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Mohammed V University

Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences


Department of English

The Underlying Representation of Hollow Verbs in


Moroccan Arabic

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the


License Degree in English Studies

Submitted by:
Abdeljabar Taoufikallah

Supervisor:
Prof. Karim Bensoukas

Module 38: End-of-Studies Project


Seminar: Word-Formation in Moroccan Languages

Spring 2015

DEDICATION

I dedicate this piece of work to my family,


To my father and mother,
To my brothers and sisters,
To my nephews and nieces,
To my cousins,
To my newborn nephew,
To all my family members, close or remote,
And to all my friends.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would love to thank my supervisor, Prof. Karim Bensoukas, for his hard work
and great contribution in this work; his patience, presence and corrections were
invaluable. Without him, this work would have been a bit more difficult and perhaps
unbearable.

I am truly indebted to my dear professor, Ms. Emily Pollokoff, whom I had in


Paragraph Writing in S1, for showing me how to excel at writing. Her comments were
mostly helpful in helping me promote my writing skills.

I would also like to thank the rest of the professors; among whom are Prof.
Amrous and Prof. Zeddari. Thanks to all the professors I had in the faculty I learned and
sharpened my English skills.

I would love to thank all my seminar classmates with whom I had valuable
discussions concerning this work.

I cannot express enough gratitude to my dear parents for standing by my side


during all the years I have spent in the university.

ii

ABSTRACT
The present paper aspires to deal with one aspect of Moroccan Arabic
morphology namely hollow verbs. The major role is to investigate their roots. The reason
behind choosing this topic is the need of tackling a real issue in MA, such as identifying
the root of HVs from a morphological and a phonological perspective.
There was no need to collect data from individuals other than myself because HVs
are very few in MA and can be collected in a short amount of time. To help identify the
root of HVs in MA, I was required to start by collecting HVs in the perfect tense in the
third person singular, or to use Harrells term dictionary form of HVs and then
conjugate these verbs in the imperfect tense to inspect the changes that occur along the
conjugation. Then, we investigate the changes that occur in verbal nouns and causatives
derived from HVs.

iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
HV
MA
VN

Hollow Verb
Moroccan Arabic
Verbal noun

iv

Table of Contents
DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. II
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... III
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... IV
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
PART ONE: ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.

THE ROOTS AND THE PATTERNS ............................................................................... 5


1.1.
Types of roots ................................................................................................. 5
1.2.
Types of patterns ............................................................................................. 6
2. VERBAL MORPHOLOGY ........................................................................................... 6
2.1.
Finite Verbs ..................................................................................................... 6
2.2.
Participles ...................................................................................................... 10
2.3.
Derived verbs ................................................................................................ 11
3. NOMINAL MORPHOLOGY ....................................................................................... 12
3.1.
Gender ........................................................................................................... 12
3.2.
Verbal nouns ................................................................................................. 12
3.3.
The plural ...................................................................................................... 13
4. ADJECTIVAL MORPHOLOGY ................................................................................... 20
4.1.
Gender ........................................................................................................... 20
4.2.
Agreement between noun and adjective ....................................................... 20
4.3.
Number ......................................................................................................... 20
5. THE NISBA ............................................................................................................. 21
6. THE DIMINUTIVE .................................................................................................... 22
7. THE COMPARATIVE ................................................................................................ 23
PART TWO: ..................................................................................................................... 25
1.

DATA DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................ 26


1.1.
HVs in the imperfect tense ............................................................................ 26
1.2.
Verbal Nouns ................................................................................................ 27
1.3.
The causative ................................................................................................ 29
2. DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 31
2.1.
HVs in the Imperfect Tense .......................................................................... 31
2.2.
Verbal Nouns ................................................................................................ 32
2.3.
The causative ................................................................................................ 33
GENERAL CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 36

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 38
APPENDIXES .................................................................................................................. 40

vi

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

As a native speaker of Moroccan Arabic, I resorted to work on its morphology,


specifically on finding out the root of hollow verbs. To find out the root of HVs in MA, I
will have to consider them in the imperfect tense as well as investigate the derivation of
their corresponding verbal nouns and causatives.
As we are going to focus on the morphology of MA in this paper, and on hollow
verbs specifically, it is only natural to provide a definition of morphology, MA and HVs.
Morphology, according to Lieber (2009:2), is the study of word formation,
including the ways new words are formed in the languages of the world and the way
forms of words are varied depending on how theyre used in sentences.
MA, as Ennaji et al. (2004:25) characterizes, Moroccan Arabic has a typically
Semitic morphology in which morphological categories are represented not only by
prefixes and suffixes but also by non-concatenative structures built on non-concatenative
stems,

each of which is being composed if a radical made up of non-syllabics

(consonants and semi-vowels).


HVs, according to Harrell (1962:30), are based on a triliteral middle-weak root
system. That is, they consist of two consonants and a vowel in the middle: the vowel a.
This vowel changes into i or u or is retained in the imperfect tense; i and u change
into j and w in causatives derived from HVs, and in some verbal nouns also derived
from HVs.
The data analyzed in this paper is collected computationally. I created a small
computer program, an algorithm, to list all the words with the pattern CaC sorted
alphabetically, and then filtered them out manually. I kept those I recognized as verbs in
MA and left out the rest.

We will provide evidence for the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels as
most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal skeleton.
Data description and analysis are divided into three categories. First, we check
whether HVs are based originally on the pattern CaC or CuC, CiC, and CaC for some
verbs which keep the medial /a/. We then investigate the causatives and VN that are
derived from HVs to verify whether the stems of the HVs are CuC, CiC and Cac or CwC
and CjC. On the basis of causative verb formation, it is better to consider the underlying
forms of VHs as consisting of medial glides.
This monograph consists of two parts. In the first part, we will discuss the major
features of MA morphology, verbs derivation, nouns derivation, adjectival inflection, the
comparative, and the Nisba.
In the second part, we will focus on HVs in MA, as the main topic of this
monograph, to find out their root system. We will have to investigate HVs in the
imperfect, VNs derived from HVs, and causatives derived from HVs in order to
determine the root system of HVs in MA.

PART ONE:

MOROCCAN ARABIC MORPHOLOGY

This part aims to deal with the morphology of MA. We will identify the verbal
inflection and see how the perfect and imperfect tenses work; we will also see how the
participles work in MA. We will examine the nominal inflection, considering gender and
number. We will consider adjectival inflection, the Nisba, the diminutive and the
comparative in MA. We start with the root and pattern conception of MA morphology.

1. The roots and the patterns


MA words are constructed on a basic consonantal skeleton called the root which
appears in different patterns according to the grammatical function of the word (Harrell:
1962). The root has to do with a general meaning which is expanded by the pattern. For
example, FR is a basic root having to do with joy. With various patterns, this root
gives fr he got happy, fru they got happy, and fran being happy, for example.

1.1.

Types of roots
There are three basic types of roots in MA. Triliteral roots are composed of three

consonants. They are divided into two categories: strong and weak. Strong triliteral roots
are divided into two categories. They are called sound if all the consonants are different
as in XF of xf he kidnapped, and are called doubled if the second sound is doubled
as in MDD of mdd he handed. Weak triliteral roots are also divided into two categories.
Middle-weak triliteral roots have a vowel in the middle as af to see, and final-weak
triliteral roots have a vowel in the end. Based on Harrell (1962), quadriliteral roots are
composed of four consonants, and they are also divided into two categories: strong and
weak. In strong quadriliteral roots, the first two consonants are reduplicated as in SRSR
to ring. In weak quadriliteral roots, there are two categories; second element weak in

which the second sound is a vowel, or a fourth element weak in which the fourth sound is
a vowel.

1.2.

Types of patterns
There are two types of patterns in MA. According to Ennaji et al (2004, the

simple pattern has none, one or two vowels inserted in the root as is the case with the
verb qtl to kill which has a vowel between the second and third consonants. The
complex pattern is a pattern joined with an affix. For example, qiti you read (past) is a
complex pattern because it has the suffix [+ti] in it.

2. Verbal Morphology
2.1.

Finite Verbs

2.1.1. Perfect Tense


The perfect tense in MA is realized by adding suffixes to the main root of the
verb.
1)
First person singular

-t

Second person singular

-ti

you sing.

Third person singular masc. -no change

he

Third person singular fem.

-at / -t

she

First person plural

-na

we

Second person plural

-tiw / -tu

you pl.

Third person plural

-u / -w

they

A few changes occur in the perfect tense with different stem endings.
In stems ending in -C, the schwa moves backwards after the first consonant.
This change occurs in the third person singular feminine and the third person plural only
as is the case in the example below:
2)
ktb-t

I wrote

ktbna

we wrote

ktb-ti

you wrote

ktbtu

you pl. wrote

ktb

he wrote

ktbu

they wrote

ktbat

she wrote
In stems ending in -aC, the last -a changes to a - in the first and second

person as shown in the example below:


3)
bt

I sold

bna

we sold

bt

you sold

btu

you pl. sold

he sold

bu

they sold

bt

she sold
In stems ending in a doubled consonant, an -i is inserted between the stem and

the endings of the first and second person as shown in the example below:
4)
mmit

I smelt

mmina

we smelt

mmiti

you smelt

mmitu

you pl. smelt

mm

he smelt

mmu

they smelt

mmat

she smelt

In stems ending in -a, in the first and second person singular and plural the final a is changed to -i before the endings as is the case in the example below:
5)
qit

I read

qina

we read

qiti

you read

qitu

you pl. read

qa

he read

qaw

they read

qat

she read

2.1.2. The imperfect tense


The imperfect tense in MA is realized by adding prefixes to the main root of the
verb, and in the plural we add suffixes to indicate the plural as shown below:
6)
First person singular

n-

Second person singular

t-

you sing.

Second person singular

t- + -i

you sing. fem.

Third person singular masc. i-

he

Third person singular fem.

t-

she

First person plural

n- + -u / -w

we

Second person plural

t- + -u / -w

you pl.

Third person plural

i- + -u / -w

they

In Stems ending in eC, a schwa is inserted between the prefix and the stem in the
first and second person singular. In the second person singular feminine and the first,
second and third plural, the - is moved from the third position to the second position.

7)
nktb

I write

nktbu

we write

tktb

you write

tktbu

you pl. write

tktbi

you fem. write

iktb

he writes

iktbu

they write

tktb

she writes

In most of the HVs, the medial -a- changes to -i- or -u- as is the case with the
verb mal to tend and the verb daz to pass in the examples below:
8)
nmil

I tend

nmilu we tend

tmil

you tend

tmilu you pl. tend

tmili

you fem. tend

imil

he tends

tmil

she tends

imilu they tend

9)
nduz

I pass

nduzu we pass

tduz

you pass

tduzu you pl. pass

tduzi you fem. pass


iduz

he passes

tduz

she passes

iduzu they pass

A category in which there is no change is that of the stems ending in a as is the case
with the verb tma to walk:

10)
ntma

I walk

ntmaw

we walk

ttmea

you walk

ttmaw

you pl. walk

ttmeai

you fem. walk

itma

he walks

itmaw

they walk

ttma

she walks

However, in some verbs the final -a changes to -i as in ea to cover in the example


below:
11)
ni

I cover

niwwe cover

ti

you cover

tiw

you pl. cover

ii

he covers

iiw

they cover

ti

she covers

2.1.3. The imperative


To form the imperative in MA, we take the imperfect tense form without the
prefixes for example:
12)
ba to sell

2.2.

tbi you sell

bi sell (you sing.)

biu sell (you pl.)

Participles
In MA, participles are of three kinds: active participles, passive participles and the

flan participles.
The general pattern of the active participle in MA is fal as in za planting. In
double verbs, the schwa is deleted between the last two consonants; for example, sadd

10

closing is the active participle of sdd to close. In HVs, j is inserted before the schwa
as in ba to sell / baj selling. In defective verbs, the final -a is replaced by -i as in
ma / mai.
The general pattern of the passive participle in MA is mful as in mrub. In
HVS a -j is inserted after the first consonant to function as the second consonant in
mful as is the case with the verb ba / mbju. In defective verbs the final u is
replaced by an -i as in ra to buy/ mri sold.
The flan participle is mostly derived from intransitive verbs, and the following
is a set of examples:
13)
brd

brdan

feeling cold

ja

jjan

getting tired

fan

happy

2.3.

Derived verbs
There are three derived verbs in MA: causatives, reflexives and reciprocals.
Causative verbs show a relation of cause and effect. In MA they are formed by

infixation and gemination. In triconsonantal verbs, a - is inserted after the first


consonant, and second consonant is doubled. Here are a few examples:
14)
hb

escape

hb make someone escape

ktb

write

kttb make someone write

drink

b make someone drink

qa

read

qa make someone read

11

Reflexive verbs are formed by adding the prefix n- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For example, na he slaughtered becomes na he
committed suicide, and kf he discovered becomes nkaef he got discovered.
Reciprocal verbs are formed by adding the prefix t- to the stem and inserting an a
after the first consonant. For instance, the verb fhm he understood becomes tfahm he
made an agreement with someone.

3. Nominal Morphology
3.1.

Gender

The feminine in MA is formed by adding the suffix a(t) to the root; however, some
nouns do not have feminine counterparts or have irregular feminine formation. The
examples below show how the feminine is formed in MA:
15)
klb

male dog

klba female dog

bib

male doctor biba female doctor

drri

boy

drrija girl

Some nouns are originally feminine and do not have masculine counterparts:
16)
misara

ruler

aia

jacket

abbua

blackboard

3.2.

Verbal nouns

VN are derived from verbs and are formed in a variety of ways; these forms are
unpredictable. The following are examples showing different forms of VN:

12

17)
sl

to wash

sil

washing

rkab

to ride

rkub

riding

mad to get sick


kla

to eat

3.3.

The plural

mard sickness
makla eating, food

There are three types of plurals in MA: plurals with suffixes, internal plurals and mixed
ones.
3.3.1. Plurals with the suffix in
Nouns referring to parts of the body are likely to take the suffix in to form the plural.
18)
jd

hand jddin hands

rl

foot rlin feet

Nouns referring to crafts also take the suffix in to form the plural.
19)
xjja

xjja-in

tailors

ar

ar-in

perfume vendor

ab

ab-in

herbage seller

Nouns borrowed from Standard Arabic also form their plurals this way:
20)
muhndis

muhndis-in

engineers

muami

muami-in

lawyers

muallim

muallim-in

teachers

13

3.3.2. Plurals with the suffix a(t)


The suffix a(t) is used to form the plural of masculine substantives with the CCCaC
stem:
21)
gzzar

gzzara

butchers

xjja

xjjaa

tailors

flla

fllaa

peasants

Feminine nouns also end in a(t) as is shown by the following:


22)
mlaja

mlaja

blankets

maa

maat

combs

warqa

warqat

papers

kswa

kswat

dresses

3.3.3. Internal plurals


3.3.3.1.

Triconsonantal stems

There are various patterns that are used to form the plurals of MA.
i.

The CCC stem

23)
CCC

mel

mal

camels

CCC

wld

wlad

boys

CuC2C2

mu

ma

cats

CCC

bnt

bnat

girls

CCCa

wqa waq

CCiC(a)

mri

papers

mra sick
14

The CwC stem

ii.
24)
CuC

suq

CuC2C2

fumm ffam

CaC

xal

iii.

swaq

xwal

The CjC stem

This stem is used particularly to form the plural of the singular stem CiC.
25)
id

jad

feasts

kis

kjas

bags

Other patterns are also used:


iv.

The CwC-a(t) stem

The CwC-a(t) stem is the plural of the singular stem CuCi as indicated in the example
below.
26)
fuqijja
v.

fuqijjat
The CwCi stem

The singular stem CaCi-a becomes CwaCi in the plural as shown in the examples below.
27)
sarja

swari pillars

afja

wafi fires

buqa

bqai pieces of land

vi.

The CwCC stem

This stem functions as the plural of the following singular stems:


28)
15

CaCC

xatm

xwatm

rings

CaCC-a

makla

mwakl

meals

CCuC

anut

want

stores

CaCuC-a(t)

naura

nwar

wheels

CaCuCi-ja

namusijja

nwams

beds

CaCiC-a(t)

kasia

kwas

tapes

CaCaC-a(t)

alaqa

walq

earrings

vii.

The plural stem CjuC

This stem functions as the plural of the singular stem CiC as shown in the example
below.
29)
CiC

ir

jur

birds

in

jun

eyes

viii.

The plural stem CjiC

This stem is used to form the plural of the singular stem CaC-a(t) as shown in the
examples below.
30)
Taqa

Tjiq

small window

ala

jil

rooms

ix.

The plural stem CC2C2

Most nouns with doubled roots and the stem CC2C2a form the plural by inserting a
schwa between the geminated consonant and deleting the ending a. The following is a
set of examples:
31)

16

drra drr

scarfs

xa x

fountains

3.3.3.2.

Internal plurals of quadriliteral stems

In MA, internal plurals of quadriliteral stems have the same pattern CCaCC for
all nouns. The following is a set of examples showing all the different quadriliteral in the
plural:
i. The CCCuC stem
32)
xnfu

xnaf

ugly

gnfud

gnafd

hedgehogs

ii. The CCCaC stem


33)
mnar

mnar

knives

msmar

msamr

nails

iii. The stem CCCaCi


34)
sddari

sdadr

mattresses

iv. The stem CeCCaCij-a


35)
beTTanijja

bTaTn

blankets

17

v. The stem CeCCiC


36)
qndil

qnadl

candle-stick

brmil

braml

barrel

vi. The stem CuCCaC


37)
ukkaz kakz

crutches

vii. The stem CCCC


rm

ram

mnl

mnal

viii.

windows

The stem CCCC-a(t)

38)
slsla

slasl

chains

nra

nar

pressure-cooker

3.3.3.3.

Mixed plurals

Mixed plurals consist of two morphological processes: internal change and


suffixation. Ennaji et al. (2004:69) state that the mixed plural in MA consists of the two
mechanisms involved in internal plurals and external plurals. The following is a set of
examples showing the different forms nouns and adjectives take to form the plural.
i)

The CC-(t) / CCCC-(t) stem

39)
rifi

rjafa

people from the Rif

bli

bala

people from the Jbel

18

tunsi

twansa

Tunisians

mribi

marba

Moroccans

ii)

The CCuC-t stem

40)
fur

furat

breakfasts

zjut

zjutat

oils

smn

smunat

hot butter

bl

bulat

mountains

iii)

The CiC-an stem

41)
kas

kisan

cups

fas

fisan

axes

bab

biban

doors

iv)

The CCC-an stem

42)
CCaC

blad

bldan

countries

CCiC

riq

rqan

roads

CCuC

xruf

xrfan

sheep

In summary, the plural in MA is divided into three categories: external plurals,


internal plurals, and mixed plurals. External plurals are formed by adding a suffix to
nouns or adjectives; internal plurals are formed by an internal change in the stem, and
mixed plurals are formed by an internal change plus adding a suffix.

19

4. Adjectival Morphology
4.1.

Gender
In MA, gender in adjectives is marked by the suffix a as is the case with the

adjectives sxun/sxuna, jjan/jjana and fran/frana.

4.2.

Agreement between noun and adjective

i. Attributive adjective
The attributive adjective occurs after the noun it modifies; however, in a
construct-state it occurs after the last element of this construct.
43)
had lam zin

this year is great.

falsafa djal aflaon siba

Platos philosophy is hard.

ii. Predicative adjective


Predicative adjectives occur either as a predicate complement or as an adjective
complement as shown in the example below:
44)
kanu msajin

they were crazy

rathum dad.

I turned them new again

4.3.

Number
Adjectives in MA take on plural forms just the same way nouns do. There are a

few patterns adjectives follow to form the plural, and here are a few examples:

20

i) The plural stem CuCC


45)
rq

urq blue

sfr

sufr

yellow

ii) The plural stem CiCC/CiwC


46)
wr

iwr blind

5. The Nisba
The nisba in MA is formed by adding the suffix i to a stem. For example, the
nisba of the stem fas Fes is formed by adding an i to get fas-i a person from Fes.
However, a few morphological changes occur when forming the Nisba in MA. These are
listed below:
i.

Adding aw before the suffix i

47)
rb

rbawi

ra rawi
ii.

from the west


a person from the desert

Dropping the ending a

48)
qahwa

qahwi

coffee-colored

sma

smawi

sky blue

iii.

Adding ni and ani instead of i

49)
luwwl

luwwlani

first

lxxr

lxxrani

last
21

6. The diminutive
In MA, both nouns and adjectives take the diminutive form. In general, as Harrell
(1962) states, the diminutive is formed by a cluster of the first two consonants followed
by /i/. The following are examples of different patterns in MA; some are taken from
Ennaji et al (2004):
i.

Triliteral monosyllables

50)
bl

bijjl

mule

klb

klijjb

dog

ii.

Middle-weak triliterals

51)
bab

bwijjb

door

far

fwijjr

mouse

iii.

Triliteral monosyllables with a schwa

52)
bnt

bnita

girl

rl

rila

foot

iv.

Adjectives of color, defect adjectives of the pattern fila

53)
kl

kil

black

wil

wiwl

tall

22

The stems fl and fl + vowel

v.
54)
bgra

bgira

cow

nmi

nimi

lamb

The stems fla / fila


55)
blaa

blija

a place

daa

dija

chicken

vi.

Quadriliteral roots

56)
kskas

ksiks

couscous pot

zrbijja

zribijja

carpet

7. The comparative
In MA, very few adjectives take the comparative form. The general form of the
comparative is by clustering the first two consonants followed by a schwa. Here are a few
examples of how different patterns form the comparative in MA:
i.

The stems fil and fal

57)
ir

smaller

was

ws

wider

ii.

The fijjl stem

58)
xjr

xir
iii.

better

The stem fil


23

59)
dida dd
xfif

xff
iv.

The stem fi and fu

60)
nqi

nqa

cleaner

lu

la

sweeter

v.

The stem fl

61)
kl

kl

blacker

bj

bj

whiter

To conclude, this part has sought to examine the different aspects of MA


morphology. We have seen how verbal inflection works in MA by illustrating the forms
and examples of the perfect, imperfect tenses, and the three different types of participles:
the active participle, the passive participle, and the flan form. We have also checked
nominal inflection by demonstrating how gender and number function in MA. We have
seen that the plural in MA is expressed by three categories: the internal plural, the
external plural, and the mixed plural. We have also seen adjectival inflection and shown
how the attributive and predicative adjectives work. Finally, we have described the Nisba,
the diminutive and the comparative in MA. In the next part, we will deal with HVs in the
imperfect, VNs, and causatives derived from HVs. We will attempt an analysis of the
underlying structure of HVs in MA.

24

PART TWO:

DATA DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

25

1. Data description
In this part, we are going to describe the data collected during this research. The
data is divided into three categories: HVs conjugated in the imperfect, VNs derived from
HVs, and causative verbs derived also from HVs.

1.1.

HVs in the imperfect tense

We start with HVs in the imperfect. Our data is organized in three sets:
a) Verbs whose internal /a/ changes into /u/
1)
Perfect

Imperfect

Gloss

bal

ibul

To urinate

dab

idub

To melt

aq

iuq

To taste

iu

To spread

ag

iug

To drive

b) Verbs whose internal /a/ changes into /i/


2)
Perfect

Imperfect

Gloss

ba

ibi

To sell

ii

To be lost

qas

iqis

To measure

ab

iib

To be cooked

zad

izid

To add

c) Verbs whose internal /a/ is retained


3)
26

Perfect

Imperfect

Gloss

ban

iban

To appear

bat

ibat

To stay over

sal

isal

To ask

xaf

ixaf

To fear

In order to conjugate HVs in the imperfect tense in MA the medial /a/ needs to be
changed into /i/, /u/ or kept as it is. As the data shows in the table above, there is no way
to tell when a certain verb will change /a/ into /i/ or /u/, or retain it.

1.2.

Verbal Nouns

We shall now move on to the VNs and describe the changes that occur while
converting HVs to nouns. Our data is again organized in three sets:
a) Verbs with the medial /i/ in the imperfect
4)
Perfect

Imperfect

Verbal noun

Gloss

ba

ibi

bi

Selling

ab

iib

ijab

Absence

ar

iir

iran

Flying

faq

ifiq

fjaq

Waking up

ab

iib

jab

Cooking

qas

iqis

qjas

measuring

aq

iiq

jaqa

Showing off

b) Verbs with the medial /u/ in the imperfect


5)

27

Perfect

Imperfect

Verbal noun

Gloss

bal

ibul

bul

Urine

dab

idub

duban

Melting

mat

imut

mut

Death, dying

af

iuf

ufan

Seeing

al

iul

ulan

Travelling around

ra

iru

awa

Salability

af

iuf

awaf

Turning/walking around

ar

iur

jjara

Visit

c) Verbs that retain /a/ in the imperfect


6)
Perfect

Imperfect

Verbal noun

Gloss

bat

ibat

mbata

Staying over

ban

iban

(*)

xaf

ixaf

xuf

fear

To derive nouns from HVs in MA a few changes occur. Verbs that have the vowel
/u/ in the middle in the imperfect tense tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /w/ or keep it
as it is in order to get the VN. Nouns that keep the vowel /u/ tend to have the patterns
CuC, CuCa, and CuCan, while verbs that change /u/ to the semi-vowel /w/ tend to have
the pattern CawaC and very rarely the pattern CawCa.

(*) could not find the verbal noun that is derived from the verb ban/iban to appear.

28

Verbs that have /i/ in the middle tend to convert it to the semi-vowel /i/ or keep it
the same. Nouns that retain /i/ have the patterns CiC, CiCa and CiCan, while nouns that
change the /u/ into /w/ tend to have the pattern CjaC and CjaCa.
Last, there are very few verbs that keep the /a/ in the imperfect tense of which the
patterns of their derived VN are mCaCa and CuC. The verb zar he visited izur he
visits should derive a verbal noun with the pattern CuC, CuCa, CuCan or CawaC but it
does not; instead it has the pattern CjaCa, which is found mostly in verbal nouns derived
from verbs that have /u/ in the middle.

1.3.

The causative

We now consider causative verbs derived from HVs.


a) Verbs turning /u/ into /w/
7)
Perfect

Imperfect

causative

Gloss

bal

ibul

bwwl

to make someone urinate

dab

idub

dwwb

to melt something

aq

iuq

awwq

to make someone taste something

ar

iur

awwr

to turn something

mat

imut

mwwt

to kill

ad

iud

awwd

to make someone get up

qam

iqum

qawwm

to fix something

iu

aww

to take someone out

iu

aww

to make something spread

zal

izul

zwwl

to remove
29

zar

izur

zawwr

to make someone visit

iu

ww

to starve someone

b) Verbs turning i into j


8)
Perfect

Imperfect

causative

Gloss

ab

iib

ajjb

to make fun of someone

ii

ajj

to make someone live

sal

isil

sjjl

to make something leak out

zad

izid

zjjd

to make something pass

idi

ajj

to lose

faq

ifiq

fajjq

to wake someone up

ab

iib

ajjb

to be absent

ar

iir

ajjr

to perplex

mal

imil

mjjl

to make something incline

ar

iir

ajjr

to make something fly

c) Verbs turning a either into j or w


9)
Perfect

Imperfect

causative

Gloss

xaf

ixaf

xawwf

to scare

ban

iban

bjjn

to show

bat

ibat

bjjt

to make someone stay

30

To derive the causative from HVs in MA, we need to start from the imperfect
tense. The middle vowel changes into its corresponding glide and is then geminated.
Verbs that have /u/ in the middle tend to change it into /w/, while verbs that have /i/ tend
to change it into /j/. However, verbs that keep the vowel /a/ in the imperfect tend to
change it either to /j/ or /w/. Therefore, the patterns of the causatives derived from HVs
are CjjC and CwwC.

2. Data analysis
To account for the HV stems internal changes in MA, we need to examine these
verbs in the imperfect tense, the verbal nouns and the causatives. Why does /a/ always
change into another vowel or a semi-vowel? Let us first consider the data in the imperfect
tense.

2.1.

HVs in the Imperfect Tense

Let us now analyze the data above. Harrell (1962) says that HVS in MA change
/a/ into either /i/ as in a/ii it gets wasted or /u/ as in mat/imut he dies, or retain it
in some verbs as in bat/ibat he stays over. If we consider that this hypothesis is true,
then /a/ should always change into /i/ or /u/ or always stays the same, but this does not
seem to be the case. We cannot maintain this hypothesis because we cannot predict when
/a/ will change into /i/ or /u/. Therefore, we have got a problem of predictability. Let us
now suggest another possibility.
Another hypothesis would be that /i/ and /u/ are original sounds in HVs. In order
to conjugate HVs in the perfect tense in MA, we need to change /i/ and /u/ into /a/ in the
third person, i.e. both /u/ and /i/ change into /a/ in the third person in the perfect tense.

31

The problem of predictability is solved. So far, the patterns of HVs in MA are CuC, CiC,
and CaC in verbs that retain /a/ both ways. The process involved is vowel change.
In brief, we have shown that moving from CaC to CiC or CuC is unpredictable.
Therefore, we claim, in contrast with Harrell (1962), that CaC is not the root stem of HVs
in MA but rather CiC, CuC, and CaC depending on the behavior of the verb. We shall
now move on to verbal nouns and investigate the changes that occur while deriving
verbal nouns from HVs in MA.

2.2.

Verbal Nouns

In the data above under 1.2), we notice that most nouns keep the vowels /u/ and
/i/; however some change /u/ and /i/ into the semi-vowels /w/ and /j/.
Let us first start with verbs that have /u/ in the middle in the imperfect. As we
found in the previous part, the VN that keep the vowel /u/ have the patterns CuC as in
mut death, and CuCan as in ulan touring around; and a very small number of nouns
change /u/ into its corresponding glide /w/ with the pattern CawaC as in awaf turning
around. The reason /w/ appears in the pattern CawaC could be that /u/ changes into /w/
only to avoid a vowel sequence; i.e. we cannot have a structure like CauaC in MA.
Therefore, we move from CauaC to CawaC. While some nouns keep the vowel /u/, other
nouns change into the semi-vowel /w/ in order to avoid a vowel sequence.
Likewise, HVs that have /i/ in the imperfect either keep it or change it into /j/.
Nouns that keep /i/ have the patterns CiC as in bi selling and CiCan as in iran flying.
Verbs that change /i/ into the corresponding glide /j/ have the patterns CjaC as in as in
jab cooking and CjaCa as in jaqa arrogance. The vowel /i/ changes into the semi-

32

vowel /j/ for the same reason /u/ changes into /w/: to avoid a vowel sequence and the
process involved here is glide formation.
Therefore, since /i/ and /u/ are the underlying sounds in verbal nouns, we can still
say that CiC, CuC and CaC are the stems of HVs in MA. Let us now account for the
changes that occur in causatives that are derived from HVs.

2.3.

The causative

Generally in MA, to derive the causative from verbs, we take the root and
geminate the second consonant and insert a schwa before and after the geminated
consonant. Vowels cannot be geminated. Therefore, we move from the perfect to the
imperfect and then change the medial vowel in the imperfect to its corresponding glide
and geminate it. However, there are two hypotheses that we can explore. Let us examine
the first hypothesis.
In HVs, the vowels /i/ and /u/ change into /j/ and /w/, respectively, and the latter
are geminated to derive the causative. Take for example, the verbs ba to sell and gal
to say:
10)
ba

he sold

ibi

he sells

bjj

make someone sell

gal

he said

igul

he says

gwwl

make someone say

The phonological process involved in changing /i/ into /j/ and /u/ into /w/ is vowel
devocalization. Vowel devocalization consists of changing the vowels /i/ and /u/ into their
corresponding glides. The rule to account for this change is as follows:

33

11)
+ syllabic
_ consonant
+ high

{HV in the
imperfect}

_ syllabic

/C_C

{causative}

However, verbs that have the medial /a/ in the imperfect change it into either /j/ or
/w/. The vowel /a/ should correspond to one glide only, but it does not. Therefore, we
have got a problem of predictability. The only explanation for this issue is that the medial
/a/ in xaf he feared and ixaf he fears is originally the vowel /u/ as found in the verbal
noun xuf fear; in bat he stayed over and ibat he stays over, it is originally an /i/ as in
bit room, and in ban he appeared and iban he appears it is originally the vowel /i/ as
in the verbal noun tbjan making clear. Thus, this shows that /a/ cannot be an original
sound in HVs.
This hypothesis encounters many difficulties. The first one is that what seems to
be a simple process is accounted for in a quite complex way. A rule is needed to
transform a vowel into a glide and then morphological gemination, responsible for
causative verb derivation applies. The second problem is that a rule like (11) above is
difficult to justify. What would force a vowel occurring between two consonants to
change into a glide, another consonant?
The second hypothesis consists in considering the medial segment in HVs to be a
glide underlyingly. Accordingly, the class of HVs would be a special class of CCC verbs.
in causative verb derivation, the medial consonant is geminated just like normal
consonants (ktb/kttb write; bj/ bjj sell).
34

If /j/ and /w/ are the original sounds in the stem instead of /i/ and /u, then how do
they change to the corresponding vowels in the imperfective? The phonological processes
to account for this change are syllabification and vocalization. /i/ and /u/ are syllabified
and vocalized whenever they occur mid-consonantly. The rule postulated is as follows:
12)
_ syllabic
_ consonant
+ high

{causative}

+ syllabic

/C_C

{HV in the
imperfect}

Therefore, in order to avoid a cluster of a semi-vowel between two consonants in HVs in


MA, the semi-vowel is changed into a vowel.
In summary, /j/ and /w/ are the original sounds in HVs; this leads us to the
assertion that CiC, CuC and CaC are not the underlying representations of HVs in MA.
The second hypothesis seems to account for the facts in a better way.
To conclude this part, we have investigated the HVs in MA in order to find out
their root patterns. We have found that HVs cannot be based on the stem CaC but rather
on the stems CiC, CuC and CaC in verbs that keep the medial /a/ even in the imperfect
tense. We have also investigated the causative and the verbal nouns derived from HVs to
find out the root of HVs. Causative formation facts suggest that the underlying form of
HVs is one which contains a glide rather than a vowel.

35

GENERAL CONCLUSION

36

This paper has dealt with one aspect of the morphology of MA, attempting to
investigate the root of HVs. In order to do so, I have investigated HVs in the imperfect
tense, and investigated the derivation of verbal nouns and causatives.
The data provided in this paper has been collected using a computer program, a
basic algorithm to list all the HVs in MA. As the algorithm cannot tell whether a given
entry is a real word in MA or not, I had to filter the data manually.
We have investigated and illustrated the morphology of MA, inspecting how
words are formed. We have dealt with the verbal inflection, the noun inflection, and the
adjectival inflection. We have shown that words in MA are based on a root-pattern
schema.
We have provided evidence of the fact that HVs in MA are composed of
consonants and semi-vowels (glides), and not composed of consonants and vowels. This
is supported by the fact that most words in Semitic languages are based on a consonantal
root.
The data description and analysis part has been divided into three categories.
First, we have checked whether HVs are based on the pattern CaC only or the different
patterns CuC, CiC, and CaC for some verbs which keep the medial /a/. We have then
investigated the causatives and verbal nouns derived from HVS to verify whether the root
of the HVS is CuC, CiC and CaC or CwC and CjC. We have found that it is better to
consider the medial segment in HVs in MA a glide.

37

REFERENCES

38

Ennaji, M., Makhoukh A., Es-Saiydy H., Moubtassime M., and Slaoui S. (2004). A
Grammar of Moroccan Arabic. Fs: Publications of the faculty of Letters, Dhar El
Mehraz.
Harrell, Richard S. (1962). A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic.
Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press.
Lieber, Rochelle (2009). Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

39

APPENDIXES

40

Perfect

Imperfect

Gloss

ba
bal
ban
bas
bat
ba
dab
aq
dar
ar
ax
daz
a
faq
fat
faz
ab
gal
ar
kal
kan
la
lam
lan
mal
mat
ad
qal
qam
qas
rab
ab
a
a
a
ab
af
ag
a
sal
aq
ar
at
a

ibu
ibul
iban
ibus
ibat
ibi
idub
iuq
idir
iur
iux
iduz
ii
ifiq
ifut
ifuz
iib
igul
iir
ikul
ikun
ilu
ilum
ilin
imil
imut
iud
iqul
iqum
iqis
irib
iib
iu
iu
iu
iib
iuf
iug
iu
isil
iiq
iir
iut
ii

to reveal
to urinate
to appear
to kiss
to stay over
to sell
to melt
to taste
to do
to turn
to be dizzy
to pass
to be lost
to wake up
to pass
to win
to be absent
to say
to be perplexed
to eat
to be
to throw
to blame
to be soft
to lean, to incline
to die
to get up
to say
to stand
to touch
to crumble
(of milk) to ferment
to move aside
to go
to spread
to grow grey hair
to see
to drive
to redact
to leak
to care
to mention
to shoot
to be left
41

a
tab
ab
af
a
al
ar
a
xab
xad
xaf
xan
zad
za
zal
zar
ab
al
a
ab
ad
aq
a

ii
itub
iib
iuf
ii
iul
iir
ii
ixib
ixud
ixaf
ixun
izid
izi
izul
izur
iib
iul
iu
iib
iud
iiq
ii

to spread
to repent
to be cooked
to turn around
to fall
to take long
to fly
to obey
to be disappointed
to take
to fear
to betray
to add
to be bold
to disappear
to visit
to bring
to wander
to be hungry
to fault
to return
to see through
to live

42

Perfect

Verbal Noun

Gloss

bal
bas
bat
ba
daq
dar
ar
ax
a
faq
ab
ar
lam
mat
ad
a
ab
af
sag
a
tab
ab
af
al
ar
a
xab
xaf
zad
za
zar
al
ab
ad
aq
a

Bul
Busan
Mbata
bi
Duqan
Djar
uran
uxa
ja
Fjaq
iba
ira
Luma
Mut
udan
awa
ib
ufa
Sugan
jaa
Tuba
jab
awaf
ul
iran
aa
Xiba
Xuf
Zjada
zjaa
zjjara
ula
ib
awda
jaqa
ia

urine
kissing
staying over
selling
tasting
doing
turning
dizziness
losing
waking up
absence
perplexity
blame
death
getting up
saleability
growing grey hair
look
driving
leftover
repentance
cooking
turning around
length
flying
obedience
deception
fear
addition
boldness
visit
tour
fault
return
arrogance
living

43

Perfect

causative

Gloss

bal
ban
bat
ba
dab
aq
ar
ax
daz
a
faq
fat
ab
ar
kan
lan
mal
mat
ad
qam
qas
rab
ra
ra
ra
sal
aq
ab
af
ar
a
ab
af
a
al
ar
xab
xaf
xan
zad
zal
zar
a
ab

bwwl
bjjn
bjjt
bjj
dwwb
awwq
awwr
awwx
dwwz
ajj
fajjq
fwwt
ajjb
ajjr
kwwn
ljjn
mjjl
mwwt
awwd
qawwm
qajjs
rjjb
raww
raww
raww
sjjl
awwq
jjb
wwf
jjr
ajj
ajjb
awwf
ajj
awwl
ajjr
xajjb
xawwf
xawwn
zjjd
zwwl
zawwr
ww
ajjb

to make someone urinate


to show
to make someone stay
to sell someone out
to melt something
to make someone taste something
to turn something
to dizzy someone
to make someone pass
to lose
to wake someone up
to make someone pass
to be absent
to perplex
to create
to soften
to make something incline
to kill
to make someone get up
to fix something
to try on
to demolish
to move something aside
to take someone out
to make something spread
to make something leak out
to care
to make someone grow grey hair
to make someone see
to throw
to leave something for later use
to cook
to take someone on a tour
to trip someone down
to lengthen
to make something fly
to deceive, to make something ugly
to scare
to accuse someone of betrayal
to make something pass
to remove
to make someone visit
to starve someone
to make fun of someone
44

ad
aq
a

awwd
ajjq
ajj

to make someone adopt a habit


to act arrogantly
to make someone live

45

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