Bilingualism, language contact & grammatical convergence: The case of complex predicates in Khuzestani Arabic

Abstract

A Complex Predicate (CP), e.g., ‘take a chance’, is a multi-word verbal construction that consists of a light verb (LV) and a nonverbal element (NVE) and that functions as a single semantic unit—i.e., together, both elements behave like a simplex verb. CPs are not historically productive in Khuzestani Arabic (KhA). Most KhA speakers are bilingual, speaking Persian as an L2, creating fertile ground for language contact phenomena. I provide evidence that KhA-Persian bilingual speakers increasingly form CPs by inserting native KhA light verbs sˤɑr ‘become’ and sæwwæh ‘do / make’ into Persian complex-predicate templates and combining them with KhA items (e.g., adjectives or nouns), thereby creating innovative grammatical structures in response to asymmetrical language contact.