Secondary Grammaticalization: The Case of hatta in Rural Jordanian Arabic

Secondary grammaticalization is viewed as a continuation to a grammaticalization path (Traugott 2002) or an independent process that does not necessarily imply the occurrence of a precedent primary grammaticalization (Givón 1991). This paper provides a case from vernacular Arabic supporting the second view, namely, the secondary grammaticalization of the functional hatta (its evolution into a proclitic) in Rural Jordanian Arabic. Evidence supporting this view is the selectivity of secondary grammaticalization, which can be summarized as follows: if the source grammatical item has more than one type (i.e., function), some of these types may not undergo secondary grammaticalization. This implies that secondary grammaticalization may not be a late stage completing a grammaticalization path. It can be an independent process that has its own peculiarities and constraints. The constraint, which is the source of selectivity of secondary grammaticalization in this paper, is linked to prosodic prominence: if a grammatical item is typically prominent prosodically in daily conversations, it resists secondary grammaticalization. This finding should also contribute to the previously reported constraints on secondary grammaticalization. In addition to selectivity, it is reported in this paper that the lexical source of the grammatical hatta does not seem necessary to its secondary grammaticalization.

Attitudes toward Jordanian Arabic-Accented English among Native and Non-native Speakers of English

This paper explores attitudes toward Jordanian Arabic-accented English among native and non-native speakers of English. Three groups of listeners (native English speakers, Jordanian Arab specialists and non-specialists in English) were asked to rate three groups of speakers (a group of native English speakers and two groups of Jordanian Arabic bilinguals) reading a short story in English on the degree of foreign accentedness, friendliness, pleasantness and clarity. The results showed that the Jordanian Arabic speakers, especially those with a lower level of English, were perceived less favourably than the native speakers. Furthermore, the English native listeners generally had more favourable perceptions than the non-native listeners with regard to the non-native speakers. The degree of foreign-accentedness was highly correlated with attitudes toward non-native speakers, especially among the non-native speakers themselves. The results confirm that a native English accent is preferred over non-native accents.

The association of cytochrome 7A1 and ATP-binding cassette G8 genotypes with type 2 diabetes among Jordanian patients

Objectives Increased cholesterol levels were found to be associated with diabetes mellitus type II (DM2). The cholesterol is metabolized by cytochrome 7A1 (CYP7A1) and transported in the intestine by ATP-binding cassette G8 (ABCG8). Genetic variants in CYP7A1 and ABCG8 genes can affect the cholesterol levels. The aim of this study is to compare the frequency of CYP7A1 rs3808607 and ABCG8 rs11887534 and rs4148217 genotypes between healthy and DM2 subjects from Jordanian population. Methods A total of 117 DM2 patients and 100 healthy controls, of Jordanian Arabic origin, were genotyped for CYP7A1 rs3808607 and ABCG8 rs11887534 and rs4148217 genetic variants using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Results The study showed that homozygosity of rs3808607 (A-204C) genotype in CYP7A1 was significantly higher in DM2 patients (ANOVA, p<0.05) with an odd ratio of 2.66, but rs11887534 (G55C) and rs4148217 (C1199A) genetic polymorphisms in ABCG8 were found in comparable frequencies in both healthy and DM2 subjects. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that CYP7A1 rs3808607 genetic polymorphism is associated with DM2. Further clinical studies are required to confirm this finding among DM2 patients of Jordanian origin.

Active participles in Jordanian Arabic

This study examines the categorial status, syntactic derivation, and tense of active participles in an urban variety of Jordanian Arabic. It is shown that unlike in other Arabic varieties, active participles in Jordanian Arabic fall into three distinct categories (namely, nominal, adjectival, and verbal) with respect to their morphophonological, syntactic and semantic structures. Moreover, it is argued that active participles are not lexically underspecified or homophonous, but are rather derived distinctively in the syntax. This study also explores tense in active participle clauses. Verbless clauses with adjectival and nominal active participles as the only predicates solely project present tense; a past or future tense is available only if a copula is involved. In contrast, clauses with verbal active participles, which are morphologically unmarked for tense, are shown to license temporal adverbs of different time references. It is argued that such clauses project a covert agreement tense whose time frame is established by time adverbs.

Problems in Subtitling Cultural-Bound Expressions in “Theeb” Movie: A Case Study

Subtitling is a challenging task making subtitlers use precise strategies to improve the quality of the subtitles. This paper aims at identifying the subtitling strategies employed in subtitling the culture-bound terms in the Jordanian movie entitled “Theeb” and assessing the translation of such culture-bound terms. The dialect used in this movie is the Bedouin Jordanian Arabic. So, the translator faced two dilemmas: (1) Understanding the Bedouin Jordanian-Arabic dialect and understanding the dimensions and features of this distinguished culture. (2) Translating this work, which is loaded with cultural expressions, into English. Furthermore, the study deals with the issue of overcoming the difficulties faced by translation of Arabic-language audiovisual dialogues into English. To achieve the purpose of this study, the data was collected from the movie "Theeb" and then analyzed. The results show that not all the subtitling strategies were used. Those left unused were dislocation, condensation, decimation, and resignation strategies. Hence, this article critically evaluates this subtitling, exposing pitfalls and offering more efficient renderings in a practical context.