Connected and Free Exceptive Constructions in Najdi Arabic

Abstract

In the syntactic literature, two types of exceptive constructions have been identified, namely connected exceptives (CEs) and free exceptives (FEs). While the exceptive phrase appears adjacent to its associate in CEs, it appears non-adjacent in FEs. Within the Arabic context, two competing lines of analysis have been proposed. The first treats the exceptive marker as a coordinating conjunction, conjoining two DPs in CEs and two CPs in FEs. The second, by contrast, analyzes the exceptive marker as a functional head projecting either an exceptive phrase (ExP) or a subtractive exceptive phrase (S-ExP), which may adjoin to the main clause or the associate DP either as an adjunct or as an apposition. The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of the two exceptive types in Najdi Arabic (NA). Following the first line of analysis, I argue that the exceptive marker ʔillaa ‘except’ in NA functions as a coordinating conjunction that conjoins two XPs. Specifically, in NA CEs it conjoins two DPs within a mono-clausal structure, while in NA FEs it conjoins two CPs within a bi-clausal structure. In the latter, the exception XP moves to the left periphery of the exceptive clause before the TP-ellipsis applies. Multiple strands of evidence, such as multiple exceptions and speaker-oriented adverbs, support this analysis, which considers the exceptive phrase as a phrase in CEs but as a clause in FEs. It is hoped that the analysis advanced here contributes to the ongoing discussion on the syntax of exceptive constructions.