The Coordination of the Verb with its Synonym in Arabic: A Semantic Study of the Basic Meaning for Statements and the Emphatic Meaning for Repetition (Selected Samples)

Abstract

This study aims to shed light on the reality of a linguistic pattern, which is claimed to have a departure from analogy in the case of coordination constructions, which require a difference in meaning between the two conjuncts. This pattern is characterized by the phenomenon of coordinating the verb with its synonym. Some linguists have claimed this phenomenon to exist by citing examples from the Holy Qur'an and from poetry where two coordinated verbs appear to have one semantic meaning based on the general meaning which the two verbs share. They also interpreted the meaning of some of these coordinated verbs with the other verb assuming that they are synonymous.

The study dealt with this phenomenon from two perspectives: the coordination of the verb with its synonym by using the coordinating conjunction wa ‘and’, and the coordination of the verb with its synonym by using the coordinating conjunction thumma ‘then’.

The study was based on the analytical descriptive approach that clarifies the phenomenon of synonymy among verbs in coordination constructions as assumed by some linguists. The phenomenon is then interpreted and explained according to the general connotation, the special partial meaning provided by dictionaries and other sources, and the relevant meaning intended by God, the Almighty, as endeavored by some people for interpretation. Ultimately, the study concludes that there is no actual form of synonymy in coordination constructions in Arabic. This might be attributable to the fact that each of the verbs in a coordination construction has a specific meaning that is different from the specific meaning of the other verb, which prevents any of these verbs from replacing the other to perform the same meaning.