The syntax of Syriac Proverbs

Author

Luord Abdulsalam Alkhozaimi, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2015

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Applied Linguistics

First Advisor

Punske, Jeffrey

Abstract

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF LUORD A. SAMAAN ALKHOZAIMI, for the Master of Arts degree in APPLIED LINGUISTICS, presented on 04/06/15, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE SYNTAX OF SYRIAC PROVERBS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Jeffrey Punske Proverbs are an important part of a language. To my knowledge, there is no research that investigates the syntax of Syriac proverbs. So, this study aims to shed light on the syntax of Syriac proverbs to add further information to our understanding of Syriac. For this purpose, I ask questions like: i) Can Syriac proverbs be negated? ii) Can they be passivized? iii) Can they be topicalized? iv) Can they allow question? v) Can the subject be raised? vi) Can their tense and aspect be altered? The data were chosen randomly from Zomaia (2007). The proverbs were examined based on native speaker judgments. The analysis implied identifying the components of each proverb then applying the rule of each aspect on each proverb was performed. Results from the study showed that some of the Syriac proverbs, from the randomly chosen sample, were modifiable syntactically. A number of factors that appeared to influence the applicability of some aspects rules were identified as: like the availability of subject, verb, and object. The reason for some proverbs were non-modifiable was because of the absence of the main components for the transformation process. The results of the study contribute to an understanding of the restricted nature of Syriac proverbs semantically and idiomatically. Recommendations for further research were also identified in the field of syntax concerning Syriac.