Subatomic Semantics and the Active Participle in Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic sentences with active participle predicates license past, present, and future adverbials even though these sentences encode only the present tense. In this dissertation, I argue that the logical forms of sentences with active participle predicates involve existential quantification over the states denoted by active participle predicates as well as the onset events that bring them about. Analyzing temporal adverbials as modifiers of eventuality arguments, I demonstrate that only present adverbials can be grammatically licensed as modifiers of states, and that only past adverbials can be licensed as modifiers of onsets. Therefore, sentences with AP predicates can license past and present adverbials simultaneously. Moreover, sentences with active participle predicates have futurate readings and allow future adverbials only if the speaker is understood as making a prediction about a future event, the completion of which will bring about the states described by participial predicates.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Linguistics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Mughazy, Mustafa

Contributors dc:contributor

• Benmamoun, Elabbas

• Language, Linguistics

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3130985

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82625