Ahmed Moutaouakil,
Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco
In Standard Modern Arabic, the
particle ’illā (but)
is prefixed to a Noun Phrase in what one can call “exceptive
constructions” as examples (1a-b) show:
| (1) |
a. |
ma - l-taqaytu
|
bi-l-kuttābi,
|
’illā |
Zaydan |
|
|
Neg meet-PAST.1SG |
with the writers-GEN |
except |
Zayd-ACC |
|
|
'I did not meet
the writers, but I meet Zayd' |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
b. |
ma - l-taqaytu
|
bi-l-kuttābi, |
illā |
Zaydun |
|
|
Neg meet-PAST.1SG |
with the writers-GEN |
except |
Zayd-NOM |
|
|
'I did not meet
the writers. I exclude Zayd |
In this kind of constructions,
the ’illā-NP
displays quite different semantic, morpho-syntactic and
prosodic properties as becomes clear from the comparison
between (1a) and (1b).
My aim in this paper is to
try to propose, within the FDG framework, a description of the
properties of the ’illā-NP in terms of its communicative status as an autonomous discourse Act
and the interpersonal relationships it may entertain with the
host Clause
|
