The Relationship between the Size of Functional Structure, Degree of Semantic Analyzability, and Syntactic Inflexibility in Palestinian ArabicIdioms

This paper investigates the relationship between the size of functional structure, the degree of semantic non-compositionality, and syntactic inflexibility in two distinct classes of idioms in Palestinian Arabic: VoiceP idioms and √P idioms. Building on diagnostics introduced by Nunberg,Sag,andWasow(1994)andextendedintheStructuralRequirementModelbyStone (2009, 2015, 2016) into a functional-structural typology of idioms, I refine this framework through a detailed investigation of idiomatic constructions in Palestinian Arabic. I propose that √P idioms are semantically analyzable, exhibiting internal idiomatic mapping of indi vidual constituents, whereas VoiceP idioms retain configurationality and they are interpreted holistically. Idiomatic Phrases, i.e., VoiceP idioms (e.g., kick the bucket), are mapped onto a single, non-compositional meaning such as “die.” In contrast, Idiomatically Combining Expressions, i.e., √P idioms (e.g., spill the beans), involve the verb (spill) being mapped onto one idiomatic meaning (e.g., “reveal”) and the object (the beans) being mapped onto another idiomatic meaning(e.g., “thesecret”). Idiscussaconvergentsetofdiagnostics: internalargu mentmodifiability and quantifiability, relative clause formation and topicalization, anaphoric reference and NP ellipsis that collectively serve to differentiate between idioms that exhibit larger functional structures (VoiceP idioms) and those that project smaller ones (√P idioms). This distinction is argued to reflect a deeper structural Encyclopedic contrast: VoiceP id ioms demonstrate larger functional structures, while √P idioms are structurally small. This distinction concurs well with the Structural Requirement Model, which proposes that while the former is structurally large, the latter is structurally small. Finally, the paper addresses determiner variability in ICEs in light of DM-inspired Encyclopedic Entries.