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Maaloula Neo Aramaic (Arnold 1990, Eid 2024) exhibits indirect definiteness marking. Nouns in isolation show no overt definiteness marking. But in N+Adj sequences, the amount of agreement on the adjective signals whether the noun is definite or not. Similarly, a differential object marker identical to the dative preposition occurs before definite direct objects; and the same marker is encliticized to the first noun in the definite Construct but procliticized to the second in the indefinite parallel. We show that in all three cases, definiteness is expressed by additional skeletal support – an additional CV unit. That exponent enables otherwise floating material to be realized. This kind of exponent is familiar from French inflection (e.g. Fathi & Lowenstamm 2016); it is reported here for the first time for a Semitic language.
