for this thesis, but they are rarely as the focus of study. As a result, much of their structure and behavior goes unexplained in the literature surveyed. In an attempt to fill this gap, the first portion of this thesis is largely descriptive, seeking to take an inventory of the verbs that can appear in each position of the construction and the possible combinations of verb forms. We discover that there are two discernable verbal categories: the V1, which appears first and includes verbs which lend aspectual and mood coloring to the verb string, and the V2, which follows V1 and can be nearly any verb in the language. The typology of multiverb constructions also reveals a combination of verb forms that is completely unattested in the literature, and assumed to be ungrammatical in all circumstances: two imperfective verbs, both with the prefix k-, coexisting in one multiverb construction. This discovery is not addressed in the literature available, and it raises questions about the function of the verbal prefix k-, whose status as either a mood or aspectual marker is disputed in the literature. Semantic evidence as to k-„s identity is inconclusive, and does not clearly prove if it conveys aspect or mood. Therefore, we look to syntax to explain k-„s curious distribution. We find that an analysis of multiverb constructions where k- is a mood marker is more tenable than an analysis where k- is aspectual. This is because of the differences in what must be generated by aspect or mood in a syntax tree analysis. If we assume k- expresses mood, k- would be the only utterance generated in the mood position; there are no other overt markings that could express mood. However, if k- is treated like an aspect marker, our structure becomes more complex. In addition to generating k-, the Aspect Phrase would also have to generate the perfective or imperfective form of a verb; it is difficult to account for k-„s absence some of the time and the perfective/imperfective verb form‟s presence at all times (and the possibility of perfective/perfective and imperfective/imperfective agreement) if they are generated in the same position. This damages the theory that k- is an aspectual marker and ultimately leads us to conclude that k- marks the indicative mood in Moroccan Arabic.