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Speaker-oriented attitude datives as authority indexicals

Evidence from family talk in the Syrian soap opera ba:b l-ħa:ra

Abstract

Most, if not all, Arabic dialects license the use of optional dative pronouns that index or point to the speaker as an authority figure in relation to the hearer and the activity that the speaker and hearer are involved in. I refer to these pronouns as speaker-oriented attitude datives and analyze the social conditions on their use as authority indexicals. I focus on directives (e.g., orders, requests) used during family talk in the Syrian soap opera ba:b l-ħa:ra ‘the neighborhood gate.’

Abstract

Most, if not all, Arabic dialects license the use of optional dative pronouns that index or point to the speaker as an authority figure in relation to the hearer and the activity that the speaker and hearer are involved in. I refer to these pronouns as speaker-oriented attitude datives and analyze the social conditions on their use as authority indexicals. I focus on directives (e.g., orders, requests) used during family talk in the Syrian soap opera ba:b l-ħa:ra ‘the neighborhood gate.’

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