Pronominalization in Tanazu' 'Conflict' Style with Reference to Regular and Irregular Uses

Abstract

The area of Tanazu’ [the conflict in identifying the relation between a pronoun and its referent] has numerous strange structures, which can be judged, at first gloss, as too far from the nature of Arabic speech, due to the misplaced pronouns, which makes the sentence unbalanced. Examples of this would be when a pronoun refers to a referent that is mentioned afterwards in the sentence [as in cataphora] and is of lower rank in terms of the Arabic sentence order, when the pronoun or the referent is repeated within the same sentence, or when the subject is separated from its object.

In this study, I was keen to investigate irregular uses mentioned in the books of Arab grammarians, to see if they matched any of the previously mentioned cases. I then looked into the books of Arabic grammar to find any regular uses that might match these cases. Additionally, I carefully examined the cataphoric use of pronouns to see if there is any justification, or an approved use in standard Arabic. I have also investigated the distinction between the subjective pronoun and other pronouns in referring to a referent that is mentioned afterward in the sentence [as in cataphora] and is of a lower rank in terms of the Arabic sentence order. Further, I have tried to find a standard use of two overlapped sentences, with their subjects and objects interchanged.

Finally, I have tried to list the forms of such structures, which are used in this style and to find solutions for every form, free of those problems.