On the grammaticalization of ġādi in Moroccan Arabic: new insights

Abstract

This study deals with the grammaticalization of ġādi – i.e., the active participle form of a movement verb meaning ‘to go/leave/depart in the morning’ – in Moroccan Arabic, of which the relevant literature has evidenced its uses as a future marker, describing this case as an instance of the common path ‘go (to)’ > future. In the light of fresh data, we first review the already documented uses of ġādi as a future marker, and, secondly, present an original preliminary study of its emerging modal values. Finally, by analyzing the correlation between the future values and the modal values of ġādi, we focus on some issues related to its grammaticalization, including the importance of taking into account certain semantic features of the source lexeme so far underestimated, and of considering the co(n)text within which the whole grammaticalization takes place. Ultimately, we argue that a secondary grammaticalization towards epistemic modality is in progress.