A Syntactic and Semantic Study of Hal 'Circumstantial' Structures in Modern Literary Arabic Prose Literature.

Abstract

In medieval Arabic grammar, the hal or 'circumstantial' structure, like other Arabic grammatical structures, was studied mainly from a syntactic point of view. In this presentation, hal structures were classified as: mufrad 'single-word,' jumlah 'clause,' and shibh jumlah 'adverbial.' Certain morphological restrictions pertaining to the various syntactic types were also cited by the grammarians. The rhetorical significance of the hal structure in particular was considered by some medieval Arab rhetoricians such as al-Jurjan(')i. In this dissertation, hal structures in Modern St and ard Arabic are studied both syntactically and semantically. Since this study is based on actual data, the quantitative dimension of its bears some theoretical and pedagogical significance alongside its qualitative aspects. The various grammatical hal structures used in a large corpus of modern prose (fiction and non-fiction) are specified, along with their relative frequencies. The semantic features and functions of the hal structure are integrated throughout the study. The sentence and discourse levels are taken into consideration in judging such features and functions as well as restrictions. Some similarities and differences between the actual usages of hal in Modern St and ard Arabic and medieval Arabic descriptions of the same structures are pointed out. These similarities and differences pertain to the various syntactic hal structures, morphological restrictions, the questions of the definiteness of both the hal and its referent, of word order, regent, and the links of the hal clause. Finally, the definition of the hal is reconsidered at some length.