First Published in 2000. This transformational analysis will greatly enrich the field of Arabic linguistics. While the majority of works on the Arabic language have concentrated on regional dialects, the present work fulfils a longfelt need by focusing on modern written or literary Arabic. Although literary Arabic is not used in casual conversation in any of the Arab countries, it is the formal and official form of the language and has great influence on the colloquial dialects, particularly those spoken by educated Arabs. Arranged in five chapters, the work gives particular emphasis to three major types of Arabic sentences the co-ordinate, the negative and the interrogative - and gives a generative account of them. The work is largely based on transformational theory as formulated by Chomsky, but reference is made to subsequent development in linguistic theory.
