The New Arabic Lexicon and its Words

Root syntax, with roots as primitive lexical units, is an influential theme in building the lexicon in linguistic theory, typically in Distributed Morphology, and the generative model of minimal computation. Implementing important fragments of the Arabic lexicon, the book presents a comprehensive view of word formation and argument structure, providing robust evidence that favors root-based, rather than stem-based derivations of words. Tested on Arabic, a language wearing DM ‘on its sleeve’, the DM model gains substantial support and refinement. Significant templatic affixes turn out to be roots. Valency changing causatives, anti-causatives, reflexives, or nominalizations implicate root complexity, not category change. Psych, perception, and cognition eventuality classes are born as root subtypes, not ‘verb’ classes. Category changing deverbalizations, deadjectivations, or denominalizations are supplemented by complex root derivations. Melodic templates operate ‘templatization’ (e.g. with adjectives), or act as functional templates for Voice and Aspect (e.g. with passives), or gradation (with synthetic comparatives), after category typing. The book is of interest to generative and comparative linguists, cognitivists, typologists, lexicographers, and students, teachers, and researchers of Arabic, or Semitic