Resumption optionality in direct object relative clauses in modern standard Arabic

Abstract

The resumption phenomenon has attracted the attention of linguists within different frameworks and in various languages. However, this phenomenon has received limited attention in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), especially in relation to Direct Object Relative Clauses (DORCs). There have been a few discussions of DORCs and this disregard can be attributed to a fundamental reason which is resumption optionality in this construction in particular. By and large, the interpretation of resumptive pronouns is usually determined by competition with gaps. However, based on the structural facts in MSA (i.e. resumptive pronouns behavior in island constraints) and discussion about optional and obligatory resumptive pronouns, we argue that the resumption strategy is the only method used to generate Direct Object Relative Clauses. Therefore, resumptive pronouns are integral part of the syntactic derivation and could be either phonologically realized or null. A resumptive pronoun, we assume, is a spell-out trace of the moved element. Moreover, a clear description and analysis of DORCs, both definite and indefinite structures (i.e. head DPs with and without the definite article ʔal), will be presented by utilizing the Minimalist Program and the Head Raising Analysis . The mutual influence of the presence and absence of the resumptive pronouns on other elements in the structure (i.e. Head DP and relative marker “ʔallaði”) will be explored as well.

Keywords

• Resumption
• Optionality
• Object Relatives
• Head Raising Analysis
• Minimalist Program