The Grammaticalization of Buh in Qassimi Arabic

Abstract

The grammaticalization framework provides a strong approach to accounting for syntactic categorizations as it examines grammatical changes as paths of grammar through which linguistic expressions emerge and develop (Heine & Kuteva, 2002; Kuteva et al., 2019). This study aims to investigate, on descriptive syntactic grounds, the syntactic (categorical) status of the grammatical element buh in Qassimi Arabic (QA) by showing how a grammaticalization framework can systematically inform the multiple categories of buh in QA and therefore account for its grammatical functions. In this study, I suggest that the QA grammatical element buh serves five grammatical functions: a locative adverb, a locative/comitative prepositional phrase, a possessive verb, an existential pronoun, and a modal particle. I also claim that when buh is used as a possessive verb, it shows agreement with its subject (i.e., the possessor). This study is the first to explore the grammatical functions of the QA grammatical element buh, and hence, it may contribute to the current research on QA by providing a better understanding of this grammatical element.