Abstract

The study seeks to explore structural (nominative and accusative) Case assignment in Standard Arabic (henceforth, SA). The objective is to offer a unified account of structural Case assignment in VSO structures, verbal copular sentences, and SVO structures introduced by the complementizer Ɂinna in SA. Following Chomsky’s (2005) minimalist analysis, I argue that TP and VP are not phases in SA; I assume that CP and vP are the only phases in SA clause structure. Furthermore, I assume that the head C of the CP phase is the source of all the features (edge feature and phi-features) on T in SA. The paper shows that Case is not assigned by T, but rather by the phase head C of CP which is responsible for Case assignment. It shows that Case and phi-features of the subject (the Goal) can be valued either under a long-distance Agree relation when the subject remains in situ in VSO structures or by raising the subject DP from [Spec-vP] to [Spec-TP] in SVO structures introduced by Ɂinna. Moreover, the accusative Case is assigned to the object under the Agree relation established between the phase head v and the object. Besides, I argue that there are two subjects in SVO structures introduced by Ɂinna: the external subject is the preverbal subject which follows Ɂinna and the internal subject which is a pro(nominal); in such structures I assume that C assigns two Cases; it assigns an external accusative Case to the preverbal NP and an internal nominative Case to the postverbal pro subject.

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