The semantic structure of motion verbs in the dialect of Zabid (Yemen)

Samia Naïm (1)

1 LACITO - Langues et civilisations à tradition orale

This article deals with the basic active motion verbs such as "coming" and "going", in the vernacular Arabic of Zabid. Primary data reveals the existence of no less than twelve verbs distributed into sub-groups. We first present the semantic components of these verbs, their distribution and their pragmatic uses. The underliying systems that the study reveals are then considered from a typological point of view. To which typological category of motion verbs attested in the languages of the world does the Arabic vernacular of Zabid belong ? The study reveals the existence of a specific system not previously mentioned for any language, which may provide a useful contribution to the theoretical and typological study of space and the lexicon related to it.

Mots clés: Relations spatiales; verbes de déplacement; sémantique lexicale et cognitive; typologie; typologie.

Domaines: Linguistique

Samia Naïm. The semantic structure of motion verbs in the dialect of Zabid (Yemen). Arabian Studies, 2010, pp.239-246. ⟨halshs-00906999⟩