Semantic transparency and number marking in Arabic and other languages

Abstract

Every language has its share of odd or idiosyncratic words, expressions, idioms, and collocational ranges for its vocabulary. For example, Arabic has many lexemes, phrases and expressions which use the plural, but which translate into English in the singular. The plural in the datum in question is overtly marked in Arabic, and what it refers to can be explained in terms of the notion of a semantically transparent plurality; e.g., ςilmu llahajaat (science/NOM/the dialect/PL) ‘the science of dialects’ = ‘dialectology’. Semantic transparency can be defined as a literal cognitive mapping of an idea, thought or concept, or as “guessability” for the native speaker. Thus, ‘eye doctor’ is semantically transparent, since native speakers know the meanings of ‘eye’ and ‘doctor’; however, ‘ophthalmologist’ is semantically opaque since its morphemic parts are not readily discernable. Returning to the notion of ‘dialectology’, from the viewpoint of the logic of semantic and cognitive structure, ‘dialectology’ studies dialects, usually many dialects—not merely one, and thus the marking of the plural makes logical sense. In other words, the Arabic plural marking instantaneously denotes reference to numerous dialects (in the plural!)—the object of the study of dialectology.

The aim of this essay is to shed light on conceptual structure in human cognition by examining aspects of its linguistic representation. It looks at a formal property of morphological structure, viz., number marking from its conceptual perspective. The basic thesis of the article is that a singular (noun) in English may often be rendered as a plural (noun) in Arabic (Modern Standard and the colloquials), and that this common trait of the language can be explained or accounted for cognitively in terms of the notion of semantic transparency.

Using a cognitive linguistic framework directly linked to thought and conceptual structure, this research suggests that an Arabic speaker conceives of the mental construct ςilmu llahajaat as a plurality parallel to the plural notion inherent in maςluumaat ‘information’. ‘Mountain climbing’ similarly is tasalluqu ljibaal, ‘the climbing of mountains’, or ‘body building’ is kamaalu l?ajsaam, ‘the perfection of the bodies’. Of course, the English speaker knows (or is aware of the fact) that mountain climbing involves a huge effort, and one must usually practice climbing many mountains to become proficient in the sport. The interesting thing here is that this very idea of practicing climbing numerous mountains is made semantically transparent in Arabic by the use of the overt plural marking, as opposed to the unmarked singular of English. The aforementioned subjects are thoroughly explored in this essay, with many examples from Arabic and other languages provided for illustrative and comparative purposes. Although Arabic prefers pluralization in a majority of examples, there are several notable exceptions to the general tendency in various lexical items and expressions. Reasons will be adduced to explain the majority of these.