In the previous chapter, we saw that a speaker may choose to profile herself on stage as a form of authority that is entitled to make an utterance (for example, give an order) and to expect any effort or consideration it may require of the hearer. This profile functions as a perspectivizer that instructs the hearer to view the at-issue content of the utterance in a special way. In this chapter, we will examine structures with a different type of dative perspectivizer: namely, hearer-oriented attitude datives (HR-ADs). These utterances contain an optional dative clitic referring to the hearer. Examples (1) through (4) are from Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Palestinian Arabic respectively. The HR-ADs in boldface in these examples may all be deleted without altering the truth-conditional meaning of the utterances.
1. Context: Abu Ghaleb, a peddler who sells chickpeas in a number of neighborhoods, gossips with his friends about the residents of one neighborhood, ħa:ret l-dˁabeʕ ‘the neighborhood of the hyena.’
w-ʔabu: di:bo,. ʕa:mil-lak ħafle mtˁantˁane lyo:m
and-Abu Dibo,. throwing-you.D party huge today
bi-ħa:rt-o,. ʕa:zem ʕale:-ha: ʃab:ab w-rʒa:l
in-neighborhood-his,. inviting to-it youth and-men
ħa:ret l-dˁabeʕ killaya:t-un. ʔa:l ʃu:,. farħa:n
neighborhood the-hyena all-them. say what,. he.happy
b-raʒʕet ħirimt-o w-ʔibn-o ʔil-o .
with-return wife-his and-son-his to-him .
‘Abu Dibo is throwing [you] a huge party and he has invited all the men, young and old, of the Neighborhood of the Hyena. All this, he says, is because he is happy that he is back with his wife and kid.’
From ba:b l-ħa:ra ‘the neighborhood gate’ – Season 1 – Episode 9 – 00:12:30 – SYR
2. Context: Two employees at the presidential palace in Lebanon, a newcomer and an old-timer, are chatting while working. The old-timer is a farmer who, with her husband, takes care of the President's vegetables, milk, eggs, and so on. When the newcomer asks the farmer how long they have worked in the palace, the farmer answers that they have worked there for a year and goes on to explain how she and her husband got the job:
kinna: ʔana: w-raʔi:f ʕe:yʃi:n bi-ha-l-ʒirid ,
we.were I and-Raif living in-this-the-countryside ,
ma: ʕa-be:l-na: be:l. wa-ʔilla:
NEG on-mind-our mind. and-all.of.a.sudden
btiʒi:-lik huni:k sayya:ra,. ha-l-tˁu:l ,