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This paper argues against the view that the unusual reflex of ṣād as [st] in Faifi Arabic stems from a metathesized version of the Proto-Semitic glottalized affricate *cʾ ([tsʾ]), as in Alfaifi and Behnstedt (2010: 53-4), where [st] is assumed to pattern as monosegmental. Instead we propose that the [st] reflex of ṣād in Faifi Arabic reflects a South Arabian ejective or glottalized fricative *sʾ as a substrate feature. We first argue that Faifi Arabic [st] patterns as bisegmental based on linguistic argumentation internal to the dialect. We then discuss *s' as a feature of South Arabian varieties that can be considered as part of the Faifi substrate. We then detail how it is phonetically plausible for ejective sʾ to 'break' into a sequence of a fricative followed by a stop, such as [st], accounting for its bisegmental patterning and its realization as pharyngealized [ṣ] where [st] is phonotactically impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-linguistically, comparative-form adjectives (like English taller) are consistently derived from (or in many languages identical to) their positive-form counterparts (like English tall). This fact stands in tension with prevailing formal semantic treatments of gradable adjectives as degree relations that require extra semantic machinery not only for comparative predication but also for positive predication; for the latter, scholars typically posit a null morpheme or type-shift pos. In this short article, we review morphophonological evidence showing that in Arabic, comparative-form adjectives (like aTwal 'taller') are of equal complexity with their positive-form counterparts (like Tawiil 'tall'), both derived from a common tri-consonantal root (in this case $\sqrt{Twl}$ ), rather than one word being derived from the other. This raises the tantalizing possibility of Arabic becoming the first documented case of a language overtly realizing pos, with adjectives like Tawiil consisting of a degree-relation-denoting root and a pos-denoting template. We nonetheless conclude (albeit tentatively) that such an analysis is probably wrong, given (a) the idiosyncrasy in the phonological shape that the putative pos-denoting template takes across different adjectives, (b) the appearance of the same templatic shapes in non-adjectives, and (c) the appearance of adjectives like Tawiil in non- pos environments. We thereby uphold the generalization that no language realizes pos overtly. We close with a brief look at nominalized forms of gradable adjectives in Arabic and offer some preliminary remarks on the broader prospects of semantic de-composition for gradable adjectives, engaging with recent work on cross-linguistic variation in the grammar of property concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piece examines the historical construction of a Lusophone cultural-linguistic media space and market that spans portions of Europe, Africa, and South America. Beginning with the Portuguese colonization of Brazil and Lusophone Africa in the 17th century and continuing to the contemporary moment, our discussion examines how a combination of political, ideological, and economic patterns created linkages between Portugal, Brazil, and Portuguese-speaking colonies in Africa (namely Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique). After examining how Brazil grew to become the dominant cultural producer in this transnational matrix (most explicitly expressed through the massive exports of telenovelas and music since the late 1970s), we examine how other countries are beginning to carve out distinctive national niches, including the contemporary music scene in Cape Verde and the rise of domestically produced telenovelas in Portugal and Angola that are increasing in circulation in the contemporary transnational Lusophone media space. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]