A Comparative Study of Arabic Motion Verbs to their English Counterparts

Received: August 12, 2020 Accepted: September 28, 2020 Volume: 3 Issue: 9 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2020.3.9.21 This paper examines some semantics aspects of Arabic motion verbs compared to their English counterparts. Although both languages belong to different remote families, both languages share some common features about Motion especially on the idea of locomotors vs. non-locomotors (translative and non-translative movement). A lexically-semantic comparison is drawn between motion verbs in both languages in terms of suggested semantic components such as Motion itself, Manner, Directionality, Path, Fictive, and Motion. The researchers used resources such as encyclopedias, library references books specially Mu’jam Lisan AL-Arab, AlMu'jam Al-Waseet, English dictionaries specially Oxford, Webster, and Longman, web sites to collect data of motion verbs under discussion. The paper concludes that the semantics components of Arabic verbs are quite similar to their English counterparts, but Arabic verbs differ greatly from English verbs in the notions that can be lexicalized. KEYWORDS

Arabic words' spelling, it is necessary to have a quick look at the various phonological, morphological, and syntactic changes which together have created a unique dialectal Arabic situation.

Motion and Semantic Classes
Semantics is the study of different meanings. Verbs semantic classes are constructed from verbs that undergo a certain number of alternations. Most definitions of semantic classes agree that a semantic class contains words that share a general semantic property. The category of verbs was particularly chosen because most linguists agree that verbs, in most languages, are the most spread and widely-used category of speech. They are the most important constituents of sentences. Talmy (1985) states that categorizing verbs into semantic classes that share similar features aims mainly to find meaning components forming the semantics of verbs, the specification of more subtle meaning elements that distinguish closely related verbs, and the study of the cooperation between syntax and semantics. In his work on verb classes, Fillmore (1979) states that verb classes are a useful device for reviewing the semantic organization of the verb lexicon. He discusses how the semantic properties of the verb shake differ from those of the verb shudder.
He explained that (1) things that shudder are people, animals, earth, machines/engines that have 'self-controlled bodies'. Shake denotes an event that can be 'externally caused'. (2). Things that shake are the above and leaves, furniture, dishes. Shudder denotes an event that is 'internally caused'.
Later, linguists began to classify motion verbs according to semantic components that contain a variety of lexicalization. The following lexicalization, for example, walk, run, stalk, jog, hurtle, and march belongs to the semantic component of movement. Within the group, semantic features entitle a particular verb to be suitable for a particular situation and another to be suitable for other situations and so on. For example: run 'move at a speed faster than walk'.
walk 'move at a regular pace'. jog 'to run slower than running'. march 'related to military '.
They all encode movement in all directions towards a specific goal, but they differ lexically according to a set of factors. For example, speed, force, time of the day, and so on.
-Sara ‫رسى‬ expresses obligation and related to a specific time of the day (night) and the specific destination.
-masha ‫ى‬ ‫مش‬ is voluntary and not necessarily towards a goal.
Motion is central to the human experience. It seems to be a universal concept present in all the languages of the world. Languages encode motion in different ways. Since the appearance of Talmy's typology of motion verbs, many non-English linguists carried out studies(1) to certify whether their languages satisfy Talmy's typology or not and (2) to draw a comparison with the English language to indicate where the two languages meet and where they differ in terms of expressing motion.
According to Talmy, all Germanic languages are satellite-framed languages. On the other hand, all Romance languages and some non-Romance languages, including Arabic, are verb-framed. A satellite-framed language expresses the core component of motion, Path, for example, in satellites (e.g., up, down) or in prepositional phrases (e.g., into/out of the house), leaving the verb slot free to encode the manner-of-motion. A verb-framed language typically expresses path in the main verb while relegating the expression of manner to adjuncts e.g. dakhala/kharadʒa jaryan enter/exit running. Talmy's argumentation extends to classifying motion verbs according to primary semantic components such as (Motion, Manner, Direction, Goal, Source, Path, Medium, and Purpose). This paper, while discussing Talmy's typology, aims to provide a systematic and detailed account of the semantics of some Arabic motion verbs and compare them to their English counterparts. As claimed, a better understanding of the semantics of motion verbs in these two languages is of primary importance for cross-linguistic research on motion event descriptions.
The primary goal of this work is to provide a comparative account of the semantics of a substantial part of the Arabic motion verb lexicons, focusing specifically on Talmy's general semantic components for the motion: (Motion (Space), Direction, Manner, Path, and Environment). For that purpose, several fine-grained motion verbs which have been widely used in everyday speech, have been discussed. On the whole, this paper seeks to provide answers to the following general research questions: 1. What are the semantic properties of Arabic motion verbs? 2. Does Arabic have a motion verbs lexicon that is comparable to their English counterparts?

Locomotors and Non-Locomotors
Locomotors motion verbs require the movement from one place to another (displacement) as in the verbs taḥarraka‫تحرك‬ , intaqala ‫,إنتقل‬ and intashara ‫ى‬ ‫.إنتش‬ Non-Locomotors motion verbs require the verb not necessarily to change state from one position to another as in the verbs daqqa ‫دق‬ and khabaṭa ‫.خبط‬ Along the same line, Talmy (1985:141) states that "translative movement involves the movement through space of the entire theme, or entity in motion, and results in a change of location of the theme. Nontranslative movement involves body-internal movement, periodic or random movement, or movement through space of a part of the theme but not the entire theme". Some of the widely-spread locomotors and non-locomotors verbs in Arabic include: Talmy (1985) states that semantic features that distinguish motion verbs classes are the moving entity ( Figure), the landscape against which it moves(Ground), the Motion itself, the path along which it moves, and the Manner of its movement (running, sliding, bouncing, etc.). For example: 'Ali ran to school' where Ali represents the Figure, the school represents the Ground, to expresses the Path, and ran represents the Motion and Manner. Talmy (1985) claims that languages according to verb roots with relation to the expression of 'Motion' are classified into two types: Verb-framing describes the path which refers to the direction of the movement, e.g., movement across, into, out of, etc. The direction of the verb is expressed in the root verb itself. The manner is expressed independently. These types include Romance, Semitic and Polynesian ones. Satellite-framing describes the manner of motion which expresses motion using a particular verb (satellite such as from, away, to……). They encode Path in a satellite (that is, a verbal dependent). This type includes English, some other Indo-European languages, and Chinese.

Literature review
Later, Levin (1993) discussed how the semantics of path verbs differ from the semantics of manner verbs depending on Talmy's theory who cited (Kudrnáčová 2008: 35), saying that "Path verbs cannot encode motion as translocation by themselves". To do so, they need grounding. For example, a moving entity cannot just come, but must come to /out to a certain place. The same is done with the verb leave which must leave a place. Levin classified the directionality of verbs into five categories. The largest of those was the manner of motion in which he distinguishes two-subtitles (1) Roll verbs and ( Fillmore answered the questions of why the divergences take the forms that they do by saying that the verbs break and hit are each representatives of a larger semantically identifiable class of verbs. The Break Verbs: bend, fold, shatter, and crack are verbs of change of state. The Hit Verbs: slap, strike, bump, stroke are verbs of surface contact. Fillmore concluded that the fact that classes of verbs with similar meanings show characteristic argument realization patterns which suggests that the patterns can be attributed to facets of meaning common to class members. Fillmore's case study shows how semantic and syntactic properties of a verb are not idiosyncratic but may be attributed to an entire class. Matched and Paykin (2016) claim that weather verbs can be considered as motion verbs, although with a very dissimilar behavior according to the presence of the conceptual components figure and path. If 'rain' involves one single figure and path, other weather verbs may or may not involve some or none. However, they consistently express manner, both in atmospheric and metaphorical contexts express directional motion. Barlew (2017) concluded that come and zu 'come' requires the retrieval of a contextually supplied perspective, a body of knowledge that represents the way a particular individual imagines things to be. For come and zu to be used acceptably, it must be true, according to the retrieved perspective, that the individual is located at the destination of motion event being described. If the individual does not self-ascribed being located at the destination, then neither come nor zu can be used.
In his extensive study of the transitional motion verbs in the Noble Qur'an, Shalaby (2010) depends on Arabic famous Ma'ajim and Al Tafaseer books to deduce the semantic properties of each verb. His study was to put verbs that share common characteristics into semantic classes, then to tackle each verb separately, and finally to discuss the entire class as a whole. He discusses thoroughly why, in the Noble Qur'an, ārsala‫أرسل‬ is used in a certain context with prophets and why ba'atha ‫بعث‬ with others, why ḥaḍara ‫حض‬ here and āta ‫أت‬ there, and why to mention the motion verbs dakhala ‫دخل‬ and dhahaba ‫ذهب‬ for 109 and 44 times, respectively.
Shalaby classified his work into three chapters. The first one included classifying verbs that share similar semantic properties into classes, and then to discuss each verb according to specific factors such as the force that causes movement and speed of the action. For example, the semantic properties of masha ‫ى‬ ‫مش‬ indicate that it is voluntary but the semantic properties of inṣarafa ‫إنضف‬ indicate that it is compulsory. Speed is apparent in the verb rakaḍa ‫,ركض‬ whereas speed in other verbs is determined according to situation. For example, the verb raja'a ‫رجع‬ can carry the feature of quickness or slowness according to the situation.
Dawood (2012) went further in defining motion verbs as the real expression of life. He also objected to translating the following English terms of motion, movement, action, and motor into one Arabic term as ḥaraka. The most relevant and suitable English and Arabic counterparts are (motion vs. ḥaraka), respectively because both terms in both languages are the most common and comprehensive than any other terms. Moreover, Dawood explained that motion verbs need five factors: the time they take, the place where they occur, the force needed for them, the source of such verbs, and the environment accompanying them. He discussed three main issues related to classifying motion verbs. The first one is the dilemma of ' which is a verb of motion and which isn't? The second one has to do with how common and frequent a motion verb is being used in the language of a specific era. Language is always changing and developing. If a certain verb is rarely or widely used in the contexts of time, this indicates that the linguistic society of the time is abdicating or approving such a verb and thus can or cannot be counted upon. The third issue is that classifying motion verbs of a language remains a point of view after all. It is controlled by different considerations: alphabetical, developmental, historical, or in terms of meanings. Overlapping between the fields permits a verb to be a member of more than one field and many other sub-fields.

Data collection
A deep study will be carried out on the target verbs. The researchers used resources such as encyclopedias, library references books specially Mu'jam Lisan AL-Arab, Al-Mu'jam Al-Waseet, English dictionaries specially Oxford, Webster, and Longman, web sites to collect data of motion verbs under discussion.

Data analysis 4.1. Semantic Components of Arabic Motion Verbs
In general, most Arabic motion verbs seem to fall into the main component of Direction. For demonstration, representative verbs of each component are discussed to show how the groups work.

Direction of Motion (Movement)
The direction is divided into three groups: (1) horizontal movement which in turn is divided into two subgroups: leaving and arrival, (2) vertical movement which in turn is divided into two subgroups: ascending and descending (up and down) and (3) circular movement.

Horizontal Movement 4.2.1.1 Motion Verbs of Leaving (Departure)
Some of the verbs of this group include: All these verbs indicate leaving a place to another. For the first sight, the whole content might seem the same. kharaja‫خرج‬ is the same as dhahaba ‫ذهب‬ and ghadara ‫غادر‬ ; saafara‫سافر‬ is the same as haajara . ‫هاجر‬ maḍa ‫مض‬ as raḥa ‫إح‬ ‫ر‬ . But the fact is that they differ in specific features such as the importance of the place being left, whether leaving happens voluntarily or willingly, distance, the period of leaving, and so on.  These verbs share the characteristics of moving forward to achieve a specific goal. The one who is coming knows exactly where to come and why. He/she does so willingly without fear. Most of such verbs were related to prophets in the Noble Qur'an because prophets know where to go and why (delivering a message) without fear or obligation (Shalaby 2010). These verbs nearly have the same meaning. Semantically, they differ according to context.
ātaa ‫إت‬ ātaa ‫إت‬ is used to indicate a forward movement to achieve a specific goal willingly. That is why this verb is used in some verses of the Noble Qur'an with prophets because prophets were sent willingly to deliver a specific message. The motion might be performed quickly or slowly, by animates and inanimates. The main semantic properties of this group are: (+motion + moving upward). The frequency of usage depends on the status of the person. For example, rafa'a is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an more than ṣa'ada because of the superior status that Allah promised believers with.

ṣa'ada
This verb requires an effort to reach a high place gradually. It might happen willingly or voluntarily. Speed is slow because it is done carefully to reach a specific goal safely. The direction also plays a part in determining the meaning of this verb.

Circular Movement
Some of the verbs of this group include: daara‫,دإر‬ ṭafa‫,طاف‬ laffa‫لف‬ These verbs share the feature of a circular movement. They differ according to how complete the circle of movement is. Some of them do not require the agent to perform a closed circle while moving. Others are obligatory in some religious rituals and so cannot be replaceable. dara‫دإر‬ Movement in this verb is circular in a closed circle. Its environment might be water or air. The agent might be animate or inanimate. The movement might be willing without external force or voluntarily with an external one.

The Semantics of Motion Verbs in Arabic and English
The semantic properties of English motion verbs are complex and display several levels of organization (Kudrnáčová.2008: 1). Like English, it seems that motion verbs in Arabic are also complex and display several levels of the organization. Motion verbs in Arabic may be grouped into components that are similar to those Talmy set in the year 1985, Theme (location), Figure, Ground, Path, and Manner. The most important is the direction. The semantic component' Direction of Motion' is present in both languages. In English, for example, we have "verbs of inherently directed motion" (Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1992) because they carry a specification of the direction of motion once they are uttered. He entered, he walked, he came, and he arrived. Levin also states that "semantically, these verbs always describe an entity's movement to an endpoint".
All verbs in this class are (+ motion + directional). The Arabic language is not different in this respect. Arabic does have inherently directed motion verbs once they are uttered such as dakhala ‫,دخل‬ waṣala ‫,وصل‬ and kharaja ‫.خرج‬ The subcategories of this component can be found in both languages.
English and Arabic have subclasses depending on the direction of motion along a given path (forward/backward on the horizontal axis as is the case for (advance/ retreat) upward/downward on a vertical axis, for (ascend/ descend), or no direction at all (arrive/reach), and circular movement).
In the following examples, each of Dragan's and Levin's classes of directed motion is accompanied by the Arabic counterparts from Shalaby's and ma'jim's classifications.
-forward: āta ‫,إت‬ āqbala ‫,إقبل‬ jaa'a ‫جاء‬ , qadima‫,قدم‬ warada ‫,ورد‬ ḥaḍara ‫.حض‬ The Merriam Webster's School Dictionary differentiates members of the English group in the following way. Advance is to move forward; Proceed is to continue after a pause or interruption; the cross is to go from one side to the other; forge is to move steadily but gradually; penetrate is to pass into or through. So elements of the context such as speed, agent, and force determine the correct verb to be chosen. Shalaby (2010) differentiates members of the Arabic group as having the characteristics of moving forward to achieve a specific goal. āta is( -/+animate) while āqbala is (+animate); ja'a is(-/+ willingly); ḥaḍara (+continuous attendance) -backward: rear, recede, retreat, return.
-backward: rajā,‫رجع‬ āada ‫,عاد‬ adbara ‫,إدبر‬ wallaa ‫,وىل‬ radda‫رد‬ , khalaffa ‫.خلف‬ All these verbs have in common the feature of turning backward for a specific purpose whether willingly or unwillingly. The speed of action is determined according to the situation. For example, the Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms gives retreat and recede (+ voluntary) because they mean withdrawal from a point or position under pressure, while the return is (+/-voluntary). In Arabic, Shalaby demonstrates that adbara ‫إدبر‬ and wallaa ‫وىل‬ have the feature (+voluntary) and are usually faster than rajā'a ‫رجع‬ and āada‫.عاد‬ Al Mu'jam al Wasseet defines both verbs as to flee quickly, whereas rajā ‫رجع‬ and āada ‫عاد‬ are (+/-voluntary).
-upward: ṣa'ada ‫صعد‬ , rafa'a ‫,رفع‬ as well as Dawood's taṣallaqa‫.تسلق‬ In English, and according to Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms, ascend implies progressive upward movement, and the Oxford Dictionary relates it to royal figures 'ascend the throne'. The Arabic irtaqa has the property of progressive upward movement because it also has to do with royals and promotions irtaqa āl maliku 'ala 'arshi. Mount suggests getting up upon something raised (a ladder according to the Oxford dictionary or a platform according to the Webster dictionary). In Arabic, the same semantic properties are present in ṣa'ada which requires an effort to reach a high place step by step ṣa'ida āl imamu 'la ālminbari. Climb connotes the effort involved in the upward movement (a tree, rope, wall, and mountain) and is used when difficulty is implicit in the situation. In the Arabic counterpart, Dawood explained that acting taṣallaqa has the properties of difficulty, strength, and patience. tasallaqa ālrajulu ālshajarata. Spin has the property of rapid rotation; an excursion in a vehicle especially on wheels. dara has the same property of movement in a circle taduuru āl'ajalatu. wrap/ laffa, in both languages, is to cover especially by winding or folding wrap a baby in blanket'/ ' laffa ālṭabiibu raāsa ālmariiḍi.
To summarize, in both languages, motion verbs that share particular semantic features are grouped into semantic components. Grouping a set of verbs under one component does not mean that these verbs are synonyms. The slightest semantic property, for example (slow/quick), makes a difference.

Conclusion
The primary goal of this work is to provide a comparative account of the semantics of a substantial part of the Arabic motion verb lexicons, focusing specifically on Talmy's general semantic components for motion. This study of some motion verbs in Arabic revealed many interesting facts. 1. Arabic motion verbs are rich with sense relations:  Synonyms āta ‫,إت‬ āqbala ‫,إقبل‬ ja'a ‫جاء‬ and ḥaḍara ‫حض‬ .
 Antonyms ṣa'ada ‫صعد‬ , habaṭa ‫.هبط‬  Metaphor ‫إلدنيا‬ ‫به‬ ‫دإرت‬ 2. Some motion verbs are rarely used because they are related to specific time, place, and religious rituals or all together such as sara‫رسى‬ and ṭafa‫.طاف‬ 3. Arabic prefers verbs with specific directions: horizontal, vertical, circular, and so on. Verbs that express random direction are rare in Arabic.
English is a Germanic language. Arabic is a Semitic one. This means that both languages belong to two different remote language families. Despite this fact, the two languages show no big differences in the way they express motion.