A Variationist Analysis of the Complementizer ʔinnu in Ammani Arabic

Abstract

This study explores the realization of the complementizer ʔinnu in Ammani Arabic employing
modern quantitative methods of the variationist approach. It examines the effect of some extra-linguistic
and linguistic factors (age, gender, education, type of matrix, definiteness, specificity, word order, subject
type and factivity) on the realization or omission of the complementizer in AA. The results reveal that the
variable realization of the complementizer ʔinnu in AA is linguistically conditioned. The omission of the
complementizer ʔinnu is subject to some linguistic constraints including the type of the preceding matrix
and the word order of the embedded clause within ʔinnu. These factors play a statistically significant role
in its realization/omission. Moreover, the results show that the social factors turned out to be statistically
insignificant in constraining overt and null complementizer in AA.
Keywords: Variation sociolinguistics; Complementizer Omission; Ammani Arabic; Social and linguistic
constraints; Variant choice.