On the kind-denoting existential reading and the scope of indefinite NPs in Arabic

Abstract EN

The argument of this paper is two-fold.

First, it argues that kind-denoting reading of common nouns in Standard Arabic requires an overt determiner specifically ʔal.

By contrast, this determiner is not required to achieve existential reading; nunation may well suffice instead.

Equally important, verb valency alternates semantic reading of common nouns between kind-denoting and existential reading.

Second, it argues that indefinite nouns in Arabic tend to show both wide scope readings and narrow scope readings; it also assumes that standard quantificational reading cannot be achieved by indefinite noun phrases since nunation can be distributed with singular and plural indefinites