On the Scalar Nature of Arabic Diminutives: The Case of the fu'ayl Template

This paper investigates the semantics of the Arabic diminutive (DIM) created with the use of the fu'ayl template. DIM may contribute a wide range of sub-meanings, including smallness in size, low quantity, low quality, spatial and temporal proximity, etc. We put forward a scalar analysis according to which DIM systematically maps an argument of the stem to a relatively low degree on a scale. In particular, this degree is lower than the standard of comparison, independently supplied either by the context or by the linguistic environment. The scale in question, we argue, is not lexicalized by DIM but rather contributed by the stem to which DIM applies. The contrast between the various sub-meanings of DIM is thus reduced mainly to the differences between the environments in which it appears.