The cohesive role of reference, substitution, and ellipsis in two genres of modern literary Arabic /

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Said, Hanan Asad Abdel-Karim
Other Authors:	Abboud, Peter (degree committee member.), Cox, Jeff (degree committee member.), Florez-Tigne, Viola (degree committee member.), Kallendorf, Craig (degree committee member.), Meyer, Paul (degree committee member.), Reynolds, Larry (degree committee member.)
Format:	Thesis Book
Language:	English
Published:	1988.
Subjects:	Arabic literature > History and criticism. Arabic literature. Major English. Criticism, interpretation, etc. Academic theses
Online Access:	ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy

Description
Abstract:	This study is an examination of the cohesive role of reference, substitution, and ellipsis in two genres of Arabic, the short story and the essay. It is based on the analysis of eight texts (four in each genre) all of which are published works written in Modern Standard Arabic by twentieth century Arab writers. The study explains how the three cohesion types function in Arabic and how they contribute to the overall cohesiveness and textuality of texts. It further describes how the cohesion types and their frequency vary in the two selected genres and compares the way these devices operate in Arabic and English. The study provides some insights into the nature of cohesion in the two languages, especially in Arabic, on which very little has been done. The analysis of the texts shows that reference and ellipsis in Arabic operate basically in the same way as in English though the two languages accomplish some of the same goals in different ways. Reference items (pronouns, demonstratives, and subject markers) occur very frequently as cohesive devices in the two genres and function cohesively at all levels of the text: across clauses, sentences and paragraphs. The three types of ellipsis (nominal, verbal, and clausal) also function cohesively in Arabic texts, especially in narratives. Verbal and clausal ellipsis usually cluster in the dialogue sections of narratives. Both reference and ellipsis have significant cohesive roles in texts in which they occur. The analysis further shows that verbal substitution is the only type of substitution that normally occurs in Arabic texts. Nominal substitution is scarce, and clausal substitution does not occur at all. Thus, unlike substitution in English, substitution in Arabic is not a viable process for cohesion.
Item Description:	Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: English."
Physical Description:	xii, 174 leaves ; 29 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-170).