The Grammar of Reciprocality and Collectivity in Arabic and Mandarin

This chapter explores the morphosyntactic properties and semantic interpretations of reciprocal predicates in Jordanian Arabic, focusing on the shared and distinctive features of morphologically marked and unmarked predicates. It will particularly examine the argument structure of those predicates, their thematic and Case properties, and their semantic derivations, specifically distributivity versus collectivity. By using a binding test, we will argue that morphologically marked predicates, like their unmarked counterparts, project two arguments syntactically with the internal argument realized either overtly or covertly, in which case the bundling operation of theta-roles fails to apply. We will show that the reciprocal relation in both constructions is expressed by the anaphor and that the overt morpheme on the verb is not a reciprocal marker, as claimed in the literature, but rather serves a collective function, indicating that (two) events are happening collectively at the same time. Furthermore, a semantic derivation of both types of predicates will be offered, showing that the proposed syntax can be mapped compositionally onto a semantics that yields accurate truth conditions. Finally, we compare the facts of Jordanian Arabic to similar data from Mandarin Chinese and use this comparison to offer some preliminary remarks on the cross-linguistic applicability of our analysis.