Date of Award
12-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Second Language Studies
Department
Modern Languages
First Advisor
Dr. Tamara Warhol
Second Advisor
Dr. Allen Clark
Third Advisor
Dr. Christopher Sapp
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Robyn Wright
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Discourse markers are used considerably in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, yet few studies examine them in colloquial Arabic. A mixed-method research design adopting a descriptive corpus-based approach is used to better understand the communicative discourse and vagueness functions of the words bita:ʕ, bita:ʕa, and bitu:ʕ in Egyptian Arabic discourse. This study also highlights the collocational behavior of bita:ʕ, bita:ʕa, and bitu:ʕ as well as their colligation patterns. A correlation is found between colligation patterns of the markers bita:ʕ and its variants and particular discourse and vagueness functions in context. Additionally, the study investigates the morphosyntactic phenomenon in which bita:ʕ has undergone to function as a lexical item. A critical discourse analytical approach is used to explore the indexical and affective attitudinal uses of bita:ʕ, bita:ʕa, and bitu:ʕ in Egyptian spoken discourse. As hypothesized, the study results show that bita:ʕ, bita:ʕa, and bitu:ʕ perform several essential functions in Egyptian daily discourse: possessive, discourse, and vagueness functions. Moreover, the findings show that the words bita:ʕ, bita:ʕa, and bitu:ʕ represent a case of degrammaticalization of a syntactic reanalysis from a grammatical class to a lexical class. Finally, the findings demonstrate a correlation between colligational patterns and certain discourse and vagueness functions.
Recommended Citation
Taha, Asmaa, "The Functions and Uses of The Marker “bita:ʕ” in Egyptian Arabic: A Corpus Analysis: Discourse and Vagueness Functions" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3455.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3455
Accessibility Status
Searchable text