The Description of Motion in Tunisian Arabic： A Thinking-for-Speaking Approach

Motion event typology predicts that languages can be divided into either satellite-framed, verb-framed or serial-framed languages. However, an increasing number of studies show that languages within the same type predispose their speakers to describe motion events differently. Based on the narrative behavior of 15 native speakers, we provide evidence that suggests Tunisian Arabic （TA） is an untypical verb-framed language. One the one hand, TA conflates motion and path meanings in the main verb, and native speakers adhere to the boundary-crossing constraint. On the other hand, the availability of a rich manner verb lexicon combined with the availability of mono-verbal clauses ready to be coordinated asyndetically, encourages TA speakers to attend to the manner of motion more often than reported for a typical verb-framed language （e.g., Spanish）. Based on these fmdings, we conclude that predictions based on motion event typology are best considered as guidelines, and not as an accurate reflection of how motion meanings may be lexicalized and expressed in individual languages