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Article

A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis of the Colloquial Expression ʔinno ‘That’ in Jordanian Arabic: Evidence from Social Media Conversation

1
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts, UNRWA, Amman 11118, Jordan
2
Department of English and Translation, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11118, Jordan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Languages 2025, 10(9), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090205 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 9 April 2025 / Revised: 9 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 25 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Discourse Marker Research)

Abstract

This study investigates the colloquial expression ʔinno that serves as a complementizer (C) and a discourse marker (DM) in Jordanian Arabic (JA). The data includes (422) instances of ʔinno collected from social media conversations of (60) JA speakers. The analysis shows that for ʔinno as a (C), there are (259) instances that appear in the middle of sentences to introduce subordinate clauses, and it is inflected with pronoun suffixes that specify person, gender, and number. It also serves various functions in verbal and nominal sentences. As a DM, Ɂinno are (163) instances that appear in the middle of sentences between two propositions. A list of contexts is developed featuring Ɂinno in JA. The pragmatic functions of Ɂinno are determined in each situation and validated by an Acceptability Judgment Task which is completed by 20 native speakers of JA. The pragmatic functions of ʔinno fall into six primary categories with sub-functions, such as explanatory functions (like giving reasons or expressing results), elaborative functions (including elaboration and giving examples and clarification), emotional and assessment functions (such as expressing surprise or criticism), emphatic and assertive functions (for emphasizing or warning), epistemic and uncertainty functions (covering hesitation and hedging), and a turn-taking function (specifically urging for continuity). This study concludes that Ɂinno is well established among social media users in the Jordanian context and the varied contexts play a vital role in exploring its pragmatic and syntactic functions.

1. Introduction

1.1. Discourse Markers

Discourse markers (henceforth, DMs) have been a central point of scholarly debate, as these linguistic elements are vital for connecting ideas and guiding interlocutors’ interpretations. As Heine et al. (2023) noted, their importance in shaping interaction has prompted scholars over the past decades to precisely define them and explore their functions. Early work, like Halliday and Hasan (1976), primarily focused on their cohesive role in linking textual segments, describing DMs as pronouns, conjunctions, and adverbs that link clauses to create cohesion. Building on this, Schiffrin’s (1987) influential work marked a key shift. Schiffrin (1987, p. 328) defined DMs as “sequentially dependent elements which bracket units of talk”, primarily contributing to ‘local coherence’ within conversation. This type of coherence creates links between adjacent units of talk, particularly how the same item fulfills different functions based on where it appears in the conversation. Schiffrin (1987) further specified DMs as syntactically detachable, often occupying an initial position, possessing a range of prosodic contours, and operating at both local and global levels across different planes of discourse. Redeker (1990) similarly viewed DMs as signals for specific connections between utterances and their immediate discourse context, while Lenk (1998, p. 246) highlighted their role in fulfilling pragmatic purposes such as structuring and organizing spoken discourse. These early studies demonstrated that DMs play a dominant role in achieving local coherence and smooth connection between adjacent discourse segments.
A major development in understanding DMs emerged with Fraser’s (1990, 1999, 2009) pragmatic approach. It is assumed that DMs do not only function as textual coherence but also have a pragmatic meaning, also referred to as a procedural meaning, which is linked to the speaker’s communicative intentions, but not a semantic meaning. The pragmatic meaning of DMs provides the hearer/reader with information on how to relate between the interpretations of the segment they introduce (S2), and the prior segment (S1). This linkage fulfilled by DMs contributes to the ‘global coherence’ of the text by signaling the relationship between the host utterance and the surrounding discourse situation (Fraser, 2009, p. 296), as contrasted with Schiffrin’s (1987) ‘local coherence’.
Fraser (1999) termed these elements ‘Pragmatic Markers’, describing them as flexible linguistic elements that can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence and are syntactically optional, meaning their removal does not affect the grammaticality of their hosts nor alter the propositional content of the segment. Each marker has a specific pragmatic function that, together with linguistic and non-linguistic context, helps enhance coherence and clarify relationships between parts of discourse and serving functions like contrast, elaboration, and inference (Fraser, 2009).
The concept that DMs are multifunctional and highly dependent on context and speaker intention was established by these foundational works. For example, understanding the function of DMs often requires recognizing the speaker’s illocutionary act (what the speaker is doing with their words) within speech act theory (Austin, 1962). A single utterance with a DM can carry different intentions depending on the situation (Fraser, 1996, 2009). In addition, various contextual factors like participants, time, goal(s), shared knowledge, and cultural norms highly influence how DMs are interpreted and how they create meaning (Leech, 1983; Sperber & Wilson, 1986; Malinowski, 1923, p. 306). Beyond explicit meaning, DMs also “provide the hearers/readers with some guidance in the inferential phase of utterance interpretation and the search for optimal relevance” (Blackmore, 2002, p. 464). That is, DMs help listeners infer the implicit side of an utterance or make assumptions, whether expressed or implied by a preceding utterance, necessary to reach the intended meaning (Knott & Dale, 1994; Fox Tree & Schrock, 2002).
Referring to these fundamental works, current DM research continues to provide further evidence of this multifunctionality in communicative practices. Al-Rousan et al. (2020) and Algouzi (2021) demonstrated that DMs are recognized more frequently in spoken than in written conversations, and they make speech more sociable and friendly. Yulianto (2021) highlighted that DMs serve as joining elements to achieve textual coherence. More recently, Raputri et al. (2022) described DMs as elements that make written or spoken language more real, operative, and understandable for the receiver.
Given that DMs are basic tools for developing communication and conveying subtle meanings, there has been a recent growing interest in understanding their pragmatic functions in Arab contexts. Alqahtani (2023) indicated that the DMs like baʕdɪn (meaning ‘then’) help maintain coherence in spontaneous electronic communication like Twitter. The study revealed its multifunctionality as both temporal adverb and coherence maker, expressing conditionality and orientation shift. Similarly, Adjina and Al-Khawalda (2024) stated that the Algerian marker i:h (meaning ‘yes’) is context-dependent, reflecting communicative functions like praise and grief.
Studies on the pragmatic functions of DMs in Jordanian Arabic (henceforth, JA) are rich. H. Hamdan et al. (2025) highlighted that ʔajwa (meaning ‘yes’ or ‘fine’) conveys social, psychological, and emotional meanings such as confirmation, encouragement, and reserved approval. Musmar (2024) reported that the DM ʃikil (meaning ‘appear’ or ‘evidently’) expresses pragmatic meanings, including shared beliefs or the speaker’s indirect opinion, depending on its position in the sentence. Al-Hanakta and Hamdan (2024) pointed out that the DM tama:m (meaning ‘it’s ok’) often co-occurs with gestures and body movements to support pragmatic interpretation such as ridiculing and seeking confirmation.
Altaweel and Al-Shaikhli (2024) stated that more men than women favored using the DM ʕandʒad (meaning ‘really’) to express both negative and positive meanings, such as anger versus sympathy. Similarly, J. Hamdan and Abu Rumman (2020) emphasized the importance of context in interpreting ja:hummala:li (meaning ‘Oh my joy!’), noting its tendency to convey negative emotions like fear and condemnation. These studies, conducted in Arab and Jordanian contexts, show that DMs are context-sensitive and multipurposed.

1.2. ʔinno as a DM

One prominent DM, ʔinno, has been investigated in Arabic, primarily functioning as a complementizer (henceforth, C) (Cowell, 1964; Germanos, 2010; Habib, 2009). While its syntactic role as a C has been documented, Germanos (2010) was the first study to examine Ɂinno as a DM in Lebanese Arabic. The data consisted of (217) instances of Ɂinno collected from (7) Lebanese interviewees. In analyzing these instances, Germanos found that Ɂinno functioned more frequently as a DM than as a C, classifying it as an innovative, emerging form in Lebanese Arabic. More importantly, Germanos (2010, p. 150) outlined several features of Ɂinno as a DM as follows: (1) it links the preceding context with what follows, (2) it occurs initially or medially in an utterance, and (3) it does not link a dependent clause with a main clause, and (4) its omission does not affect the grammaticality of the sentence or its propositional meaning. Pragmatically, Germanos (2010) identified three main functions of Ɂinno: reinforcing the speakers’ preceding utterance; correcting a previous utterance said by either the speaker or the addressee by adding a clarification; and focusing on a constituent that contains new information or holding the turn after being asked a question or requested to do something. When Ɂinno appears initially, its main function is to complete the meaning of the previous utterance, by either correcting it or confirming it. When occurring medially, Ɂinno is employed to introduce a focus that contains new information to complete the previous topic.
In its function as a C, Germanos (2010) revealed that Ɂinno is used as a single morpheme despite the attached pronoun suffix /o/. Despite its productive insights into the use of ʔinno as a DM, Germanos’s study notably did not include important details about the contexts or situations of the interviews where Ɂinno functioned as a DM. In this light, Verdonik et al. (2008, p. 759) asserted that conversational texts, and contexts are interdependent, contributing to a better understating of DM usage.
Habib (2021) investigated the DM Ɂinno ‘that’ which is often used interchangeably with the DM jaʕni ‘it means’ in Syrian Arabic. The study revealed that Ɂinno is used more by children than adults and more by women than men. In this sense, Ɂinno was thus considered a female gender indicator. The youth’s tendency to using Ɂinno was an indicator of its high sensitivity and involvement in their daily speeches. However, jaʕni was more prevalent among the older generation, due to its “older and more established’’ use among them (p. 255). The study revealed that while jaʕni occurred in different syntactic positions, Ɂinno favored the medial position to serve functions like elaboration, clarification, repair, or as a filler. Although Habib’s study (Habib, 2021) was a foundational study that examined Ɂinno in relation to social variables, it lacked real-life examples of how these DMs function in authentic conversations, thereby limiting the practical understanding of their functions.
The previous studies have mainly focused on the pragmatic analysis of DMs. However, the investigation of DMs in JA has been relatively limited, particularly from a syntactic perspective (Al-Daher et al., 2024). In fact, ʔinno as a colloquial expression has been scarcely recognized in the literature reviews of Arab context neither as a DM nor a C. Thus, this study aims to contribute to the existing body of research on DMs in Arab context, as it may be the first to provide evidence that ʔinno functions as a DM and a C in JA.

1.3. From Standard Arabic (SA) Particles to JA ʔinno as a Complementizer

In standard Arabic (SA), Ɂinna ‘indeed’ and its sisters (i.e., Ɂanna ‘that’, la:kinna ‘but’, kaɁanna ‘as if’, lajjta ‘if only’, and la-ʕalla ‘perhaps’) are accusative particles that belong to the category of ʔan-nawa:six (i.e., particles that change the syntactic case of the subject) (Ryding, 2005). They introduce nominal (i.e., verbless) sentences, characterized by the absence of an overt verbal copula in the present tense (Benmamoun, 2000). In other words, the word order following Ɂinna and its sisters is always SVO (Fehri, 2013; Alsager & Mahzari, 2021). When these particles precede subjects, they assign those subjects the accusative case (fatħa -Languages 10 00205 i001) in place of their nominative case (Alsager & Mahzari, 2021). Meanwhile, their predicates adopt the nominative case (damma -Languages 10 00205 i002). Among these particles, ʔinna and ʔanna played a crucial role in the development of ʔinno, the focus of the current study, in spoken varieties such as JA.
ʔinna and ʔanna are often classified as particles of emphasis, yet they differ both semantically and syntactically. ʔinna typically conveys a higher degree of certainty and is used to assert or emphasize a statement. In contrast, ʔanna functions primarily as a C introducing subordinate clauses, also known as complement phrases (CPs), and may not carry the same level of emphatic force. Syntactically, ʔinna usually appears at the beginning of nominal sentences to emphasize a statement as seen in Ɂinna al ħaja:ta saʕbatun ‘Indeed, life is hard’. In this initial position, Ɂinna functions as an introductory particle that adds emphasis to the statement. However, ʔanna usually occurs within a sentence, often following verbs of perception, speech, or cognition to link the main clause to its complement (Ryding, 2005). In addition, ʔinna can occasionally appear within a sentence, nevertheless, it continues to function as a particle of emphasis. Although it may appear in similar syntactic environments, ʔanna consistently functions as a C, introducing a CP linked to the main clause (see Examples 1 and 2 below).
1.qa:la Ɂinna alħaja:ta saʕbatun
‘He said that life is hard’.
2.ðakara Ɂanna alħaja:ta saʕbatun
‘He mentioned that life is hard’.
Notably, the verb qa:la ‘said’ is followed by Ɂinna but not Ɂanna in SA. In contrast, other reporting verbs such as ðakara ‘mentioned’, ʔaʕlana ‘declared’, ʔakkada ‘asserted’, and ʔaxbara ‘informed’, as well as verbs of perception like samiʕa ‘heard’ and verbs expressing emotions like ʔaħabba ‘liked’, are typically followed by ʔanna but not ʔinna (Alsager & Mahzari, 2021; Habib, 2009).
From the morphological perspective, if there is no overt subject in the CP, a pronoun suffix is attached to the particles Ɂinna and Ɂanna to indicate the person, gender, and number of the subject. To illustrate, the two examples could be qa:la Ɂinna-ha: saʕbatun ‘He said that it is hard’ and ðakara Ɂanna-ha: saʕbatun ‘He mentioned that life is hard’, where -ha: in the two examples refers to the third person, feminine and singular (3rd. F. SG) subject of the CP. Other pronoun suffixes include Ɂinn/Ɂann-i: ‘that-I’ (1st. SG), Ɂinn/Ɂann-a: ‘that-we’ (1st), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-ka ‘that-you’ (2nd. M. SG), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-ki ‘that-you’ (2nd. F. SG), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-kuma: ‘that-you’ (2nd. D), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-kum ‘that-you’ (2nd. M. Pl), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-kunna ‘that-you’ (2nd. F. Pl), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-hu ‘that-he’ (3rd. M. SG), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-huma: ‘that-they’ (3rd. D), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-hum ‘that-they’ (3rd. M. Pl), Ɂinna/Ɂanna-hunna ‘that-they’ (3rd. F. Pl) (Alsager & Mahzari, 2021).
Furthermore, the particle Ɂan can be included in this group of particles as it also acts as a C like Ɂanna in SA (Habib, 2009, pp. 160–161). However, Ɂan differs from the other particles in that it introduces verbal sentences and assigns a subjunctive mood to the following verbs. Unlike Ɂinna and Ɂanna, Ɂan cannot be attached to pronoun suffixes to identify the person, gender, and number of the subject as it precedes verbs rather than nouns. Example 3 below presents Ɂan within the following verbal sentence.
3.Ɂaʕdʒabani: Ɂan taku:na dʒa:ri
‘I liked that you are my neighbor’.
Cowell (1964) and Germanos (2010) stated that CPs introduced by Cs can serve a variety of syntactic functions such as subject, object, and predicate, among others. To illustrate, the CP Ɂanna alħaja:ta saʕbatun ‘that life is hard’ in Example 2 above functions as an object of the main clause whereas the CP Ɂan taku:na dʒa:ri ‘that you are my neighbor’ in Example 3 above functions as the subject of the sentence. This highlights the syntactic flexibility of CPs introduced by different Cs in SA.
Ɂinno is a colloquial expression in JA that operates as a C, similar to the grammatical particles Ɂinna, Ɂanna, and Ɂan in SA in many aspects. While Ɂinna in SA is not typically considered a complementizer but rather a particle of emphasis, Ɂinno in JA frequently acts as a substitute for these SA particles, introducing CPs in various syntactic contexts. The following examples demonstrate how the three SA particles can be replaced by the C Ɂinno in JA. Examples 4, 5, and 6 below illustrate the JA counterparts of 1, 2, and 3, featuring Ɂinno.
4.ga:l Ɂinno -ilħaja: saʕbi
‘He said that life is hard’.
5.ħaka Ɂinno -ilħaja: saʕbi
‘He mentioned that life is hard’.
6.ʕadʒabni Ɂinno tku:n dʒa:ri
‘I like that you are my neighbor’.
These examples show how the three SA particles can be replaced by the colloquial expression Ɂinno in JA at both the syntactic and semantic level. Syntactically, the CPs introduced by Ɂinno function as objects in Examples 4 and 5 and as the subject in Example 6 similar to the syntactic roles in Examples 1, 2, and 3. Semantically, the examples highlight that Ɂinno in JA conveys similar semantic meanings to its SA counterparts, enabling the expression to convey reported speech or assertion.
Building upon the discussion above, this study moves from analyzing Ɂinno solely as a C to examining its broader role as a DM in JA. This study aims to provide evidence that Ɂinno functions on two levels: the syntactic level (operating as a C), and the pragmatic level (operating as a DM) in JA. At the syntactic level, it attempts to demonstrate how Ɂinno introduces CPs serving various syntactic functions. At the pragmatic level, it explores how Ɂinno influences discourse structure and conveys speaker intentions within conversational contexts.

2. Methodology

This study provides evidence that the colloquial expression ʔinno in JA serves not only as a C but also a DM. It focuses on analyzing its syntactic role as a C and exploring its pragmatic functions as a DM within social media conversations in Jordanian Context.

2.1. Data Collection

The data consisted of (422) instances of ʔinno within a wide range of topics to allow for a more detailed examination of how Jordanians utilize ʔinno in natural interactions. More specifically, the data were collected from WhatsApp and Facebook messenger chats provided by (60) JA speakers, who happened to be friends, relatives, and neighbors of the researchers, aged between 18 to 45 (44 females and 16 males). They were requested to capture and submit screenshots of their conversations that included the expression Ɂinno in its context. For ethical considerations, the participants were informed of the objectives, procedures, and potential applications of the research. They gave their consent for their conversations to be used in the study by signing a short Arabic consent form. The researchers informed the participants that their identities would remain confidential, their conversations would only be used for research purposes, and that their personal names would be altered. By signing the form, the participants gave their consent for the researchers to read the screenshots and publish the results of the study including the publication of contexts that include Ɂinno.
The contexts of the targeted ʔinno were proposed by the researchers based on the content of the conversations to ensure a more accurate representation of its pragmatic functions. Further, some minor amendments were made to clarify the context, such as correcting the misspelt words and adding punctuation marks to enhance expressiveness and to better reflect the intended pragmatic function of ʔinno within each context.

2.2. Data Analysis

After the data of ʔinno instances were collected, they were classified into two categories: ʔinno as a C and ʔinno as a DM. The researchers proposed their criteria to categorize Ɂinno following the views of Schiffrin (1987), Fraser (1999, 2009), and Germanos (2010). Thus, it is a C when it introduces CPs with syntactic functions and is attached to inflectional morphemes referring to the subject. As a DM, ʔinno appears between two propositions to maintain coherence in discourse. That is, Ɂinno as a DM has a contextual role and no syntactic function and thus eliminates the need for inflectional morphemes. As a result, ʔinno as a DM is considered monomorphemic in JA, consistent with Germanos (2010), functioning as a fixed single morpheme in which the dummy pronoun /-o/ carries no subject referent. Table 1 presents the two categories of ʔinno by their overall frequencies and percentages. An example of each categorization is also provided.
As seen, instances of ʔinno as a C were 259 instances (61%) out of (422) instances. As a DM, instances of ʔinno were 163 (39%) out of (422) instances. Based on a detailed qualitative analysis of naturally occurring data, the researchers initially identified a set of distinct pragmatic functions for ʔinno, grounded in their familiarity with JA and informed by contextual interpretation. To validate the proposed functions, an Acceptability Judgment Task was conducted with 20 native speakers of JA. They were given a sheet of paper displaying the task instructions written in their native language (Arabic). The task consisted of a wide range of discourse contexts featuring the JA particle ʔinno, each paired with a proposed pragmatic function. In addition to these target items, the task also included distractor contexts that were intentionally paired with mismatched pragmatic functions. The participants were requested to read each context–function pair and mark their responses on the given answer sheet by placing a tick next to any pair they considered acceptable and a cross next to any they found unacceptable based on their first thought. They were requested not to change their answers as we were testing their intuition rather than conscious knowledge. Any target context–function pair that was judged as unacceptable by 10 per cent or more of the participants (i.e., 2 or more respondents) was excluded from the list of data. The task was completed in 20 min. The final version of contexts and functions was used in this study as a base for data analysis.

3. Findings

As for the substantial amount of data found on ʔinno, the analysis showed that this colloquial expression plays a significant role in the structure and flow of communication in social media conversations in the Jordanian context. The following sections present the syntactic and pragmatic analysis of ʔinno as a C and a DM.

3.1. Syntactic Analysis of ʔinno as a C

The analysis of data revealed that the C ʔinno frequently appears in the middle of sentences. Its primary function is to link between clauses, thereby completing sentences by introducing additional information or subordinate clauses. In addition to its use in mid-sentence positions, ʔinno also appears at the beginning of sentences, where it functions similarly to an introductory phrase that sets the stage for the main clause. Morphologically, ʔinn in JA never appears independently functioning as a C but always includes inflectional morphemes that specify person, gender, and number. These morphemes are pronoun suffixes, and they modify the base form of ʔinno to match the subject of the subordinate clause, reflecting the grammatical context in which it appears. Therefore, ʔinno as a C should not be considered monomorphemic, as argued by Germanos (2010); rather, it is better analyzed as a combination of the base ʔinn and inflectional elements, even though ʔinn does not occur on its own in actual usage.
In some cases, the inflectional morpheme attached to ʔinno does not refer to the intended subject. For example, in the sentence qarrarit ʔinno ʔaʕmil ʔil poster -ilkitro:ni ‘I decided that I make the poster electronically’, ʔinno is used in its singular masculine third person form instead of ʔinni, which would be more appropriate for referring to “I”. This indicates that this inflectional form of ʔinno is commonly used and does not always match the specific subject of the clause.
Syntactically, ʔinno functions as a part of a CP, where ʔinno initiates subordinate clauses that fulfill various syntactic functions, particularly, nominal slots across different sentence types, namely, verbal and nominal sentences. It is worth mentioning that ʔinno clauses or these CPs were further classified based on their grammatical functions as they serve as subjects, objects, nominal predicates, complements of prepositions, or the second member of ʔal ʔidafa. For the reader’s convenience, the term ʔal ʔidafa is a genitive construction used to express possession or close association between two elements, namely, the first member of ʔal ʔidafa (al-mudaf), which denotes the possessed or defined element and the second member of ʔal ʔidafa (al-mudaf ilajih), which refers to the possessor or defining element (Wright, 1997). In this context, the CP functions as the second member of ʔal ʔidafa, serving as the possessor or defining element in the genitive structure. For example, in “the fact that he left”, the CP “that he left” functions as the defining clause of “the fact”. Table 2 presents the syntactic functions of CPs containing ʔinno within verbal and nominal sentences in the Jordanian context, accompanied by illustrative examples. All instances of CPs in JA were italicized and transcribed and then translated into English.

3.2. Pragmatic Analysis of the DM ʔinno

This study identified six primary pragmatic categories; most of these functions are divided into sub-functions (similar to the detailed work by Germanos, 2010). This classification helps to understand how the DM ʔinno expresses functional meanings based on the context. Below is a presentation of each function in its context, followed by an illustrative example and detailed qualitative analysis. For the sake of clarification, each example will be represented in a transcription and an English gloss.

3.2.1. Explanatory Functions

This category highlights instances where ʔinno serves to introduce information that provides a cause, justification, or consequence for a preceding statement. ʔinno in these contexts explicitly points to a logical connection or cause, helping the listener understand the relationship between different segments of the conversation.
-
Giving Reasons
[Context] After being exposed to the sun in hot weather, Lara texts her friend Mariam to tell her about the situation:
Lara: ʔiħna ʤildna sa:r ʔaswad. ʔinno daraʤit ilħara:ra 39.
‘Our skin has turned black. DM the temperature is 39 degrees’.
Mariam: allah jiʕi:nkom.
‘May Allah help you!’
Here, ʔinno serves to provide a reason for the preceding statement ʔiħna ʤildna sa:r ʔaswad ‘our skin has turned black’. By immediately introducing daraʤit ilħara:ra 39 ‘the temperature is 39 degrees’, ʔinno establishes a direct causal link, pointing to the main reason behind Lara’s experience. This pragmatic use of ʔinno clearly establishes the cause-and-effect relationship for the listener and thereby maintains coherence and reinforces connection between what precedes it and what follows it.
-
Expressing Results
[Context] Laila’s grandmother is in hospital undergoing some tests. Sarah texts Laila to check on her friend’s grandmother. The following exchange takes place:
Sarah: ilħamdilla ʕala sala:mit sittik! ʔinʃa:lla hijjih ibxe:r.
‘Thank God for your grandmother’s safety! Hopefully, she is fine.’
Laila: ilħamdilla! ʕimlat ifħu:sa:t. ʔinno ʕadalit ilgalb daʕi:fi.
‘Thank God! She had some tests done. DM the heart muscle is weak’.
In this exchange, ʔinno is employed by Laila to introduce the result of her grandmother’s medical tests. ʔinno explicitly signals that the subsequent information, namely ʕadalit ilgalb daʕi:fi ‘the heart muscle is weak’, is a consequence following the statement about the tests being done ʕimlat ifħu:sa:t. In this sense, ʔinno functions as a direct outcome of a prior statement. After Laila asserts the proposition that her grandmother has had some tests done, she then introduces the explanatory result that clarifies the significance of those tests.

3.2.2. Elaborative Functions

This category illustrates instances where ʔinno introduces information that elaborates on, clarifies, or provides examples of a preceding statement. In these cases, ʔinno acts as a signal for the recipient to expect more details. It can expand on an idea with examples or clarify a vague point to make the overall message richer and more understandable.
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Elaboration
[Context] Leen has heard about a delicious restaurant that serves tasty seafood. The following exchange takes place between Leen and her friend, Rama:
Leen: kul inna:s biħku nafs ilʔiʃi. ʔinno ʔaklu za:ki wu samako ta:za.
‘Everybody says the same thing. DM its food is tasty, and its fish is fresh’.
Rama: xalli:na inʤarbo.
 ‘Let’s try it’.
The DM ʔinno explicitly elaborates on the preceding statement with specific details. Leen explains the general statement about the restaurant, kul inna:s biħku nafs ilʔiʃi ‘everybody says the same thing’, by providing specific details introduced by ʔinno: aklu za:ki wu samako ta:za ‘its food is tasty, and its fish is fresh’. In this exchange, the speech introduced by ʔinno has significant informative value. It serves to illustrate a previously given point by the speaker, adding significant details that reinforce the speaker’s intent regarding the quality of the restaurant. The use of ʔinno has a persuasive effect on the listener. Rama seems persuaded, thereby showing her immediate approval by saying, ‘let’s try it’.
This use of ʔinno is in line with Germanos’s (2010, p. 180) study suggesting that “it signals an elaboration—an illustration or a further explanation, for example—of what has preceded it in the discourse”.
-
Giving Examples
[Context] Aseel sends a picture of her face, arms, and belly to Fadwa. Then she comments saying the following:
Assel: ʃu:fi Ɂade:ʃ sa:jreh!! Ɂana mitil iddubih! ʃu: ʔaʕmal biħa:li?
‘See how fat I am!! I look like a bear! What to do?’
Fadwa: le:ʃ ma: ibtiʕmali zaj kul inna:s? ʔinno xafifi ħalawijja:t, igtaʕi kul innaʃawijja:t, wu bala:ʃ kul ilmaʃru:ba:t ilɣa:zijjih ibtinħafi’.
‘Why do you not follow other people’s steps? DM reduce the amounts of sweets, cut off carbohydrates, and give up drinking soft drinks, and you will get thinner’.
Here, ʔinno is used by Fadwa to introduce examples that illustrate advice for weight loss. Fadwa replies to Aseel’s question about reducing weight by elaborating on the general suggestion to follow other people’s steps. She does this by giving specific examples introduced by ʔinno: xafifi ħalawijja:t, igtaʕi kul innaʃawijja:t, wu bala:ʃ kul ilmaʃru:ba:t ilɣa:zijjih ‘reduce the amounts of sweets, cut off carbohydrates, and give up drinking soft drinks, and you will get thinner’. These examples are validated by Fadwa’s assertion that Aseel will get thinner. This function points to the role of ʔinno in connecting a general statement with more detailed examples, making the advice reachable and accessible for Aseel. Germanos’s study (Germanos, 2010, p. 190) asserted that this use of ʔinno allows a speaker to elaborate on their utterances by illustrating them with an example.
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Clarification
[Context] Rama sends Nisreen a message, asking her about the reason why she has not interacted with Rama’s messages lately:
Nisreen: bisara:ħa kunt maʃɣu:lih halfatrah bimaʃru:ʕ idʒdi:d wu balʃa:nih biʕurus ʔuxti kaman.
‘Honestly, I have been busy this time with a new project, and I am also busy with my sister’s wedding.
Rama: ħatta walaw! bas ruddi tamnini ʕale:ki!
‘even though! Just let me know that you are ok’!
Nisreen: saʕb tirdʒaʕ ilʔumu:r zaj zama:n.
  ‘It’s difficult for things to get back to how they used to be.’
Rama: ʃu: ibtiħki ʔinti??? ʔinti biʕaglik!!!
‘What are you saying??? Are you insane!!!
Nisreen: ʔinno ʔinti ibtari:g wu ʔana ibtari:g.
‘DM, we are not friends anymore.’
In this exchange, ʔinno is used for clarification. The conversation starts with Rama’s gentle inquiry about why Nisreen is not replying to her messages. Nisreen gives vague excuses, but Rama’s insistent statement, bas ruddi tamnini ʕale:ki ‘just let me know that you are ok!’, pushes Nisreen to hint at a deeper, vague issue: saʕb tirdʒaʕ ilʔumu:r zaj zama:n ‘it’s difficult for things to get back to how they used to be’. This vagueness increases Rama’s confusion, leading her to seek deeper clarification: ʃu: ibtiħki ʔinti??? ʔinti biʕaglik!!! ‘What are you saying??? Are you insane!!!’. The exclamation marks here illustrate Rama’s extreme confusion and perplexity.
The turning point occurs when Nisreen uses ʔinno to clarify her vague statement. By saying, ʔinno ʔinti ibtari:g wu ʔana ibtari:g ‘we are not friends anymore’, she makes her position clear, leaving Rama with no room for other interpretations. This aligns with Germanos’s study (Germanos, 2010, p. 191), who asserted that speakers can add a clarification introduced by ʔinno to their propositions to prevent any possible questioning of their utterances.

3.2.3. Emotional and Assessment Functions

This category includes instances where ʔinno reflects the speaker’s personal assessment or emotional reaction toward the preceding or following idea.
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Expressing Surprise
[Context] Afnan’s aunt receives a recent photo of Afnan sent by Afnan’s mother. Her aunt comments the following:
Afnan’s aunt: ja: allah Afnan kibrat ibsurʕa!!! ʔinno mata???
 ‘Oh God! Afnan has grown up fast!!! DM when?’
Afnan’s mother: il-ʔajjam ibturkud.
‘Time flies’.
ʔinno is used here to express Afnan’s aunt’s surprise and disbelief regarding Afnan’s quick growth. In this context, ʔinno is equivalent to “Oh my God!” Clearly, Afnan’s aunt’s response is associated with multiple question marks that intensify the surprise conveyed by ʔinno. The adjacent utterance il-ʔajja:m ibturkud ‘time flies’ asserts that Afnan has grown up quickly and reinforces the feeling of surprise that her aunt shows. The larger context in which ʔinno is used here is not accessible to the reader. Thus, one may predict that Afnan’s aunt has not seen her niece for a long time, and reveals her surprise by saying, ʔinno mata ‘DM when???’.
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Expressing Criticism
[Context] Ahmad and Mahmoud work in the public sector. They discuss the working hours system in the private sector. Ahmad says the following:
Ahmad: ja ħara:m bixallu ilmuwaððafi:n ijda:wmu lassa:ʕa ʔarbaʕah. ʔinno ʃu:l fa:jdih?
‘It’s outrageous that they make the employees work until four o’clock. DM what’s the benefit?’
Mahmoud: wallah mana ʕa:rif.
‘Honestly, I don’t know’.
Ahmad employs ʔinno here to convey criticism and dissatisfaction with the private sector’s working hours. In this context, he is not asking a regular question that expects an answer. Instead, he first expresses his negative personal view about the private sector by saying ja ħara:m bixallu ilmuwaððafi:n ijda:wmu lassa:ʕa ʔarbaʕa ‘it’s outrageous that they make the employees work until four o’clock’. The following query, ʃu:l fa:jdih? ‘what’s the benefit?’, which is introduced by ʔinno, does not seek information but is an indirect way of expressing feelings of disapproval and harsh criticism. ʔinno here serves as an intensifier of Ahmad’s negative evaluation, implicitly questioning the value or benefit of the practice. ʔinno is also a key trigger for agreement, since the addressee, Mahmoud, instantly agrees with Ahmad’s criticism, saying wallah mana ʕa:rif ‘honestly, I don’t know’.
It is worth noting that the larger context in which Ɂinno is used here is not accessible to the reader. Thus, one may predict that Ahmad has once worked in the private sector or one of his relatives is a private sector worker who suffers from the long hours of working, compared to short hours in the public one. Thus, Ahmad believes that the private sector is unfair and thus criticizes it.

3.2.4. Emphatic and Assertive Functions

This category describes the uses of ʔinno where it serves to add force, or to confirm or intensify a preceding statement, often reflecting the speaker’s strong belief or desire to ensure the addressee is familiar with a particular idea.
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Emphasizing
[Context] Raya considers marrying a man but has doubts about his character. She voices her concerns to her friend, Sama, and the following exchange takes place between them:
Raya: biddi ʔasʔal ʕannu iʤi:ra:n.
‘I want to ask the neighbors about him’.
Sama: ʔana maʕik. ʔinno ʔisʔali ʕannu wu ʃu:fi ʔiza mni:ħ ʔaw laʔ.
‘I agree with you. DM ask about him and check whether he is good or not’.
In this context, ʔinno serves to emphasize and reinforce Sama’s agreement with Raya’s intention. The speaker here confirms her previous statement by emphasizing it through a subsequent statement introduced by ʔinno. Sama explicitly asserts her agreement with Raya’s concern about marriage by saying, ʔana maʕik ‘I agree with you’. This confirmation is followed by ʔinno, which introduces a strong piece of advice regarding verifying the man’s character: ʔisʔali ʕannu wu ʃu:fi ʔiza mni:ħ ʔaw laʔ ‘ask about him and check whether he is good or not’. The presence of ʔinno illustrates the preceding statement and highlights the speaker’s intention, making the utterance more reinforced and persuasive.
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Warning
[Context] Fadi and Salem were discussing the safety of the bicycle that Salem has recently bought. Salem says the following:
Salem: bafakkir ʔaħotto bil kara:ʤ.
 ‘I’m thinking of parking it in the garage’.
Fadi: bass la:zim turbuto. ʔinno binsarig. hajni ħake:t!
‘But you have to lock it up. DM it might get stolen. I have just told you!’
In this example, ʔinno is employed by Fadi as a warning device. Salem is thinking of parking his bicycle in the garage. Fadi, in turn, advises him to lock it up and then explicitly warns him that it might get stolen. ʔinno here introduces this potential negative consequence of theft. The marker ʔinno intensifies the warning and signals that the threat of theft in the following statement is serious and requires caution. The surrounding expression hajni ħake:t ‘I have just told you’ reinforces this potential risk.

3.2.5. Epistemic and Uncertainty Functions

This category addresses instances where ʔinno is used by the speaker to show their uncertainty, doubt, or tentativeness regarding a certain idea. It allows the speaker to signal their attitude towards the truth of what they say (i.e., epistemic stance) or to lessen the force of their statement.
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Hesitation
[Context] Suha asks her friend Samar if she danced at her cousin’s wedding party or not. Samar responds:
Samar: bisara:ħa! ʔinnoooooʔinnoooo …. Ɂinnooooo!!
‘To be honest, DM DM DM!!’
Suha: xalsi:na Ɂiħki ? ragasti willa ʃu:??
‘Come on, say! Have you danced or not??’
In this context, ʔinno is clearly used as a hesitation marker. Samar repeats ʔinno three times, implying a moment of uncertainty or shyness as she attempts to gather her thoughts, which makes her sound more tentative. The elongation of the final back low vowel further contributes to intensifying the reluctant sense that ʔinno conveys here. It seems that both Samar and Suha already share the background knowledge that Samar’s dancing is awful or terrible. This shared background explains why Suha insists on knowing whether Samar has danced or not, emphasizing her demand when saying xalsi:na Ɂiħki ‘come on, say!’.
This use of ʔinno matches Germanos’s study (Germanos, 2010, p. 193), who suggested that ʔinno occurs before a speaker’s answer to a question when they are hesitant to respond or fulfill a demand.
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Hedging
[Context] Nawal and Samah discuss a situation where their friend, called Nada, left her baby with his father after her divorce.
Nawal: ki:f tarkat ʔibinha he:k?
‘How could she leave her son like that?’
Samah: jimkin ʔinno ma tarkato bas hijjih ibtiʃtaɣil.
‘Maybe DM she didn’t really leave him, but she works.’
In this context, where the speaker Nawal uses ʔinno to hedge or soften her belief about Nada’s leaving her baby. By saying ʔinno ma tarkato ‘maybe she didn’t really leave him’, Nawal is suggesting an alternative explanation in a less confrontational or assertive manner, showing that she is offering a more tentative opinion. This indicates the speaker aims to convey a notion of imprecision, implying she is not completely sure but is expressing a personal opinion. Almahameed and Farghal (2024) asserted that double hedging, where the speaker uses two hedging expressions, is commonly used in JA. The speaker uses ʔinno here as a hedger to mitigate the effect of speech, working alongside the epistemic auxiliary verb jimkin ‘maybe’ as another hedging device. Here, ʔinno contributes to the overall sense of uncertainty introduced by jimkin ‘maybe’.

3.2.6. Turn-Taking Function

This category explores the role of ʔinno in managing conversational flow and turn-taking.
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Urging for Continuity
[Context] Some relatives are discussing on a WhatsApp family group about their daughter’s husband, who has had some health medical checkup. The following chat takes place:
Khaled: ʃu: ħaka iddokto:r?
 ‘What did the doctor say?’
Sameeha: kul xe:r!
  ‘Everything is fine!’
Khaled: ʔinno?
DM?’
Sameeha: tiliʕ maʕa:h hada:k ilmarad
  ‘He is diagnosed with cancer.’
After Sameeha’s hopeful response, kul xe:r! ‘everything is fine!’, Khaled employs ʔinno to push for a more specific answer, indicating that he wants to know exactly what the doctor said. ʔinno is used here to convey a central demand for continuation. As the context suggests, ʔinno acts as a signal to Sameeha that her brief reply is insufficient, thereby granting her the turn to provide the information Khaled is asking about. ʔinno links Khaled’s explicit urge for a complete response to Sameeha’s brief previous utterance kul xe:r!, making the detailed answer tiliʕ maʕa:h hada:k ilmarad ‘he is diagnosed with cancer’ necessary to understand the whole situation.
This use of ʔinno is in line with Germanos’s study (Germanos, 2010), who stated that ʔinno commonly introduces new information that completes the meaning of the previous topic.

4. Discussion

This study examined the syntactic and pragmatic functions of the colloquial expression ʔinno in JA, with a particular focus on its functions as a C and a DM in social media conversations. In line with previous studies (Cowell, 1964; Germanos, 2010), which primarily investigated ʔinno as a C, our findings suggest that a significant portion of ʔinno’s occurrences (61%) function as a C. The high frequency of ʔinno as a C, compared to its function as a DM, not only reflects the attention it has received in earlier research but also demonstrates its prevalent use in JA. It can also be attributed to its common, essential syntactic role in JA in both written and spoken discourse. Notably, this contrasts with Germanos’s (2010) findings, which demonstrated a higher frequency of ʔinno functioning as a DM rather than a C in the Lebanese context.
In its function as a C, the analysis showed that ʔinno frequently appears in the middle of sentences to introduce subordinate clauses, thereby linking clauses and forming complex sentences. Moreover, in its syntactic context, the CPs introduced by ʔinno fulfills various functions across verbal and nominal sentences such as subjects, objects, and predicates, consistent with the findings of Cowell (1964) and Germanos (2010). However, the study also identified additional syntactic functions not previously emphasized, including cases where the CPs serve as complements of prepositions or as the second member of ʔal-ʔida:fa constructions. Morphologically, the analysis indicated that ʔinno cannot be considered monomorphemic in its function as a complementizer. In contrast to Germanos (2010), ʔinno is inflected with pronoun suffixes that specify person, gender, and number.
However, the analysis goes beyond the syntactic role to reveal that 39% of the occurrences of ʔinno function as a DM, thus emphasizing its multifunctional pragmatic roles in social media conversations within the JA context. Six primary functions were identified as follows: explanatory, elaborative, emotional/assessment, emphatic/assertive, epistemic/uncertainty, and turn-taking. Several of these confirm pragmatic similarities with ʔinno as described by Germanos (2010), especially in its roles of elaborating, explaining, clarifying, emphasizing, justifying, illustrating with examples, and managing turn-taking. Further, these pragmatic functions are consistent with Germanos’s (2010) description of ʔinno as a DM, whose main role lies within a given context and involves connecting what precedes with what follows. However, the current study supersedes Germanos’s work by providing additional pragmatic functions that are exclusive to the Jordanian context.
In alignment with Habib’s study (Habib, 2021), ʔinno as a DM appears in the middle of sentences, without introducing a subordinate clause, thereby achieving successful linkage to maintain discourse coherence. This finding suggests that ʔinno is not limited to syntactic usage but also plays an integral role in structuring and maintaining discourse, connecting utterances, and achieving cohesion functions that are widely acknowledged for discourse markers (Schiffrin, 1987; Lenk, 1998; Redeker, 1991; Fraser, 2009).
The analysis also demonstrated that ʔinno functions as a multipurposed pragmatic marker that does not just convey literal information but modifies the speaker’s intent and the message’s effect, often serving as an illocutionary enhancer rather than merely a carrier of the propositional meaning. For instance, in its emotional and assessment function (expressing surprise), ʔinno conveys deep surprise and disbelief regarding Afnan’s rapid growth, thereby intensifying the speaker’s emotional expression. Afnan’s aunt’s use of ʔinno mata ‘DM when?’ enhances her intense emotional reaction to the situation. This instance of ʔinno highlights its primary role in enriching the subsequent utterance with keen emotions and specific pragmatic force in conversations.
Further, ʔinno reflects the speaker’s potential communicative intentions when used in context (Fraser, 1996). While ʔinno functions as a cohesive marker to connect utterances, it appears that the surrounding context facilitates the interpretation of ʔinno; thus, the illocutionary force of ʔinno is more accessible to the interlocutors. For instance, in its epistemic and uncertainty function (hedging), the speaker attempts to lessen the force of the proposition that Nada left her baby with his father after her divorce by using ʔinno. Hence, ʔinno is utilized as a hedging marker, aiming to attenuate the effect of speech within the discourse. This pragmatic role of ʔinno is reinforced by a neighboring epistemic modal verb jimkin ‘maybe’. Similarly, in its emphatic and assertive function (emphasizing), Raya emphasizes the importance of checking on a man’s character before marriage when saying ʔinno ʔisʔali ʕannu ‘DM ask about him’. The preceding agreement, ʔana maʕik ‘I agree with you’, doubles the emphasis effect of ʔinno.
Thus, the pragmatic force of ʔinno is more accessible when used in its context rather than in an isolated speech interchange. This underscores the crucial importance of context in understanding the intended meaning the speaker is trying to convey by using ʔinno. This aligns with Fraser (1990), who asserted that discourse markers serve many functions and are associated with the pragmatic aspects of discourse.
Some pragmatic functions of ʔinno are expressed implicitly rather than explicitly. Interlocutors are required to rely on the context and, sometimes, on background knowledge to infer the intended meaning. For example, in its emotional and assessment function (criticism), Ahmad employs ʔinno to convey criticism and dissatisfaction with the private sector’s working hours, although he himself is a public sector worker. His dissatisfaction may not be fully understood or excused unless it is assumed that he was once a private sector employee and suffered from long working hours. In its elaborative function (clarification), Nisreen uses ʔinno to clarify that she no longer wants to be friends with Rama, leaving Rama with no other options. Her decision to end the friendship with Rama may not be clear, but one can assume that the larger context includes many scenarios, such as Rama having hurt her or lied to her once, leading Nisreen to end the relationship.

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

This study has provided a detailed analysis demonstrating that the colloquial expression ʔinno in JA functions on two levels: the syntactic level (operating as a C) and the pragmatic level (operating as a DM). Syntactically, ʔinno frequently appears in the middle of sentences to relate clauses, thereby completing sentences by introducing additional information or subordinate clauses. It also appears at the beginning of sentences, where it functions similarly to an introductory phrase that sets the stage for the main clause. Referring to the grammatical functions of Ɂinno, it serves as subjects, objects, nominal predicates, complements of prepositions, or the second member of ʔal ʔidafa.
Pragmatically, ʔinno as a DM links two propositions by explaining, elaborating, assessing, asserting, showing uncertainty, and turn-taking. The pragmatic functions of ʔinno in JA fall into six primary categories, each with sub-functions. These include explanatory functions (like giving reasons or expressing results), elaborative functions (including elaboration, giving examples, and clarification), emotional and assessment functions (such as expressing surprise or criticism), emphatic and assertive functions (for emphasizing or warning), epistemic and uncertainty functions (covering hesitation and hedging), and a turn-taking function (specifically urging for continuity).
This study concludes that Ɂinno is well established among social media users in the Jordanian context and the varied contexts play a vital role in exploring its pragmatic functions. That is, ʔinno’s unique contribution lies in its pragmatic flexibility. Based on the findings, this study recommends examining more pragmatic functions of Ɂinno in JA in other different contexts. This might be ascribed to the belief that Jordanians use Ɂinno in many situations, some of which were not examined in this study, such as its use in TV programs and radios. It is also recommended to extend pragmatic and semiotic investigations to include non-verbal signs used in Jordanian Arabic communication (J. M. Hamdan & Riziq, 2024). In addition, Ɂinno tends to have many variants depending on the dialect. In this respect, it is hoped that this study will promote future research to examine the pragmatic functions of the variants in different settings and to identify similarities and differences. In addition, it is recommended to explore the particular contribution of ʔinno which makes it preferable to other similar discourse markers in JA. Finally, it is recommended that ʔinno be examined quantitively to explore the frequency and distribution of its functions in JA or other dialects.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, G.A.; methodology, D.R.; validation, D.R.; formal analysis, G.A. and D.R.; investigation, G.A.; resources, G.A. and D.R.; data curation, G.A. and D.R.; writing—original draft preparation, G.A. and D.R.; writing—review and editing, G.A. and D.R.; visualization, G.A.; supervision, G.A.; project administration, G.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data of this study are not publicly available due to privacy restrictions.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Table 1. The classification of ʔinno as a (C) and (DM).
Table 1. The classification of ʔinno as a (C) and (DM).
The Categorization of Ɂinno ExampleNo. of Instances %
Complementizerʕaʤabni ʔinno -il mazraʕa muna:sibi la-ʕadadna25961%
‘I liked that the farm is suitable for our number’.
Discourse Marker… bass ana maʕik ʔinno la:zim titʔakadu mni:ħ16339%
‘… but I am with you, DM you should make sure well’.
Table 2. The syntactic functions of the complementizer ʔinno.
Table 2. The syntactic functions of the complementizer ʔinno.
Sentence TypeThe Syntactic Function of Ɂinno ClausesExample
Verbal
Sentence
CP as Subjectʕaʤabni ʔinno -il mazraʕa muna:sibi la-ʕadadna.
‘I liked that the farm is suitable for our number.’
CP as Objectma ka:n ħa:ki:li: ha:ʃim ʔinno raħ jidal.
‘Hashem did not tell me that he is staying.’
CP as Complement of
Preposition
la: tlu:mi:ni: laʔinni ma bati:go:.
‘Don’t blame me that I do not like him.
CP as Second Member
of ʔal ʔidafa
ʕaʤbatni fikrit ʔinno inku:n maʕ baʕad.
‘I liked the idea that we stay together.’
Nominal
Sentence
CP as Subjectʔinno ʔinta to:kul wu tiʃrab ʕara:ħtak he:k ɣalat kbi:r.
That you eat and drink at your own pace like this is a big mistake.’
CP as Predicateʔil muʃkili ʔinnhum biħibbu:ni kti:r.
‘The problem is that they love me so much.’
CP as Complement of
Preposition
hijji zaʕla:ni laʔinni raħ asa:fir.
‘She is sad that I am travelling.
CP as Second Member
of ʔal ʔidafa
muʃkilit ʔinno ti:ʤi wu tugʕudi bil be:t laħa:lik bitzahhig.
‘The problem is that coming and sitting at home alone is boring.’
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Alkarazoun, G.; Riziq, D. A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis of the Colloquial Expression ʔinno ‘That’ in Jordanian Arabic: Evidence from Social Media Conversation. Languages 2025, 10, 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090205

AMA Style

Alkarazoun G, Riziq D. A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis of the Colloquial Expression ʔinno ‘That’ in Jordanian Arabic: Evidence from Social Media Conversation. Languages. 2025; 10(9):205. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090205

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alkarazoun, Ghada, and Doaa Riziq. 2025. "A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis of the Colloquial Expression ʔinno ‘That’ in Jordanian Arabic: Evidence from Social Media Conversation" Languages 10, no. 9: 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090205

APA Style

Alkarazoun, G., & Riziq, D. (2025). A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis of the Colloquial Expression ʔinno ‘That’ in Jordanian Arabic: Evidence from Social Media Conversation. Languages, 10(9), 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090205

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