A Semantic Study of the Arabic Genitive "laam/ ل" in Contrast to Translation

Abstract

This paper surveys the different meanings of the Arabic preposition “laam/ل”, giving special attention to the views of different Arab grammarians. Scholars view its meanings differently; those who adopted sententious standpoints and those who chose a general explanation. It is argued that the functions of “laam” depend on its meanings. The study hypothesizes that the preposition in question has various meanings due to the linguistic context. Also there is no conformity with the preposition and its English counterpart through translation. “laam” can have different representations in English. In this paper, we are going to mention the most significant meanings with their examples in Arabic and their translations into English. Then, we draw on the examples in Arabic and English as far as the preposition in question is concerned to see the extent to which both prepositions (Arabic and English) are close to each other.