Exceptive Constructions in Najdi Arabic: A Descriptive Analysis

Abstract

An exceptive construction is the construction that denotes the exclusion of an entity from a set or generalization. This construction has been scrutinized in several languages, like English, Spanish, and Standard Arabic, but has been largely overlooked in Najdi Arabic (NA). Therefore, this paper aims to provide a detailed descriptive analysis of the basic grammatical properties of NA exceptive constructions. The study first indicates that NA includes three major exceptive types: a full positive exceptive, a full negative exceptive, and an empty exceptive. The first two types have an exceptive reading, whereas the latter has only a restrictive reading. Next, it shows that the NA exceptive marker ʔillaa is a coordinating conjunction, rather than a preposition or a focal adverb. It also reveals that the exception XP in NA exceptives can be from various syntactic categories, excluding finite VPs. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the associate can generally be a universal quantifier phrase, a definite DP, a generic DP, and the quantifier ʔaɣlab ‘most’, but cannot be an existential quantifier. Lastly, it has been concluded that exceptive phrases (EP) with nominal exceptions are typically located either next to the associate or at the right-periphery, whereas EPs with non-nominal exceptions are located only at the right-periphery. The left-periphery position is not available to EPs in NA exceptives. Hopefully, the present work contributes to the limited typological research on the syntax of exceptive constructions.