The Perspective of Modern Linguists on the Grammatical Agent within the Framework of the Transformational-Generative Theory: An Analytical Study

This study reassesses the grammatical factor (al-ʿāmil) as a core construct in Arabic syntax and its viability within a transformational-generative (T-G) framework. It first outlines the polarized debate: abolitionists claim the factor encumbers grammar with unnecessary abstraction, whereas proponents defend it as the organizing principle that reveals relations among sentence elements and supports explanation. The paper then frames a guiding question: to what extent can the grammatical factor, treated as a scientific theory, analyze linguistic phenomena within T-G assumptions? Using a comparative and analytical method, it juxtaposes treatments and evaluates their explanatory scope across governance, case, and agreement. The findings affirm that the factor’s mental, theory-laden status coheres with Chomsky’s 1980s emphasis on linking language and cognition, thereby restoring its relevance and predictive power. Further, critics have not provided an operationally superior alternative capable of covering Arabic data with equal coherence and generality. Beyond theory, the study sketches practical implications for natural language processing: it positions the grammatical factor as a principled scaffold for semantic role labeling (SRL), enabling automatic identification of roles such as agent and patient. This serves as a preliminary step toward computational models that enhance machine text comprehension and bridge Arabic linguistic theory and modern NLP applications.