The papers in this volume address core areas in contemporary Arabic linguistics: syntax, phonology, and variation studies. The papers in the syntax sections address different topics from the perspective of the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995) and subsequent work. The topics in this section are adverbs and adjectives, resumptive pronouns, gapping and VP deletion, and the morphosyntax of reciprocals. The phonology section consists of a contribution on coarticulation effects of uvular(ized) segments, and of a paper on pharyngealization and uvularization within the framework of Optimality Theory. The sociolinguistics papers in the third section of the volume represent three important lines of inquiry: discourse level variation, stylistic variation, and diachronic variation. Contents: Layers in the Distribution of Arabic Adverbs and Adjectives and Their Licensing: Abdelkader Fassi Fehri; The Unoptionality of Resumptive Pronouns: The Case of Moroccan Arabic: Abdessalam Elomari; Gapping and VP Deletion in Moroccan Arabic: Ibtissam Kortobi; Implicit Reciprocals in Standard Arabic: Mark S. LeTourneau; Gradient Uvularization Spread in Ammani-Jordanian Arabic: Bushra Adnan Zawaydeh; Optimized Postvelar Harmony in Palestinian Arabic: Kimary N. Shahin; Reported Speech in Arabic Journalistic Discourse: Ahmed Fakhri; Gender in Linguistic Variation: The Variable (q) in Damascus Arabic: Jamil Daher; Literary Arabic and Early Hijazi: Contrasts in the Marking of Definiteness: David Testen.