COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS IN TAJIK AND ARABIC

1.1. Background

Demonstrative pronouns constitute a universal linguistic feature, serving the core deictic function of identifying referents within a discourse framework relative to their spatio-temporal context. This study presents a comparative-typological analysis of the demonstrative pronoun systems of Tajik and Arabic, two languages representing distinct typological profiles

Despite a history of cultural and linguistic contact, a systematic comparative analysis of the grammatical structures of Tajik and Arabic, particularly in the domain of deixis, remains a notable lacuna in the literature. This research aims to bridge this gap by examining how these divergent grammatical systems encode proximity, number, and syntactic concord. The empirical foundation for this analysis is a parallel corpus derived from Sadriddin Aini's seminal Tajik novel entitled a “Ghulomon”, with original translations into Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to facilitate a direct structural comparison.

1.2. Research Objectives

The primary objectives of this investigation are:

– To identify and classify the morphological forms and syntactic functions of demonstrative pronouns in Standard Tajik and Modern Standard Arabic.

– To analyze the morphological and syntactic properties of these pronouns, utilizing a parallel corpus of sentences from “Ghulomon” and their Arabic equivalents.

– To identify and contrast the principal typological differences and similarities in the two systems, with a specific focus on the parameters of gender, number, and syntactic agreement.

– To establish an empirical profile of demonstrative usage and agreement patterns through a systematic analysis of the corpus data.

2.1. Corpus Selection and Preparation

The primary corpus comprises sentences extracted from Sadriddin Aini’s novel “Ghulomon” (2019 edition), a canonical work of modern Tajik literature valued for its rich and authentic narrative prose. To facilitate a direct comparative analysis, a parallel corpus was constructed by translating these sentences into Modern Standard Arabic. MSA was selected as the target variant due to its status as the standardized, trans-regional form used in formal writing and linguistic research (Ryding, 2014).

2.2. Data Collection and Validation

A purposive sample of 50 sentences was extracted from the novel (spanning pages 10–200). The selection criterion was the presence of the primary Tajik demonstratives ин (proximal "this"), он (distal "that"), and their corresponding plural or emphatic forms. Each Tajik sentence was translated into MSA by the research team. The accuracy and idiomaticity of the Arabic translations were subsequently validated by two independent linguists, both native speakers of Arabic, to ensure grammatical fidelity and contextual appropriateness.

2.3. Analytical Framework

The study employs a qualitative, contrastive-linguistic framework focused on three key areas of grammatical structure:

– Morphology: This involves a systematic comparison of the pronominal forms, contrasting the absence of grammatical gender in Tajik with its obligatory binary distinction (masculine/feminine) in Arabic, and the two-way number system in Tajik (singular/plural) with the three-way system in Arabic (singular/dual/plural).

– Syntax: The analysis examines agreement protocols (concord) between demonstrative pronouns and the nouns they modify or refer to. This includes word order and other structural dependencies within the noun phrase and at the clausal level.

– Semantics: The deictic functions of the pronouns are analyzed, primarily focusing on the proximal-distal distinction (near vs. far deixis) and how this function is realized in both languages

2.4. Data Analysis

A mixed-methods design was implemented for data analysis:

– Qualitative Analysis: A detailed qualitative examination of the parallel corpus was conducted to identify and describe the structural mechanisms used in each language to express deixis and agreement.

– Quantitative Analysis: The quantitative component involved frequency counts of demonstrative forms to identify patterns of usage. An analysis of obligatory agreement patterns in the Arabic translations was also performed to measure conformity to MSA grammatical rules.

– Comparative Typology: The findings from the qualitative and quantitative analyses were synthesized and interpreted within a comparative-typological framework to highlight the systemic differences between the Iranian and Semitic language structures

3.1. Morphological Forms of Demonstrative Pronouns

The analysis of morphological forms reveals significant structural asymmetries between the Tajik and Arabic demonstrative systems, particularly concerning the categories of gender and number.

Tajik Demonstrative Pronouns:

Tajik demonstrative pronouns are relatively simple, lacking grammatical gender and case distinctions. The primary forms are:

– ин (in, this) for singular, near deixis.

– он (on, that) for singular, far deixis.

– инҳо (inho, these) and онҳо (onho, those) for plural forms.

These pronouns do not inflect for gender or case, reflecting Tajik’s simplified morphology as a Persian dialect

Arabic Demonstrative Pronouns:

Arabic demonstrative pronouns are more complex, inflecting for gender (masculine/feminine), number (singular/dual/plural), and occasionally case in Classical Arabic

– Singular: هذا (hādhā, this, masculine), هذه (hādhihi, this, feminine), ذلك (dhālika, that, masculine), تلك (tilka, that, feminine).

– Dual: هذان (hādhāni, these two, masculine), هاتان (hātāni, these two, feminine).

– Plural: هؤلاء (hā’ulā’i, these, common), أولئك (ulā’ika, those, common).

Arabic pronouns require agreement with the noun in gender and number, and in formal contexts, case (e.g., nominative, accusative, genitive).

– Tajik: Ин китобро ба ман деҳ (In kitobro ba man deh) — “Give me this book.”

– Arabic Translation: أعطني هذا الكتاب (U‘ṭinī hādhā al-kitāb) — “Give me this book”

In Tajik, ин (this) is invariable, showing no gender or case marking. In Arabic, هذا (hādhā) agrees with الكتاب (al-kitāb, book, masculine singular) in gender and number. The Arabic sentence also uses the definite article ال (al-), absent in Tajik.

3.2 Syntactic Agreement

Demonstrative pronouns in Tajik typically precede the noun and do not require agreement in gender or case. Word order is generally Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), but demonstratives can appear post-nominally for emphasis (e.g., китоб ин, “book this”). Demonstrative pronouns in Arabic precede the noun in MSA and require strict agreement in gender, number, and case (in Classical Arabic). The structure is typically Demonstrative + Definite Noun (e.g., هذا الكتاب, hādhā al-kitāb). In some dialects, such as Egyptian Arabic, demonstratives follow the noun (e.g., الكتاب ده, al-kitāb da)

– Tajik: Он мард дар хона буд (On mard dar khona bud) — “That man was in the house.”

– Arabic Translation: ذلك الرجل كان في البيت (Dhālika al-rajul kāna fī al-bayt) — “That man was in the house”

The Tajik pronoun он (that) is unmarked for gender or case, while Arabic ذلك (dhālika) agrees with الرجل (al-rajul, man, masculine singular). The verb كان (kāna) also agrees in gender and number.

3.3 Semantic Functions

Both languages use demonstrative pronouns for deictic functions (near vs. far). However, Arabic’s dual forms (e.g., هذان, hādhāni) allow for precise reference to two entities, a feature absent in Tajik. Tajik relies on plural forms (инҳо, онҳо) for all non-singular references. In “Ghulomon”, demonstratives often emphasize narrative focus, while Arabic translations introduce additional agreement markers that enhance specificity.

Quantitative Findings:

– In the 50-sentence corpus, Tajik used ин (40%), он (30%), инҳо (20%), and онҳо (10%).

– Arabic translations showed a distribution of هذا (35%), هذه (25%), ذلك (20%), تلك (15%), and dual/plural forms (5%).

– Agreement errors in Arabic translations occurred in 10% of cases, primarily due to gender mismatches when translating from gender-neutral Tajik.

4.1 Morphological Complexity

Arabic’s demonstrative pronoun system is significantly more complex than Tajik’s due to its gender and number distinctions. The presence of dual forms in Arabic (e.g., هذان, hādhāni) reflects its Semitic roots, allowing for nuanced reference absent in Tajik

4.2 Syntactic Agreement and Word Order

The requirement for gender and number agreement in Arabic imposes stricter syntactic constraints than in Tajik. For instance, in the example from “Ghulomon”

4.3 Semantic and Pragmatic Implications

The deictic functions of demonstrative pronouns are similar in both languages, but Arabic’s dual forms and gender agreement allow for greater specificity. In narrative contexts like “Ghulomon”, Tajik demonstratives often serve to highlight key entities without additional morphological marking, while Arabic translations introduce agreement markers that clarify reference. This can affect the rhetorical structure, as noted in contrastive studies of Arabic and other languages

4.4 Empirical Insights

The corpus analysis reveals that Tajik’s simpler system facilitates easier learning for L2 speakers but may lead to errors when translating into Arabic, where gender and number agreement are critical

Thus, the conducted comparative analysis beset with demonstrative pronouns in Tajik and Arabic highlights significant typological differences rooted in their respective language families. Tajik’s simplified, gender-neutral system contrasts with Arabic’s complex morphology, which requires agreement in gender, number, and case. The adduced examples from “Ghulomon” illustrate these differences, with Arabic translations introducing additional agreement markers absent in Tajik. The empirical approach, grounded in corpus analysis, underscores the challenges of cross-linguistic translation and the importance of morphological awareness in L2 learning. These findings contribute to the field of contrastive linguistics and provide a foundation for further research into Tajik-Arabic linguistic interactions.