The Basics & Intricacies of Arabic Morphology

Despite the amount of material about Arabic grammar, phonology, and morphology, the need for a book combining an independent study in morphology with theoretical discussions is more than evident. This book fills that void by proposing an in-depth analysis of various morphological issues based on the seven classes of verbs and their nine derivatives. These classical classes are the strong verb, the doubled, the hamzated, the verb with 1st radical w or y, the verb with 2nd radical w or y, the verb with 3rd radical w or y, and the verb that is doubly weak. The nine derivatives are the perfect, imperfect, imperative, infinitive noun, active participle, passive participle, noun of time, noun of place and noun of instrument. The different sections introduce several paradigms of verbs, a carefully explored data and explicit information about the morphological structures and the various phonological changes that can affect them, such as the addition, transfer or elision of a vowel or letter, the assimilation of two letters and the substitution of one letter for another. The study pays also particular attention to the most representative works from the 8th century until our days.

Author's Biography:
Joyce Akesson has studied the Semitic languages at Lund's University, Sweden, and has previously been a lecturer there during many years. Beside the present book, she is the author of “The Phonological Changes due to the Hamza and Weak Consonant in Arabic” (Pallas Athena 2010), “A Study of the Assimilation and Substitution in Arabic” (Pallas Athena 2010), “The Essentials of the Class of the Strong Verb in Arabic” (Pallas Athena 2010), “The Complexity of the Irregular Verbal Nominal Forms & the Phonological Changes in Arabic” (Pallas Athena Distribution 2009), “Arabic Morphology and Phonology: Based on the Marah Al-Arwah by Ahmad B. Ali B. Masud” (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics), Brill Academic Publishers (July 2001) and “Ahmad B. 'Ali B. Mas'Ud on Arabic Morphology Marah Al-Arwah: Part 1:The Strong Verb” (Studia Orientalia Ludensia, Vol 4), Brill Academic Pub (October 1990). She has also published several articles about Arabic linguistics in two Journals, the Journal of Arabic Linguistics (the ZAL or Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik) Wiesbaden, and the previous Acta Orientalia, Denmark. She has also written a lemma about sarf «morphology/phonology in the Encyclopaedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, vol. 4. Leiden: Brill, 20.