Document Type : Research Paper
Author
عضو هیئت علمی گروه زبان وادبیات عربی دانشگاه تهران
Abstract
Formalism, as a school of linguistics, has fundamental characteristics that distinguish it from other linguistic schools. Among the most important of these characteristics are rationalism and mentalism, which led Chomsky to emphasize the importance of deep structure in the process of comprehension, opposing empiricism. Thus, the concept of deep structure became one of the key terms of this theory, highlighting the mental aspect of linguistic knowledge—structures that are not overtly visible. Accordingly, the present article, relying on this fundamental feature of formalist linguistics, seeks to examine the representation of deep structure based on the reductional transformational model of formalist linguistics in the discussion of the substitute for the absolute object (nā’ib al-maf‘ūl al-muṭlaq), specifically the difference in the usage of the verbal noun (maṣdar) and its agent in Ayati’s translation of a Quranic verse. The aim is to determine to what extent the concept of deep structure influences the semantic interpretation of the text. To answer this question, the current study employed qualitative content analysis to examine examples from Ayati’s translation and concluded that the translator did not consider the semantic propositions of deep structure in rendering the mentioned construction. To address this issue, the researcher applied the technique of syntactic expansion in the translation process to provide an appropriate equivalent in the target language based on the semantic propositions of deep structure.
Keywords: Deep structure, syntax-semantics interface, Chomsky, reductional transformation, absolute object substitute (nā’ib al-maf‘ūl al-muṭlaq).
Keywords
- Deep structure
- syntax-semantics interface
- Chomsky
- reductional transformation
- absolute object substitute (nā’ib al-maf‘ūl al-muṭlaq)
Main Subjects
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