The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Sulemaniyya and Ḥalabja 9004138692, 9789004138698

Table of contents :
THE JEWISH NEO-ARAMAIC DIALECT OF SULEMANIYYA AND ḤALABJA......Page 2
CONTENTS......Page 6
Preface......Page 20
0.1. The Jewish communities of Sulemaniyya and Ḥalabja......Page 22
0.2.1. The relationship of JSH to other Neo-Aramaic dialects......Page 24
0.2.2. The relationship of JSH to the Kurdish dialect of Sulemaniyya......Page 29
0.3. Informants and texts......Page 36
0.4. The grammar......Page 37
PHONOLOGY......Page 38
1.2. Notes on the phonetic realization of the consonants......Page 40
1.3. Voicing of consonants......Page 44
1.4. Alternation of /d/ and /z/......Page 45
1.5. Shift of /l/ to /r/......Page 47
1.6.1.1. *b......Page 48
1.6.1.3. *t......Page 50
1.6.1.4. *d......Page 52
1.6.1.6. *g......Page 53
16.3.1. *ḥ......Page 54
1.6.3.2. *͑......Page 55
1.6.3.3. Laryngals * ͗ and *h......Page 58
2.1. Phoneme inventory......Page 60
2.2.1. Open syllables......Page 61
2.2.2. Closed syllables......Page 66
2.3. The phonetic quality of the vowels......Page 69
3.1. Phonetic realization and transcription......Page 72
3.2. The distribution of gemination in the consonant inventory......Page 74
3.3. The origin of consonant gemination......Page 75
4.2. Elision of laryngals......Page 77
4.3. Word-initial clusters of consonants......Page 79
4.4. Word-final clusters of consonants......Page 80
4.5. Word-internal clusters of consonants......Page 81
5.1. Nominals......Page 82
5.2. Adverbials......Page 84
5.3. Verbs......Page 85
6. STRESS GROUPS......Page 88
MORPHOLOGY......Page 92
7.1 lndependent personal pronouns......Page 94
7.2. Pronominal suffixes on nouns and prepositions......Page 95
7.3. Independent genitive pronoun......Page 96
7.4. Demonstrative pronouns......Page 97
7.5. Interrogative pronouns......Page 98
7.6. Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns......Page 99
8.1. Verbal stems......Page 101
8.2. Inflection of the present base......Page 103
8.2.1. Stem I verbs......Page 104
8.2.2. Stem II verbs......Page 105
8.3. Inflection of the past base......Page 106
8.3.1. Stem I verbs......Page 107
8.3.2. Stem II verbs......Page 111
8.3.3. Quadriliteral verbs......Page 113
8.4. Inflection of the imperative......Page 114
8.5.1. Present copula......Page 115
8.5.2. Past copula......Page 116
8.6.1. Past participle + enclitic copula......Page 118
8.6.2. Infinitive + enclitic copula......Page 121
8.7. Particles attached to verbal forms......Page 122
8.7.2. The suffixed particle -wa......Page 123
8.8. Negation......Page 125
8.9.1. Verba primae / ͗/......Page 127
8.9.2. Verba mediae /w/......Page 128
8.9.3. Verba primae / ͗/, mediae /w/......Page 129
8.9.4. Verba tertiae /w/......Page 130
8.9.5. Verba primae /y/......Page 131
8.9.6.Verba mediae /y/......Page 132
8.9.7. Verba tertiae /y/......Page 133
8.9.8. Verba primae /y/, tertiae /w/......Page 136
8.9.9. Verbamediae /w/, tertiae /y/......Page 137
8.10.2. Verba mediae /y/......Page 138
8.10.4. Verba mediae /w/......Page 139
8.10.6. Verba primae /y/, tertiae /y/......Page 140
8.11.2. ͗nty 'to take'......Page 141
8.12.1. hwy 'to be'......Page 142
8.12.2. 'to go'......Page 143
8.12.3. 'to come'......Page 144
8.12.4. 'to bring'......Page 146
8.12.5. 'to want'......Page 147
8.12.6. 'to know'......Page 148
8.12.7. 'to give'......Page 149
8.12.8. 'to hit'......Page 150
8.12.9. 'to live'......Page 151
8.12.11. m-ṣṭ͑r 'to curse'......Page 152
8.13. Verbs that have changed stem......Page 153
8.14.1. Pronominal direct objects on present base verbs......Page 154
8.14.3. Pronominal direct objects on imperatives......Page 157
8.14.4. Pronominal direct objects on the compound qiṭla-y form......Page 158
8.14.5. Pronominal direct objects on the compound qaṭola-y form......Page 159
8.14.6. Pronominal indirect object......Page 160
8.15. The existential particles hīt and līt......Page 161
8.16.1. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element ͗wl......Page 162
8.16.3. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element 'to give'......Page 163
8.16.6. Pronominal objects......Page 164
9.1. qăṭil form......Page 166
9.2. qṭille form......Page 170
9.3. qṭīl form......Page 172
9.4. qăṭilwa form......Page 174
9.6. qăṭil form verbs with pronominal suffixes......Page 175
9.7. qṭille form verbs with pronominal suffixes......Page 177
9.8. qiṭla-y form verbs with pronominal suffixes......Page 178
10.2.2. Bisyllabic patterns......Page 180
10.2.3. Trisyllabic patterns......Page 184
10.3.1. Bisyllabic patterns......Page 185
10.3.2. Trisyllabic patterns......Page 187
10.5. Nouns with the feminine ending-la......Page 188
10.7. Nouns of Aramaic stock with no inflectional ending......Page 189
10.8. Loan-words......Page 190
10.9.1. -ula......Page 192
10.9.3. -a͗a......Page 193
10.10. Kurdish derivational suffixes......Page 194
10.11.1. Aramaic words......Page 195
10.11.2. Loan-words......Page 198
10.12.1. Plural ending -e......Page 201
10.12.3. Plurals in-awane from singulars in -a......Page 203
10.12.4. Plurals in -ye from singulars in -ta......Page 204
10.12.7. The plural ending -ale......Page 206
10.12.9. Plurals in -awale from singulars in -a......Page 207
10.12.13. Irregular plurals......Page 208
10.12.15. The plural of loan-words......Page 209
10.13. Singular of collective nouns......Page 212
10.14. Annexation of nouns......Page 213
10.15.1. Nouns attested in both the absolute state and the inflected form......Page 214
10.15.2. Nouns regularly in the absolute state......Page 215
10.16. The definite article......Page 216
11.2. Aramaic adjectival patterns......Page 217
11.3. Adjectives with the affix -ana......Page 220
11.5. Loan-words......Page 221
12.1.2. Numerals 11-19......Page 223
12.1.4. Hundreds......Page 224
12.1.7. Cardinal numerals with pronominal suffixes......Page 225
12.3. Fractions......Page 227
12.5. Seasons......Page 228
13.2. Adverbs......Page 229
13.3.1. b- 'in, at, by, with'......Page 232
13.3.2. bar 'after, behind'......Page 233
13.3.3. baqa 'to, for'......Page 234
13.3.6. dawre 'around'......Page 235
13.3.7. ga 'in, among'......Page 236
13.3.10. l- 'to, for, in; direct object marker'......Page 237
13.3.11. laga 'at the home of, in the presence of......Page 238
13.3.13. manga, mingol 'like'......Page 239
13.3.16. reša 'upon, concerning'......Page 240
13.3.18. xela 'under'......Page 241
13.4. Miscellaneous uninflected particles......Page 242
SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS......Page 244
14.1. Expression of definiteness......Page 246
14.1.1. Indefiniteness expressed by the particle xa......Page 247
14.1.2. Definiteness expressed by the suffix -ăke......Page 253
14.2. The absolute state......Page 256
14.3. Gender......Page 258
14.4.1. Preliminary remarks......Page 260
14.4.2. The function of the attributive demonstratives......Page 263
14.4.3. The function of the independent demonstratives......Page 271
14.5. Genitive pronouns......Page 273
14.6. The reflexive pronoun......Page 276
14.7. The reciprocal pronoun......Page 280
14.8. Annexation constructions......Page 281
14.9. Attributive adjectives......Page 283
14.10.1. kud, kuz......Page 285
14.10.2. kulle, kulla......Page 286
14.10.3. raba, rabe......Page 288
14.10.5. xet......Page 289
14.10.7. čikma......Page 290
14.10.9. ͗asxa......Page 291
14.10.11. zoda, bi-zoda......Page 292
14.10.13. hema......Page 293
14.11. Conjoining of nouns in a nominal phrase......Page 294
14.12. Comparison of adjectives and adverbs......Page 295
14.13. Numerals......Page 296
14.14. Adverbial expressions......Page 300
15.2.1.1. Indicative......Page 303
15.2.1.2. Subjunctive......Page 307
15.2.2. qăṭilwa......Page 311
15.2.2.1. Indicative......Page 312
15.2.2.2. Subjunctive......Page 313
15.3. The function of verb forms derived from past bases......Page 316
15.3.1. qṭille and qṭīl forms......Page 326
15.3.2. qṭilwale and qṭīlwa forms......Page 328
15.4.1. The present copula......Page 329
15.4.2. The past copula......Page 330
15.5. The existential particle......Page 331
15.6. The verb hwy......Page 332
15.7.1. qiṭla-y and qṭila-y forms......Page 334
15.7.2. qaṭola-y form......Page 339
15.8. The verb xdr......Page 340
15.9. The imperative......Page 342
15.10. The infinitive......Page 343
15.11. Direct object......Page 345
15.13. Indirect object......Page 349
15.14. The postverbal particle awa......Page 350
16.1. b-......Page 353
16.2. l-......Page 356
16.3. ta......Page 358
16.4. baqa......Page 361
16.5. laga......Page 362
16.6. reša......Page 363
16.7. min......Page 365
17.1.1. Preliminary remarks......Page 369
17.1.2. Basic predicate-copula nexus......Page 371
17.1.3. Subject nominals......Page 373
17.1.5. Position of nuclear stress......Page 374
17.1.6. The negative copula......Page 375
17.1.8. Postposing of subject nominal......Page 376
17.1.10. Omission of the copula......Page 378
17.2.1. Existential clauses......Page 380
17.2.2. Possessive constructions......Page 383
17.3. Negative existential and possessive clauses......Page 385
17.4. Constructions with the verb hwy......Page 386
17.5. Verbal clauses......Page 387
17.5.1. Basic verbal clauses......Page 388
17.5.2. Direct object nominal......Page 389
17.5.3.1. Subject—(object)—verb......Page 392
17.5.3.2. Object—subject—verb......Page 393
17.5.3.3. (Object)—verb—subject......Page 394
17.5.4. Subject verb agreement......Page 395
17.5.5.1. Clause initial subject pronouns without the nuclear stress......Page 396
17.5.5.3. Object nominal before subject pronoun......Page 400
17.5.6. Prepositional phrases......Page 401
17.5.8.1 Negator before verb......Page 405
17.5.8.2. Negator before other elements in the clause......Page 407
17.5.9. Interrogative clauses......Page 408
17.6.1. Structure......Page 410
17.6.2. Function......Page 412
17.7. Placement of adverbials......Page 415
18.1.1. u......Page 418
18.1.2. -iš......Page 420
18.2. Intonation group boundaries......Page 427
18.3. Incremental repetition......Page 430
18.5. Intonation patterns......Page 431
18.5.1. Major juncture......Page 432
18.5.2. Minor juncture......Page 433
19.1.1.1. Syndetic relative clauses......Page 435
19.1.1.2. Asyndetic relative clauses......Page 436
19.1.2. Nominal relative clauses......Page 438
19.1.2.1. Syndetic clauses......Page 439
19.1.2.2. Asyndetic clauses......Page 442
19.1.3. The internal structure ofrelative clauses......Page 443
19.2.1. Polar questions......Page 444
19.3. Correlative adverbial clauses......Page 446
19.4.1. ka/ga......Page 447
19.4.2. waxta......Page 449
19.4.3. limma......Page 450
19.4.4. Asyndetic temporal clauses......Page 451
19.4.7. ḥatta......Page 453
19.5.1.1. Form of the ͗agar clause......Page 455
19.5.1.4. Form of verb in the apodosis......Page 459
19.5.2. Asyndetic conditional constructions......Page 460
19.7.1. Complement clauses with ka-/ga-......Page 461
19.7.2. Asyndetic complement clauses......Page 462
20.1. Preliminary remarks......Page 464
20.2.1. The human body......Page 469
20.2.2. Family relations......Page 470
20.2.4. Containers......Page 471
20.2.5. Implements......Page 472
20.2.6.3. Dairy products......Page 473
20.2.6.6. Miscellaneous......Page 474
20.2.9. Jewelry......Page 475
20.2.11. Jewish festivals......Page 476
20.2.13. Basic attributes......Page 477
20.2.15. Basic verbs relating to everyday activities......Page 478
20.2.18. Verbs relating to aggression and the infliction of injury......Page 479
20.2.19. Phrases used in social interaction......Page 480
TEXTS......Page 482
Festivals......Page 483
Family history......Page 485
Houses......Page 489
The Jewish community......Page 491
Weddings......Page 493
Cooking......Page 497
Bread and matzas......Page 505
Clothes......Page 509
The informant's father......Page 515
Preparations for winter......Page 523
Events in the Jewish community......Page 525
Summer......Page 527
Sickness in the Jewish community......Page 529
Relations of the Jews with Muslims and Christians......Page 531
The rabbis of the community......Page 533
Elopement of a Jewish girl with a Muslim......Page 535
The family of Šalomo La͑azar......Page 539
The adventures of a Jewish girl......Page 541
The death of the informant's grandmother......Page 547
Malicious neighbours......Page 553
The professions of the Jews......Page 559
Houses......Page 561
Preparations for winter......Page 563
Cooking......Page 567
Sheikh Maḥmūd protects the Jews......Page 569
Women......Page 571
Weddings......Page 573
More autobiography......Page 575
The final years of the Jewish community in Sulemaniyya......Page 577
Weddings......Page 579
Two stories......Page 583
Weddings......Page 585
The Jewish community of Ḥalabja......Page 589
Weddings......Page 591
Preparations for winter......Page 595
REFERENCES......Page 599
GLOSSARY OF VERBS......Page 601
GENERAL GLOSSARY......Page 616
STUDIES IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS......Page 642

Citation preview

STUDIES IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS EDITED BY

T. MURAOKA AND C.H.M. VERSTEEGH

VOLUMEXLIV THEJEWISH NEO-ARAMAIC DIALECT OF SULEMANIYYA AND BALABJA

THEJEWISH NEO-ARAMAIC DIALECT OF SULEMANIYYA AND I:IALABJA BY

GEOFFREY KHAN

BRILL LEIDEN· BOSTON 2004

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on http:/ I catalog.Joe.gov

ISSN 0081-8461 ISBN 90 04 13869 2

© Copyright 2004 try Koninklijke Brill .Nv, Leiden, The Nether/,ands

All rights reserved. No part ef this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval !(YStem, or transmitted in al!Y farm or try al!Y means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items far internal or personal use is granted try KoninkliJke Brill provided that the appropriate fies are paid directl;y to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINIBD IN THE NETHERLANDS

FOR MY SON JONATHAN WITH LOVE

-

CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................................................... xxi INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 0.1. The Jewish communities of Sulemaniyya and I;Ialabja ........... 1 0.2. The Aramaic dialect ................................................................. 3 0.2. l. The relationship of JSH to other Neo-Aramaic dialects ....... 3 0.2.2. The relationship of JSH to the Kurdish of Sulemaniyya ...... 8 0.2.3. Hebrew elements in the JSH dialect.. .................................. 15 0.3. Informants and texts ............................................................... 15 0.4. The grammar .......................................................................... 16

PHONOLOGY 1.

CONSONANTS ....................................................................... 19 1.1. Phoneme inventory ................................................................ 19 1.2. Notes on the phonetic realization of the consonants ............. 19 1.3. Voicing of consonants ............................................................ 23 1.4. Alternation of !di and lz/ ........................................................ 24 1.5. Shift of Ill to Ir/ ...................................................................... 26 1.6. The historical background of the consonants ........................ 27 1.6.1. The bgdkpt consonants ........................................................ 27 1.6.1.1. *b ....................................................................................... 27 1.6.1.2. *p ....................................................................................... 29 1.6.1.3. *t ....................................................................................... 29 1.6.1.4. *d....................................................................................... 31 1.6.1.5. *k ....................................................................................... 32 1.6.1.6. *g ....................................................................................... 32 1.6.2. The affricate /cl ................................................................... 33 1.6.3. Pharyngals and laryngals ..................................................... 33 1.6.3.1. *~ ....................................................................................... 33 1.6.3.2. *< ....................................................................................... 34 1.6.3.3. Laryngals *~ and *h ........................................................... 37

Vlll

2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.2.1. 2.2.2. 2.3.

3. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 4.

4.1. 4.2.

4.3. 4.4. 4.5. 5.

5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 6.

CONTENTS VOWELS .................................................................................. 39 Phoneme inventory ................................................................ 39 Vowel length .......................................................................... 40 Open syllables ........................................................................ 40 Closed syllables ..................................................................... 45 The phonetic quality of the vowels ........................................ 48 CONSONANT GEMINATION ............................................... 51 Phonetic realization and transcription .................................... 51 The distribution of gemination in the consonant inventory ... 53 The origin of consonant gemination ...................................... 54 SYLLABLE STRUCTlJRE ..................................................... 56 Syllabic patterns ..................................................................... 56 Elision of laryngals ................................................................ 56 Word-initial clusters of consonants ....................................... 58 Word-final clusters of consonants ......................................... 59 Word-internal clusters of consonants .................................... 60 WORD STRESS ....................................................................... 61 Nominals ................................................................................ 61 Adverbials .............................................................................. 63 Verbs ...................................................................................... 64 STRESS GROUPS ................................................................... 67

MORPHOLOGY 7. 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6.

PRONOUNS ............................................................................. 73 Independent personal pronouns ............................................. 73 Pronominal suffixes on nouns and prepositions .................... 74 Independent genitive pronoun ............................................... 75 Demonstrative pronouns ........................................................ 76 Interrogative pronouns ........................................................... 77 Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns ........................................ 78

VERBS ..................................................................................... 80 8. Verbal stems ........................................................................... 80 8.1. Inflection of the present base ................................................. 82 8.2. Stem I verbs ......................................................................... 83 8.2.1. Stem II verbs ....................................................................... 84 8.2.2.

CONTENTS 8.2.3. 8.3. 8.3.1. 8.3.2. 8.3.3. 8.4. 8.5. 8.5.1. 8.5.2. 8.6. 8.6.1. 8.6.2. 8.7. 8.7.1. 8.7.2. 8.8. 8.9. 8.9.1. 8.9.2. 8.9.3. 8.9.4. 8.9.5. 8.9.6. 8.9.7. 8.9.8. 8.9.9. 8.10. 8.10.1. 8.10.2. 8.10.3. 8.10.4. 8.10.5. 8.10.6. 8.11. 8.11.1. 8.11.2. 8.11.3. 8.12. 8.12.1. 8.12.2.

lX

Quadriliteral verbs ............................................................... 85 Inflection of the past base ...................................................... 85 Stem I verbs ......................................................................... 86 Stem II verbs ....................................................................... 90 Quadriliteral verbs ............................................................... 92 Inflection of the imperative .................................................... 93 The copula .............................................................................. 94 Present copula ...................................................................... 94 Past copula ........................................................................... 95 Compound verbal forms ........................................................ 97 Past participle + enclitic copula .......................................... 97 Infinitive + enclitic copula ................................................ 100 Particles attached to verbal forms ........................................ 101 The prefixed particle k- ..................................................... 102 The suffixed particle -wa ................................................... 102 Negation ............................................................................... 104 Weak verbs in stem I. ........................................................... 106 Verba primae PI ................................................................. 106 Verba mediae lwl ............................................................... 107 Verba primae Pl, mediae lwl ............................................. 108 Verba tertiae lwl ................................................................ 109 Verba primae lyl ................................................................ 110 Verba mediae lyl ................................................................ 111 Verba tertiae lyl ................................................................. 112 Verba primae lyl, tertiae lwl .............................................. 115 Verba mediae lwl, tertiae lyl .............................................. 116 Weak verbs in stem II .......................................................... 11 7 Verba primae Pl ................................................................. 117 Verba mediae lyl ................................................................ 117 Verba tertiae lyl ................................................................. 118 Verba mediae lwl ............................................................... 118 Verba mediaelwl,tertiaelyl ............................................. ll9 Verba primae lyl, tertiae lyl ............................................... 119 Weak quadriliteral verbs ...................................................... 120 nndy'todance' .................................................................. 120 )nty 'to take' ....................................................................... 120 swl! 'to throw' ................................................................... 121 Irregular and defective verbs ............................................... 121 hwy 'to be' ......................................................................... 121 'to go' ................................................................................ 122

CONTENTS

X

8.12.3. 'to come' ............................................................................ 123 8.12.4. 'to bring' ............................................................................ 125 8.12.5. 'to want' ............................................................................. 126 8.12.6. 'to know' ........................................................................... 127 8.12.7. 'to give' ............................................................................. 128 8.12.8. 'to hit' ................................................................................ 129 8.12.9. 'to live' .............................................................................. 130 8.12.10. 'tofall' ............................................................................... 131 8.12.11. m-~fr 'to curse' ................................................................. 131 8.13. Verbs that have changed stem ............................................. 132 8.14. Pronominal objects ............................................................... 133 8.14.1. Pronominal direct object on present base verbs ................ 133 8.14.2. Pronominal direct objects on past base verbs ................... 136 8.14.3. Pronominal direct objects on imperatives ......................... 136 8.14.4. Pronominal direct objects on the qifla-y form ................... 137 8.14.5. Pronominal direct objects on the qafola-y form ................ 138 8.14.6. Pronominal indirect object ................................................ 139 8.15. The existential particles hit and Ut ....................................... 140 8.16. Phrasal verbs ........................................................................ 141 8.16.1. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element >wl ......................... 141 8.16.2. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element xdr ........................ 142 8.16.3. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element 'to give' ................ 142 8.16.4. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element 'to come' .............. 143 8.16.5. Phrasal verbs with other verbal elements .......................... 143 8.16.6. Pronominal objects ............................................................ 143 9. 9 .1. 9.2. 9.3. 9.4. 9.5. 9.6. 9. 7. 9.8.

VERB PARADIGMS ............................................................. 145 qafil form .............................................................................. 145 qfille form ............................................................................. 149 q{il form ................................................................................ 151 qafilwa form ......................................................................... 153 qfilwale and q{ilwa forms ..................................................... 154 qafil form verbs with pronominal suffixes .......................... 154 qfille form verbs with pronominal suffixes ......................... 15 6 qif[a-y form verbs with pronominal suffixes ....................... 157

10. NOUNS .................................................................................. 159 10.1. Preliminary remarks ............................................................. 159 10.2. Nouns with -a inflection ...................................................... 159 10.2.1. Monosyllabic pattem ......................................................... 159 10.2.2. Bisyllabic patterns ................................ ;............................ 159

CONTENTS

xi

10.2.3. Trisyllabic pattems ............................................................ 163 Nouns with the feminine ending-ta .................................... 164 10.3. 10.3.1. Bisyllabic pattems ........................................~ .................... 164 10.3.2. Trisyllabic pattems ............................................................ 166 Nouns with the feminine ending -da.................................... 167 10.4. Nouns with the feminine ending -la .................................... 167 10.5. Nouns ending in -e ............................................................... 168 10.6. Nouns of Aramaic stock with no inflectional ending .......... 168 10. 7. Loan-words .......................................................................... 169 10.8. Derivational affixes .............................................................. 171 10.9. 10.9.1. -ula ..................................................................................... 171 10.9.2. -ana .................................................................................... 172 10.9.3. -a~a ..................................................................................... 172 10.9.4. Diminutive endings ........................................................... 173 10.10. Kurdish derivational suffixes ............................................... 173 10.11. Gender .................................................................................. 174 10.11.1. Aramaic words .................................................................. 174 10.11.2. Loan-words ........................................................................ 177 10.12. Plural forms .......................................................................... 180 10.12.1. The plural ending -e .......................................................... 180 10.12.2. The plural ending -ane ...................................................... 182 10.12.3. The plural ending -awane .................................................. 182 10.12.4. The plural ending -ye ......................................................... 183 10.12.5. The plural ending-yane ..................................................... 185 10.12.6. The plural ending-yawane ................................................ 185 10.12.7. The plural ending-ale ....................................................... 185 10.12.8. The plural ending-yale ...................................................... 186 10.12.9. The plural ending-awale ................................................... 186 10.12.10. The plural ending -yawale ................................................. 187 10.12.11. The plural ending -aye ....................................................... 187 10.12.12. The plural ending-awaye .................................................. 187 10.12.13.Irregular plurals ................................................................. 187 10.12.14. Pluralia tantum .................................................................. 188 10.12.15. The plural ofloan-words ................................................... 188 Singular of collective nouns ................................................. 191 10.13 10.14. Annexation of nouns ............................................................ 192 10.15. Nouns in the absolute state .................................................. 193 10.15.1. Nouns in both the absolute state and the inflected form ... 193 10.15.2. Nouns regularly in the absolute state ................................ 194 10.16. The definite article ................................................. :............. 195

xii

11. 11.1 11.2. 11.3. 11.4. 11.5.

CONIBNTS ADJECTIVES ........................................................................ 196 Preliminary remarks ............................................................. 196 Aramaic adjectival pattems .................................................. 196 Adjectives with the affix -ana .............................................. 199 xet ......................................................................................... 200 Loan-words .......................................................................... 200

NUMERALS .......................................................................... 202 12. Cardinals .............................................................................. 202 12.1. 12.1.1. Numerals 1-10 ................................................................... 202 12.1.2. Numerals 11-19 ................................................................. 202 12.1.3. Tens ................................................................................... 203 12.1.4. Hundreds ............................................................................ 203 12.1.5. Thousands .......................................................................... 204 12.1.6. Combination of numerals .................................................. 204 12.1. 7. Cardinal numerals with pronominal suffixes .................... 204 Ordinals ................................................................................ 206 12.2. Fractions ............................................................................... 206 12.3. Days of the week .................................................................. 207 12.4. Seasons ................................................................................. 207 12.5. PARTICLES ........................................................................... 208 13. Preliminary remarks ............................................................. 208 13.1. Adverbs ................................................................................ 208 13.2. Prepositions .......................................................................... 211 13.3. 13.3.1. b-'in,at,by,with' ............................................................. 211 13.3.2. bar 'after, behind' .............................................................. 212 13.3.3. baqa 'to, for' ...................................................................... 213 13.3.4. be, babe 'without' .............................................................. 214 13.3.5. bayni, bena, ben 'between' ............................................... 214 13.3.6. dawre 'around' .................................................................. 214 13.3.7. ga 'in, among' ................................................................... 215 13.3.8. gal 'with' ........................................................................... 216 13 .3 .9. geba 'at the home of, in the presence of .......................... 216 13.3.10. l- 'to, for, in; direct object marker' .................................... 216 13.3.11. laga 'at the home of, in the presence of ........................... 217 13.3.12. min 'from, of, than'; 'with' ............................................... 218 13.3.13. manga, mingol 'like' ......................................................... 218 13.3.14. qam 'before' (spatial) ........................................................ 219 13.3.15. qame 'before' (temporal) ................................................... 219

CONTENTS

Xlll

13.3.16. resa 'upon, concerning' ..................................................... 219 13.3.17. ta 'to, for' ........................................................................... 220 13.3.18. xela 'under' ........................................................................ 220 13.4. Miscellaneous uninflected particles ..................................... 221

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS 14. THE SYNTAX OF NOMINALS ........................................... 225 14.1. Expression of definiteness ................................................... 225 14.1.1. Indefiniteness expressed by the particle xa ....................... 226 14.1.2. Definiteness expressed by the suffix -ake ......................... 232 14.2. The absolute state ................................................................. 235 14.3. Gender .................................................................................. 237 14.4. Demonstrative pronouns ...................................................... 239 14.4.1. Preliminary remarks .......................................................... 239 14.4.2. The function of the attributive demonstratives ................. 242 14.4.3. The function of the independent demonstratives .............. 250 14.4.4. Demonstratives with presentative function ....................... 252 14.5. Genitive pronouns ................................................................ 252 14.6. The reflexive pronoun .......................................................... 255 14.7. The reciprocal pronoun ........................................................ 259 14.8. Annexation constructions ..................................................... 260 14.9. Attributive adjectives ........................................................... 262 14.10. Non-attributive modifiers ..................................................... 264 14.10.1. kud, kuz ........................................................................... 264 14.10.2. kulle, kulla ....................................................................... 265 14.10.3. raba, rabe ........................................................................ 267 14.10.4. xa ..................................................................................... 268 14.10.5. xet .................................................................................... 268 14.10.6. xanci ................................................................................ 269 14.10.7. cikma ............................................................................... 269 14.1 o.8. hie.................................................................................... 210 14.10.9. ,asxa ................................................................................ 270 14.10.10. ,akra ................................................................................ 271 14.10.11. zoda, bi-zoda ................................................................... 271 14.10.12. basor ............................................................................... 272 14.10.13. hema ................................................................................ 272 14.11. Conjoining of nouns in a nominal phrase ............................ 273 14.12. Comparison of adjectives or adverbs ................................... 274

XIV

14.13. 14.14.

CONTENTS Numerals .............................................................................. 275 Adverbial expressions .......................................................... 279

15. THE SYNTAX OF VERBS ................................................... 282 15 .1. Preliminary remarks ............................................................. 282 15 .2. The function of verb forms derived from the present base .. 282 15.2.1. qafil .................................................................................... 282 15.2.1.1. Indicative ......................................................................... 282 15 .2.1.2. Subjunctive ..................................................................... 286 15.2.2. qafilwa ............................................................................... 290 15 .2.2.1. Indicative ......................................................................... 291 15 .2.2.2. Subjunctive ..................................................................... 292 15 .3. The function of verb forms derived from past bases ........... 295 15 .3 .1. qfille and qfll forms ........................................................... 305 15.3.2. qfilwale and qfl[wa forms .................................................. 307 15 .4. The copula ............................................................................ 308 15 .4 .1. The present copula ............................................................. 3 08 15.4.2. The past copula .................................................................. 309 15 .5. The existential particle ......................................................... 310 15.6. Theverbhwy ........................................................................ 311 15. 7. Compound verbal forms ...................................................... 313 15.7.1. qif[a-y andqfila-y forms .................................................... 313 15.7.2. qafola-y form ..................................................................... 318 15.8. The verbxdr ......................................................................... 319 15.9. The imperative ..................................................................... 321 15.10. The infinitive ........................................................................ 322 15.11. Direct object. ........................................................................ 324 15.12. Double direct object.. ........................................................... 328 15.13. Indirectobject ...................................................................... 328 15 .14. The postverbal particle awa ................................................. 329 16. 16.1. 16.2. 16.3. 16.4. 16.5. 16.6. 16.7.

THE SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS ... 332 b- .......................................................................................... 332 l- ........................................................................................... 335 ta ........................................................................................... 337 baqa ...................................................................................... 340 laga ....................................................................................... 341 resa ....................................................................................... 342 min ........................................................................................ 344

CONTENTS

xv

17. TlIE CLAUSE ........................................................................ 348 17.1. The copula clause ................................................................. 348 17.1.1. Preliminary remarks .......................................................... 348 17 .1.2. Basic predicate-copula nexus ............................................ 350 17.1.3. Subject nominals ............................................................... 352 17.1.4. Pronominal subjects .......................................................... 353 17.1.5. Position of nuclear stress ................................................... 353 17 .1.6. The negative copula........................................................... 354 17.1.7. Splitting of the predicate nominal ..................................... 355 17.1.8. Postposing of subject nominal... ........................................ 355 17.1.9. Interrogative copula clause ................................................ 357 17.1.10. Omission of the copula ...................................................... 357 17.2. Clauses with the existential particle hltlhltwa ..................... 359 17.2 .1. Existential clauses ............................................................. 359 17.2.2. Possessive constructions .................................................... 362 17.3. Negative existential and possessive clauses ........................ 364 17.4. Constructions with the verb hwy .......................................... 365 17.S. Verbal clauses ...................................................................... 366 17.5.1. Basic verbal clauses ........................................................... 367 17.5.2. Direct object nominal ........................................................ 368 17.5.3. Subject nominal.. ............................................................... 371 17.5.3.1. Subject-(object)-verb ................................................. 371 17.5.3.2. Object-subject-verb ................................................... 372 17.5.3.3. (Object)-verb-subject.. ............................................... 373 17.5.4. Subject verb agreement ..................................................... 374 17.5.5. Independent subject pronouns ........................................... 375 17. 5. 5.1. Clause-initial subject pronouns without nuclear stress 3 75 17.5.5.2. Clause-initial subject pronouns with nuclear stress ..... 379 17.5.5.3. Object nominal before subject pronoun ....................... 379 17.5.5.4. Postposed subject pronouns ......................................... 380 17.5.6. Prepositional phrases ......................................................... 380 17.5.7. Nominal complements after verbs ofmovement.. ............... 384 17.5.8. Negated clauses .................................................................... 384 17.5.8.1 Negator before verb ...................................................... 384 17.5.8.2. Negator before other elements in the clause ................... 386 17 .5.8.3. Negative clauses expressing asseveration ...................... 387 17.5.9. Interrogative clauses ............................................................ 387 17.6. Extrapositional constructions ............................................... 389 17 .6.1. Structure ............................................................................ 389 17.6.2. Function ............................................................................. 391 17.7. Placement of adverbials ....................................................... 394

xvi

CONTENTS

18. CLAUSE SEQUENCES ........................................................ 397 18.1 Connective particles ............................................................. 397 18.1.1. u ......................................................................................... 397 18.1.2. -is ....................................................................................... 399 18.2. Intonation group boundaries ................................................ 406 18.3. Incremental repetition .......................................................... 409 18.4. Stress position ...................................................................... 41 O 18.4.1. Position of the nuclear stress in a clause ........................... 410 18.4.2. Position of the nuclear stress in a word ............................. 410 18.5. Intonation patterns ............................................................... 41 O 18.5.1. Major juncture ................................................................... 411 18.5.2. Minor juncture ................................................................... 412 19. SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES ............... 414 19.1. Relative clauses .................................................................... 414 19.1.1. Attributive relative clauses ................................................ 414 19.1.1.1. Syndetic relative clauses ................................................. 414 19 .1.1.2. Asyndetic relative clauses ............................................... 415 19.1.2. Nominal relative clauses .................................................. .417 19.1.2.1. Syndetic clauses .............................................................. 418 19.1.2.2. Asyndetic clauses ............................................................ 421 19.1.3. The internal structure ofrelative clauses .......................... .422 19.2. Indirect questions ................................................................. 423 19.2.1. Polar questions .................................................................. 423 19.2.2. Questions introduced by an interrogative particle ............ 424 19 .3 Correlative adverbial clauses ............................................... 425 19.4. Temporal clauses ................................................................. 426 19.4.1. ka!ga .................................................................................. 426 19.4.2. waxta .................................................................................. 428 19.4.3. limma ................................................................................. 429 19.4.4. Asyndetic temporal clauses ............................................... 43 0 19.4.5. qame .................................................................................. 432 19.4.6. bar ...................................................................................... 432 19.4.7. IJ,atta ................................................................................... 432 19.5. Conditional constructions .................................................... 434 19.5.1. Constructions with the particle Jagar ................................ 434 19.5.1.1. Form of the Jagar clause ................................................. 434 19.5.1.2. Protasis placed after the apodosis ................................... 438 19.5.1.3. Gapped protasis ............................................................... 438 19.5.1.4. Form of verb in the apodosis .......................................... 438 19.5.2. Asyndetic conditional constructions ................................. 439

CONTENTS

xvii

19.6. Concessive constructions ..................................................... 440 19.7. Complement clauses ............................................................ 440 19.7.1. Complement clauses with ka-/ga- ..................................... 440 19.7.2. Asyndetic complement clauses ......................................... 441 T!IE LEXICON ...................................................................... 443 20. Preliminary remarks ............................................................. 443 20.1. Semantic fields ..................................................................... 448 20.2. 20.2.1. The human body ................................................................ 448 20.2.2. Family relations ................................................................. 449 20.2.3. The house and its appurtenances ....................................... 450 20.2.4. Containers .......................................................................... 450 20.2.5. Implements ........................................................................ 451 20.2.6. Food ................................................................................... 452 20.2.6.1. Fruit and vegetables ........................................................ 452 20.2.6.2. Grains and nuts ............................................................... 452 20.2.6.3. Dairy products ................................................................. 452 20.2.6.4. Bread ............................................................................... 453 20.2.6.5. Cooked dishes ................................................................. 453 20.2.6.6. Miscellaneous ................................................................. 453 20.2.7. Clothes ............................................................................... 454 20.2.8. Types of fabric ................................................................... 454 20.2.9. Jewelry ............................................................................... 454 20.2.10. Professions ......................................................................... 455 20.2.11. Jewish festivals .................................................................. 455 20.2.12. Fauna ................................................................................. 456 20.2.13. Basic attributes .................................................................. 456 20.2.14. Colours .............................................................................. 457 20.2.15. Basic verbs relating to everyday activities ........................ 457 20.2.16. Verbs ofmovement ........................................................... 458 20.2.17. Verbs of perception ........................................................... 458 20.2.18. Verbs relating to aggression and the infliction of injury .. 458 20.2.19. Phrases used in social interaction ...................................... 459

TEXTS INFORMANT R .................................................................................... 462 The town of Sulemaniyya.................................................................... 462 Festivals ............................................................................................... 462 Circumcisions ...................................................................................... 464 Family history ...................................................................................... 464

XVlll

CONTENTS

Houses ................................................................................................. 468 The Jewish community ........................................................................ 470 The life of women ............................................................................... 4 72 Weddings ............................................................................................. 4 72 Jewish doctors ..................................................................................... 476 Cooking ............................................................................................... 476 Bread and matzas ................................................................................. 484 Clothes ................................................................................................. 488 The informant's father ......................................................................... 494 Jewelry ................................................................................................. 502 Preparations for winter ........................................................................ 502 Events in the Jewish community ......................................................... 504 Spring ................................................................................................... 506 Summer ................................................................................................ 506 Water ................................................................................................... 508 Sickness in the Jewish community ...................................................... 508 Relations of the Jews with Muslims and Christians ............................ 510 Events at a wedding ............................................................................. 512 The rabbis of the community ............................................................... 512 The building of a Jewish school .......................................................... 514 Aghas and Muslim officials ................................................................ 514 Elopement of a Jewish girl with a Muslim .......................................... 514 The family of Salomo Laitka [?1t'kre] 'place' (R:89).

20

CHAPTER ONE

lw/ This is usually realized either as a labio-velar [w] or as a labio-dental [v]. There is a certain amount of free variation of these two allophones, e.g. Labia-velar: simmaw Uun'maw] 'her name' (R:143), dabqawale ['drebqowo:le] 'she stuck it' (R:67), kenwa ['kenwo] 'they used to come' (R:1), willu ['w1llu] 'they did' (R:14).

Labio-dental: babaw [bo:'brev] 'her father' (R:144), baqew [bo:'qev] 'to him' (A: 15), giwrale [91v'rre:le] 'he gave away her in marriage' (R: 166), xazyawale [xrez'yrevre:le] 'she saw him' (R:36), willu [vrl'lu] 'they did' (R:92). The labio-dental realization is heard also in loan-words from Kurdish, e.g. ,asawan [?a:fre'va:n] 'miller' (R:65), whereas in the local Kurdish dialects the consonant would be realized as a labio-velar. 1 Very little friction occurs in the articulation of the labio-dental and it is sometimes no more than a labio-dental approximant without any contact between the lower teeth and the upper lip, e.g. hiyen-awa. 1 [hi:'je:nreyre] 'they came' (R:98), zili-wa ['zi:liyre] 'they went back' (R:100). After Iii the consonant lwl is occasionally realized as a labio-palatal glide [q], e.g. hfwle ['hyqle] 'he gave' (R:15). After /el at the end of a word it sometimes shifts to the labia-velar vowel Jul, e.g. ,ileu 'his hand' (R:63), gebeu 'at his home' (Z:28). The labio-dental realization of lwl often loses its voicing when in contact with a following unvoiced consonant, usually It/ of the feminine ending, e.g. swawtan Uwaftren] 'our neighbour' (R: 198), tiwta [t1ftre] 'sitting' (R:93), mtiwtan [mt1ftren] 'I placed' (R:82). This assimilation is treated as an allophone and is not represented in the transcription. Im/ In the environment of emphatic consonants It! and/~/ and also /l/ and Jr/ the labial /ml is sometimes pronounced with pharyngalization. In such cases a labial glide r] often occurs before the following vowel, e.g. labilmuli [lre\Jyfnti.uh] 'Take me!' (R:95). In the expression ,ilha mante 'May God bring (this) about' an original *m has shifted to the dental Inf by partial assimilation to the following It!(< *mamte).

1

Cf. MacKenzie (1961: 7).

CONSONANTS

21

Inf

This is normally realized as the alveolar nasal [n]. Before a velar or uvular consonant, it has a velar nasal realization, e.g. manga ['mm190] 'like' (R: 14). This applies also to contact across word boundaries, e.g. 'itkane hitwalan,' xe-sar itkane ['itwre:lreIJ xe:'srer] 'We had shops, eleven shops (R: 102). When adjacent to a labial consonant, Inf is often realized as [m], e.g. la-pista-yan [p1Jtrejrem] ba-brata 'I am no longer a girl' (R:150), min-be [m1m'be:] kalda 'from the house of the bride' (M:18). 1

Jr/

This is generally realized as a flap [r], e.g. ri'wex ['rnwe:x] 'We grew up' (R:109), mire ['mrre] 'We said' (R:95), xabar [xre'brer] 'word' (R:95). In the environment of an emphatic consonant or of a labial it is sometimes realized with pharyngalization, in which case it is produced as a roll with slightly longer duration and sonority than the flap realization, e.g. rabta [rc;il)'tre:] 'big' (R:89), bis-rabtela [rc;il?'t~:lc;i] 'bigger' (R:103). No phonemic oppositions have been identified between this pharyngalized Jr/ and the non-pharyngalized flap. It has, therefore, been left unmarked in the transcription. The roll [r] is pronounced in some Kurdish loan-words outside of a pharyngalized environment, e.g. rat [ro:l] 'dumb', garaka [grerrekre] 'district', rek [re:k] 'good'. This results from the fact that the loan-words are pronounced with the original Kurdish pronunciation, in which the roll occurs as a distinct phoneme from the flap.

1c1 This is generally realized as the affricate [tj], e.g. cay [tJrej] 'tea' (R:9), cikma ['tJ1kmre] 'how many?' (R:186), ciqyali [tJ1q'yre:li:] 'I tore it' (M:5). Occasionally it is pronounced as [ts] without a palatal articulation, e.g. 'enake mcimala [mtsi:mo:'lre] 'She closed the eye' (R:184).

/JI In most cases this is realized as the affricate [d3], e.g. }wan [d3won] 'beautiful' (R:2), panjare [prend3re:'re:] 'windows' (R:20), Julie [d3Yl'le:] 'clothes' (R:23). On some isolated occasions the second component of the affricate is pronounced as palatal glide [j], e.g. ba-ja [bre'djre] 'on one side' (R:93), J:uijye ['I).redje] 'jobs' (R:86). The second component may also be realized

22

CHAPTER ONE

as the alveolar sibilant [z] rather than the palatal [3], e.g. Jajubye [?redzub'je] 'disturbances' (R:13),jarrakane [dzarrako:'ne:] 'jars' (R:15). lz!

This is a voiced palato-alveolar [3]. It occurs in loan-words from Kurdish, e.g. zane 'labour pains', hnzn 'to chop' and in words of Aramaic stock in which an original unvoiced palato-alveolar *s has become voiced by assimilation to a following voiced consonant. This voicing has become a fixed lexicalized feature of the verb zdr 'to send'(§ 1.3.). Ix!

This is normally realized as an unvoiced velar fricative [x], but is occasionally articulated further back as an uvular fricative [X], e.g. dax asxa-y ['drex res'xrej] 'how can this be?' (R:95). It is occasionally pronounced with homorganic stop at its onset, e.g. xanci [kxren'tji:] 'a little' (R:44). On some occasions, conversely, the consonant is pronounced lax and is realized as a velar approximant without friction, e.g. mindix [min'dq.] 'thing' (R:98), kwewa xsaba ('kwe:wre x,'Jre:bre] '(when) it was Sunday' (R:87), xipex Ju-xillex,I ['xi:pg~ u'xglle:~] 'we washed and cleaned' (R:100). When /xi is in contact with a voiced consonant, it may sometimes assimilate voice and be realized as a voiced velar fricative [y], e.g. xdira ['ydi:ne] 'she has become' (R:35). So long as this has not become a fixed lexicalized feature, this voicing is not represented in the transcription. 1

Emphatic consonants The two emphatic consonants If/ and /!'fl have been preserved in the dialect from earlier Aramaic. They are pronounced with pharyngalization, which spreads throughout the syllable and sometimes also to adjacent syllables. The stop l!I is unaspirated. Examples: !loxe [HQ:'xe:] 'lentils' (R:114), !ina ['!i:nre] 'mud' (R:118), q!Ule. [qt~Ue] 'he killed' (R:116), pa!fre [P.Q'ti:re] 'Passover' (R:117), !'fOma ['~9:mre] 'fast' (R:7). In such cases, only the primary emphatic consonants l!I and /!'fl are represented in the broad transcription adopted for the dialect and there is no representation of the spread of emphasis. In numerous cases, the pharyngalization of l!I and /!'fl is weakened and they are pronounced identically to It/ and Isl, e.g. qeta ['qe:tre] 'summer' (R:124), ma!ixwa [mre'trxwre] 'we arrived' (R:124), !'jalmu [srel'mu:] 'their face' (R:6), xa!'jcm [xo:'sren] 'our back' (R:18). This 1

1

1

CONSONANTS

23

weakening is inconsistent. Minimal pairs can be found, moreover, for the phonemic oppositions /fl: It/ and/~/: Isl, e.g. fapolta 'a drop' : tapolta 'a sneeze' ~eman 'I (f.) fast' : seman 'our silver'

In the transcription the consonsonants /fl and/~/ are regularly marked in lexical items that contain them historically and exhibit pharyngalization in some instances, even if this pharyngalization is sometimes weakened. In cases where the pharyngalization of historical /fl or /:fl spreads to an adjacent It/ or Isl, only the historical emphatic is transcribed as such, e.g. tri:f[u ['Jf?~lu:] 'they built' (R:22). In a few words a consonant that is historically emphatic is regularly pronounced without pharyngalization. Where this is the case, the consonant is represented as non-emphatic in the transcription. This applies, for instance, to the verb txn 'to grind' (< *f/J,n) and to the particle basor 'less'(< *ba~or). Pharyngalization sometimes arises outside of the environment of /fl and /:fl. This occurs in the environment of either Ill or Ir/, which can act as primary emphatic consonants and trigger the spread of pharyngalization. The emphatic pronunciation of Ill and Ir/ is conditioned by an adjacent labial, e.g. rabta [rQl;>'tre:] 'big' (R:89), ba-capje [bretJre'v.Jt.:] 'with clapping of hands' (Z:36), lab~lmuli [lrel;,y}'Il)w1:l:h] 'Take me!' (R:95), IJ,ammaja [l:_iremn;iQ:'_19] 'porter', simbe_le [~~IJll?t.:'Jt.:] 'moustache', mii_l [nw:J] 'property'. Emphatic /_l/ is also conditioned by a contiguous /ti in the words t,la!J,a [Hq:'bo] 'three' and (lahi [Hq:'hi:] 'thirty'. When the It/ is in the same syllable but not in contact with the Ill, there is no pharyngalization, as shown by the variant form of the word for 'three' til!J,a [td'l:_ire]. It should be pointed out that the aforementioned environments that condition pharyngalization do not exhibit this feature in all circumstances. At least one minimal pair of lexical items exists that exhibits a phonemic opposition between emphatic and non-emphatic Ill, which justifies marking emphatic ~l/ in the transcription: ma.Ii [Il)c;i:H:] 'my property' : mali [mre:'li:] 'my village'

1.3. Voicing ofconsonants In some cases a consonant loses or acquires voice by partial assimilation to a following consonant, as has been shown above regarding the realization of lwl in words such as swawtan Uwot'tren] 'o~r neighbour' (R: 198) and Ix/ in words such as xdira ['ydi:rre] 'she has become' (R:35).

24

CHAPTER ONE

This is not marked in the transcription since it is not a lexicalized feature. In some cases, on the other hand, the assimilation has become a fixed feature and it is marked in the transcription. These include the following. In the words tka 'place' (< *duka) and tkana 'shop' (< *dukana) an original *d has become devoiced by assimilation to the following /kl. The unvoiced t has become a regular lexicalized feature of these words. In the phrase xapxoli 'by myself, xapxolox 'by yourself, etc. the unvoiced Ip/ has developed from an original voiced *b by assimilation to the following unvoiced Ix! (< *f:ta b-f:toij,l). The devoicing of an original *b has become a fixed lexicalized feature of the words pisra 'meat' (< *bisra) and pi#a 'onion' (< *bi#a), which arose presumably by assimilation to the following unvoiced sibilant. In the verbs zdr 'to send' and gzy 'to see' the initial voiced consonant has developed from an original unvoiced one, viz. s and x respectively. This clearly took place at first in forms of the verbs where the initial consonant was in direct contact with the second voiced one, e.g. zdirre 'he sent' (< sdirre), gzele 'he saw' (< xzele). This voicing by assimilation subsequently became lexicalized and extended to verb forms where the two consonants are not contiguous, e.g. ziidir 'he sends', gaze 'he sees'. Variants of these two roots preserving the original unvoiced consonant are also used by speakers, e.g. sdirre, siidir, xzele, xiize. In the loan-word f:tasta 'work' (< Arabic f:tajah 'need' via Kurdish) a *j has shifted to Isl when devoiced due to contact with the adjacent unvoiced It/. The original consonant has been preserved in the plural form f:tajye. 1.4. Alternation of Id/ and Jz/ After a vowel, !di and /z/ may freely alternate with each another. This process appears to be restricted to specific lexical items and is best treated as an alternation of phonemes rather than as allophonic alternation. It is, therefore, represented in the transcription, e.g. >idyo - >izyo

'today'

qadome - qazome

'tomorrow'

guda-guza

'wall'

kud-kuz

'each'

seda-seza

'almond'

CONSONANTS xiidir - xiizir

'he becomes'

miidir - miizir

'he closes'

xiize - xiide

'he sees'

cizoke - cidoke

'pieces'

yariza - yarida

'help'

25

As can be seen, this alternation takes place both in words of Aramaic stock and in loan-words from Kurdish. It operates in both directions, in that an original !di shifts to lzl, e.g. xiidir > xiizir 'he becomes', or an original lz/ shifts to !di, e.g. xiize > xiide 'he sees'. The phonemic distinction between /di and lzl, at least in word-initial position, is shown by the minimal pair dry 'to put' : zry 'to sow (seed)'. No minimal pairs for a phonemic opposition in post-vocalic position have been identified. In the speech of the Jews of I:Ialabja the three-way alternation d - d - z is sometimes heard, with the intermediate interdental, e.g. xiidir xiid,ir - xiizir 'he becomes', guda - gud,a - guza 'wall'. We should perhaps include here also the word xalusta 'sister'. This is derived from a diminutive form xalunta, which exists in some Jewish dialects, such as Arbel and Koy Sanjaq. The phonetic shifts that resulted in the Isl of the JSH form xalusta may have been as follows: xalunta > xaludta > xaluzta > xalusta. This would involve a partial assimilation of Intl > !dt! followed by d > z after the vowel and finally the devoicing of the lz/ by contact with the voiceless It/. It should be noted, however, that the form xalusta is invariable, unlike the words described above, which exhibit the alternation of !di and /z/. The shift of the stop Id! to an interdental Id! or sibilant lzl may have been stimulated by contact with the Kurdish dialects of the region, in which the articulation of /di is weakened to an interdental approximant in postvocalic position. The shift of etymological /zl to !di would, therefore, have to be regarded as a back-formation. It is also relevant to note that the alternation d - d - z is found in the Jewish Persian dialects of western Iran. 2

2

I am grateful to Don Stilo (personal communication) for drawing my attention to these phenomena in the Kurdish and Jewish Iranian dialects.

26

CHAPTER ONE

1.5. Shift of Ill to Ir/ In the speech of some speakers an original Ill shifts to Ir/ in certain words, e.g.

pal{fwale > par{fwale

'They took it out' (R:39)

sansliwa > sansrzwa

'They drained' (R:39)

ta_lbiwala > tarbiwala

'They asked for her hand' (R:31)

faffUwalu > faffrfwalu

'They used to cut them' (R:76)

filelu > firelu

'They prayed' (M:4)

haJuje > haruje

'plums'

sa{la > safra

'bucket'

ma!> mar

'property'

IJ,aJ> IJ,ar

'condition'

IJ,a/a! > J:zarar

'kosher'

rutf e > rutre

'pounds'

:,as/i > :,asri

'original'

:,a.la> Yara

'red'

qii/>qiir

'deep'

qo/a > qora

'arm; sleeve'

ca/a>cara

'hole'

:,a/at > :,arat

'black pepper'

do/>dor

'drum'

xa/iiz > xariiz

'coal'

mila > mira

'circumcision'

This phenomenon is found predominantly, but not exclusively, in the speech of female informant R. It is restricted to certain lexical items, but it is noteworthy that these include both words of Aramaic stock and loanwords, including one example of a loan from Hebrew (mila 'circumcision'). Unlike the !di - lzl alternation, this shift does not operate also in the other direction with an original Ir/ shifting to Ill. It has come about under the influence of Kurdish, in which it is also attested. In the Kurdish spoken in Arbel, Koy Sanjaq and Ruwanduz the shift regularly occurs, whereas in Sulemaniyya it is restricted to the speech of some women

CONSONANTS

27

(MacKenzie 1961: 4, 28). In the Aramaic dialect It IS indeed mainly attested in the speech of the female informant R, but also sporadically occurs in that of men (e.g. ~relu 'They prayed' M:4). In Kurdish the shift applies only to pharyngalized I/I, and the words of Kurdish origin in the Aramaic dialect that exhibit it have pharyngalized ///. In most native Aramaic words where this shift is attested the Ill occurs in an environment that is likely to induce pharyngalization. The phonemic distinction between Ill and Ir/ is demonstrated by oppositions such as male 'it is full' : mare 'it hurts'.

1.6. The historical background of the consonants

1.6.1. The bgdkpt consonants The erstwhile post-vocalic fricative allophones of the bgdkpt consonants have undergone various developments. In all cases the reflex of the earlier fricative is a fossilized vestige from an earlier period and is now treated as a phoneme different from the homorganic stop. 1.6.1.1. *b

The reflex of the fricative allophone of *bin earlier Aramaic is /w/, e.g. qrawa

'conflict'

< *qriiQii

ganawa

'thief

< *ganniiQii

swawa

'neighbour'

< *s/Ja/Ja

gorawye

'socks'

< *gora!Jye

xalwa

'milk'

< *l:zal"f2ii

dewa

'gold'

< *dah"/2ii

The diphthong /awl deriving from the sequence *ab has contracted to lo/ when it stands before a consonant, e.g. }:zola

'rope'

< *l:za"f2lii

gora

'man'

< *ga"/2rii

qora

'grave'

< *qa"/2rii

so~a

'seven'

< *sa"f2'a

koda

'liver'

< *kawdii < *ka"f2dii

-

28

CHAPTER ONE

In the present of 3ms. verbal forms this contraction has taken place also where * a/J was originally followed by a vowel. This has arisen by analogy with the rest of the paradigm, where the *ab was followed by a consonant, e.g. kos

'he descends'

< *kaQis

kosa

'she descends'

< *ka/Jsa

kosi

'they descend'

< *ka/Jsi

When *'2 is preceded by a high vowel, this sequence contracts to !ul before a consonant, e.g. gure

'men'

< *gu/Jre

dusa

'honey'

< *di/Jsa

tuna

'straw'

< *ti/Jnii

Where the stop !bl occurs after a vowel in words of Aramaic stock, this is usually derived from an original geminate *bb, e.g. raba

'much'

< *rabbaJ

rabta

'big' (f.)

< *rabbtii

Verbs containing medial lb/ are derived historically from pata < *be'ta

sala

'witness'

< *siiha.na 'I', >a.wa 'that one', >ar.ba 'four', >it.ha 'God'. This initial laryngal is elided when it is in contact with a prefixed particle that ends in a consonant, e.g. w-axni (< w->axni) 'and we' (R:11), min-d-6-baxta (< min-d->o) 'from that woman' (R:156), min-axonaw (< min->axonaw) 'from her brother' (A:9), gal-axoni (< gal->axoni) 'with

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE

57

my brother' (Z:14), b-awa (< b->awa) 'in that' (R:23), b-6 cizoke (< b->o) 'with these pieces of fat' (R:55). In many cases the initial laryngal is elided also when the preceding word ends in a consonant. In such cases the initial vowel is syllabified with this consonant across the word boundary, e.g. ta-saarba1 ['sre:Sre.trer.'bre:] 'until four o'clock' (R:69), har >o-lele ['hre.ro.'le:le:] 'the same night' (A:15), xe-sar >ftkane [xe.'sre.nt.'kre:.ne] 'eleven shops' (R:102), rizziike-s >asxa [r~z.zre.'ke.Jres.'xre] 'also the rice' (R:41). For the sake of orthographic consistency the Pl is retained in the transcription in these circumstances. This elision does not regularly take place. The laryngal is preserved when the two words are less closely connected in speech, as, for example, when they are separated by an intonation group boundary, which generally brings about a slight pause, e.g. baqax >il-kalda. 'for you, for the bride' (R:80), manit-is >iteu la 'ezawa raba h6lwa 'Whoever could not do much' (R:63), ga-la:xxa gora willan, >ana-u xalusti-u 'Here we married, I and my sister' (R: 111 ). In all of these cases the word initial Pl is pronounced. The sequence CV+ >Vis sometimes contracted to CV at the juncture between words, when they are closely connected in speech. This occurs most frequently when the two vowels are of the same quality, e.g. manga->atta [mreIJ'grettre] 'like now' (R:24), ta-'axonawali [trexo:mewre:'li:] 'to my brothers' (R:91), tiwa asxa ['ti:wres'xre] 'she sat like this' (R:179), mira >axniixun ['mi:'rrexnre~un] 'She said "You .. "' (R:103), gbe->eza ['gbe:zre] 'She must go' (R:109). Occasionally the final vowel of the first word is elided when the vowels are of a different quality. This occurs especially when the first vowel is le/, 'intyawale >axoni ['?~ntjre:vre:l axo:'ni:] 'My brother had taken it away' (R: 105), mire >axnaxun-is ['mi:rrexnre'xu:m.D 'He said "You .."' (R:95), ta-'6-[to:]-xalusta xeti 'to my other sister' (R:182). In such cases the two words are represented in their uncontracted form in the transcription for the sake of orthographic consistency. A word-initial !hi is sometimes elided in contexts similar to those just described for the elision of Pl, e.g. jagri min-hu/a>e [mm-u:lre:'?e:] 'They hate the Jews' (Z: 17), l-hu/a>e [lu:'lre:?e:] raba gbenwa 'They liked the Jews a lot' (Z: 17), dax hiiwe? [drexre've:] 'How could it be?' (R:96), gai->axoni hiyen-awa1[grel-re'~o:ni: ji:'jenrevre] 'They came back with my brother' (R:98), >6-hftla ['?o-tlre] 'She has' (R: 110). This elision is not represented in the transcription orthography. 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

58

CHAPTER FOUR

4.3. Word-initial clusters ofconsonants

A cluster of consonants may occur at the beginning of a word without being split by an epenthetic vowel. This is generally the case if the first consonant is a sibilant and/or the second is a sonorant continuant such as Ill orly!, e.g. stelu 'they drank' (R:88), skirelu 'they were drunk' (R:88), xlula 'the wedding' (R:135), plixta 'open' (R:183), dyale 'he struck' (R: 136), m-laxxa 'from here' (R:5). Initial clusters, however, are often split by a short epenthetic vowel. This may be ultra-short, in which case it is not represented in the transcription, e.g. qfUle [qa'_t11le] 'he killed' (R:116), gbe [ga'be:] 'he loves' (R:29), bqfrra [ba'qrrrre] 'she asked' (R:161), b-pi#a [baP?~'lre] 'with an onion' (R:42). On some occasions the epenthetic has the duration typical of a full ·short vowel and so is marked in the transcription. It generally has the quality of short Iii, e.g. bfqatta-ye 'in the morning' (R:27), qffe 'it was cut' (R:89), xfzir 'he became' (R:96), bl-pare 'for money' (R:97). The laryngal Pl cannot occur in a word initial cluster. When it is the first consonant of the cluster, either an epenthetic vowel is inserted after it, e.g. >fsirre 'he bound', or it is elided, e.g. xille 'he ate' (< *>xille). If a particle consisting of a vowelless consonant is prefixed to a word beginnning with the laryngals Pl or !hi, an epenthetic vowel is obligatory, unless the laryngal is elided, as described in §4.2., e.g. b'f->6 mace 'with that water' (R:69), b'f->ilha! 'by God' (R:162), bf->aqla 'by foot' (R:160), wz-holiwalu 'and they made them' (R:64). Occasionally an initial cluster is broken by prefixing a prosthetic vowel, e.g. >ifbfllu 'they took him' (R:95), >imtula-llan 'she cared for us' (R:110), >iqba>e 'jackets' (Z:19). In a few words a prosthetic vowel has become lexicalized as a regular feature and an epenthetic is never inserted between the first two consonants, e.g. >itka 'place' (< *duka, never trka), >itkana 'shop' (< *dukana, never tzkana), >inse 'women' (< *nse, never nzse), >aklela 'chicken' (< *kt_jayJa, never k'[[ele), >i(;Ca 'nine' (< *fsCa < *tisca). A prosthetic vowel is usual also before the preposition I- when this occurs before a consonant, e.g., >il-kalda 'the bride' (R:36), >il-hu/a>e 'the Jews' (Z:27). The word >imma 'hundred' has developed from an original *ma. The geinination of the /ml developed in phrases where the word is preceded by another numeral, due to the occurrence of stress before the consonant, i.e. tre-mma 'two-hundred', tla}µi,-mma 'threehundred', >arba-mma 'four-hundred', etc. In the form >imma the geminated Im/ has been adopted by analogy with these phrases, which has made a prosthetic vowel necessary.

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE

59

An initial lw/ in clusters generally shifts to 'u-. This is the normal realization of the conjunctive particle w- before a consonant, e.g. 'u-mattiwalu 'and they used to put them' (R:48), 'u-xadriwa 'and they became' (R:50), 'u-mau-kewa-wa. 'He bought something the children and came back' (R: 118) 1

(24) hulaye xala silmanake la kixliwale. 'The Jews did not eat the food of the Muslims' (R:134) 1

5.2. Adverbials Most adverbials exhibit the same stress patterns as nominals, in that it falls on either the final or the penultimate syllable, word-final stress predominating in pausal position at the end of an intonation group, e.g. (i) Word-final stress position (1) zabinmulu ga-laxxa. 'Sell them here!' (R: 19) 1

(2) la gezixwa warya. 'We did not go outside.' (R:27) 1

(3) la-manga >atta. 'Not like now' (R:36) 1

(ii) Retraction of stress (4) ga-laxxa ger koliwala-u 'They caught it here and ... '(R:74) 1

(5) kulle-ka nase ga-warya ganen m-zdulu 'People slept all the time outside on account of their fear' (Z:31) 1

(6) >ax6ni >atta ga-Manu}_la-y 'My brother who is now in Menul}.a' (R:12) 1

In a few adverbials, however, the stress regularly falls on the penultimate syllable. These include, for example, raba 'much, many' and qad6me 'tomorrow': (7) l-hu/a>e raba gbenwa laga didan 'The loved the Jews a lot in our community' (Z: 17) 1

(8) ba-sitwa taiga naxlawa raba 'In winter much snow used to fall' (Z:9) 1

64

CHAPTER FIVE

(9) qadome )ela-ya 'Tomorrow it is a festival' (R:97) 1

(10) )o-ke qadome 'He will come tomorrow' 1

5.3. Verbs

(i) The basic position of the stress in verb forms derived from the present base (§8.2.) is on the final syllable of the root or, if the vowel of this syllable is elided when an inflectional suffix is added, on the first syllable of the suffix: qatfl

'He kills'

qatil-na

'I kill'

qatl-i

'They kill'

qa{l-et

'You kill'

qat[-etun

'You (pl.) kill'

(ii) In verb forms derived from the past base (§8.3.), the placement of the basic stress follows the same principle: qfil-le

'He killed'

qfil-lox

'You killed'

qffl-laxun

'You (pl.) killed'

qffl-a

'She was killed'

qffl-et

'You were killed'

qffl-etun

'You (pl.) were killed'

(iii) The basic position of the stress in the imperative, on the other hand, is on the first syllable of the root: qdfil

'Kill!'

qdfil-mun

'Kill (pl.)!'

This stress placement has phonemic significance in the singular imperative, since its non-final position contrasts with the final position of the stress in the otherwise homophonous 3ms. present form: qatil 'He kills' : qdfil 'Kill!'

WORD STRESS

65

Likewise the distinction between some verbal forms and homophonous nominal forms depends uniquely on stress position, e.g. mfla 'She died' : mi/a 'dead (ms.)'

When further pronominal suffixes are added to the verbal forms just described, the basic position of stress remains the same, e.g. (iv) Present base qii{il-lu

'He kills them'

qiifil-wa-lu

'He used to kill them'

qiifil-n-ew

'I kill him'

qa{l-f-le

'They kill him'

qa{l-etu-le

'You (pl.)

(v) Past base q{il-wa-le

'He had killed'

q{Ua-wa

'She had been killed'

(vi) Imperative qd{il-le

'Kill him!'

qd{il-mu-le

'Kill (pl.) him!'

There are some deviations from these general principles of stress placement in verbs. The main cases of this are as follows. Present base verbs in which the basic position of the stress is at the end of the word sometimes exhibit a retraction of the stress onto the penultimate syllable. This typically occurs outside of pause, in the middle of an intonation group, e.g. (I)

saqla mindixane.

1

'(so that) she may buy things'. (R:181)

(2) xfulran qurbanew 'May I become his sacrifice' (R:2) 1

(3) kimra nas (R:79)

1ft

xertu 'She says "There is nobody to sew them"' 1

The basic position of stress throughout most of the past intransitivepassive paradigm of stem I is on the penultimate syllable, e.g. q{ila 'she

66

CHAPTER FIVE

was killed', q{ili 'they were killed', q{ilet 'you were killed', etc. According to the general principles of stress placement, in the 3ms. form the stress should fall on the final syllable, this being the last syllable of the root, viz. qfzl 'he was killed'. This is occasionally found, particularly in pausal position. The stress, however, is often retracted in the 3ms. form, even in pause at the end of an intonation group and also in the citation form, which suggests that it should be regarded as the basic position. In such cases a short epenthetic vowel splits the first two consonants of the root, e.g. qf{il 'he was killed'. This retraction is likely to have been stimulated by the analogy of the rest of the paradigm. In final weak verbs, stress on the syllable opening with the first consonant of the root is the norm in the past intransitive-passive paradigm, although according to the general principles of stress placement in verbs the stress would be expected to fall on the syllable opening with the second consonant, e.g. xfze 'he was seen', xfzen 'they were seen'' .xfzet 'you were seen', etc. Contrast the active transitive paradigm xaze 'he sees', xazen 'they see', xazet 'you see', etc. Such retraction has probably been brought about by analogy with the stress placement in the past intransitive-passive paradigm of the strong verb. As indicated above, the addition of further suffixes to a verb form does not usually affect the position of the stress, e.g. qa{U 'they kill', qat/iwa 'they used to kill', qa{Uwalu 'they used to kill them'. On some sporadic occasions, however, the stress is shifted onto the suffix at the end of the word. This is mainly found at the end of an intonation group when the intonation contour consists of a low rise in pitch signalling that the speaker has not completed the sense unit and that more will follow, e.g. (4) kismise, qinne goze, qinne seze, kulle deqiwalu, darenwalu ga-)6 rizza. 'They crush raisins, pieces of nuts and pieces of almonds altogether and put them in the rice.' (R:59) 1

1

1

1

1

(5) xe{iwalu, xa-qit{a )asxa koliwale. m-laxxa xe{iwalu m-doka. 'They would sew them and make one piece like this. They sewed them here and there.' (R:58) 1

1

1

(6) sacat xamsd I nanawa kyawa, )6 lesa cecawale, taste ruwwe. kasenwalu };atta xanci hewa resa. hewa resa, I )antenwale, I Jay-ka geziwa tanura hftwalan ga-xel )ara. 'At five o'clock, the baker-woman would come, and knead the dough in big bowls. They covered them until it rose slightly. (Until when) it rose, they took it, and then went to an oven that we had under the ground.' (R:61) 1

1

1

1

1

1

CHAPTER SIX

STRESS GROUPS Occasionally a short word is combined with another word in a single stress group and only one of the words bears stress. The stress may fall on either the first or second word, depending on the nature of the component words and on their relative informational importance. Such stress groups occasionally consist of three words. In most cases each of the component words can bear its own stress and examples of this can be found in other contexts. If the stress falls on the final word of the group, its position in this word normally exhibits the same variability as it would if the word stood independently. If, on the other hand, the stress falls on the first word of the group and this word consists of more than one syllable, the stress is regularly placed in its basic position for that particular word (cf. §5.1.-5.3.). Some of the most common types of words that are combined with other words in stress groups are as follows. (i)

Numeral + counted nominal. The stress falls either on the nominal following the numeral or on the numeral. The stress is regularly put on the final syllable of the numeral: Stress on the nominal: xa-pyala 'a cup' (R:9), xa-qit(a 'one piece' (R:58), tre-sure 'two dresses' (R:79), fla}:za-y6me 'three days' (R:67). Stress on the numeral: tre-sure 'two dresses' (R:79), tla}:za-yome 'three days' (R:66), )arba-yarxe 'four months' (Z:22), )ista-sinne 'six years' (R: 154) Examples of the occurrence of stress on both components: xa sata 'one year' (R:195), xa begana 'a stranger' (V:8), tre yome (R:7), )arba blane 'four girls' (R:12). 1

(ii) Predicate+ copula. The stress regularly falls on the predicate in the basic position for word stress. In most cases this is the final syllable of the word, e.g.

CHAPTER SIX

68

laxxa-ya. 1 'She is here' (R:173) "axni nawagaw-yex. 1 'We are her grandchildren' (R:187) "agar razi-yen 1 'If they are agreeable' (A:11) skira-yele,I 'He was drunk' (R:89) "axni yale-yelan1 'we were children' (R:13) xmatdke dewanta-yela. 'The needle was made of gold' (R:85) 1

The stress is placed on the penultimate syllable of the predicate in words where this is the basic stress position, e.g.

raba-yelu. 1 'They were a lot' (R: 18) mani-yen 'ay-kalbe? 1 'Who are those dogs' (Z:29) When the copula consists of two or more syllables, it occasionally bears its own stress. This applies mainly to the past copula, e.g.

hemafaqlr yele1 'Whoever was poor' (R:4) 'arba sarike yelu. 1 'They were four partners' (R:87) dawlamandyelan. 'We were rich' (R:12) 1

karakiir yela 'She was a servant' (R:144) 1

(iii) Negator + verb/nominal/adverbial. In the majority of cases the stress is placed on the negated item, though on several occasions it falls on the negator. Stress on the negated item:

mmane la-kenwa 'The Muslims did not come' (R:3) da"aki la-gezawa 'My mother did not go' (R:14) "ana hie la-kolanwa 'I did nothing' (R:27) la-manga atta. 1 'Not like now' (R:36) la-'aqlew twiri,I la-'Uew twiri1 'His legs did not break, his hands did not break' (R:89) Stress on the negator:

faqir la-yelan 'We were not poor' (R:12)

STRESS GROUPS

69

dehwa 'anye la-qbillu hiimixwa. 'They did not allow us to bring gold.' (R: 19) 1

'onye 'axonawali la-lilu ba'u. 'Those brothers of mine did not know about them' (R: 107) 1

la-kiiyan 'I do not know' (R: 120) Stress on both components:

la kiiyixwa. 'We did not know' (R:13) 1

la gezixwa 'We did not used to go' (R:25) la zabniwalu. 'They did not sell them' (R:57) 1

la lisana 'arabi kaya. 'She did not know Arabic' (R:162) 1

(iv) Prepositions and conjunctive particles. These are often combined with the item that follows them in a single stress group. The stress is generally placed on the second item, e.g. ta-'ena 'to the spring' (R: I), ga-knista 'in the synagogue' (R:6), ba-trumbele 'in cars' (R:26), min-da'aki 'from my mother' (R:13), bar-soti 'after my grandmother' (R:206), res-mayin 'on a mare' (Z:37), manga-laxxa 'like here' (Z: 17). In a few sporadic cases the stress falls on the first item, e.g. bar-sukke 'after (the feast of ) Sukkot' (Z: 12), ta-tka xet 'to another place' (R:25), ba-lha 'by God' (R:76). The occurrence of stress on both items is also relatively rare in the text corpus, e.g. ta 'ilma xalustz. 'for the brother-in-law of my sister' (R:79), bar tmanya y6me 'after eight days' (R:8), manga nargze 'like narcissi' (R:50). (v) Verb + particle. Stress groups of this type are found with the prepositional phrase consisting of 'ill- + pronominal suffix, which expresses the pronominal object, and with the postverbal particle -(a)wa. The stress is regularly placed on the verb, e.g.

da'aki la swiqla-llan 'my mother did not leave her' (R: 110) xa-g6ra lbille-lii 'a man took me' (R: 177) 1

mani dile-llew 'Who has struck him?' (R:11)

CHAPTER SIX

70

gezil-awa 'He goes back' (R:87) hiyen-awa 'They came back' (R:98) 1

nase darqzwa-wa 'People used to gather' (R:34) 1

partzwale-wa. 'They took it out' (R:39) 1

A few isolated cases are found of the stress occurring on the post-verbal particle -(a)wa, e.g.

tati zil-awa 'My father went back' (R:203) Examples of stress on both components:

jwanqa silmana.siq JU/aw. 'A Muslim youth fell in love with her' (R:144) baxe willa JU/an 'She looked after us' (R: 11) 1

1

dwiqlu J'i,/lan '(If) they stop us' (R:190) 1

Jana jwab kunnaxun awa. 'I shall give you a reply' (A: 11) 1

t&bilmuli wa 'Take me back' (R:96) (vi) Stress groups are occasionally found that consist of more than two components. These are usually formed from three components and exhibit various combinations of the types of stress group mentioned above, e.g.

ta-xa-hulaJa 'to a Jew' (Z:30) hie la-hye-llew 'nothing happened to him' (R:89) la-zabnzwala-wa. 'They would not sell it back' (R: 10) 1

ga-bela-yelu. 'They were in the house' (R:10) 1

MORPHOLOGY

CHAPTER SEVEN

PRONOUNS 7.llndependentpersonalpronouns

3rd pers. sing. '6 pl. >oni • 'a't 2nd pers. smg.

pl.

'axtun, 'axnaxun

1st pers. sing. 'ana pl. 'axni, 'axnan, 'axnani, 'axani The 3s. form 'o is generally used for both genders. Occasionally, however, the 3fs. is specified by the pronoun 'ay, particularly when the pronoun is a focus of new information, marked by the nuclear stress, e.g. 'ay hiya 'SHE came', A: mani wille? B: 'ay! A: 'Who did it? B: 'HER!', 'ay gba hiyJ 'SHE wants to come'. The 2pl. forms with initial 'ax- have most likely arisen by analogy with the 1pl. pronoun, since the original form was presumably *'attun, as in earlier types of Aramaic. The form 'axnaxun follows the analogy of the I pl. form 'axnan by replacing the -an, which is interpreted as the I pl. pronominal suffix, with the 2pl. pronominal suffix -iixun. This incorporation of the 2pl. pronominal suffix into the independent pronoun is a common phenomenon in the NENA dialects, cf. Jewish Dobe 'atoxun, Jewish Arbel 'atxun, Jewish Dohok >axtoxun. Four alternative forms for the lpl. pronoun are in use in the dialect. The forms >axnani and >axani appear to be blends of >axni and 'axnan. In some sporadic cases the initial Pl of the independent pronouns is replaced by the glottal fricative !hi in accordance with a phonetic principle of the dialect (§1.6.3.3.), e.g. hana (< 'ana) pakki ta-pare la-pila-y 'I do not lack money' (R: 159). 1

1

1

74

CHAPTER SEVEN

7.2. Pronominal suffixes on nouns and prepositions 3 rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

-eu, -ew -aw -u

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

-ox -ax -dxun

1st pers. sing. -i pl. -an The final -w in the alternative form of the 3ms. suffix -ew is generally realized phonetically as a labiodental [v]. These suffixes replace the final inflectional vowel of nouns, as illustrated by the following, which presents the suffixed forms of the noun beta 'house': 3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

belew belaw belu

2nd pers. ms.

bel6x belax beldxun

fs. pl.

'His house' 'Her house' 'Their house', etc.

1st pers. sing. beli pl. belan These suffixes are added to both singular and plural nouns. If, therefore, singular and plural forms are distinguished only by the final nominal inflectional vowel, the suffixed forms of both are identical, e.g. kepa 'stone', kepe 'stones', but kepew 'his stone/stones'. Loanwords that end in a vowel in the source language generally retain the vowel when a pronominal suffix is added, from which it is separated by Pl, e.g. mi$Wa 'duty, good deed' -mi$Wa)an 'our duty', kre 'rent, hire' - kr&an 'our rent'.

PRONOUNS

75

When the stress is retracted in words containing the 2pl. suffix -iixun, it skips over the short Iii/ vowel and is placed on the base of the word, e.g. babiixun 'your father' (R: 11 ), bratiixun 'your daughter' (R:29). The 3ms. suffix -eu I -ew is the reflex of *-ayhu, which is the form of the pronoun that was originally added only to plural nouns. Its use has been extended also to singular nouns. The 3fs. ending -aw has arisen, it appears, by adding a !ul element to an original -a by analogy with the 3ms. form. Some NENA dialects, conversely, have extended to plural nouns the form of suffix that was originally attached only to singular nouns, viz. -e or -eh. There are a few cases in the Jewish Sulemaniyya dialect that may be interpreted as fossilized vestiges of the original form of the 3ms. suffix that was attached to singular nouns. This applies, for example, to phrases containing the word pilga 'half, e.g. so'a-u pilge 'seven and a half (R:27), the original meaning being, it seems, 'seven and its half. The 3pl. suffix -u is derived historically from *-hun or *-hon. The final Inf is, in fact, preserved in this suffix when the connective particle u is cliticized to it. This keeps the two vowels apart, e.g. ba-xa/un-u ba-stii'un-u 'with their food and with their drink' (R:5), belun-u binyanun-u 'their house and their family'. 1

1

7.3. Independent genitive pronoun

3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

d-6, did-6, didew d-6, did-6, didaw d-oni, didu

2nd pers. ms.

did6x didax didaxun

fs. pl.

1st pers. sing. didi pl. didan Various forms of the independent genitive particle are used in the 3rd person. The most commonly used forms in Sulemaniyya are d-o (3ms., 3fs.) and d-oni (3pl.), which consist of the independent pronouns prefixed by the particle d-. In I:Ialabja, the forms most frequently used by my

CHAPTER SEVEN

76

informant are did-o (3ms.), didaw (3fs.) and d-oni (3pl.). There is a clear preference for the 3rd person forms based on the independent pronouns.

7.4. Demonstrative pronouns Various types of demonstrative pronouns are used, which may be classified as short, long and intermediate forms respectively. All sets distinguish two degrees of deixis, far and near. The short forms are used as attributive modifiers of a head noun. They do not express any distinction in gender or number. The use of the singular form has been extended to the plural:

sing. pl.

Far deixis

Near deixis

'o 'o

'ay 'ay

Examples: 'o gora 'that man', 'o baxta 'that woman', 'o nase 'those people', 'o 'inse 'those women', 'ay gora 'this man', 'ay baxta 'this woman', 'ay nase 'these people', 'ay 'inse 'these women'. The long forms of demonstratives distinguish number but not gender: sing. pl.

Far deixis

Near deixis

'awa 'onya'e

'aya 'anya'e

These long forms are used as independent pronouns rather than modifiers of a head noun, e.g. (1) 'awa gbex 'We want that' (Z:31) (2) 'aya ma-ya myalox? 'Why have you brought this one (this girl)?' (R:163) 1

(3) 'onya'e rabe malwaye hitwalu 'They had many villages' (V:5) 1

1

(4) 'anya'e la-kelu l:zasta hoii 'These (people) cannot do any work' (M:3) 1

1

There is also a further pair of plural demonstratives that can be used either independently or attributively. These may be designated as an intermediate set of pronouns:

PRONOUNS

pl.

Far deixis

Near deixis

Jonye

Janye

77

Examples: (5) Jonye pisi l6ka. 'Those (people) remained there' (R:157) 1

(6) Janye hiiwi lagax. 'Let these be with you' (R: 17) 1

(7) Jonye Jaxonawali la-lilu ba/u 'Those brothers of mine did not know about them.' (R: 107) 1

(8) kulle Janye-JasxaJe 'All these types of things.' (R: 1) 1

Certain adverbial expressions contain a fossilized form of demonstrative pronoun that is not used productively. These include the word Jidyom 'today' (and its variant forms Jidyo, Jizyom, Jizyo), which is likely to be derived from a phrase such as *dii-yom, or the like. The same demonstrative element can perhaps be identified in the form Ji//el 'tonight', in which the /di has been assimilated to the initial Ill of the word lele 'night'. The !di is preserved in neighbouring Jewish NENA dialects, e.g. Arbel, Koy Sanjaq: Jidlel. Note also Jiyyarxa 'this month' (M:1).

7.5. Interrogative pronouns

mani ma,may hema

'who?' 'what?' 'which?'

The form may is attested only before the enclitic copula, e.g. may-ye? 'What is it?' (R:182), may-yat? 'What are you?' (R:162), may-yele? 'What was it' (R:51). This may be analysed as a coalescence of ma with the near demonstrative pronominal element Jay. It should be noted, however, that this form of the inanimate interrogative is attested already in Babylonian Talmudic Aramaic ('NIJ). The form hema is invariable. It is used with nouns of both genders and both numbers, e.g. hema beta? 'which house?' (beta m.), hema Jurxa? 'which road?' eurxa f.), hema bate? 'which houses?'

1

1

1

These interrogative particles may also form generic heads of relative clauses, e.g. ( 1) manit faqfr hiiwewa1'Whoever was poor'. (R:9)

78

CHAPTER SEVEN (2) mat-hltwalu labliwale 'They took whatever they had'. (R:8) 1

(3) hema faqir yele dawlamande kwiwale 'Anyone who was poor-the rich gave to him'. (R:4) 1

1

(4) hema brata daskirandiir hawyawa 'Any girl who was betrothed' (R:64) 1

7 .6. Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns The word nosa with pronominal suffixes is used in various contexts to express the sense of 'oneself. The full paradigm is as follows: 3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

n6sew n6saw n6su

2 nd pers.ms. fs. pl.

no.fox n6sax n6saxun

1st pers. sing. n6si pl. n6san Note that the stress is regularly placed on the initial syllable throughout the paradigm. The reciprocal pronoun is the invariable form lixle, e.g. ( 1) la xazenwa Hxle1 'They did not see one another' (R:36) (2) dawlamande rekake Jfnja zadrilu ta-Uxle. 'The fine rich people, then, would send them (letters of invitation) to one another.' (R: 133) (3) b-Uxle yatwzwa. 1 'They sat with one another (i.e. together)' (Z:32) 1

1

In closely related Jewish NENA dialects, such as those of Arbel, Ruwanduz, Rustaqa and Koy Sanjaq, the equivalent of this form is dixle, with an initial Id/. Both instances of Ill in lixle are likely to have arisen by the sound shift *4 > l. The original form of the pronoun from which both lixle arid dixle are derived historically is no doubt *xg,ag,e,

PRONOUNS

or the like (cf. Syriac(;;...,), which has been preserved in some NENA dialects. The forms lixle and dixle would have developed by metathesis of the initial two consonants of*xgage. The initial I/! of lixle, however, appears to have been reinterpreted as a prefixed preposition. This is shown by the fact that it is sometimes elided when the pronoun is combined with the preposition b- in the phrase bi-xle, which has the sense of 'with one another, together'.

79

CHAPTER EIGHT

VERBS 8.1. Verbal stems Verbs with triliteral roots are used in one of two stems with distinctive patterns of inflection. In addition to these there are a number of quadriliteral verbs, all of which belong to a single stem with the same pattern of inflection. We present below for each of these three categories the various parts that are used in the formation of verbal forms Stem I: plx I 'to open' Present base: Short past base: Long past base: Short past participle Long past participle Imperative: Infinitive:

palfxplfxpllxpilxa plixa palix paloxe

Stem II: m-rdx II 'to boil' Present base: Short past base: Long past base: Short past participle: Long past participle: Imperative: Infinitive:

mardzxmirdzxmirdlxmridxa mirdixa mardix mardoxe

VERBS

81

Quadriliteral verb prsq 'to scatter'

Present base: Past base: Past participle: Imperative: Infinitive:

parsfqpirsfqprisqa parsiq parsoqe

The verbal stems of earlier Aramaic have undergone considerable levelling. Stem I is the descendant of the paal]ra xdlr-awa 'He approached the town' 'to separate', e.g. nase mi-lixle xdiri 'The people separated'

In some cases a phrasal verb with xdr supplies the intransitive/passive form corresponding to a transitive construction with the verb >wJ, e.g. biixew >wl 'to care for' : biixew xdr 'to be cared for'. On other occasions the distinction between corresponding constructions with >wl and xdr relates to the presence or absence of volition, e.g. sayir >w/ 'to look' sayir xdr 'to see'. 8.16.3. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element 'to give' Most of these contain the verb dyy, which is derived from Kurdish diin (§8.12.8.). 'To shout' jiqe dyy 'To jump' baz dyy 'To colour' rang dyy 'To telephone' telefon dyy 'To spit' tiffe dyy 'To shout' cirike dyy 'To whistle' fika dyy 'To low, bellow (cow)' bora dyy 'To kick' saqqa dyy 'To stab' skita dyy 'To hang (something)' qannara dyy 'To clap, applaud' cap.le dyy 'To bite', e.g. >o kalba qapal dile ga-pisra 'The qapal dyy dog bit the meat' >ifew dile ba>ew 'He touched him' 'He pushed me aside' pal dile minni Examples with the Aramaic equivalent of the verb: yarida hiwle najat hiwle

'He helped' 'He rescued; evacuated'

VERBS

143

8.16.4. Phrasal verbs with the verbal element 'to come' jigrew ke mirxew ke sindew ke ser nurew ke

'He is angry, hates', e.g. jigrew ke min tatox 'He hates your father' 'He snores' 'He is sleepy' 'The lion roars'

Phrasal verbs with the element 'to come' sometimes supply an intransitive/passive form of a corresponding transitive phrasal verb, e.g. telefon qalew ke 'The telephone rings' (cf. qatew kot 'He calls out'), najatew hiye 'He was rescued' (cf. najatew hiwle 'He rescued him'). 8.16.5. Phrasal verbs with other verbal elements fikrew zzl hanasa grs zardakani grs jigrew qim illew baxta mete wa dmete karu mete gorani ~mr palpyl

'He forgot' 'to breath' 'to smile' 'He was angry with him' 'He married' 'He believed' (cf. Kurd. wa zanln) 'It became mouldy' 'to sing' 'to lie down'

8.16.6. Pronominal objects When a phrasal verb is transitive, speakers attach a pronominal object either after the verbal element (1-3) or onto the noun element (4---6). Usually only one of these possible constructions is used for each particular phrase verb: (1) rawana willi-llew 'I sent him on his way'

(2) ralJim kot ba~ew 'He pities him' (3) dayiwalu qannara. 'They used to hang them up' (R: 56) 1

(3) tama sayrew kolet? 'Why are you looking at him?' (4) yaridew hiwle 'He helped him' (5) najatew hiwte 'He rescued him'

144

CHAPTER EIGHT

Speakers occasionally create transitive phrasal verbs by combining ~wt with a Hebrew infinitive form. Most such constructions are likely to have arisen under the influence of modem spoken Hebrew: (6) le-qaddes kolwala 'He would sanctify her' (V:17) (7) lism6r kolfwale ~ay pisrii1 'They would preserve the meat' (V:23)

CHAPTER NINE

VERB PARADIGMS 9. I. qa{il form pix I 'to open' (1) , 'xi I 'to eat' (2), 'sr I 'to bind' (3)

(1)

(2) Indicative

3rd pers. ms. piilix

(3)

Subjunctive

kxil kixla kixli

hiixil haxla haxli

'iisir 'asra 'asri

2nd pers. ms. palxet fs. palxat pl. palxetun

kixlet kixlat kixletun

haxlet haxlat haxletun

'asret 'asrat 'asretun

1st pers. ms. piilixna fs. palxan pl. palxex

kxinna kixlan kixlex

hiixilna haxlan haxlex

'iisirna 'asran 'asrex

fs. pl.

palxa palxi

kws I 'to go down' (4), 'wl I 'to do' (5), klw I 'to write' (6) (4)

(5)

(6)

Indicative

Subjunctive

kol kola koli

hot ho/a holi

katu kalwa kalwi

2nd pers. ms. koset fs. kosat pl. kosetun

kolet kolat koletun

holet ho/at holetun

kalwet kalwat kalwetun

1st pers. ms. k6sna fs. kosan pl. kosex

k6lna kolan kolex

h6lna holan holex

kiiluna kalwan kalwex

3rd pers. ms.

fs. pl.

kos kosa kosi

146

CHAPTER NINE

dyq I 'to crush' (7), sty I 'to drink' (8), ytw I 'to sit' (9), rwy I 'to grow' (10)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

sate satya siiten

yatu yatwa yatwi

riiwe rawya riiwen

2nd pers. ms. deqet fs. deqat pl. deqetun

siitet satyat sii.tetun

yatwet yatwat yatwetun

riiwet rawyat rii.wetun

1st pers. ms. deqna fs. deqan pl. deqex

siitena satyan sii.tex

yiituna yatwan yatwex

riiwena rawyan riiwex

3rd

pers. ms. deq fs. deqa pl. deqi

m-rdx II 'to boil' (11), m-zyd II 'to add' (12), m-ndy II 'to drop' (13), m-kws II 'to bring down' (14)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

mii.zfd mazida mazidi

mande mandya manden

makus makusa makusf

2 nd pers. ms. maridxet fs. maridxat pl. maridxetun

mazidet mazidat mazidetun

mandet mandyat mandetun

makuset makusat makusetun

1st pers. ms. mardixna fs. maridxan pl. maridxex

miizldna mazidan mazidex

manden mandyan mandex

miikusna makusan makusex

3rd

pers. ms. mardfx fs. maridxa pl. maridxi

VERB PARADIGMS

147

m-xwy II 'to show' (15), m-ymy II 'to swear' (16), prJq 'to scatter' (17), nndy 'to dance' (18)

(16)

(17)

(18)

mome momya momen

padiq parifqa parifqi

nande nandya nanden

2nd pers. ms. maxwet fs. ma.xiwyat pl. maxwetun

momet momyat mometun

parifqet parifqat parifqetun

nandet nandyat nandetun

1st pers. ms. maxwena fs. ma.xiwyan pl. maxwex

momena momyan momex

parfiqna parifqan parifqex

nandena nandyan nandex

(15) 3 rd

pers. ms. maxwe fs. ma.xiwya pl. maxwen

hwy 'to be' (19), 'to go' (20)

(20)

(19) Indicative Subjunctive pers. ms. fs. pl.

Indicative

Subjunctive

kwe kwa kwen

hiiwe hawya hiiwen

gezU geza gezi

hezil heza hezi

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

kwet kwat kwetun

hiiwet hawyat hiiwetun

gezet gezat gezetun

hezet hezat hezetun

1st pers. ms. fs. pl.

kwena kwan kwex

hiiwena hawyan hiiwex

gezena gezan gezex

hezena hezan hezex

3rd

CHAPTER NINE

148 'to come' (21), 'to bring' (22) (21)

Indicative Subjunctive

(22) Indicative

Subjunctive

3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

ke kya ken

he hiya hen

kme kimya kmen

hiime hamya hiimen

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

ket kyat ketun

het hiyat hetun

kmet kimyat kmetun

hiimet hamyat hiimetun

1st pers. ms. fs. pl.

kena kyan kex

hena hiyan hex

kmena kimyan kmex

hiimena hamyan hiimex

'to want' (23), 'to know' (24) (23)

(24)

Indicative Subjunctive

Indicative

Subjunctive

3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

gbe gba gben

hiibe hiiba hiiben

kiiye kiiya kiiyen

hiite halya hiilen

2nd pers. ms.

gbet gbat gbetun

habet hiibat hiibetun

kiiyet kiiyat kiiyetun

hatet halyat hiiletun

gbena gban gbex

hiibena hiiban hiibex

kiiyena kiiyan kiiyex

hiilena halyan hiilex

fs.

pl. 1st pers. ms.

fs. pl.

VERB PARADIGMS

149

'to give' (25), 'to hit' (26) (25) Indicative

(26) Subjunctive

3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

kul kwa kwi

hiiwU hiiwa hiiwi

dal diiya diiyi

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

kwet kwat kwetun

hiiwet hiiwat hiiwetun

diiyet diiyat diiyetun

1st pers. ms. fs. pl.

kunna kwan kwex

hunna hiiwan hiiwex

danna diiyan diiyex

9.2. qfilleform plx I 'to open' (1), 'xl I 'to eat' (2), 'sr I 'to bind' (3), twr I 'to break' (4)

(3)

(4)

3rd pers. ms. plixle fs. plixla pl. plixlu

xi/le xi/la xillu

'isirre 'isirra 'isirru

twirre twirra twirru

2nd pers. ms. plixlox fs. plixlax pl. plixliixun

xi/lox xi/lax xilliixun

'fsfrrox 'zsirrax 'isirriixun

twfrrox twirrax twirriixun

1st pers. s. pl.

xilli xillan

'isirri 'isirran

twirri twirran

(1)

plixli plixlan

(2)

150

CHAPTER NINE

>w/ I 'to do' (5), klw I 'to write' (6), dyq I 'to crush' (7), sty I 'to drink' (8) (5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

klule klula klulu

diqle diqla diqlu

stele stela stelu

2nd pers. ms. willox fs. willax pl. willaxun

klulox klulax klulaxun

diqlox diqlax diqlaxun

stelox stelax stelaxun

1st pers. s. pl.

ktuli klulan

diqli diqlan

steli stelan

3rd

pers. ms. wille fs. willa pl. willu

wUli willan

m-rdx II 'to boil' (9), m-zyd II 'to add' (10), m-ndy II 'to drop' (11), m-kws II 'to bring down' (12) (9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

mzldle mzzala mzidlu

mindele mindela mindelu

mkusle mkusla mkuslu

2nd pers. ms. mirdixlox fs. mirdixlax pl. mirdixlaxun

mzldlox mzldlax mzidlaxun

mindelox mindelax mindelaxun

mkuslox mkuslax mkuslaxun

1st pers. s. pl.

mzidli mzidlan

mindeli mindelan

mkusli mkuslan

3rd

pers. ms. mirdixle fs. mirdixla pl. mirdixlu

mirdixli mirdixlan

m-.xwy II 'to show' (13), m-ymy II 'to swear' (14), prsq 'to scatter' (15), >nty 'to take' (16) (13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

3rd pers. ms. mixwele fs. mixwela pl. mixwelu

mumele mumela mumelu

pirsiqle pirsiqla pirsiqlu

>intele 'intela >intelu

2nd pers. ms. mixwelox fs. mixwelax pl. mixwelaxun

mumelox mumelax mumelaxun

pirsiqlox pirsiqlax pirsiqlaxun

>intelox >intelax 'intelaxun

1st pers. s. pl.

mumeli mumelan

pirsiqli pirsiqlan

'inteli >intelan

mixweli mixwelan

VERB PARADIGMS

151

'to bring' (17), 'to want (18), 'to know' (19), 'to give' (20) (18)

(19)

(20)

3rd pers. ms. mete fs. me/a pl. melu

(17)

be/e be/a belu

'rlile 'iii/a 'ililu

hiwle hiwla hiwlu

2nd pers. ms. me/ox fs. me/ax pl. meldxun

be/ox be/ax beldxun

'iii/ox 'iii/ax 'ilildxun

hiw/ox hiwlax hiwldxun

1st pers. s. pl.

beli be/an

'ilili 'iii/an

hiwleli hiwlan

meli me/an

9 .3. q{il form prq l'to finish' (1), 'sq I 'to fall in love' (2), /cws I 'to go down' (3), r/cw I 'to mount, ride' (4)

(2)

(3)

(4)

3rd pers. ms. pfrfq fs. priqa pl. priqi

sfq siqa siqi

1cw,s lcwisa kwisi

rkiw rkiwa rkiwi

2nd pers. ms. priqet fs. priqat pl. priqetun

siqet siqat siqetun

/cwiset /cwisat /cwisetun

rkiwet rkiwat rkiwetun

1st pers. ms. prfqna fs. priqan pl. priqex

ifqna siqan siqex

kw'rsna /cwisan /cwisex

rkuna rkiwan rkiwex

(1)

CHAPTER NINE

152

qym I'to rise' (5), mty I 'to arrive' (6), ytw I 'to sit' (7), rwy I 'to grow' (8) (6)

(7)

(8)

pers. ms. qfm fs. qima pl. qimi

m(fe mitya mfen

tfw tiwa tiwi

r(we riwya rwen

2 nd pers. ms. qimet fs. qimat pl. qimetun

mfet mityat mfetun

tiwet tiwat tfwetun

rwet riwyat rwetun

1st pers. ms. qfmna fs. qiman pl. qimex

mfena mityan mfex

tuna tiwan tiwex

rwena riwyan rwex

(5) 3rd

m-brq II'to shine' (9), m-skr II 'to lose' (10), m-sry II 'to stink' (11), nndy 'to dance' (12)

(10)

(11)

(12)

3rd pers. ms. mibriq fs. mbirqa pl. mbirqi

(9)

misklr miskira miskiri

misre misrya misren

ninde nindya ninden

2nd pers. ms. mbirqet fs. mbirqat pl. mbirqetun

miskiret miskirat miskiretun

misret msiryat misretun

nindet nfndyat nindetun

1st pers. ms. mibriqna fs. mbirqan pl. mbirqex

misklrna miskiran miskirex

misrena insiryan misrex

nindena nindyan nindex

VERB PARADIGMS

153

'to go' (13), 'to come' (14), 'to live' (15) (13)

(14)

(15)

3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

zil zila zfli

hfye hfya hfyen

xiye xiya xfyen

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

zilet zilat zfletun

hiyet hfyat hfyetun

xiyet xiyat xfyetun

1st pers. ms. fs. pl.

zfnna zilan zilex

hfyena hfyan hfyex

xiyena xfyan xfyex

9.4. qa{ilwaform pix I 'to open' (1), dyq I 'to crush' (2), sty I 'to drink' (3), m-kws II 'to bring down'

(4) (2)

(3)

(4)

3rd pers. ms. piilixwa fs. palxawa pl. palxfwa

deqwa deqawa deqfwa

siitewa satyawa siitenwa

miikuswa makusawa makusfwa

2nd pers. ms. palxftwa fs. palxatwa pl. palxetuwa

deqftwa deqatwa deqetuwa

siititwa satyatwa siitetuwa

makusitwa makusatwa makusetuwa

1st pers. ms. piilfxnawa fs. palxanwa pl. palxfxwa

deqnawa deqanwa deqfxwa

siitenawa satyanwa siitixwa

miikusnawa makusanwa makusfxwa

(I)

154

CHAPTER NINE

9.5. qfilwale and q{ilwaforms pix I 'to open' (1) , m-zdr II 'to send' (2), prq I 'to finish' (3)

(2)

(3)

mizdfrwale mizdfrwala mizdfrwalu

priqwa priqawa priqiwa

2nd pers. ms. pli.xwalox fs. pli.xwalax pl. plixwaliixun

mizdfrwalox mizdirwalax mizdirwaliixun

prfqitwa prfqatwa prfqetuwa

1st pers. s. pl.

mizdirwali mizdirwalan

priqnawa prfqixwa

(1)

3rd pers. ms. plixwale fs.

pl.

pli.xwala pli.xwalu

pli.xwali pli.xwalan

9.6. qafilform verbs with pronominal suffixes Pronominal Object

Verbal Form qdfil 'he kills'

qaf[a 'she kills'

qaf[i 'they kill'

3rd pers. ms. 'him' fs. 'her' pl. 'them'

qd[Ule qdfflla qd[Ulu

qa{lale qaf[ala qa![alu

qaflile qaflila qaf!Uu

2nd pers. ms. 'you (m).' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

qd[Ulox qdffllax qiifflliixun

qaf[alox qaflalax qa{laliixun

qa{lilox qa{lilax qafliliixun

1st pers. s. pl.

qdfUli qdffllan

qaflali qaflalan

qaflili qaflilan

'me' 'us'

155

VERB PARADIGMS Verbal Form

Pronominal Object

3rd pers. ms. 'him' fs. 'her' pl. 'them'

1st pers. s. pl.

'me' 'us'

qaf[et

qaf[at

qa!letun

'you (m.) kill'

'you (f.) kill'

'you (pl.) kill'

qaf[ftte qaflftta qaflittu

qafiatte qaf[atta qaf[attu

qafletule qa!fetula qafletulu

qaflitti qa(lfttan

qaflatti qa(lattan

qafletuli qa(letulan

Verbal Form

Pronominal Object qiifilna

qaf[an

qaflex

'I (m.) kill'

'I (f.) kill'

'we kill'

3rd pers. ms. 'him' fs. 'her' pl. 'them'

qiifflnew qiifflnaw qiifilnu

qa[lew qaf[aw qaflu

qaf[exfle qaflexfla qaf[exflu

2nd pers. ms. 'you (m.)' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

qii!flnox qii!flnax qiifilniixun

qaf[6x qaf[ax qa(liixun

qaf[exilox qaf[exflax qaf[exfliixun

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CHAPTER NINE

9. 7. qfille form verbs with pronominal su.ffvces Pronominal Object

3rd pers. ms. 'him'

Verbal Form qfille 'he killed'

qfilla 'she killed'

qfillu 'they killed'

qftlle qfUle 'illew

qfilla qfilla 'illew

qfillu qfUlu 'illew

fs.

'her'

qif[ale qfille 'illaw

qiflala qfilla 'illaw

qi[lalu q{Ulu 'illaw

pl.

'them'

qif[ile qfille 'illu

qiflila qfilla 'illu

qiflilu qfillu 'illu

2nd pers. ms. 'you (m).' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

qfille 'ill6x qfille 'illax qfille 'illiixun

q{illa 'illox q{illa'illax qt[lla 'illiixun

q{illu 'illox q#llu 'illax qfillu 'illiixun

1st pers. s. pl.

q{ille 'illi q{ille 'illan

q{illa 'illi q{illa 'illan

qfillu 'illi q{illu 'illan

'me' 'us'

Pronominal Object

Verbal Form qfillox

3rd pers. ms. 'him'

qfillax

qfilliixun

'you (m.) killed' 'you (f.) killed'

'you (pl.) killed'

qfillox q{illox 'illew

qfillax q{illax 'illew

q{illiixun q{illiixun 'illew

fs.

'her'

qiflalox q{illox 'illaw

qiflalax q{illax 'illaw

qiflaliixun qfilliixun 'illaw

pl.

'them'

qif[ilox q{illox 'illu

qiflilax qfUlax 'illu

qifliliixun q{Uliixun 'illu

'me' 'us'

qfillox 'illi qfillox 'illan

q{Ulax 'illi q{illax 'illan

q{Uliixun 'i lli qtflliixun 'illan

1st pers. s. pl.

VERB PARADIGMS Pronominal Object

157

Verbal Form qfilli 'I killed'

q[illan 'We killed'

3rd pers. ms. 'him'

qfilli q{illi 'illew

qfillan q[Ulan 'illew

fs.

'her'

qittali q[illi 'illaw

qiflalan q[illan 'illaw

pl.

'them'

qiflili qfilli 'illu

qiflilan qfillan 'illu

q[illi 'illox qfilli 'illax qfUli 'illdxun

qfillan 'ill6x q[illan 'illax q[illan 'illdxun

2nd pers. ms. 'you(m.)' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

9.8. qif[a-y form verbs with pronominal suffixes Verbal Form

Pronominal Object qifla-y 'he has killed'

q{ilta-ya 'she has killed'

qif[en 'they have killed'

3rd pers. ms. 'him' fs. 'her' pl. 'them'

qif[ew-ye q[iltaw-ye qif[u-ye

qfiltew-ya qfiltaw-ya qfiltu-ya

qif[ew-yen qfiltaw-yen qif[u-yen

2nd pers. ms. 'you(m).' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

qifla-y 'illox qi!la-y 'illax qifla-y 'illiixun

q[ilta-ya 'illox qfilta-ya 'illax q[ilta-ya 'illdxun

qi!len 'illox qi[len 'illax qi!len 'illdxun

qi!la-y 'illi qi{la-y 'illan

qfilta-ya 'illi q!ilta-ya 'illan

qi!len 'illi qi{len'illan

1st pers. s. pl.

'me' 'us'

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CHAPTER NINE

Pronominal Object

Verbal Form qiflet

'you (m.) have killed' 3rd pers. ms. 'him' fs. 'her' pl. 'them' 1st pers. s. pl.

'me' 'us'

q{ilta-yat 'you (f.) have

qitfetun

killed'

'you (pl.) have killed'

qit/ew-yet q{iltaw-yet qit/u-yet

qtiltew-yat q{iltaw-yat q{iltu-yat

qi{lew-yetun q{iltaw-yetun qit/u-yetun

qitlet >illi qiflet >illan

q{iltd-yat >illi q{ilta-yat >illan

qit/etun >illi qit/etun >illan

Pronominal Object

Verbal Form qit/ena

q{ilta-yan 'I (f.) have

qi{lex

'I (m.) have killed'

killed'

'We have killed'

3rd pers. ms. 'him' 'her' fs. pl. 'them'

qiflew-yena q{iltdw-yena qi{lu-yena

q{iltew-yan q{iltaw-yan q{iltu-yan

qi{lew-yex q{iltaw-yex qiflu-yex

2nd pers. ms. 'you (m).' fs. 'you (f.)' pl. 'you (pl.)'

qi{lena >ill6x qit/ena >il[dx qi{lena >il/iixun

q{iltd-yan >ill6x q{iltd-yan>illax q{iltd-yan >illiixun

qi{lex >ill6x qi{lex >i[ldx qi{lex >illiixun

CHAPTER TEN

NOUNS 10.1. Preliminary remarks Most nouns of Aramaic stock and loan-words that have been adapted to Aramaic morphology have in the singular one of the following endings: (i) -a, which is the reflex of the masculine singular determined state inflection of earlier Aramaic, (ii) -ta or its variants -da and -la, which are the reflexes of the feminine singular determined state inflection of earlier Aramaic. A classification is given below of the various morphological patterns of nouns in the dialect that have one of these inflectional endings in the singular. 10.2. Nouns with -a inflection 10.2.1. Monosyllabic pattern The noun tka 'place' has the monosyllabic pattern CCa. It is derived historically from the bisyllabic form *duka. The *u has been elided and the *d has been devoiced by contact with the following unvoiced !kl. It is is usually pronounced with a prosthetic vowel eitka) when not preceded by a word or prefixed particle ending in a vowel. 10.2.2. Bisyllabic patterns (1) CaCa

~ara baba kaka /ala mama nasa qala sala tara

'ground, earth' 'grandfather' 'tooth' 'maternal uncle' 'paternal uncle' 'person' 'voice' 'witness' 'door'

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CHAPTER TEN

tata xa:fa xala xana ya/a zara

'father' 'back' 'food' 'lap' 'boy, child' 'corn, wheat'

In words of Aramaic stock that have this pattern, the second consonant was sometimes originally geminated, e.g. kaka < *kakka 'tooth', xana < *!Janna 'lap'. In some words the initial syllable has opened up through loss ofa radical, e.g. Jara< *)araJat calkuka cay darmana kara karawuz maJ sawar swax xaJiiz

'black pepper' 'dirt, filth' 'tea' 'drug, medicine' 'butter' 'celery' 'property' 'burghul wheat' 'plaster' 'coal'

The semantic classification of the feminine loans is less clear, which suggests that the feminine gender is treated as the default gender for inanimates. 10.12. Plural/arms The plural of most nouns is formed by replacing the singular inflections -a and -ta with a plural inflection without any other changes to the morphology of the noun. There is no one-to-one correspondence between singular inflections and plural inflections and so the plural form of a singular noun is not predictable. 10.12.1. Plural ending -e This is the most common plural ending and is attached to a variety of singular forms.

NOUNS

181

(i) Plurals in -e from singulars in -a

Singular )ara )ila )itka caqla #wa swawa ba~ira baru:xa birka dinwa dugla kepa kista kixwa ksila nasa pimma tara xiwwa yarxa yala yoma

Plural )are )ile )itke caqle ~iwe swawe ba;jire baru:xe birke dinwe dugle kepe kiste kixwe ksile nase pimme tare xiwwe yarxe yale yome

'land' 'hand' 'place' 'leg, foot' 'wooden twig' 'neighbour' 'grapes' 'friend' 'knee' 'fly' 'lie' 'stone' 'bag' 'star' 'hat' 'person' 'mouth' 'door' 'snake' 'month' 'boy, child' 'day'

On a few occasions the plural of feminine nouns ending in -ta is formed by replacing the final -a with the ending -e. In such cases it appears that the /ti has come to be interpreted as belonging to the root rather than to the feminine morpheme. Examples: Singular

Plural

kista qi(fta srota sata

kiste qi(fte srote sate

'bag' 'story' 'ladle' 'year'

The word sata also has the plural formsinne (§10.12.13.).

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CHAP1ER 1EN

The plural ending -e is also used with the irregularly formed nouns 'irxel (§10.7.) and qafu (§10.9.4.), in the latter the final /u/ being changed

to the glide /w/: Singular

Plural

'irxel qafu

'irxele qatwe

'water-mill' 'cat'

(ii) Plurals in -e from singulars in -e This applies to the use of infinitives of the pattern CaCoCe or maCCoCe as a nominal with a concrete sense. In such cases it can be used as a singular or plural form, e.g. raqole 'a dance' or 'dances'. 10.12.2. Plurals in -ane from singulars in -a Singular

Plural

'al:zra diqna guda jarraka zoca mindix qora {Ura xala

'al:zrane diqnane gudane jarrakane tocane mindixane qorane turane xalane

'town' 'beard' 'wall' 'jar' 'room' 'thing' 'grave' 'mountain' 'food'

Most nouns that form the plural with -ane can also form a plural with the ending -e, which is preferred, but not obligatory, when it is qualified by a numeral (§14.13.), e.g. tre 'al:zre 'two towns', tre gude 'two walls', 'arba mindixe 'four things'. 10.12.3. Plurals in-awarte from singulars in -a This is an extension of the ending -ane. It is not widely attested. Singular

Plural

xlula

xlulawane

'wedding'

NOUNS

183

10.12.4. Plurals in -ye from singulars in -ta Many feminine nouns ending in -ta form the plural with the ending -ye, e.g. Singular

Plural

ca!iirta baruxta beta dargusta kliwta knista kaxata masita ma!i{orta misgalta papulta qomalta [iqilta srata sxarta torta trosta f.zasta xalusta xmata

ca#rye baruxye beye dargusye kliwye knisye kaxaye masiye ma!iforye misgalye papulye qomalye !iqilye sraye sxarye torye trosye l.zajye xalusye xmaye

'evening' 'friend (f.)' 'egg' 'cot' 'amulet' 'synagogue' 'letter' 'fish' 'curse' 'mosque' 'locust' 'pile' 'ring' 'lamp' 'match' 'cow' 'marrow' 'work;job' 'sister' 'needle'

In the word qomalta the Ill is the reflex of the fricative *1 of the original feminine ending. This is now, however, treated like a root consonant. Note the forms l.zasta, pl. l.zajye. This is a loan from Arabic (l.ziija 'need, necessity') through the intermediary Kurdish. The plural has preserved the original /j/, whereas this has become devoiced in the singular due to the adjacent unvoiced /ti, resulting in Isl. The plural form xmaye 'needles' indicates that the It/ in the word xmata is interpreted as part of the feminine ending -ta. In origin, however, this is a weakened form of the emphatic /{/, which was part of the root. Some NENA dialects preserve the original /{! as a radical, e.g. Qaraqosh mxafa. A similar phenomenon is found in the word kaxata 'letter', which is a loan from Kurdish kiixat. Although the It/ belongs to the original Kurdish word, after the addition of the Aramaic nominal

CHAPTER TEN

184

inflection -a, the final Ital sequence came to be interpreted as the Aramaic feminine ending. For this reason the It/ is elided in the plural form kaxaye. A variant of the plural beye 'eggs' is be>e or behe, the last form arising from the shift of Pl > !hi, which is characteristic of the dialect (§1.6.3.3.). In some words, an original In! that has become assimilated to the It/ of the singular ending -ta is preserved in the plural: Singular

Plural

>armota skita

>armonye skinye

'pomegranate' 'knife'

An In/ appears in the plural of some nouns ending in -Vta where it appears not to be etymological but rather has arisen by analogy with nouns such as those above. Examples:

Singular

Plural

xaleta zbota

xalenye zbonye

'gift' 'finger'

The stop pronunciation of the /ti in the word zbota 'finger' has arisen from the fact that it was originally preceded by the pharyngal *C, not due to the assimilation of an *n. Some of the neighbouring NENA dialects have preserved the pharyngal, e.g. Jewish Koy Sanjaq zboarmilda zatila

>armilye zatiye

'widow' 'pitta bread'

NOUNS

185

We should probably include here the form 'akle, which is the plural of 'aklela or 'aklelta 'chicken'. The development may be regarded as being *'akleye (pl. of 'aklela) > 'akle, in which the sequence /eye! has become contracted to /el. The form 'aklelta, with the additional ending -ta, is, as remarked above (§10.5.), a secondary development of the form 'aklela. Note also the form xlulye, which is the plural of xlula (f.) 'wedding', which is feminine in gender, possibly due to the -la ending being erroneously interpreted as the feminine ending (§10.5.). This noun also has the plural form xlulawane. 10.12.5. Plurals in -yane from singulars in -ta Occasionally the plural ending -ye is extended to -yane, e.g. Singular

Plural

dasta 'ajubta

dasyane 'ajubyane

'field' 'trouble'

The /ti in the loan-word dasta, although originally belonging to the Kurdish word (dast), has now come to be interpreted as part of the feminine ending -ta. 10.12.6. Plurals in -yawane from singulars in -ta This is a further extension of the plural ending, e.g. Singular

i-w >arba '174', tilf:za->a/pa-u xamsa-mma-u 'isrf-u tilf:za '3,523' (A:6).

12.1. 7. Cardinal numerals with pronominal suffixes The numeral xa may take a plural pronominal suffix when one wishes to express the partitive sense 'one of them', etc. The vowel of the numeral is separated from that of the suffix by /yl or />/, e.g. xayu rabta-w xayu zurta) 'One of them is big and one of them is small', xa>u kulwale ta-d-ay brona. xaJu kulwale ta-d-o brona. xa>u nosew ganewa gaw 'One of them he would give to this son. One of them he would give to that son. In one of them he would sleep himself.' (Z:7). Definite phrases consisting of a numeral from the range 2-10 and a pronominal suffix are formed by using alternative bases of the numeral. 1

1

1

1

NUMERALS

205

Such phrases denote a group consisting of the number of members that is expressed by the numeral. These are contractions of phrases consisting of the numeral and the preposition min with a pronominal suffix. Uncontracted constructions are used when the phrase is indefinite, e.g. Jarba minnu 'four of them'. The stress falls on the numeral rather than on the pronominal suffix in the contracted constructions. This is because these constructions originated as stress groups consisting of two items and, as is often the case in stress groups (§6), the stress fell on the first of the two items, e.g. Jarbannu 'the four of them'< Jarba-minnu:

tirnan tirnaxun tirnu

'the two ofus, both ofus' 'the two of you, both of you' 'the two of them, both of them'

til!J,annan til!J,anniixun til!J,annu

'the three ofus' 'the three of you' 'the three of them'

Jarbannan Jarbanniixun Jarbannu

'the four of us' 'the four of you' 'the four of them'

'the five of us' xam.Mnnan xam.Mnniixun 'the five of you' 'the five of them' xam.Mnnu

Jistannan Jistanniixun Jistannu

'the six ofus' 'the six of you' 'the six of them'

foJannan foJanniixun foJannu

'the seven of us' 'the seven of you' 'the seven of them'

tmanyannan 'the eight of us' tmanyanniixun 'the eight of you' tmanyannu 'the eight of them' Jif:6-tikle J:iatan 'for those trouser straps of the groom' (R:85). When pronominal suffixes are attached, the Ill is geminated and preceded by a prosthetic vowel, e.g. 'illew (3ms.), 'illaw (3fs.), 'illu (3pl.), etc. The initial 'i- is generally elided after vowels, e.g. mani dile-llew 'Who hit him?' (R: 11 ), hie la-hye-llaw 'Nothing has happened to it' (R:71), dUe-lli 'He hit me' (M:7). Alternatively, the preposition may be combined with the independent genitive pronoun, e.g. 'il-didan 'for us, belonging to us' (R:104), 'ana hantena ham il-d-o ham il-d-o 'I shall take both him and him'. 1

1

1

13.3.1 l. laga 'at the home of, in the presence of This is a Kurdish loan and is used far more frequently than the Aramaic preposition geba to express the sense of 'at the home of, in the presence of. It can be used as a noun with the sense of 'side', e.g. tirnu !age 'both sides' (V:12). Examples of its use as a preposition before a nominal: gezawa laga be-ximyanaw 'She would go to the home of her father-inlaw' (R:24), J:iatan dwa'i gezilwa lo'a, /aga kalda 'The groom would then go inside, into the presence of the bride' (R:35), qba'iike labliwala /aga xaya{a. 'They would take the jacket to a tailor' (R:76). The particle dis not inserted before demonstrative pronouns, e.g. geziwa tmanya y6me laga '6 baxta 'they would go for eight days to the home of that woman' (R:28), qima zila laga 'o-bela hulaha 'She set off and went to that Jewish family' (R: 167), qima s6ti zila laga 'o brata 'My grandmother got up and went to that girl' (R:201). When pronominal suffixes are attached to it, the -a ending is removed, e.g. /agew 'in his presence', lagaw 'in her presence', lagu 'in their presence', etc. Alternatively, the form laga may be combined with the independent genitive pronoun, e.g. laga didan 'in our community' (R:121), la-kiiyan Miryam zila laga d-i) 'I do not know whether Miryam went to her' (R:173). The preposition laga is occasionally combined with other prepositions, such as b-, ga- and min, e.g. '6 'arba tiwi ba-/agan so'a yome 'The four stayed with us for seven days' (R:100), nasaxi ga-lagan litwa 'There was no illness in our community' (R: 129), geziwa tasqite min-laga qa~!/1be kmenwa 'They would go and bring stomachs from the butchers' (R:56). 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

218

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

13.3.12. min 'from, of, than'; 'with' When attached to a following noun or adverb, min generally does not bear its own stress, e.g. min-Bagdad 'from Baghdad' (R:10), min->irbe 'from sheep' (R:52), min-laxxa 'from here' (R:22), >ana hfyena min-baxtz 'I came with my wife' (I:Ialabja). It is often abbreviated tom-. This is found both before words beginning with a consonant and also before those beginning with a vowel after the elision of Pl, e.g. m-baxta rabtake 'from the older wife' (R:156), m-bela 'from home' (R:37), m-itka 'from the place' (A:15). Occasionally a short epenthetic Iii is inserted before a consonant, e.g. ml-simme 'from heaven' (R:164), ml-ruwwa 'from an adult' (A:5). Before a demonstrative pronoun the preposition regularly has its full form min and is combined with the particle d, e.g. min-d-awa silmana 'from that Muslim' (M:5), min-d-6-baxta z6rta 'from the young wife' (R:156), min-d-ay-res min-d-o-reJ 'from this end and from that end' (Z:25), min-d-awa kixlzwa 'The would eat this (literally: from this)' (R:64). When pronominal suffixes are attached the final In/ is geminated, e.g. minnew 'from him', minnaw 'from her', minnu 'from them'. The preposition may also be combined with the independent genitive pronoun, e.g. dur-yelu silmane min-didan 'The Muslims were far from us' (R:25), xalusta rabtf bis-rabtela min-didz 'My elder sister was older than me' (R:104). 1

1

1

1

13.3.13. manga, mingol 'like' Before nouns and adverbs this preposition generally has the form manga in Sulemaniyya and mango! or mingol in I:Ialabja, e.g. manga xola 'like rope' (Z:25), manga kifte 'like meatballs' (R:45), manga >atta 'like now' (R:20), ming6l malzk 'like a king' (V:19), mingol-laxxa 'like here' (V:26). Before independent demonstrative pronouns it is combined with the particle d, e.g. manga d-anye 'like these' (R:206), manga d-onye 'like those'. The particle d does not occur, however, when the demonstrative qualifies a noun, e.g. manga >6 halaktrfk 'like that electric light' (R:164), >ay-bela ming6l >o-bela-y 'This house is like that house'. When pronominal suffixes are attached, the preposition has the form mingal- in Sulemaniyya and mingal- or mingol- in }:Ialabja, e.g. mingalew 'like him', mingalaw 'like her', mingalu 'like them', etc. 1

PARTICLES

219

13.3.14. qam 'before' (spatial) When this is placed before nominals, it generally bears its own stress, e.g. qam nase 'before people' (R:32), qam IJ,ak'im 'before a judge' (R:119). Pronominal suffixes may be attached to it, e.g. qamew 'in front of him', qamaw 'in front of her', qamu 'in front ofthem', etc. It is sometimes combined with another preposition, e.g. ba-qamew 'in front of him' (R:70), msimxille ga-qam samandafa,-1 'He directed her to the train (literally: he made her stand in front of the train)' (R:161). When combined with m- it usually has a causal sense, e.g. m-qam-kab6d ta-maml 'out of (i.e. because of) respect for my uncle' (Z:14), m-qam-d-awa 'because of that' (Z:41). Note the occurrence of the particle d before the independent demonstrative pronoun in the last example. 1

13.3.15. qame 'before' (temporal) When this is placed before a nominal, it generally bears its own stress on the penultimate syllable, e.g. qame Lalange 'before Purim' (R:200), qame ros-sanil 'before new year' (R:91), qame tre-sinne 'two years ago' (R: 111 ). It is not combined with the particle d before a demonstrative pronoun, e.g. hiye qame >o gora 'He came before that man'. Pronominal suffixes are attached to the preposition after eliding the final -e vowel, e.g. qamew 'before him'' qamaw 'before her'' qamu 'before them', etc., or to an independent genitive pronoun, e.g. qame didan 'before us' (R:100). 1

13.3.16. resa 'upon, concerning' When placed before nominals, this generally bears its own stress, e.g. resa gare 'on the roof (R:125), resa nura 'upon the fire' (R:39), resa >inse 'concerning women' (Z:33). The particle dis not inserted before a demonstrative pronoun, e.g. resa >o-mez 'upon that table'. The final -a is sometimes omitted. In such cases, it is normally linked to what follows in a single stress group, e.g. res-mez 'on the table' (M:9), res-milyin 'on a horse' (Z:37) xa res-xil 'one on top of the other' (R:85). It may be combined with pronominal suffixes, e.g. resew 'upon him', resaw 'upon her', resu 'upon them'. On some occasions it is combined with the prepositions b- or min and the resulting phrases generally express the sense of 'over' without contact or movement 'onto' from above, e.g. >i[anake prima-wa ba-resa

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

qoraw 'The tree inclined over her grave' (R:192), mandenwalu ba-resa-Jilu 'They dropped them onto their hands' (R:70), Jo-glob m-resa meziike-ya 'The lamp is above the table'. The phrase b-resa may also have an abstract sense of 'concerning', e.g. ka muwafaqat koliwa b-resaw 'When they agreed regarding her' (V:11). 1

1

1

1

13.3.17. ta 'to, for' This is prefixed to a nominal or adverbial without bearing its own stress, e.g. ta-baruxawale 'to friends' (R:1), ta-Jena 'to the spring' (R:1), ta-laxxa 'to here' (R:19), ta-doka 'to there' (R:22), mi-/Je/ ta-tex 'from above to below', ta-xlula 'for the wedding' (M:11), ta-Jisr'i bate 'for twenty families' (R:68). When it is followed by a demonstrative pronoun, it is combined with the particle d, e.g. ta-d-6 sarike tati 'to those partners of my father' (R:203), ta-d-ay brona ... ta-d-o brona 'to this son ... to that son' (Z:7). Pronominal suffixes are not attached to this preposition. Where suffixes are required, a synonymous preposition with suffixes is used instead, e.g. baqew, Jillew 'to him'. The preposition ta may, however, be combined with the independent genitive pronoun, e.g. dax mirax ta-d-6 'as you said to her' (R:207), ta-didi 'to me', ta-didan 'to us'. The preposition ta is occasionally combined with other prepositions, . e.g. la-kenwa ta-lagan 'They did not come to us' (R:2), ta-baqa sitwa 'for the winter' (V:22). 1

1

1

13.3.18. xela 'under' When this is placed before a nominal, it generally bears its own stress, e.g. Jo-kaxiita xela meziike-ya 'The letter is under the table'. It is not combined with the particle d before a demonstrative pronoun, e.g. xela Jo-mez 'under that table'. The final -a vowel is often omitted, e.g. xel-saj 'under the hot-plate' (Z:21), xel Jo-Jilana 'under that tree' (R: 192). It may take pronominal suffixes, e.g. xelew 'under him', xelaw 'under her', xelu 'under them', etc. It is occasionally combined with other prepositions, e.g. ga-xel Jara 'under the ground' (R:61). 1

PARTICLES

221

13.4. Miscellaneous uninflected particles

These may operate within a clause or may function as clausal conjunctions. Many of them are loan-words. 'even, even if (Heb.) 'if (Kurd.) 'ifnot' (Kurd.) 'if not' (Kurd.) 'thus' post-verbal particle (Kurd.) 'then' (Kurd.) volitional preverbal particle (Kurd.) 'more' (Kurd.) 'suddenly' (Kurd.) 'because' (Kurd.) 'indeed' 'again' (Kurd.) relative particle and subordinating conjunction (Kurd.). Variant of ka. 'both ... and' (Kurd.) ham ... ham 'also' (Kurd.) ham 'or' (Kurd.) han han-la, halla 'or not' 'always, exactly, completely; har-ci only' har (Kurd.) presentative particle 'look; here is ... ' hawa hesta, hestan 'still' (Kurd.) 'nothing', 'no' (nominal modifier) (Kurd.) hie 'except, only' 'ilia 'also, and, as for' (Kurd.). the Iii vowel is elided -is after vowels, e.g. 'elawaye-s 'as for festivals' (R:3) relative particle and subordinating conjunction ka (Kurd.). Variant of ga. 'as if (Heb.) 'not' volitional preverbal particle (Kurd.) mar nakun,naku 'lest' (Kurd.) 'in order that' (Kurd.) taku 'afil/u 'agar 'agna 'agnawa 'akra awa 'inja ba bis cannakaw cunga da dubara ga

222

CHAPTER TIIlRTEEN u

'and'. This is suffixed or prefixed to words and is realized phonetically in various ways such as U, ~U, W, Wl.

xasta xor xol-la yan ... yan yan,ya yumkin

'a few' 'indeed, really' 'indeed not' 'either ... or' (Kurd.) 'or' (Kurd.) 'perhaps' (Arab.)

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE SYNTAX OF NOMINALS 14.1. Expression ofdefiniteness The term 'definiteness' can refer to a phenomenon on the semantic level of a language or a feature in its grammatical structure. It is important to distinguish these, since the definiteness of something on the semantic level is not always signalled by the grammatical structure. When a nominal is said to be definite on the level of meaning, this refers to the informational status of the nominal. The crucial factor is the judgement by the speaker concerning the identifiability of the referent by the hearer. If the speaker assumes that the hearer can identify which specific referent he is referring to by the nominal, the nominal is treated by the speaker as definite in status. This assumption is typically made when the referent has been mentioned previously or at least is associated in some way with the context or situation that is being talked about, or when the nominal has a unique referent, as is the case with proper nouns. Also nouns whose referent is a generic class are definite since the speaker assumes that the hearer is familiar with this class by virtue of his knowledge of the world. If, on the other hand, the speaker assumes that the hearer cannot identify which referent he is talking about, the nominal is treated as indefinite in status. The grammatical expression of this definiteness varies across languages. In Aramaic the distinction between the definite and indefinite status of nominals was originally expressed grammatically by the distinction between the 'determined state' and the 'absolute state' respectively. In the NENA dialects, this original grammatical means of expressing the distinction has broken down, but other devices have been developed to compensate for its loss. In the JSH dialect, as in other NENA dialects and indeed as in many other languages, the cardinal numeral 'one' (xa) is often used as an indefinite article that is a grammatical signal of the indefinite status of the nominal. The dialect has, moreover, borrowed the suffixed definite article -ake from Kurdish.

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14.1.1. Indefiniteness expressed by the particle xa The particle xa is not used with all nominals that have indefinite status on the semantic level. Certain general tendencies can be discerned in its usage, though there are no categorical rules. These patterns of usage of the indefinite particle have been found in other NENA dialects (cf. Khan 1999: 195-203, 2002: 245-251). The English indefinite article has a far wider distribution among nouns with indefinite status and it is often appropriate to use the indefinite article in English translation where no xa particle appears in the dialect. In general, the particle xa occurs with an indefinite countable nominal with a referent that is individuated and salient in some way but tends to be omitted when the referent lacks this feature. One factor that determines this individuation or salience of an indefinite nominal is whether the speaker is using it to refer to a specific referent in the class of items denoted by the word or whether it is being used in a less specific sense to refer to any item in the class. Referentially specific usages of indefinite nominals occur more frequently, as one would expect, in narratives than in expositional discourse concerning general customs. In narrative contexts the specific referents of such indefinite nominals introduced by xa often play an important role in the subsequent context, which is reflected by the fact that they are referred to in subsequent clauses. This, therefore, is a factor that further enhances the salience of the referent. Examples: (1) xa-gora dawlamand spira1izz lagaw. 1mire baqaw1... mire ... 'A good rich man went up to her. He said to her ... He said ... ' (R:162) (2) mira 1ana xa-xalusta hltwali, 1}:iti,J-u mas1ala,I 1aya 1asxa 1asxa. 1 miru 1e laxxa-ya. 1 'She said "I had a sister. The story is suchand-such. She is like this." They said: "Yes, she is here, she is here."' (R:173) (3) xa-1 ilana riqa resaw. 11 isri nafare1yatwi xel 10-1ilana. 11ilanake prima-wa ba-resa qoraw. 1 'A tree grew over her. Twenty people could sit under that tree. The tree hung over her grave.' (R:192) 1

On some occasions the referent of the nominal is not durable in the subsequent discourse, but its description is specified by a following attributive phrase or clause. It is often appropriate to translate such phrases by a relative clause in English, e.g.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

227

(4) Sara xa-brata ba-!J,naqta xizyala. 'Sara has given birth to a daughter that is not breathing (literally: in a state of asphyxiation).' (R: 198) 1

(5) xa-carpa ga-tara' 'a bed that was outside' (R: 179) (6) walla xa be/a hltwalan,I tara /J,awsan, manit dalwa ga:>ew :,o-mindixa,I :,afillu Ra/J,avbt samyawa. 'Indeed we had a house. Whenever somebody knocked the thing on the door of our courtyard (in this house), even Rel).ovot would hear.' (R:27) 1

1

An indefinite nominal referring to a period that functions as an adverbial is typically combined with the particle xa when the reference is to one specific time. This is often found at the beginning of a narrative, where the adverbial sets the temporal frame of what follows, e.g. (7) xa-y6ma nanawa nasax-yela. 'One day the baker-woman was ill.' (R:71) 1

(8) xa-y6ma sabbat,I ~imri xamsa-sar sinnele 'One Sabbath, (when) I was fifteen years old' (M:5) 1

(9) xa-lela xayytil wU!i, miri la qeman-ana hezan-ana? 'One night I thought to myself and said: "Should I not set off and go away?"' (R:176) 1

1

Also indefinite nominals without specific referents may be combined with the particle xa if they have some kind of salience in the discourse. This applies, for example, to indefinite nominals that play a central role over a span of several clauses in accounts of customary events and activities, e.g. (10) :>at gezitwa ta-Bagdad, ba-samandafar xazitwa xa-hula:,a) min-xa silmana xazitwa, matuwale lagew, ma/J,qewale, xabre basime kmirwate,I b-lixle yatwiwa. 'if you were going to Baghdad in a train and you saw a Jew, you saw him together with a Muslim, he (the Muslim) would make him sit by him, he would speak with him and say kind words to him and they would sit together.' (Z:32) 1

1

1

1

1

(11) bfqatta-Y' geziwa bar-xa-baxta silmanta kyawa deqawale. deqawale, kwawale ba-rbxa. 'They went in the morning (to find) a Muslim woman to come to crush it. She would crush it and put it in the wind.' (R:40) 1

1

1

1

1

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

(12) xa-Jirba dabf:zzwala-wa, matwiwa ga-barimye. barimya yaruqta matwiwale gaw. 1 bzqatta-ye qemiwa,I ga-naxla hawewa,I tre-tiUJa parce pisra paltiwa, masxfnzwale-u gal-lixma kixUwale. 1 'They would slaughter a sheep and put it in pots. They put it in a green pot. In the morning they got up and if it was raining, they took out two or three pieces of meat. They heated it up and ate it with bread.' (Z: 10) 1

1

1

1

The particle xa is used with an indefinite noun when it is presented as one member of a set of items and the presence of other members of the same set is mentioned or at least implied. In such cases the xa is individuating, picking out individuals from the group of the set. This applies to cases of contrastive opposition between two items of the same class such as the following: (13) kulle-s ba-siraj,I ba-siraj kolanwalu,I xa-xmata laxxa-u 1 xa-xmata doka. 1 'We made everything on the loom, on the loom, (putting) a needle here and a needle there.' (R:78)

(14) xadriwa manga nargze,I manga warde. xa-lag xurma-u xa-lag behiike koUwalu. 'They became like narcissi, like flowers. They arranged them with the dates on one side and the eggs on the other side.' (R:50) 1

1

1

1

The particle is frequently used with an indefinite nominal that is qualified by the word xet 'other', where a contrast between items of a class is always implied. This is regularly the case where the nominal has a specific referent, e.g. (15) tre-xalusye hftwali,I tirnu mili ga-Slemanz. 1 xa-xalusta-xet hzya ga-JEre$ YisraJel. 1 'I had two sisters, both of whom died in Sulemaniyya. Another sister came to the Land oflsrael.' (Z:42) (16) Ju-xa-bela xet-is hftwa. 1 'There was another family.' (R:158) (17) gal-xa-brata xet 'with another daughter' (R:151) If the nominal qualified by xet does not have a specific referent, the xa is sometimes omitted, e.g. (18) la gezixwa ta-tka xet. 1 'We did not go to any other place.' (R:25) (19) >agar la-gbitta,I >ana kunnaw ta-nas xet. 1 'If you do not love her, I shall give her to some other person.' (R: 165)

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

229

A related individuating usage of xa is its placement before a nominal referring to a single, countable portion of something, which would otherwise be expressed as a noun of mass, e.g.

(20) xa-pyala ita la-doqnawa b-J:iityaj xa-parca lixma hiiwili. 'so that I would not have to hold a hand in need for people to give me a piece of bread.' (Z:43) 1

(22) xa-gunya rizza 'a sack of rice' (Z:42) 1

(23) xa-danka qamxa 'a small portion of flour' (R:50) The word mindi I mindix 'something' is combined with xa when it refers to single, specific item, e.g. (24) gezilwa xa-mindi siiqilwa ta-yaliike 'He would go and buy something for the children.' (R: 118) (25) mire xiizena xa xa-mindix hot. 'I shall see if somebody does something.' (Z:30) 1

(26) kimriwa nakun xa-mindi xddir >Wu. 'They said (this was done) lest something happen to them.' (R:135) 1

When the word lacks the xa, it is generally being used as a filler, in circumstances where the speaker cannot think of the correct word. In such cases it generally has the form mindix: (27) sawariike,I mindix koliwale. 'They would do a thing to the burghul.' (R:39) 1

(28) trumbel hftwale,I mindix-yela, tandar. 'He had a car, it was a thing, a van.' (R:189) 1

1

(29) har min-laxxa >aqlew pita dimma, slixa,I !Jatta mindix. 'His leg bled, it was tom open, all the way from here until something?' (R:136) 1

1

1

1

The particle is used with a plural nominal that is qualified by other numerals in order to express a delimited, individuated group, e.g. (30) xa->arba xamsa faqire hftwa gawu. 'There were four or five poor people among them.' (R:23) 1

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

(31) xa-"arba xamsa "inse hltwa. 'There were four or five women.' (R:28) 1

(32) xa-tmanya "icca behi) 'eight or nine eggs' (R:50) The particle xa is placed before an indefinite noun when the speaker wishes to focus upon its unity, e.g. (33) xa-filis pare la doqawa. 'She did not take a single penny in money.' (R:196) 1

(34) "afillu xa-griis "ila la-diiyiwa ba-d-6 pare. 'They would not put their hand on even a single piastre of the money.' (Z:34) 1

(35) mani xa-kaka gilya hiiwewa la qa{liwale! 'They would indeed kill whoever revealed a single tooth!' (R:73) 1

1

This focus is enhanced by prefixing the particle har, e.g. (36) har-xa-bela pfs ga-Slemani. 'Only one single family remained in Sulemaniyya.' (R:155) 1

(37) har-xa nasa kiisewa ba"eu. 'Only one person would cover himself with it.' (Z:26) 1

(38) har xa-yala qwira. 'Only one single boy was buried.' (R:192) 1

There is a tendency for the particle xa to be omitted when the nominal lacks the salience described above. Nominals that express incidental items, which are are not durable and play no role in the following discourse are typically used without xa. In most cases they do not refer to a specific referent, but to an unspecified of the class of entities denoted by the nominal. Examples: (39) ba-"arabana gezi.xwa ta-bate silmane. 'We used to go the houses of the Muslims in a carriage.' (R:25) 1

(40) sawar-is b-pi~la qiilenwa. 'They also fried burghul with an onion.' (R:42) 1

(41) rizziike-s diiyiwale m-makina. 'They shook the rice in a machine.' (R:41) 1

1

(42) "ay brata ga-xlula xizyali. 'I have seen this girl at a wedding.' (R:30) 1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

231

In the foregoing examples the indefinite nominals 'a carriage', 'an onion', 'a machine', 'a wedding', do not have specific referents that play a role in the following discourse. Indefinite nominals that are introduced in existential clauses containing the particle hit tend to lack xa where the speaker wishes to present a broad perspective of the situation as a whole rather than focus on the entity of the nominal. In such cases, the nominal generally does not have a specific referent: (43) maaxnijada hitwalan. 'We had a road.' (R:119) 1

(45) tama kulla yale baba hittu w-axni baba tutan. 'Why do all the children have a father but we do not have a father?' (R: 11) 1

(46) lixma ga-tanura, hitwa baxta kolawa ta-dabqawale ba-tanura. 'As for bread made in the oven, there was a woman whose job it was to stick it to the oven.' (Z:21) 1

1

In (4 7) and (48), by contrast, where the indefinite nominals have xa, the speaker wishes to focus more attention on the entity of the nominal. In (47) the nominal has a specific referent: (47) xa-maasawdn silmana-yele. 'The miller was a Muslim.' (R:65) 1

(53) >ot bazirgdn-yele surma ziibinwa. 'Whoever was a clothier would sell glittering material.' (Z:4) 1

1

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

232

14.1.2. Definiteness expressed by the suffix -ake The definite article -ake is attached to the end of a noun or a nominal phrase. The final inflectional vowel is elided, which results in the loss of formal distinction between the singular and plural of many nouns, e.g. tkanake 'the shop'(< tkana + ake) or 'the shops'(< tkane + ake). When it is used with a nominal phrase consisting of a noun and a following adjective, it is placed on the adjective, e.g. xalusta rabtake 'the elder sister' (R:147), br6na silmanake 'the Muslim boy' (R:145), baba qurbasarake 'the wretched father' (R:147). Likewise, when two nouns are conjoined in an annexation construction, it is placed on the second noun, e.g. baba bratake 'the father of the girl' (R:146), baba bronake 'the father of the boy' (R:148). It is never used before pronominal suffixes. 1 The definite article suffix may be used on a nominalized adjective that stands alone, e.g. 1

1

1

1

(1) tre beJe ga-xa salsala, 1 xayu rabta-w xayu zurta. 1 Jana zurtake

hantenaw, Jat hintu l-rabtake. 'Two eggs are in a basket, one of them big and one of them small. I shall take the small one, you take the big one.' 1

The definite article suffix is only sporadically used on nouns that are qualified by a demonstrative pronoun. Nouns with the definite article are sometimes used in parallel with identical or similar phrases in which a noun has a demonstrative, e.g. (2) gorake xa-brona hftte. Jo-g6ra xa-brona hftte. 'The man had a son. That man had a son.' (R:164)" 1

1

1

(3) karake par{i,wale. Jo kara pasrfwale wa. 'They would extract the butter. They would melt the butter.' (R:52) 1

1

1

Cases where the definite article and a demonstrative are combined in the same phrase in the text corpus include the following. The demonstrative may be near or far deixis: (4) Jay-bratake Sara-ya 'This girl is Sarah.' (R:208) (5) J6 dawlamandake 'those rich people' (R:64) (6) J6 tre-blanake-s pisi, Galawis-u Salzma. 'Those two daughters, Galawis and Salima, remained alive.' (R: 168) 1

1

1

This differs from Sorani Kurdish, in which the article may be placed before a pronominal suffix, e.g. mal-aka 'the house', mal-im or mal-ak-im 'my house'.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

(7)

233

6 1ax6ni Hzixron6 li-vraxtt ruwwake 'that older brother of mine, of blessed memory' (R:109)

1

1

The suffix -ake does not occur on all nouns that are definite in status. Many nouns whose referents the speaker considers to be identifiable by the hearer do not have the suffix. Just as is the case with the indefinite article xa, the definite article -ake tends to be restricted to definite nouns that have some kind of textual salience. One reflection of this textual salience is that a noun with the -ake suffix has usually been mentioned previously in the preceding context. The referent has often been introduced into the discourse by a noun combined with the indefinite article xa, which, as shown above, is itself a marker of salience, e.g. (8)

0-g6ra xa-brona hitte. mire ta-bronake 'That man had a son. He said to the son' (R:164)

1

1

1

(9) Sabriyya g6ra willa ba-resa xa baxta. g6ra wUla ba-resa xa baxta Sabriyya. 1 madama-yela. 1 baxtake qima1 darmana-hiwla baqaw qi{lala. 'Sabriyya married over a woman (I.e. she married a man who already had a wife). Sabriyya married over a woman. She was a nurse. The woman went and gave her a drug and killed her.' (R:38) 1

1

1

1

(10) 1u-xa 1aklela mandenwa gawu. 11aklelake baslawa. 1 'They would put a chicken among them. The chicken would cook.' (R:48) (11) xa-1ilana riqa resaw. 11isri nafare1 yatwi xel 10-1ilana. 11ilanake prima-wa ba-resa qoraw. 'A tree grew over her. Twenty people could sit under that tree. The tree hung over her grave.' (R:192) 1

On some occasions the first mention of the noun is itself definite in status, but the -ake suffix is reserved for the second mention, e.g. simmew (12) 1 inja mayt mam labille? 1 br6na xalusti CAmmanu>e/-yele,I miru cAmmanu>e/,I >at >intule maytake. 'Then who would take the corpse? The son of my sister, whose name was Emmanuel. They said "Emmanuel, you take the corpse. Put it in the car."' (R:189) 1

1

The particle is used in this context also with nouns referring to a generic class. Since the referent of the noun is generic, it should be considered to be identifiable also in its first occurrence. The suffix -ake, however, is

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

234

used only with the second occurrence of the noun. In such cases, neither occurrence of the noun would normally be translated with the English definite article, e.g. (13) sawar basliwa. rizza basliwa. sawariike, mindzx koliwate. 1

1

1

1

'They would cook burghul. They would cook rice. They would do such-and-such a thing to burghul.' (R:39) (14) xurma-u run-is, xurma-u runiike ma-yela? '(The dish) dates and eggs' -what was (the dish) dates and eggs?' (R:49) 1

1

The textual salience of a noun bearing the -iike suffix is sometimes reflected in other ways. In (15), for example, the referent of the noun dawlamandiike 'the rich' is shown to be salient not only by the fact that it is mentioned previously but also by its prominent role in the following discourse as the agent of subsequent clauses. (15) farq-u juday (rtwa min-faqzr-u dawlamande. kiiyenwa mani dawlamand-ye1 mani faqlr-ye. 1 dawlamandiike kwfwa ta-faqire. 1 pare la barxfwa ga-knista. nosu ba-ganula labliwa matwfwalu baqu. kimrfwa ~awin-ye ba-~almu la-samqz. 'There was no distinction or separation between the poor and the rich. They knew who was rich and who was poor. The rich would give to the poor. They did not bless the money (publicly) in the synagogue. They themselves would secretly take it and present it to them. They would say that it was not right (to do so), they should not be embarrassed.' (R:6) 1

1

1

1

On some occasions the definite noun marked with the suffix -iike is not explicity mentioned in the previous context, but it is nevertheless inferrable through its typical association with another previously invoked noun. In (16), for example, 'the girl' (i.e. the bride) is typically associated with the referent of the 'wedding'. In (17), the 'oil' is associated with the 'frying pan'. In such cases the noun not only has definite status due to this association with what precedes but also is generally textually prominent in some other respect. In (16) it is clear that the bride is a central participant in a wedding. In (17) the speaker appears to be using the suffix to give particular prominence to the important components of the recipe:

(16) xlula, blaniike baruxaw kenwa lagaw. '(When there was) a wedding, the friends of the girl would come to her.' (A:7) 1

1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

235

(17) xurma saqliwa, fawa mattiwa. mifriike dax xiidirwa, xurmiike mandenwale, qiilenwale jwan bi-mlaqa asxa koliwalu. 'They used to buy dates and put them in a frying pan. When the oil boiled, they put in the dates and fried them well, stirring (literally: doing) them like this with a spoon.' (R:49) 1

1

1

1

1

As already remarked, the definite article suffix is omitted when the noun has definite status but is not linked to the previous context. In the cases cited above, the noun is mentioned subsequently with the -iike suffix. In many cases, however, a definite noun without -iike is only an incidental referent and does not play a central role in what follows. This applies, for example, to the nouns 'the ground' and 'the wind' in (18) and (19): (18) manga kimri l-Bagdiid-yele} tre jarrakane, tre safre, tre safre >asxa>e lire zayre hiwle ta-da>aki. da>aki qibrila ga->ara. 'So they say, (when) he was in Baghdad, he gave two jars, two buckets, two buckets like this, of gold liras to my mother. My mother buried them in the ground.' (R: 15) 1

1

1

1

1

(19) deqawale, kwawale ba-roxa. 'She would crush it and put it in the wind.' (R:40) 1

1

14.2. The absolute state Some nouns that are normally used with a nominal inflectional ending are attested in the absolute state without this ending in certain syntactic contexts. These may be classified as follows: (i) Temporal adverbial expressions containing the nouns yoma 'day', Zele 'night' and fo>a 'week' in the absolute state: >idyom I >idyo 'today', >illel 'tonight', >ay-fo> 'this week', bar xa-so> 'after a week' (M: 11 ). We should mention here also the names of the days of the week trusab 'Monday', til/Jusab 'Tuesday', >arbusab 'Wednesday' and xamsusab 'Thursday', which are in the absolute state without the final nominal inflectional vowel -a (§10.15.1.). This has no doubt arisen from the fact that the names of days are typically used adverbially. The nouns denoting the other days are not put in the absolute state (xsaba 'Sunday', rota 'Friday', sabbat (Heb.) 'Saturday'). (ii) Spatial adverbial expressions. The cases attested in the text corpus occur in constructions where two occurrences of the noun are set up in syntactic opposition with a distributive sense:

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(1) xa-lag xurma-u xa-lag behake kolzwalu. 'They made them with the dates on one side and the eggs on the other side.' 1

1

1

(R:50)

(2) kulle xola, manga xola, gezilwa k6lwale min-d-ay-rd min-d-o-res, glale k6lwalu. 'It was all string, like string, which he would run from this end and from that end.' (Z:25) 1

1

1

1

(iii) The form nas, the absolute state of the word nasa 'person'. This is frequently used in negative contexts, where it has no referent, e.g. (3) nas la-merwa hezilwa l-lo'a. 'Nobody would dare enter inside.' (R:142) 1

(4) nas la-Ule leka liblale. 'Nobody knew where he took her.' (R:153) 1

(5) nas Ut xe{lu. 'There i'3 nobody to sew them.' (R:79) 1

(6) nas litti. 'I have nobody.' (R:167) 1

(7) la-qablan nas :,ale. 'I shall not let anybody know.' (R:168) 1

(8) Jana nas la-kayena-wa ga-'alJra. 'I do not know anybody in the town.' 1

The negation may be made more forceful by combining the word nas with a stress-bearing xa particle, e.g. (9) xa-nas 'asxa la-k6l 'illdxun.' 'Not a single person will do this to you.' (A:2) The form nas in the absolute state is occasionally used in other syntactic contexts. It is attested in two cases in the text corpus where it is indefinite in status without a specific referent, e.g. (10) :,agar la-gbitta.' 'ana kunnaw ta-nas xet. 'If you do not love her, I shall give her to some other person.' (R: 165) 1

(11) tafqawa yacni xa-nas bis-bas6r xizimye '(If the girl) happened to be a person who was less than family .. .' (V :8) 1

1

It is also found used with a distributive sense in a clause that has an

adverbial circumstantial function in relation to the preceding clause:

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

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(12) geziwa ta-bazar,I nas itkana n6sew k6lwala-u yatuwwa. 'They would go to the market, (whereby each) person would set up his shop and sit in it.' (R:27) 1

14.3. Gender We shall draw attention here to some uses of the feminine gender. In various constructions a 3fs. pronominal element is used to denote a general situation without referring to a particular entity. These include cases where the feminine pronoun is the subject of the verb 'to be' in a predicative construction and corresponds to the neuter pronoun 'it' in English, e.g. (1) k6ra-u barii-yela. 1'It was noon and later.' (R:96) (2) qad6me Je/ii-ya. 'Tomorrow it is a festival.' (R:97) 1

(3) rek-yela bi-xle. 'It was good (to live) together.' (R:132) 1

(4) Jana kyena ma basimta-yela. 'I know how pleasant it was.' (Z:37) (5) jigara la giirisnawa qameu,I la IJ,iiqenawa qameu. 1niixipniiwa,I jwan lii-yela. 'I would not smoke a cigarette in front of him and I would not speak in front of him. I was ashamed (to do so), it was not good.' (Z:40) 1

1

(6) kul-yoma qriiwe yela. 'Every day it was arguments (i.e. there were arguments every day).' (R:204) (7) qefa xataw ximma-ye!a xataw qarda-yela. 'In summer sometimes it was hot and sometimes it was cold.' (R:124) 1

1

1

(8) Jidyo roxa-ya. 'Today it is windy.' 1

(9) dax-ma kiwya, ma la-kiwya? 'Well, what will it be, what will it not be(= What on earth will happen).' (R:144) 1

1

We may include here the use of the 3fs copula in expressions relating to temperature such as ximmew-ya 'He is hot', ximmi-ya 'I am hot', ximman-ya 'We are hot'. The copula cannot be agreeing with the noun ximma 'heat' since this is masculine. A parallel construction is used with

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the word qarda 'cold', which is feminine in gender: qardew-ya 'He is cold', qardi-ya 'I am cold', qardan-ya 'We are cold'. 2 A 3fs. pronominal suffix is attached to the preposition b- after the verb >zl 'to go' to express the passage of time within the general situation in question, e.g.

(IO) bar d-awa,I la gezflwa haw raba,I xii yarxa, tre, tillJ,a,I xlula koliwa. 'After that, not much time passed (literally: went in it), one month, two months, three, (before) they held the wedding.' (A:15) 1

1

1

Similarly in (11) the 3fs. pronoun refers to a general, unspecified, set of activities: (11) >at bdelox baw? 'Have you begun?' 1

Note also the 3fs. suffix in (12), which refers to the general temporal setting of the events in question: (12) >ana ba-waxtaw n6saw fikrz-ye xa-yoma miru >ii-hula>e qaflz. 'I remember at that time, one day they said "They will kill the Jews."' (Z:27) 1

1

1

The 3fs. pronominal suffix is sometimes used on the preposition ga- ('in') where there is no specific feminine singular referent in the preceding context. This applies to cases such as: (13) >ayka be>ake darenwalu ga-xa satla, xamsa-sar >isri behe. >akra milxa darenwa gaw >u-xa-danka qamxa. 'Then they would put the eggs in a bucket, fifteen or twenty eggs. They would put in such-and-such an amount of salt and a little flour.' (R:49-50) (14) kul-nasa 1 h[twale >arba, xamsa, >ista [ocane. 1 xa"u kulwale 1

1

1

1

1

ta-d-ay brona. xa"u kulwale ta-d-o brona. xa>u nosew ganewa gaw. 'Everybody had four, five, six rooms. One of them he would give to this son. One of them he would give to that son. One of them he would sleep in himself.' (Z:7) 1

1

1

A non-referential 3fs. pronominal object is used with a number of verbs that are otherwise intransitive and do not take a direct object. This is a 2

These are calques of Kurdish constructions: qardi-ya = sirm-am-a 'I am cold'

ximmox-ya = garm-t-a 'you are hot'.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

239

regular feature of the following verbs: 'rq 'to run, flee' (e.g. 'driqla 'he runs', 'irqale 'he ran'), gtik 'to laugh' (e.g. gatiikla 'he laughs', gitikale 'he laughed) and pµ 'to make merry' (e.g. pi4ixla 'he makes merry', pi~xale 'he made merry'). A redundant 3fs. pronominal object is occasionally found also on other verbs, e.g. (15) wilalu qrawa. 'They had a battle (literally: They made it (with) a battle).' (R:201 ). 1

(16) kulle hula'e wilalu ba-xlula. 'All the Jews made it like a wedding celebration.' (Z:31) 1

In all cases the purpose of the pronominal object appears to be to express an enhanced distinctness and intensity of the verbal activity. This is associated with an increase in transitivity, as will be discussed in following chapter on verbal syntax (§15.3.). 14.4. Demonstrative pronouns 14.4.1. Preliminary remarks Three sets of demonstrative pronouns may be distinguished in the dialect, which have been designated as short, long and intermediate forms respectively (§7.4.). In general these exhibit distinct patterns of syntactic behaviour. There is, however, a certain degree of overlap among the various forms. The short forms 'o (far deixis) and 'ay (near deixis) are used as modifiers of a head noun, either singular or plural. They always precede the noun, e.g. 'o-ydla 'that child' (R:28), 'o-brata 'that girl' (R:204), 'o-nase 'those people' (R:7), 'ay-xala 'this food' (R:72), 'ay xsilta 'this jewelry' (Y:13), 'ay nase 'these people' (V:11). They are used with nouns that have pronominal suffixes, e.g. 'ay bratiixun 'this daughter of yours' (M:10), 'o tre 'axoni 'those two brothers of mine' (R:16). On some occasions the noun is elided by a process of gapping after a preceding parallel construction, e.g. (1) la baqriwa min-brondke1 'ay-brata gbitta? 1 'ay la-gbitta? 1 'They did not ask the boy "Do you like this girl?" 'Do you not like this one?"' (M:8)

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240

Note also (2), where there is no head noun: (2) b-ay m'ffe-giiJew! 'Understand this! (literally: In this----arrive in it!) (R: 152). 1

The use of the short form Jo without a head noun is attested with the suffixed particle -(i)s (§18.1.2.) in (3) and (4), where the pronoun has a plural reference: (3) )6-s ga-/Je/-awelu. 'They were far away.' (R:130) 1

(4) )6-s babe da)aka-u babe tiita-yelu. 'They were without a mother and without a father.' (R: 131) 1

The far deixis short demonstrative form Jo is homophonous with the 3rd sing. independent pronoun, which is of common gender but, unlike the short attributive demonstrative form Jo, expresses only the singular, the corresponding plural form being Joni. This independent pronoun usually functions as the subject of the clause, e.g. Jo-mire 'He said' (R:101), )6 smfxawa 'She had been standing' (R:145), Joni zfli gal-daJaku) 'They went with their mother' (R: 176). It is occasionally used, however, as the direct object of a clause (5-6) or as the complement of a preposition (7-8): (5) )6-s Marsel-is kaya. 'Marcelle knows it.' (R:155) 1

(6) J6 qiwralu. 'They buried her.' (R:192) 1

(7) la-kayan Miryam zila laga d-o )agar )6 zfla laga Miryiim. 'I do not know whether Miryam went to her or whether she went to Miryam.' (R: 173) 1

1

(8) ba-d-6ni masixnixwa. 'In them we would heat (the water).' (R:126) 1

The near deixis form Jay is homophonous with the rare 3fs. independent pronoun Jay, which is sporadically used in the dialect when the speaker wishes to distinguish unequivocally between genders and makes the pronoun the focus of contrastive assertion (§7.1.), e.g. (9) J6 la-hiye. Jay hiya. 'He did not come. SHE came.' 1

1

The long singular demonstrative forms Jawa (far deixis) and Jaya (near deixis) are generally used independently of a head noun. They are used not only as the subject of a clause (10-13), but also as the direct object

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

241

( 14-16) and the complement of a preposition ( 17-19). They occur in nonsubject position far more frequently than the independent pronoun ,o, e.g. (10) ,awa qurd la-yele. 'He was not a Kurd.' (R:10) 1

(11) ,awa br6na xzela. 'She has given birth to a son.' (R: 197) 1

(12) ,aya be/a hula,a-yele. 'This is a Jewish family.' (R:26) 1

(13) ,aya min-be kalda-hiya. 'This has come from the family of the bride.' (A:9) 1

(14) ,awa gbex. 'We want that.' (R:31) 1

(15) ,awa dasgirli.n koliwala. 'They would consider her betrothed.' (V:12) 1

(16) ,aya ma-myalox? 'Why have you brought her?' (R:170) 1

(17) bar d-awa 'After that' (R:40) 1

(18) ba-d-awa kiiyenwa silmane. 'By that one recognized the Muslims.' (R:75) 1

(19) min-d-awa kixliwa. 'The would eat this.' (R:64) 1

The near deixis form ,aya is used in a few sporadic cases in the text corpus as an attribute of a head noun, e.g. (20) hiye sfmix leka ,aya be/a bratiike. 'He came and stood by the house of the girl.' (R: 145) 1

1

(21) tateu ,u-babeu kimriwa ,aya brata ,at gbe goritta. 'His father and his grandfather would say "You must marry this girl."' (M:8) 1

1

1

The long plural demonstrative forms ,onya,e (far deixis) and ,anya,e (near deixis) are only used independently of a head noun, e.g. (22) ,onya,e1 rabe malwaye hitwalu. 1 'They had many villages.' (V:5) (23) ,anya,e la-kelu IJasta holi. 'These (people) cannot do any work.' (M:3) 1

1

The intermediate plural demonstrative forms :,onye (far deixis) and :>anye (near deixis) are used independently or as modifiers of a head noun. When independent, they may function as subjects, objects or prepositional complements, e.g.

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(24) 'onye kenwa baqan. 'Those would come to us.' (R:123) 1

1

(25) 'anye hawen lagax. 'Let these be with you.' (R: 17) 1

(26) biluri xwara1 'onye kolixwalu. 'We would make them with white linen.' (R:84) 1

(27) 'axonawali, '6 tre-ruwwe,I la-lflu ba-d-onye. 'My brothers, the two older ones, did not know about them.' (R: 107) 1

1

(28) 'axni swawe-yelan, manga d-anye. 'We were neighbours, like these.' (R:206) 1

1

Both 'onye (far deixis) and 'anye (near deixis) may be used as modifiers of a head noun. In the text corpus 'anye is used in this position mainly before the pronominal form 'asxa'e 'such things': (29) 'onye 'axonawali la-lilu ba'u. 1'Those brothers of mine did not know about them.' (R: 107) (30) 'onye gusiike qii{enwalu. 'They cut up the small pieces.' (R:70) 1

(31) qima zila 'onye hula'e. 'She went to those Jews.' (R:159) 1

(32) 'anye 'asxa'e kmenwa. 'They would bring things such as these.' (V:12) 1

(33) kulle 'anye-xabre }:lqenili. 'I have talked about all these matters.' 1

14.4.2. The function of the attributive demonstratives When a speaker places a demonstrative pronoun before a head noun, he has the choice between using a near deixis form ('ay, 'anye) or a far deixis form ('o, 'onye). The distinction in deixis of the two singular demonstratives expresses nearness to or distance from a spatial and temporal deictic centre. This deictic centre, which acts as their central point of reference, is the spatial and temporal location of the speaker, i.e. the 'here' and 'now' from the perspective of the speaker. Demonstrative pronouns are, in principle, placed only before nominals that are definite in status. The overall purpose of using a demonstrative pronoun before a nominal, therefore, is (i) to indicate to the hearer that the nominal is definite, i.e. that the hearer can identify the referent of the nominal in the situation of utterance or somewhere in the surrounding context of the discourse, and (ii) to give some indication concerning the distance of the referent from the speaker. A nominal that is definite in status is often, of course, left without any explicit grammatical marker of its definiteness.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

243

The speaker, therefore, has a choice of at least four strategies when dealing with a definite nominal, viz. (i) he may leave it unmarked, (ii) he may mark it with the definite article suffix -iike, (iii) he may mark it with a far deixis demonstrative pronoun, or (iv) he may mark it with a near deixis demonstrative pronoun. We shall examine first the functional difference between strategies (iii) and (iv), which involves a grammatical expression of differences in deixis. This distinction in deixis is clearly correlated with spatial distance when a speaker is referring to some item that is perceptible in the extralinguistic environment. An item that is physically close to the speaker will be qualified by the near deixis forms whereas one that is distant from the speaker will be qualified by the far deixis forms. This is also reflected in some adverbial expressions referring to spatial or temporal distance from the speaker, in that expressions denoting spatio-temporal proximity ('here, now') contain near deixis demonstratives whereas those denoting remoteness ('there, then') contain far deixis forms, e.g. (1) sawar ba-d-ay waxtara,I ga-yarxa 'Awgust,I ga-laxxa kimrile

yarxa 'Awgust, ga-d-o-tka kulle 'olam gezilwa sawar k6lwa. 'As for burghul, at this time (of year), in the month of August - here it is called August -there (literally: in that place, i.e. Sulemaniyya) everybody would go and make burghul.' (Z:23) 1

1

1

(2) 'agar '6-waxta daskirandar kiwyawa girl) was betrothed ... .' (R:36)

1

•••

'In those days, if (a

The explanation of the usage of the demonstrative pronouns is less straightforward, however, when, as in the vast majority of cases in the text corpus, their reference is intra-linguistic, i.e. when they refer to an item that occurs within the 'world' of the discourse. The factor that determines whether the speaker uses the near or far deixis form of a demonstrative that has intra-linguistic reference is by no means always textual distance. In most cases the demonstrative particles point back to a previous mention of a referent to facilitate its identification by the hearer. Both near and far deixis forms are used in order to refer back to items that are mentioned in the preceding text, e.g. (3) tati-u gal-tre-gure xet, 'Awrameme,I 'Abda ruwwa,I 'ilu mirmalu mfru: 'axni tar~exlla. knista tri#u,I har min-laxxa knista-yela ta-doka. kulle-s mazuze-s sqillu mindelu gaw. Sejer-iS sqi/lu minde/U gaw. H'ava/H knistake llOSUI 'ay flal_ia gure tir~alu. 'My father, together with two other men, 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

244

CHAPTER FOURTEEN , Awrameme and big , Abda, put up their hand and said 'We shall build it'. They built the synagogue. The synagogue extended all the way from here to there. Everybody bought mazuzas and put them in it. They also bought a Torah scroll and put it in it. But these three men built the synagogue by themselves.' (R:22)

(4) geziwa ta-malwaye, malwaye ba-xmara ga-labliwa qumase-u sakre-u caye-u >asxa,I zabniwalu ta-goyme. kulle yan ta-sabbat kenwa-wa yan draga draga kenwa-wa ta-sabbat, ta->e[awaye, yan pesaf_i kenwa-wa,I yan ros-ha-sana. >i[u la-gezawa,I gezfwa ta-malwaye zabniwalu >ay mindixane-u min-doka-s kmenwalu-wa. 'They would go to various villages by donkey in order to take materials, sugar, tea and the like and sell them to the Muslims. They all either returned for the Sabbath or would come back sporadically for the Sabbath or for festivals, or would come back at Passover, or at New Year. (If) they could not manage (to make a living at home), they would go to the villages and sell them these things and bring them back again from there.' (V:2-3) 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

(5)

[o>a X$U$l dwfq[u baqew,I y6 [o>a ba-ja,I madama b-lagew, madama b-lagew tiwta. 'They took a special room for him, that is not one that was for (other) sick, for sick people. That room was by itself, with a nurse by him, a nurse sitting by him.' (R:93) 1

1

1

(6) rizza darenwa ga>ew. >6 rizza-s darenwale ga>ew, pisra hanzniwa biJ->6 rizzii. 'They put rice in it. They put that rice in it and chopped up meat in that rice.' (R:59) 1

1

1

Such examples show that the choice of the speaker to use the near or far deixis forms cannot be correlated with textual distance. The nominals with far deixis demonstratives in (5) and (6) are no more distant from the previous mention of their referent than is the case with nominals qualified by a near deixis demonstrative in (3) and (4). The crucial factor in most cases is rather the personal choice of the speaker as to the perspective with which a particular item is presented. The near deixis form is used by the speaker to express a closer engagement with a referent in a text than is the case with the far deixis form. Even when the nominal with a demonstrative has extra-linguistic reference, the decision to use a near or far deixis form may depend on the choice of the perspective that the speaker wishes to adopt rather than the

I

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

245

objective distance of the referent from the speaker. This is shown by examples (7) and (8), which contain references to items in the extralinguistic environment, viz. an 'electric light' and the adjacent 'road'. In terms of objective distance the road was slightly more distant from the speaker than the light. In (8), however, the speaker elects to use the near deixis demonstrative form. The explanation seems to be that in (8) the 'road' is regarded as near to the spatio-temporal deictic centre of the speaker in the overall perspective of this section of discourse. The road adjacent to her house today is spatially and temporally close in relation to the road of the Jews in Sulemaniyya, with which the speaker compares it. (7) H,avalH 'iilet-dax-yela! manga '6 halaktrik nahrawa. 'But, you should know how (beautiful) she was! She glowed like that electric light.' (R: 164) 1

1

(8) 'axni jada hltwalan. 'axni 'atta 'ay jada dax-ya lagan,I 'axni 'asxa-yelan. 'We had a road. Just as this road is now, we were like that.' (R: 119) 1

1

The distribution of the demonstratives in the text corpus suggests that certain speakers had a greater preference for near deixis forms and the near perspective that they express than other speakers. A large proportion of the near deixis forms are, in fact, concentrated in the texts from informants M and V. Speakers sometimes use the near deixis forms with nominals with referents that play a prominent role in the text and are in the centre of attention, e.g. (9) beqatta-ye haye, saawa is generally preferred, e.g. (6) )6 dasmar farq hltwalan. ba-d-awa kayenwa silmane. 'There was a difference between us with regard to the head-shawl. By that one would recognized Muslims.' (R:75) 1

1

(7) da>aku babu mW, nas {u ta-biixew hblwalu. b-awa faqlr yelu. 'Their mother and father died and there was nobody to look after them. They were poor in that way.' (R:23) 1

1

1

(8) bar-min-d-awa geziwa ta-dasyale. 'After that people would go into the fields.' (Z: 16) 1

1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

251

(9) mire ta-bronake kimrit heza-wa,I >awa tob-ye. >agna-atta qafinnox ga-laxxa. 'He said to the boy: "(It) you tell her to go back, that is good. If not, I shall kill you here right now."' (R:149) 1

1

1

The clause in which the >awa occurs in (6)-(9) is typically found after some kind of boundary or discontinuity in the discourse. In ( 6) and (7), for example the clause constitutes an elaborative tag to what precedes. The clause in (8) is presented as a stage in the celebrations of the Feast of Weeks that is distinct from the one described in the preceding discourse. In (9) the clause with >awa constitutes an apodosis to the preceding clause, which has the function of a protasis. In some cases an independent demonstrative occurring outside direct speech refers to a referent in the preceding context rather than to a proposition. The use of a demonstrative rather than an independent pronoun in such contexts generally expresses some kind of discontinuity from what precedes, as was the case in (6)-(9). In examples (10)-(12) below, for example, the clauses with the independent demonstratives are elaborative statements that offer a supplementary comment on what precedes. In (13) the clause with the independent demonstrative >onye is a recapitulation of what precedes. In (14) the clause with >awa constitutes the apodosis after the preceding protasis: (10) tati >iiha manixle} tati l-Bagdad-yele. >awa qurd la-yele,I ciraqi-yele. 'My father, God grant him rest, my father was in Baghdad. He was not a Kurd, he was Iraqi.' (R: 10) 1

1

(11) ha-Iha xa-mac/im hftwa/an, min-Zaxo-yele. min-Zaxo-yele mdClim} n,avaiH >awa spira-yele. 1 'Indeed, we had one Rabbi 1

1

who was from Zakho. The Rabbi was from Zakho. Yet he was good.' (R:8) (12) waxta-s ga-hiyex ta->Ere~-Yisra>et,I faqire pare lftwa henwa ta->Ere~-Yisra>e/. 1 min-knifye-hiwlu baqu. 1 min-knifye-hiwlu baqu. ti/f,la >arba ruwwe ruwwe tiwi. bixle dax-tiwi, 'anye tiwi majlis. miru ... 'When we came to the Land of Israel, the poor did not have money to come to the Land of Israel. They gave them money from the synagogues. Three or four important people sat. They sat together in a meeting, as people did. They said .. .' (R:139) 1

1

1

1

1

1

(13) xa !Jaji baxtake /ib/ale. pisiwa tirnu b/anake} b/anake-s msilmi. >onye pW l6ka. 'A l,iaji took the wife away. The two daughters 1

1

1

252

CHAPTER FOURTEEN remained. The daughters converted to Islam. They remained there.' (R:157)

(14) Jagar hewale hulwa,l baba ~atan, Jawa km"trwale. la hewale hulwa,l mindixe kolzwa. 'If the father of the groom could give (these things), he would say so. (It) he could not give (them), they would do such-and-such.' (R:31) 1

1

1

Independent demonstratives are used to keep two or more referents distinct when they are set up in contrastive opposition, e.g. (15) kulle jins xa barimya hftwale, xa humba kimrixwala. Jawa Jil-rizza-y, Jawa Jit-sawar-ye, Jawa Jit-xurtmane-y. 'Every type (of food) had a pot, which we called a humba. That one was for rice, that one was for burghul, that one was for chickpeas.' (V:26) 1

1

1

1

1

(16) kul-nasa beta hftwale, Jaya ba-krec"t hawe, Jdya be/a nosew hawewa. 'Everybody had a house, this one may be rented whereas this one may have been his own house.' (Z:7) 1

1

1

(17) /falabja hu/aJe-u silmane b1-xle-yelu. Jaya be/a hulaJa-yele Jawa be/a silmanele. 'But in l;Ialabja the Jews and Muslims were together. This was a Jewish house and that was a Muslim house.' (R:26) 1

1

1

1

14.4.4. Demonstratives with presentative function One some occasions a demonstrative is used with a broader function of drawing attention to items other than nouns. This applies, for example, to the following construction, in which the form Jaya draws attention to the whole of the following proposition: Jaya xa-bdxta lele mila. 'A woman has died in the night.' 1

(R:186)

14.5. Genitive pronouns When a speaker wishes to attach a genitive pronominal element to a nominal, he has the choice of using a pronominal suffix or using the independent genitive pronoun, e.g. belan - beta didan 'our house'. The same syntactic choice exists with regard to the pronominal element that is combined with many prepositions, e.g. lagan - laga didan 'in our

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

253

community'. The independent genitive pronoun always follows the noun or preposition. It is never placed in front of it. In all cases in the text corpus, there is no connective particle between the noun and the pronoun. Such particles, nevertheless, are sporadically used. The constructions maktab-i didan 'our school', with the Iranian izafe particle -i, was elicited from one informant. The independent pronoun is used when the noun is indefinite, e.g. (1) xa-nasa xa-xabra )iimir ta-xa-hula)a didi. '(If) any person says any word to a Jew of mine.' (Z:30) 1

(2) da)akaw xizma-didan-ya. 'Her mother was a servant of ours.' (R:199) 1

(3) walla qim misdrale kulle gariika hu/a)e min-nase-d-o dwiqa. 'By God, he sent orders and the whole of the street of the Jews was held by men of his.' (Z:30) 1

1

1

In the vast majority of instances, however, a noun that is combined with a genitive pronominal element is definite. When this is the case, the phrases with the independent genitive pronoun tend to be used in certain contexts, though there are no categorical rules. In a number of occurrences of the independent genitive pronoun in the text corpus, the pronoun has enhanced prominence due to its being presented as standing in contrastive opposition to another item, e.g.

(4) /a-kiiyan Miryam zila laga d-i> )agar )6 zila /aga Miryam. 'I do not know whether Miryam went to her or whether she went to Miryam.' (R: 173) 1

1

(5) bela didan )u-bela swawan 'Our house and the house of our neighbours' (R: 120) 1

(6) Si/mane x[u/a rek ko/iwa. Joni xa[a didan kix/iwa[e. H)avaiH )6ni ga-hamriwa halmun ta-xlulan,I hulaye xala silmaniike la kixliwale. 'The Muslims would have fine weddings .... They would eat our food. But when they said "Come to our wedding", the Jews did not eat the food of the Muslims.' (R:134) 1 •••

1

1

(7) ba-mayln liblalu. 1 mitwalu res-mayln. 1 Jana kyena ma basimta-yela, kullu d6r-u z6rna min-belu ~{ltta bela d-oni d6r-u z6rna deqawa. 1 'They took her on a mare. They put her on a mare. I know how splendid it was, all the drums and pipes - the drums and pipes were playing from their house (i.e. that 1

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of the family of the bride) to the house of those (i.e. that of the family of the groom).' (Z:37) In some cases the pronoun has an inclusive information focus expressed by the particle -is, e.g. (8) mxru Rasid arabana gezfxwa ta-bate silmane. :,akra ditr-yelu silmane min-didan. 'We used to go the houses of the Muslims in a carriage. The Muslims were so far away from us.' (R:25) 1

1

Similarly, the independent pronoun occurs in a number of sentence initial adverbial expressions that mark the onset of a new section of discourse. The phrase laga didan 'in our community' is often used in this way, e.g. (12) laga didiin silmane manga-laxxa lii-yelu. 'In our community the Muslims were not like here.' (Z: 17) 1

1

(13) waxtar laga-didiin lastik luwa ta-sirwale} la-!Jatan. 'At that time, in our community, there was no elastic for the trousers of the groom.' (R:81) 1

1

1

(14) wall-axni laga didan,I 'od-ana famz-ye,I xa-brata msflma,I wfra ta-silmane. 'In our community, as far as I remember, one girl converted to Islam, went over to the Muslims.' (R: 143) 1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

255

The independent genitive pronoun is generally not used with close family members and inalienable possessions such as parts of the body, unless the pronoun is a contrastive focus. All the occurrences of these nouns with a genitive pronominal element in the text corpus have suffixes, e.g. >iieu 'his hand' (R:63), >aqlew 'his leg' (R: 136), resaw 'her head' (A: 17), >enaw 'her eyes' (R:145), tati 'my father' (R:10), da>aki 'my mother' (R: 11 ), baxtew 'his wife' (R: 155), goraw 'her husband' (R: 174), >axoni 'my brother' (R:105), xalusti 'my sister' (Z:14), mameu 'his paternal uncle' (Z:14), laleu 'his maternal uncle' (Z:14). The independent genitive pronoun is not used in predicative position without head noun. Predicates expressing possession are formed by the preposition >i/-, e.g. (15) >o-mire >illi-ye. 'He said "It belongs to me."' (R:101) 1

(16) beta >il/ew-ye. 'The house belongs to him.' 1

14.6. The reflexive pronoun The reflexive pronoun nos-, which is inflected with pronominal suffixes, occurs in various syntactic positions in the clause. (i) Subject When used in subject position, the reflexive pronoun either expresses contrastive assertion ('I myself, he himself, etc.) or exclusive assertion denoting that the subject referent is acting alone ('by myself, by himself, etc.). The exclusive sense may be intensified by the particle har (7). The pronoun either stands independently or is used in apposition to a noun or personal pronoun (e.g. >ana nosi 'I myself): (1) kul-nasa hitwale >arba, xamsa, >ista fou kulwale 1

1

ta-d-ay brona. xa>u kulwale ta-d-o brona. xa>u nosew giinewa gaw. 'Everybody had four, five, six rooms. One of them he 1

1

1

would give to this son. One of them he would give to that son. One of them he would sleep in himself.' (Z:7) (2) >axone hitwala.' tre >axone hitwala, >u-tre xalusye. nosaw ma willa? 'She had brothers, she had two brothers and two sisters. What did she herself do?' (R:143) 1

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(3) nosu ba-ganula labUwa matwfwalu baqu. 'They themselves would secretly take it and present it to them.' (R:6) 1

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256

(4) n6saw tzwa. 'She sat by herself.' (R:167) 1

(5) >ana nosi1 nosi1 ju/le kalda xitra-yan. 1 'I all by myself sewed the clothes of a bride.' (R:7 6) (6) mfra ta-ax6na tataw1 •.. liibilmuli gallaxun ta-Bagdad. 1 mfre n6sax selax! la-myalu. 'She went and said to the brother of her father ... ''Take me with you to Baghdad!" He said: "Go by yourself!" They did not bring her.' (R: 159) 1

1

(7) har-n6si ba->ifha,I mfra har-n6si hita-yan. '(I am) all by 1

myself, by God, I have come all by myself. (R: 162) (ii) Complement of a preposition When the reflexive pronoun is the complement of a prepos1t10n, it denotes the co-referentiality of the pronominal suffix with the subject of the clause, e.g. (8) rek-pili y{tni ga-bayni n6su. 1 'They got on well between themselves.' (R: 165) (9) >ana ~asta t~eli ta-nosi. 1 'I found work for myself.' (Z:43) (10) yatwfwa ga-karmiike ta-nosu. 1 'They would sit in the garden by themselves.' (Z:7) (11) mace masxfnawa ta-nosaw. 1 'She would heat water for herself.' (Z:33) (12) saxina-yele ta-sitwa. 1 ba-qeta nas la-dalwale ba-resa noseu. 1 'It was warm for the winter. In summer nobody put it over himself.' (Z:26) (13) dwa>i >ana n6si baqa n6si kminna 'Then I said to myself (M:7) 1

(14) >6 min-nosew

mU.

1

'He died by himself.' (R:11)

(15) gal-n6su bf-xle myalu ta_Jare~. 1 'They brought her together with them to the Land (oflsrael).' (R: 172) (16) kelan ga-nosan kulle t-olex. 'We can do everything ourselves.' 1

1

(17) hal laxxa res nosox! 1 'Come here slowly! (literally: upon yourself)' The reflexive pronoun may also be used in apposition to a noun that is a complement of a preposition: (18) ba-/falabja n6saw hltwa bagzade kimrfwalu. 1 'In I_Ialabja itself there were people called dignitaries.' (V:5)

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

257

(iii) Genitive complement of a noun If there is co-referentiality between the subject of the clause and a genitive pronominal suffix in the same clause, the suffix is generally not attached directly to a noun but rather to the reflexive pronoun, to which the noun is annexed. This differs from English, which does not usually distinguish between reflexive and non-reflexive pronouns in this context, unless it is emphatically asserted: (19) ga-bela n6su caqedat-Yi:j}Jaq qiirenwa. 'People would read "The Binding oflsaac" in their own homes.' (R:7) 1

(20) kippkr :j6ma deqixwa ga-bela nosan. 'On the Day of Atonement we (women) would keep the fast in our house.' (R:7) 1

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1

(21) kulle nase xlula koliwa ga-bela nosu, kuz nasa ga-belid nosew. 'Everybody held a wedding in their own house, each person in his own house.' (A:10) 1

1

(22) mis itkana n6sew k6lwala-u yiituwwa. 'Each person would set up his shop and sit in it.' (R:27) 1

(23) knista tri:jlu ba-pare nosu. 'They built a synagogue with their own money.' (R:21) 1

1

An idiomatic usage of this construction is the adverbial phrase b-waxta nosaw, or slight variants thereof, which is used in the sense of 'at that time'. The 3fs. suffix here does not refer to the grammatical subject of the clause but rather to the general temporal frame in which the event expressed by the clause takes place (cf. §14.3.), e.g. (24) kulle b-waxti nosaw, masdriwa ta-be kalda,I ta-be JJ,atan. 'At that time, they would send them all to the family of the bride and to the family of the groom.' (A:8) 1

1

(25) >ana ba-waxtaw n6saw fikri-ye xa-yoma miru >il-hula>e qafli. 'I remember at that time, one day they said "They will kill the Jews."' (Z:27) 1

1

1

The phrase can also function as a clause conjuction, e.g. (26) >ana hiyena ta-Slemani waxta n6saw Qaradax miqlalu. 'I came to Sulemaniyya at the time when they burned Qaradax.' (Z:3) 1

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(iv) Object complement The reflexive pronoun may be used to express a pronominal object that is co-referential with the subject of the verb, e.g. (27) zfla giire, n6saw mindyiila tex. 'She went onto the roof and threw herself down.' (R: 147) 1

1

(v) Predicate A nos- phrase may stand in predicative position, e.g. (28) silmane la-kenwa ba-lag-hufaJe, har-n6su hulaJe. 'The Muslims did not come to the community of the Jews, the Jews were all by themselves.' 1

1

An exclusive assertion of the subject or predicate of the clause may also be expressed by the phrase xapxol- (< *xa-b-JJ,orj), which is inflected with pronominal suffixes: 3rd pers. ms. fs. pl.

xapxolew xapxolaw xapxolu

2nd pers. ms. fs. pl.

xapxol6x xapxolax xapxolaxun

'by himself 'by herself 'by themselves', etc.

1st pers. sing. xapxoli pl. xapxolan This phrase may be used by itself or m combination with the nospronoun, e.g. (29) xapxoli-yan. 'I am by myself.' (R: 180) 1

(30) n6saw xapx6law hitii-ya. 'She has come alone, by herself.' (R:164) 1

A further way to express exclusivity is by phrases containing the Kurdish loan-word tane or tanya, e.g. (31) Jana ba-tdne-yena. 'I am by myself.' 1

(32) Jana hiyena tiinya. 'I came by myself.' 1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

259

14.7. The reciprocal pronoun The reciprocal pronoun lixle (§7.6.) may occur m various syntactic positions: (i) Direct object

(l) la xazenwa lixle. 'They did not see each other.' (R:36) 1

(2) kulle lixle kayenwa-wa. 'Everybody knew each other.' (A:13) 1

(3) loka a 'a big Jewish house' (R:144). The definite article suffix -ake is attached to the adjective at the end of the nominal phrase rather than on the head noun, e.g. xalusta rabtake 'the elder sister' (R:147), br6na silmanake 'the Muslim boy' (R:145), ta-tfrnu >ax6ne ruwwake 'to the two elder brothers' (R:100). Likewise, possessive suffixes are attached to the adjective rather than the noun, e.g. >ax6na z6ri 'my younger brother' (R:93), >ax6na ruwwi 'my elder brother' (R:94), xalusta rabti 'my elder sister' (R:103). A possessive suffix cannot be combined with the definite article suffix -ake. When speakers use the definite suffix on an adjective, a possessive suffix must be placed either on the head noun (1) or on an independent genitive pronoun (2): 1

1

(1) ;6 )ax6ni Hzixron6 li-vraxa8 ruwwake 'that older brother of mine, of blessed memory' (R:109) 1

(2) )axona1 bis-zorake >il-didan1 'The younger brother of ours' (R:104)

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

263

An adjective may be separated from its head noun by intervening material, e.g.

(3) 'u-}a!!aye kolixwa yarixe. 'We would make long scarves.' (R:76) 1

The splitting of the nominal phrase may occur in the middle of a chain of attributive adjectives: (4) ma'e smoqe kwiwalu marire marire. 'They would give them very bitter red water.' (R: 129) 1

Prepositional phrases placed after a noun may function as attributive modifiers like adjectives, e.g.

(5) lixma ga-tanura 'bread (made) in the oven' (Z:21) 1

(6) nase ruwwe ga-'al:zra 'important people in the town' (M:3) 1

(7) xa-carpa ga-tara 'a bed outside' (R:179) 1

(8) 'ay-nase ga-Germanya set-yen. 'Those people in Germany are mad.' (M:7) 1

Some prepositional phrases of this type are treated morphologically like adjectives, e.g. bate ba-{inane 'houses (made) with mud' (R:20). This originates from the phrase ba-tina 'with mud' but has acquired the adjectival ending -ana (pl. -ane), which is used productively to produce adjectives expressing the material from which an item is made (§11.3). Adjectives may be used independently of a head noun. This occurs in two circumstances. (i) When the adjective forms an attributive predicate of a clause, e.g. (9) tati ruwwele. 'My father was big.' (R:89) 1

(10) bratiikejwan-yela. 'The girl was beautiful.' (R:204) 1

(11) kullu dawlamand-yelu. 'Everyone was rich.' (R:21) 1

(ii) When the adjective is used as a referential expression and treated syntactically as a noun, e.g. (12) mi'-ruwwa sqillu 'isri dinare, min-zora-s xamsa-sar dinare. 'From a big person (i.e. an adult) they took twenty dinars and from a small person (i.e. a child) fifteen dinars.' (A:5) 1

1

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When the nominalized adjective is definite it is generally combined with the demonstrative pronoun Jo or the definite suffix -iike. In some cases these two markers of definiteness are combined: (13) ba-lha gurange mandyanwa gawu Jakra,I Jo patuxe Jasxa. 'Indeed, I would put beads on them, like this, the ones that were broad like this.' (R:85) (14) Jaxonawatz,I J6 tre-ruwwe 1 'my brothers, the two big ones' (R:107) 1

1

(15) Jo-zoriike laJ,I zoriike tre-sinne Ju-pilgele. 'Not the young one, the young one was two and a half years old.' (R: 100) 1

14.10. Non-attributive modifiers Nouns are also modified by a number of words that do not denote attributes. These include quantifiers, determiners and interrogative particles. Many of these are invariable in form and some are placed before the noun. 14.10.1. kud, kuz 'each, every' The variant form of this particle kuz has developed by the alternation of !di and /z/, which is attested in numerous words of the dialect(§ 1.4.). The· particle is used before a singular indefinite noun and has a distributive sense ('each one of the items of the set named by the noun'), e.g. kud-#wa Jakra 1 'each piece of wood was like this' (R:62), kuz gurma 'each coal' (R:62), kuz lixma 'each bread' (R:62), kuz nasa ga-belid nosew1 'each person in his own house' (A:10). The particle is likely to have originated as the phrase *kul }:tad 'every one (of the set)'. 5 This particle is used relatively infrequently in the dialect. Speakers more often express this distributive sense with the particle kulle (§14.10.2.).

5

In some NENA dialects *~ad in this phrase has not coalesced with the kul, but has developed, as elsewhere, into the form xa, e.g. 'En Nune: kul-xa-mindi 'everything'. It is relevant to note that a parallel construction is used in Kurdish, in that the singular noun in such distributive expressions has the indefinite article attached to it, e.g. Sarani (Sulemaniyya): hemu mal-ek 'each house'.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

265

14.10.2. kulle, kulla This is the most frequently attested and most versatile quantifier. Its form is generally kulle with final /el, the variant form kulla being less frequently attested. It is used with a singular or a plural noun and placed either before or after the noun. (i) Before a singular noun: When the noun is indefinite it has the sense of 'every' (i.e. the entire set of items named by the noun), e.g. kulle beta 'every house' (V:22), kulle nasa 'every person' (Z:15), kulle lele 'every night' (R:205), kulle mindix 'everything' (R:98), kulle sata 'every year' (Z:43), kulla yoma 'each day' (A:7). This, in effect, overlaps in sense with kud, though kud may be regarded as being more individuating ('every single item'). The individuating sense of kud is compatible with its being, in origin, a coalescence of the quantifier with the cardinal numeral 'one' (< *kul !Jad), since this numeral is used in the dialect to express individuation and salience of indefinite nouns (§ 14.1.1. ). When kulle is used before an indefinite noun, it is never combined with the numeral. On a few occasions the particle has the form kul, without a final vowel, e.g. kul-yoma 'every day' (R:204), kul-nasa 'every person' (Z:7). When the singular noun is definite, the quantifier has the sense of 'the whole of, all (of)', e.g. kulle Slemani 'the whole of Sulemaniyya' (A:6), kulle yomiike 'the whole of the day' (M: 18), kulle yarxa '(during) all the month' (R:64), kulle lele 'all night' (Z: 11 ). (ii) After a singular noun: When placed in this position, the noun is always definite and the quantifier has the sense of 'the whole of, all (of)', e.g. IJ,awsan-is kulle talabardela 'Our courtyard was all marble slabs' (R:89), m6sav Manu!Ja-s kulla gezi ta-Yerusalayim 'The whole of the moshav of MenuJ:ia are going to Jerusalem' (R:188). The quantifier is sometimes separated from the preceding noun by an intonation group boundary, e.g. l}awsan-i!' kulle kepela 'Our courtyard was all stones' (R:89). 1

1

1

(iii) Before a plural noun: The quantifier in this context has the sense of 'all.' The noun is always definite in status. On some occasions the phrase is a generic expression in which all items in the class named by the noun are intended, e.g. kulle xale bsile 'all kinds of cooked foods' (R:35), kulle nase lbillu 'Everybody took it away' (R: 102). In other cases it is a definite referential expression and refers to a specific group of items in the class named by the noun, which can be indentified in the context, e.g. kulle baruxawalew :fiirixwatu 'He would invite all his friends' (Z:39), 1

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

kulla >6-pare mxilpUan 'We changed all that money (pare pl.)' (R:19), kulle hula>e ga-knista-yelu 'All the Jews (of the town) were in the synagogue' (Z: 19). In some sporadic cases the quantifier particle has a pronominal suffix agreeing with the following noun, e.g. kullu hula>e kelu hezi ta->Ere~ Yisra>el 'All the Jews can go to the Land oflsrael' (A:5). 1

1

1

(iv) After a plural noun: In such cases the noun is a definite referential expression rather than a generic term, e.g. yalan kulle zUi1 'All our children went (to the school)' (R:141). The quantifier may be separated from the noun it modifies by intervening material, e.g. >anye >asxa>e hltwalan kulle 'We had all such things' (R:117). On some occasions it has a pronominal suffix agreeing with the noun, e.g. bate hula>e kullu jwan-yetu 'All the houses of the Jews were beautiful' (R:20). 1

1

(v) The particle may take a pronominal suffix without any nominal being directly dependent on it, e.g. kullu suqlu baqu 'They left them all to them' (R:120), kullan bixlelan 'We were all together'. The form with the 3pl. suffix may refer to all people assumed to exist in the world of the discourse rather than to a specific group of referents that are identifiable in the context, e.g. kullu gbenwali 'Everybody used to love me' (Z:42). 1

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1

(vi) The particle kulle frequently stands alone, independent of a nominal or a pronoun. When it refers to humans it always has plural concord. It often has a general sense of 'everybody', e.g. kayenwale kulle 'Everybody used to know him' (R:92), kulle yatwiwa ga-sukka 'Everybody used to sit in a booth' (Z:11), kulle geziwa resa gare ganenwa 'Everybody would go and sleep on the roof (Z:35). In some cases it may refer to a specific group of people who have been mentioned in the immediately preceding context, e.g. najatu hiwlu l-hula>e,I kulle misdrilu ba->ila xan. 'They abandoned the Jews and sent them all away empty-handed' (Z:6). When it is used to refer to inanimate entities and has a general sense of 'everything', it usually has singular concord, e.g. kulle l-fJ,ukmat-ye 'Everything belongs to the government' (Z:5), kulle gilya 'Everything is revealed' (R:73), kulle tob-yele 'Everything was good' (R:2). It may refer to a specific group of entities that have been mentioned in the preceding context, in which case it has plural concord, e.g. mafuri hltwalan,I kulle ga-Bagdad zabnilan. 'We had dishes, we sold all of them in Baghdad' (R:19).

1 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

267

14.10.3. raba, rabe 'many, much' This modifies a plural noun or a singular noun of mass. It is placed either before or after the noun. The variant form rabe with final /el is used by speakers from }:Ialabja. (i) Before the noun: raba nase darqiwa-wa 'Many people used to gather' (R: 11 ), raba hula,e q{ille 'He killed many Jews' (Z:27), raba sate peswa 'It lasted for many years' (Z:25), ,onya,e rabe malwaye hitwalu, rabe ,arale hitwalu, rabe bate hitwalu 'They had many villages, they had many plots of lands, they had many houses' (V:5), raba pi:rxanula hitwa 'There was much joy'. 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

(ii) After the noun: ,od-yale raba hUwale matuwwa 'Somebody who had many children would serve (a Passover meal)' (Z:13), la ba-pare raba '(It did not cost) much money' (R: 113), ba-sitwa naxle-u talge rabe hitwa 'In winter there were many showers ofrain and snow' (V:22). The particle may be separated from the noun by intervening material, e.g. lixma nase-hitwa raba koliwa baqa ,arba yarxe 'There were many people who made bread (to last) for four months' (Z:22), faqire ,ay-,asxa litwa lagan raba 'There were not many really poor people in our community' (R:131), ,itkane hitwalu rabe 'They had many shops' (V:2), ba-sitwa taiga naxlawa raba 'In winter a lot of snow used to fall' (Z:9). 1

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1

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1

1

The particle raba may also function as a nominal itself, independent of a head noun, e.g. ,ileu la ,ezawa raba holwa 'He was not able to make much' (R:63), la gezilwa haw raba 'not much (time) passed' (A:15), ,itkana willi-wa raba la-y 'It is not long (since) I opened a shop'. It is also used independently of a head noun when it is in predicative position, e.g. dinare ,Jraq raba-yelu 'The dinars of Iraq were (worth) much' (R:18), naxla raba-yete 'Rain was abundant' (Z:9). 1

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1

The particle is often used as an intensifier of an adjective, e.g. raba dawlamand-ye!u 'They were very rich' (Z:l), ,elawane raba jwan-yelu laga didan 'The festivals were very beautiful in our community' (Z: 11 ), dewa hula,e raba maqbal-yele ga-doka. 'The gold of the Jews was very well received there' (Z:4). It may be separated from the adjective by intervening material, e.g. raba bratiike jwan-yela 'The girl was very beautiful' (R:204). The particle may also function as an adverbial modifier, e.g. 1-hula,e raba gbenwa laga didan 'They used to like the Jews a lot in our community' (Z: 17). 1

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14.10.4. xa This may act as an indefinite marker before singular nouns, e.g. xa-gora 'a man' (R:162), xa-brata 'a daughter' (R:198), xajilana 'a tree' (R:192). The usage of this particle with nouns has been discussed in § 14.1.1. It may take a plural pronominal suffix and have the sense of 'one out of a group of .. .', e.g. xa>u 'one of them' (R:79) (§12.1.7.). It may occur independently and function itself as a noun. In such cases it may have the indefinite sense of 'somebody' without a specific referent, e.g. tre-sinne-x-ka,I sata-x-ka xa-melwa 'Once every two years or once every year somebody died' (R:129), xazena xa xa-mindix hol 'I shall see if anybody does anything' (Z:30) It may also be used with definite status to denote a specific referent in a known set of two referents. This is found in the phrase >6 xa-xet 'the other one' (R: 104, R: 111 ), where its definiteness is marked by the demonstrative particle. 1

1

14.10.5. xet 'other' This is an invariable particle that is placed after singular or plural nouns. An indefinite singular noun that is modified by this particle usually also has the indefinite marker xa, e.g., xa-brata xet 'another daughter' (R:151), xa br6na xet 'another boy' (R:136), ta-xa-tka xet 'to another place' (R:24). The xa is sometimes omitted when the nominal does not have a specific referent, e.g. la gezixwa ta-tka xet. 'We did not go to some other place' (R:25), >agar la-gbitta,I >ana kunnaw ta-nas xet. 'If you do not love her, I shall give her to some other person' (R:165), >urxa-xet fit mayte mattz. 'There was no other way of burying the dead' (R:192). When the nominal is definite, its definiteness is marked by a demonstrative pronoun or a pronominal suffix. On some occasions a combination of both of these features is found. The pronominal suffix is placed on the particle xet at the end of the nominal phrase, e.g. >6 tre->ax6ne xeti 'my two other brothers' (R:13), 6-xalusta xeti 'my other sister' (R: 182), xalusta xeti 'my other sister' (R: 103), brata xetew 'his other daughter' (R:147), tre-brone xetew 'his two other sons' (R:174). Examples of indefinite plural nouns modified by xet are found in the text corpus, e.g. >u-duxtare xet-is hfttan 'And we also had other doctors' (R:37), gal-tre-gure xet 'with two other men' (R:21 ). The particle may stand independently of a head noun and be treated as a nominalized adjective. This is found in expressions such as xet-is 1

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1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

269

holi 'Give me some more!' It may be modified by a quantifier, e.g. xanci xet holi 'Give me a little more!' 1

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14.10.6. xanci 'a little, a few, some' This is placed before a singular noun of mass or a plural noun. It may function as a quantifier expressing a small quantity ('a little, a few') or as a determiner with a partitive sense, which does not express the size of the set of items that is referred to but only identifies the referent: xanci hanasaw pista-ya 'A little of her breath remained' (R:183), hitwa ga-doka xanci xriwe 'There were a few nasty people there' (Z:18), xanci pare hiwlox baqan 'You would give us some money' (R: 108). The particle may talce a pronominal suffix in place of a noun complement, e.g. xanciyaw silmanetu 'Some of it (I;lalabja) were Muslims' (R:26). It may stand independently and function as a nominal, e.g. xanci hfwlu baqan 'They gave some to us' (R:107), xanci hitwalu bate, xanci litwalu. 'Some people had houses, some people did not have them'. On some occasions it is used as an adverbial quantifier, e.g. xanci dal ga-resaw 'He hit her a little on the head' (M:12), kiisenwalu l_latta xanci hewa resa 'They covered them until it rose slightly' (R:61 ), or as a quantifier of an adjective, e.g. xanci faqir-yele 'He was rather poor' (R:143). 1

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14.10.7. cikma This is a quantifier that is used before plural nouns or singular nouns of mass as follows: (i) Interrogatively, e.g. ba-cfkma sinne? 'With how many years (was she)?'= 'How old was she?' (R:186). 1

(ii) Indicatively in the sense of 'a few', 'several', e.g. bar cikma sinne 'after a few years' (R:172), cfkma mewa kunnox 'I'll give you some fruit'. 1

(iii) Exclamatorily, e.g. cikma jwanqe lbfllan gal/an! 'How many young men we took with us!' 1

The particle may be used as a modifier of an adjective, e.g. cfkma qa_l-ya 'How deep is it?', ~6-tka cfkma basimta-ye/a 'How beautiful that place was!' It may also be used independently of a head, e.g. cikma-s yeli

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

hestan? 'How old was I then? (literally: How much was I still)' (R:79), manit cikma kul minnew kul. 'Whoever will give some of it will give' (i.e. People will give what they can)' (R:21), cikma-xet 'several others' (A:14), >ana cikma-y gallaw-zalena! 'How long is it that I have been going with her! (i.e. I have been going out with her for a long time)' (R:149). 1

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14.10.s. hie This negative particle may be used as a modifier of a noun, e.g. hic-farq lltwa1 'There was no difference', la-t/J,eli-lleu b-hic itka1 'I have not found him anywhere'. It is more frequently used, however, independently of a head noun in the sense of 'nothing', e.g. >ana hie la-kolanwa ga-beta 'I used to do nothing in the house' (R:27), hie la-hye >illew 'Nothing happened to him' (R:89), hie la-pls-ba->ilan 'Nothing remained in our hands' (Z:41). 1

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14.10.9. >asxa 'such, like this' This particle has the function of a qualitative demonstrative. When used as a nominal modifier, it is placed after the noun like an adjective and agrees with the noun in number, in that it takes the plural ending -e when the noun is plural, e.g. tre safre >asxa>e 'two such buckets' (R:15), mattiwa gar6me >asxa>e. 'They placed (on it) rolling-pins like this' (R:67), tmanya bate >asxa>e 'eight houses like this' (R:102), mindix-asxa>e (< mindixe >asxa>e) 'such things' (Z:4). It may be used independently of a head noun with the status of a nominal, e.g. >akle-u >asxa zabniwalu 'They would sell chickens and such things' (V:4), >asxa>e kolanwalu 'I would make such things' (R:78). In such cases it may be modified by a demonstrative pronoun or a numeral, e.g. >anye->asxa>e 'things such as these' (R: 1), >onye >asxa>e 'things such as those' (R: 113), tre >asxa>e 'two like this' (R: 106). The particle may also modify adjectives or function as an adverbial. In such cases it has the invariable form >asxa, e.g. ta-/J,atan >asxa patuxa koliwale 'They would make it wide like this for the groom' (R:81), >o-gr6pe zayre >asxa 'Those lamps that were so golden' (R:27), daqiqa, daqiqa >asxa hanzniwale 'They would chop it up very finely like this' (R:54), >agar riixiswa hezilwa >ariike >asxa-refawa 'If he walked along, the ground shook like this' (R:116). It sometimes appears in predicative position, e.g. Slemaniyya >asxa-yela 'Sulemaniyya was like this' (R:141), 1

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SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

271

tara belan )asxii-yele 'The door of our house was like this' (R:119), sukke har-asxa 'Sukkot was exactly like this' (R:5). 1

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14.10.10. )akra 'such (an amount of), so much' This is used as a quantitative demonstrative. When it modifies a nominal, it is placed either before or after the noun, e.g. )akra pisra diqa 'suchand-such an amount of crushed meat' (R:43), )akra milxa 'such-and-such an amount of salt' (R:50), dewa )akra, sema )akra 'such-and-such an amount of gold, such-and-such an amount of silver' (R:31 ), xa-lixma )akra. 'a bread like this (in size)' (R:62). It is also used in predicative position, e.g. kud-$iwa )akra 'each piece of wood was like this (in size)' (R:62). The particle may be used as a modifier of adjectives, e.g. )akra dawlamand-yele. 'He was so rich' (R:156), )akra dar-yelu silmane min-didan 'The Muslims were so far from us' (R:25). It may stand independently of a head noun and have the function of a nominal, e.g. )akra melan 'We have brought such-and-such an amount'. When used independently in this way, it sometimes functions as an adverbial demonstrative in the sense of 'like this, in this way', e.g. )araqcine )akra kolanwa 'I would make skull-caps like this' (R:83), )akra koliwa xurma-wa behe 'They made 'dates and eggs' in this way' (R:50). 1

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14.10.11. zoda, bi-zoda 'more' In the majority of cases this has the initial element bi-, which is a contraction of the comparative element bis. It may be placed either before or after the nominal. When placed before the nominal, it has the sense of 'more of whatever is expressed by the nominal, e.g. )ana hltwali )iixinnawa xata,I fztwali z6da pare dariqnawa-wa. 'I had enough to eat food, but did not have more money to save' (Z:2), bi-zoda p6lise mele 'He brought more police.' (R: 136). When placed after the noun it has the sense of 'more than' the quantity expressed by the nominal, e.g. )6 xa-xet qame xamsasar sinne bi-z6da mila-y 'The other one died more than fifteen years ago' (R: 111 ), )arba-mma mispaJ:ie bi-zoda yelan 'We were more than four hundred families' (R:24), tre )asxa)e bi-zoda hiwle ta-da)aki 'He gave two like this and more to my mother' (R: 106). In such constructions the particle may be separated from the nominal by intervening material, e.g. 1

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)arba-mma xamsa-mma mispal:ze kwixwa bi-zoda 'We were four hundred, five hundred families, more' (R:24). The same sense may be expressed by placing the particle before the nominal and linking it to the nominal by the preposition min, e.g. bi-z6da min-isri-sure ta-nase xe{anwa 'I sewed more than twenty dresses for people.' (R:80). On some occasions it is used independently of a head noun, e.g. zoda kwfxflox 'We shall give you more' (R:195), bi-zoda hitwale 'He had more' (A:16). 1

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14.10.12. basor This functions as a quantifier with the sense of 'a few, a minimal number' of items from a set. It is placed before the nominal, e.g. bas6r nase hiyen '(Only) a few people came'. It may take pronominal suffixes, e.g. bas6ru hiyen '(Only) a few of them came'. The comparative element bis is often combined with it, e.g. bis-bas6r yale hltti 'I have less children', tafqawa yacni xa-nas bis-bas6r xizimye 'If it happened that somebody (had) less family' (V:8). The particle is used on some occasions independently of a head noun, e.g. basor h1twa ga-)Irfiq 'There were only a few in Iraq' (R:128), zoda kwfxflox,I basor la-kwfxflox 'We shall give you more, we shall not give you less' (R:195),faqlr-yele,I bis basor hitwale 'Ifhe was poor, he had less' (A:16).

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14.10.13. hema This may be used as an interrogative with the sense of 'which', e.g. hema beta? 'which house?', hema )urxa? 'which road?', hema bate? 'which houses?'. It is also used as an indefinite marker in conditional constructions, e.g. (I) hema baxta yala xazyawa,I geziwa tmanya y6me laga )6 baxta. '(It) a woman gave birth to a child, they would go for eight days to the home of that woman.' (R:28)

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(2) hema nasa hula)a nasax xadirwa, mandenwale ga-xastaxana,I xala m-bela labltwale. '(If) a Jewish person became ill and they put him in the hospital, they would take him food from home.' (R:37) 1

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(3) hema brata hiibawa l-hema brona, la manga-)atta hezi ta-sinama w-ezi ta-malha d6ka. '(If) a girl loved a boy, they did not go there, like here, to the cinema, nor go to a show.' (R:29) 1

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SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

273

14.11. Conjoining ofnouns in a nominal phrase Two nouns in a compound nominal phrase are linked together by the connective particle u, which is generally attached as a clitic at the end of the first noun, e.g. (1) pisi da'aki-u 'axoni. 'My mother and brother remained.' (R:97) 1

(2) glala-u xmata kmenwa. needle.' (R:58)

'They would bring a thread and

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(3) 'arat-u zardaco,J darenwalu. 'They put in black pepper and saffron.' (R:59) 1

(4) /falabja hula'e-u silmane bi-xle-yelu. '(In) I:Ialabja the Jews and Muslims were together.' (R:26) 1

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When three or more items are linked in a chain, the connective particle is usually attached to each item before the one at the end of the chain, e.g. (5) da'aki-u soti-u baxta 'ax6ni qimi zili. 'My mother, my grandmother and the wife of my brother got up and went.' (R:206) 1

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(6) xiyare-u trosye-u tamate 'onye kenwa baqan. 'Cucumbers, marrows and tomatoes - those would come to us (from outside).' (R:123) 1

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(7) cay-u,I qahwa-u,I sakar-u,I kulle mindix-asxa'e mtulu gaw. 'They put in it tea, coffee, sugar and all kinds of things like that.' (2:29)

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(8) misxe-u kare-u be'e-u 'akle-u 'asxa, zabniwalu. 'They would sell them oils, butter, eggs, chickens and the like.' (V:4) 1

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Occasionally the -u enclitic is attached also to the final item of the chain. This often occurs when the speaker has not planned ahead sufficiently and is uncertain as to whether the list should be closed or not, e.g. (9) walla xa saray hftwalan,I pilgula Qiryat Malaxi-yeta,I top 'u-topxane-u i/ha manixle tatz-u gal-tre-gure xet knista tr£filu ha-pare nosu. 'My father, God grant him rest, together with two other men, built a synagogue with their own money.' (R:21) 1

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(13) >axonz-u gal-yale xalusyz q£mi zzti. 'My brother together with the children ofmy sisters set off.' (R:183) 1

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(14) >6 >arba-u gal-da>akz-u gal->ax6ni hiyen-awa. 'Those four with my mother and my brother came back.' (R:98) 1

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The class denoted by a plural noun is sometimes made more general or its inclusiveness emphasized by linking it by the connective particle to a second occurrence of the noun with the initial consonant changed. The second noun usually does not have an independent meaning of its own. In most cases the initial consonant of the noun is changed to Im!, e.g. xale-u male 'all kinds of foods' (R:106), qumase-u mumase 'all kinds of cloth' (R:23), xiste >u-miste nawce nawce 'all sorts of bricks' (R:20), rek-u pekz 'fine and splendid things' (R:134). The connective particle may be omitted, e.g. yale male 'children and relatives' (R: 187), qrawe harawe lltwa 'There were no fights or quarrels' (R:2). A similar widening or intensification of meaning is expressed by connecting together two nouns of similar or related meaning, the second being a morphologically extended form of the first, e.g. skayta-u skaytakarf 'complaint and complaining' (R:142), dfn-u diyanat 'religion and religiosity' (Z:20), t6p-u topxane 'guns and arsenals' (R:142). 1

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14.12. Comparison ofadjectives and adverbs Comparative constructions are formed by placing the particle bis before an adjective or adverb. The item with which it is compared, if this is mentioned, is introduced by the preposition min, e.g.

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

275

(1) >o-bfs-spira-y mznnew. 'He is better than him.' 1

(2) tatf bfs ruwwele min-da>akf. 'My father was older than my mother.' (R: 16) 1

(3) xalusta rabtf bis-rabtela min-didi. 'My elder sister was older than me.' (R:103) 1

( 4) >axona bis-zoriike >if-didan, Mose Hzixrono-/i-vraxa,HI >6 ba-Hpe din-at6raH zfl ba->urxa. 'The younger brother of ours, Mose of blessed memory, he went on a (straight) path according to the law of the Torah.' (R:104) 1

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(5) >6 xa-xet bis-har yeie. bis-har-u zarindiir-yele. 'The other one was more stubborn, he was more stubborn and hard.' (R:104) 1

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(6) ga-bis-tex tiwa-y. 'He is sitting lower down.' 1

(7) bis-draga ke. 'He will come later.' 1

The particle bis may also be used as an intensifier without any comparison with another specific referent being intended, e.g. (8) wu/a>e >amfn-yelu. kulla bfs >amfn-yele. 'The Jews were trustworthy. Each one was very trustworthy.' (V:6) 1

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In example (9) the particle is used before a noun of mass to express a greater quantity. This is usually expressed by the phrase bi-zoda (< bis zoda) (§14.10.11.): (9) ga-Slemanf raba bis-dfn-u diyanat hftwalan. 'In Sulemaniyya we had more religion and religiosity.' (Z:20) 1

The superlative degree is expressed as follows: (10) be/an bis-ruwwa-y min-kullu ga-d-ay >a~ra. 'Our house is the biggest in this town.' 1

(11) >6 bis-qacim-ye min-kullu. 'He is the strongest.' 1

(13) bi-z6da xtlle min-kullu. 'He ate the most.' 1

14.13. Numerals Cardinal numerals are placed before the counted nominal, which follows in apposition. The nominal is in the plural after all numerals above 'one'.

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The words jumma 'hundred' and jalpa 'thousand' are, however, exceptions to this, since they remain singular when preceded by numerals, e.g. (1) tre-mma, tla"J:ta-mma gure-u jinse kwenwa. 'There used to be two hundred, three hundred men and women.' (R:32) 1

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(2) wz-kulle Slemanz, til/_l{Palpa-u xamsa-mma-u jisri-u till_ia nafare plzfex ba-jarba karate. 'We left, the whole of (the Jewish community of) Sulemaniyya, three thousand, five hundred and twenty-three people, in four stages.' (A:6) 1

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A number of nouns have two plural forms, one of which ends in -e and the other in a longer ending such as -ane, -ale or -awale. In such cases the short plural form ending -e is preferred after numerals, e.g.

jal_ira 'town'

>aJ_irane 'towns'

tre >al_ire 'two towns'

guda 'wall'

gudane 'walls

tre gude 'two walls'

mindix 'thing'

mindixane 'things'

tre mindixe 'two things'

yoma 'day'

yomale 'days'

tre yome 'two days'

jaxona 'brother' >axonawale 'brothers'

tre >axone 'two brothers'

brona 'son'

tre brone 'two sons'

bronawale 'sons'

After numerals the plural noun nafare is used in the sense of 'people', e.g. >isrz nafare twenty people (R: 192), jarba-mma nafare four-hundred people (R:35). It is not used without a numeral. When the number of items is left imprecise, two or more numerals are placed together asyndetically, e.g. tre {la"/:la yome 'two or three days' (R:200), >arba xamsa >fnse 'four or five women' (Z:21), tmanya-mma, soja-mma nafare 'eight-hundred or seven-hundred people' (A:6). A group of numbered items may be presented as a single whole by placing xa before the phrase, e.g. 1

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(3) ba-kulle xa-jisri faqire fitwa lagan. 'In all there were scarcely twenty poor people in our community.' (R: 131) 1

(4) dwayi xa-tmanya >icca behe, har paqenwalu babe qamxa. 'Then they broke eight or nine eggs without flour.' (R:50) 1

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(5) bar xa-tre tfa"/:la-yome dastar kmenwa, taxnzwale. 'After two or three days, they brought a hand-mill and ground it.' (R:40) 1

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SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

277

The sense of 'one by one', 'two by two' etc. is expressed by repeating the numeral, e.g. (6) waxtara Jakleliike par{iwala wa, 1 kiftiike-s xa-xa xa-xa bi-mlaq. 1

'They would take out the chicken and also the meat-balls, one by one with a spoon.' (R:48) Ordinal numerals are placed after the noun when used as attributive adjectives, e.g gora qamayna, gora hawwal 'the first man', gora tremin, gora dumin 'the second man', gora fla!:zamin 'the third man', etc. The word hawwal, however, may also be placed before the noun, e.g. hawwal mindix 'the first thing'. It is also attested in the text corpus in an annexation construction: satat Jawwal 'the first year' (A: 18). The Kurdish word duwam 'second' is placed before the noun in the expression ta-duwam lele 1'for the second night' (Z:31 ). The particle tirn- 'both' always takes a pronominal suffix, including when it is followed by a nominal, e.g. tirnu Jaxoni 'both of my brothers' (R:91), tirnu )axone ruwwiike 'both of the elder brothers' (R:100), tirnu blanake 'both of the daughters' (R:157). The fraction word pilga 'half is annexed to a following nominal when it denotes half of the quantity in question, e.g. pilga l:zoqa 'half a 1:zoqa' (R:57). Note also pilga Lele 'half of the night', i.e. 'midnight'. In expressions such as 'one and a half, 'two and a half, etc. the word of 'half has the form pilge with final -e, e.g. s6Ja-u pilge 'seven and a half (R:27), tre-sinne Ju-pilge 'two and a half years' (R:13). It is likely that this -e is a fossilized form of a pronominal suffix (§7.2.). The form pilgula is also used to express the fraction 'half. It is attested in the text corpus before a noun of mass and the name of a town: 1

(7) pilgula dehwan ga-Bagdad zbinnan. 'We sold half of our gold in Baghdad.' (R: 19) 1

(8) pilgula Qiryat Malaxi-yela. 'It was half of Kiryat Malakhi (in size).' (R:119) 1

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The form pilgawa has the sense of the 'halfway point' or 'middle' of something. It is most commonly used in the expression ga-pilgawa 'in the middle', 'within', e.g. (9) mal,zallat wula)e ga-pilgawa kulla goymela. 'The district of the Jews was in the midst of all the Muslims.' (V:5) 1

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

(10) xa >isrt trumbele qamew, ztli ta-Yerusalayim, >6 ga-pilgawa xa xamsar >isri trumbele-s barew. 'With about twenty cars in front of him, they went to Jerusalem, he being in the middle and about fifteen or twenty cars behind him.' (R: 190) 1

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(11) >od-Utwale geziwa ga-pilgawa be-mameu, be-laleu, be-babeu,I be-xalusteu. 'Somebody who did not have (children) would go (to celebrate Passover) within the family of his paternal uncle, the family of his maternal uncle, the family of this father, the family of his sister.' (Z:13) 1

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Percentages are expressed as follows: min-imma >isra 'ten percent', min-imma >isrt 'twenty percent', etc. 'Once', 'twice' etc. is expressed by phrases containing the word karat or ka 'time, instance'. The form karat is given plural inflection, but ka is invariable, e.g. xa karat I xa-ka 'once', tre karate I tre-ka 'twice', flalJa karate I tla!Ja-ka 'three times'. The expression ba-x-ka (< ba-xa-ka) has the sense of 'at once' and 'altogether', e.g. ba-x-ka xiidfrwa dena 'it would at once become oil' (R:54), maciike ba-x-ka geziwa 'the water would go away altogether' (R:52). To express 'so-and-so many times more/as much' the particle >akra is placed after the numeral, e.g. >ana tre >akra hiwli baqeu 'I gave him twice as much', flalJa >akra bis-ruwwa-y min-d-o 'He is three times as big as him'. The age of somebody may be expressed by a simple predication such as: 1

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(13) da>aka da>aki >fmma-u >isri sinnela. 'The mother ofmy mother was a hundred and twenty years old.' (R: 178) 1

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(14) xalusta xeti xamsa sinnela. 'My other sister was five years old.' (R: 103) 1

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(15) >ista-sar-sinne la-yeli. 'I was not (yet) sixteen years old.' (R:79) 1

Expressions containing the word cimra 'age' are also used: (16) babi caskar-yele. cimreu >isrz sinnele. 'My grandfather was a soldier. He was twenty years old.' (M: 1) 1

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(17) cimri xamsa-sar sinnele. 'I was fifteen years old.' (M:5) 1

SYNTAX OF NOMINALS

279

Informant Z uses constructions with the word brona 'son', which are likely to be calques of Hebrew usage: (18) 'ana br6na tmani-sar sinne-yeli. 'I was eighteen years old.' (Z:l) 1

(19) 'ana br6na tre sinneli. 'I was two years old.' (Z:41) 1

Some expressions relating to the clock are as follows: sae[, 1 mani "abe. 1 'All the Jews can go to the Land oflsrael, whoever wants.' (A:5) (23) hu[aye >asxa kolfwa ta-si[mane,I H:,avaf >6d nasa yacni n6sew ga-:,alelu-wa. 1 'The Jews did the same regarding the Muslims, but (this applied) to somebody who knew them himself.' (R:132) (iii) The subjunctive form occurs in subordinate clauses that are complements of various verbs and expressions when the action of the verb in the subordinate clause is as yet unrealized. In a number of cases the clause expresses some kind of deontic modality (wish, permission, obligation), e.g. (24) gbe he. 'He wants to come.' 1

(25) gbex hen. 'We want them to come.' 1

(26) sitqa beli hena. 1'Last year I wanted to come.' (27) >ana la qabfnna gora-holat br-broni. 1 'I do not allow you to marry my son.' (R:150) (28) la-qablan nas >a/e. 1 'I shall not permit anybody to know.' (R:168) Obligation may be expressed by the impersonal particle lazim or the invariable verbal form gbe, e.g. (29) >ana lazim hezinna. 1'I must go.' (30) :,at gbe goritta. 1'You must marry her.' (M:8) (31) gbe-:>ezat ta-knista. 1'You should go to the synagogue.' (R: 109)

SYNTAX OF VERBS

289

The subjunctive qiitil form is used in clauses expressing purpose. In some cases these are introduced by subordinating particles or expressions such as ka-Jga-, ta-, baqa, m-qam-d-awa though in many cases purpose clauses are placed after the clause on which they are dependent without a linking conjunction, e.g. (32) har-ninden,I p6lise smixe baru, ka-hic-la Joli )il-'inse hulaye silmane. 'They continued dancing, while the police stood behind them, so that the Muslims would do nothing to the Jewish women.' (R: 13 7) 1

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(33) IJ,azfr koliwale baqa )6-lele kalda hamenila /age J:iatan. 'They would prepare it for that night in order for them to bring the bride to the groom.' (M:12) 1

(34) la-gezi ta-saqli mingol-laxxa ga-supermarket )o-ga-tkane-u )asxa. 1'People would not go to buy things in a supermarket like here or in shops and so forth.' (V :26) (35) zfnna walla m-qam-d-awa b-/:lityaj la-hiiwena, )ila la-doqnawa b-lJ,ityaj xa-parca lixma hiiwi!i. 'I went so that I would not be in need, so that I would not have to hold a hand in need for people to give me a piece of bread.' (Z:43) 1

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(36) /a-hiyex pare hawittan. 'We did not come for you to give us money.' 1

(37) cunga hiyen knista marwila. because they have come in order to destroy the synagogue.' (M:4) 1

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(38) )ay faqira rawana kolexilu hezi ta-)Ere~-Yisra)el. 'We shall make this poor man (and others like him) envoys in order for them to go to the Land oflsrael.' (R: 139) 1

1

(39) )agar la-gbitta,I Jana kunnaw ta-nas xet,I yacni gorUa,I g6ra h6la ba)u. 'If you do not love her, I shall give her to some other person', that is for them to marry her, for her to marry them.' (R:165) 1

As can be seen in examples such as (32), (33), (35), (36) and (37) above, the subjunctive qafil form is sometimes used in a subordinate clause that is dependent on a main clause with a past tense verb. In such cases the qafil form takes the past tense of the main verb as its deictic centre and refers to the past.

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The subjunctive is also used in a variety of other subordinate complement clauses in which the action or situation expressed in the subordinate clause is potential in relation to the main verb rather than one that actually exists. It is commonly attested, for example, in clauses that are the complement of the expression kele 'he is able' (literally 'it comes to him') or an inflected form of this: (40) kelaxun hetun. 'You can come.' (A:12) 1

(41) kullu hu[a>e ketu hezi ta->Ere!f Yisra>el. 'All the Jews can go to the Land oflsrael.' (A:5) 1

(42) ta-kele jore h6t. 'He cannot urinate.' (R:90) 1

(43) >a.xni ta-kelan kulle-ka hex. 'We cannot come all the time.' (R:194) 1

(44) ta-kelu ~asta holi. 'They cannot work.' (M:3) 1

(45) min-Karkuk-is har-kweti >ana >ezan ta-Bagdad. 'From Karkuk I shall be able to go to Baghdad.' (R:168) 1

It is found in clauses introduced by particles with the sense of 'lest' (ka,

naku, nakun) or clauses that are the complement of the verb zdy 'to fear', e.g. (46) >ana ta-gbena hena ka skayta hoU. 'I do not want to come lest they complain.' 1

(47) ta-dannew nakun qalew hbt. 'I shall not hit him lest he cry out.' 1

(48) zi:de he. 'He was afraid to come.' 1

It is used in indirect questions that denote an event that has not yet taken

place: (49) mire xazena xa xa-mindix hot.' xa-nasa xa-xabra >amir ta-xa-huta>a did1. 'I shall see, if anybody does anything, if any person says any word to a Jew of mine.' (Z:30) 1

15.2.2. qafilwa As is the case with qafil, the past form qafilwa has both an indicative and a subjunctive mood. This distinction is formally marked in the same group of verbs as mark it in the qafil form.

SYNTAX OF VERBS

291

15.2.2.1. Indicative The indicative qii{ilwa form always has imperfective aspect and has absolute tense in the past. (i) Past habitual The form is most commonly used to refer to habitual or iterative actions in the past, e.g. (1) yoma res-yarxa,I Nisiin, tanurii mattiwa, lixmii koliwa. 'On the first day of Nisan they would set up the oven and would make bread.' (R:4) 1

1

1

(2) ba-,arabana gezixwa ta-bate silmane. 'We used to go the houses of the Muslims in a carriage.' (R:25) 1

(3) sa{le ruwwe mandenwa. kifte basliwa-u rizza basliwa-u pisra basliwa-u,I xale geziwa mattiwa qam nase. 1 'They would put out big pans. They would cook kifte, they would cook rice, they would cook meat, and they would go and serve the food to people.' (R:32) 1

1

1

(4) dwa,i bqatta-ye qemiwa, kalda qemiiwa,I resaw xallawiile labliwala ta-miqve. 'Then in the morning they would get up. The bride would get up and wash her head. They would take her to the miqveh.' (R:34) 1

1

1

(5) bfqatta-y geziwa bar-xa-baxta silmanta kyawa deqiiwale. deqiiwale, kwawale ba-roxa. 'In the morning they went (to find) a Muslim woman who would come to crush it. She would crush it and put it in the wind.' (R:40) 1

1

1

1

1

1

(ii) Past state When the verb is stative in meaning, the qii{ilwa form expresses a state in the past, e.g.

(6) kiiyenwa mani dawlamiind-ye mani faqfr-ye. 'They knew who was rich and who was poor.' (R:6) 1

1

(7) lele yatwiwa ta-sacat ,arba. 'They used to sit at night until four o'clock.' (R:69) 1

(8) ba-qe{a resa gare ganixwa. 'In summer we used to sleep on the roof.' (R:125) 1

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(iii) The form may be used to denote a progressive activity or 'actual state' in the past. These are generally circumstantial clauses that express an activity or state that is in existence at the time of an adjacent verb expressing a past punctual action: (9) brata xalustz min-dasta kyawa,I nawagtaw. mira Le>a Le>a! heka da>akax? 'The daughter of my sister, her (my mother's) granddaughter, was coming out of the field. She said "Leah, Leah, where is your mother?'" (R: 180-181) 1

1

1

1

(10) >ana xzeli >ilha manixle Yacqob Mamyanajola>f kolwa. 'I have seen Yae min-nase-d-o dwiqa. 'The whole of the district of the Jews was held by men of his.' (Z:30)

(3)

min-ilha gzfr ba-resan. 'It was decreed by God for us.' (Z:41)

1

1

1

If the agent remains unspecified, its presence may be unequivocally marked by using a transitive qfille form with an impersonal 3pl. subject, e.g. Salomo q(illu 'Salomo was killed' (R:157). 1

Occasionally the transitive and intransitive forms of a verbal root do not exhibit an exact semantic correspondence, e.g.

(4) tr$ betake tri$le gorake trf$-awa

'He built the house' 'The man recovered (from an illness)'

A certain set of stem I verbs are used only intransitively and always take the q(il form. These include the following:

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(5)

)by 'to swell' "sq 'to fall in love' )wr 'to enter, pass' -'yy 'to come' "zl 'to go' bsr 'to diminish' bxy 'to weep' cyr 'to move around' dhy 'to fade' fry 'to fly' gny 'to sleep; set (sun)' !Jnq 'to suffocate' }gr 'to be angry' jhy 'to become tired' kpn 'to become hungry' kws 'to descend' kyp 'to bend over' lpl 'to fall' mty 'to arrive' myl 'to die' nhr 'to glow' nqt 'to drip' nxl 'to fall (rain, snow) nxp 'to be ashamed' nyx 'to rest' pc< 'to be crooked' prm 'to incline' prs 'to separate' prx 'to jump over' pys 'to remain' qym 'to rise' qyr 'to become cold' rdx 'to boil' rql 'to dance' rwy 'to grow up' rxs 'to walk' rys 'to wake up' ryt 'to shake, tremble'

zboti )ibya siq wir hiye zil b(sir bi:xe c"ir dhe-wa frre gfne IJ(niq ffgir frhe kfpin kwzs kip-awa pil m(fe mil ni:hir ma)e nqi{i naxla nxfl nrxrp nix-awa pfczi. 'The bee became attached to me (i.e. stung me).' 1

1

prq !Jasta pirqale. 'He finished the work.' pfriq m-xala. 'He was finished with eating.' 1

1

Some other verbs taking complements introduced by prepositions, by contrast, regularly take the qfille form, e.g. bdy 'to begin': (13)

bdele b-xala. 'He started eating.'. 1

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It should also be noted that the past form of the copula is inflected with L-suffixes (yele, yela, yelu, etc.) whereas the ingressive verb xdr 'to become' is regularly conjugated with the q{il form (xdfr, xdira, xdiri, etc.). The majority of verbs in stem II are transitive and are conjugated with the qfille form. In principle passives can be formed from these by means of the q{fl form, but in practice such forms are rarely used. A few stem II verbs, however, are basically intransitive and regularly take the q{fl form. These include: (14) m-stx 'to give birth' m-brq 'to shine' m-sry 'to stink'

msitxa 'She gave birth' simsa mbirqa 'The sun shone' 'He stank' misre

Some stem II verbs that are commonly used without specifying a direct object complement but nevertheless could take one are conjugated with the qfille form, e.g. (15) m-ymy 'to swear' m-~yl 'to listen' m-qlb 'to vomit'

'He swore' mumele 'He listened' m~ille miqlfble-wa1 'He vomited'

With object complements: momala mumele 'He swore an oath', nal}ala m~flle 'He gave ear', xala miqlible-wa 'He vomited up the food'. A few intransitive quadriliteral verbs are attested. These include nndy 'to dance', gndr 'to roll', mslm 'to become a Muslim', grgm 'to thunder', zrzr 'to neigh (horse)'. The first three are conjugated with qfil, whereas the latter two, which denote the production sounds, take the q{ille form: (16) nndy gndr mslm grgm

ninde gindir mislim ~ewa girgimle

zrzr

mayfn zirzirre

'He danced' 'It rolled' 'He became a Muslim' 'The cloud thundered' (i.e. there was thunder) 'The horse neighed'

SYNTAX OF VERBS

303

It can be seen, therefore, that a number of verbs that are intransitive in the syntactic sense of lacking a direct object complement are put in the q{ille form. It appears that this pheonomenon is not entirely random but is found predominantly in intransitive verbs that have subjects with agentlike properties, e.g. those that exercise control, perform an act with intention and are unaffected by the action. The qfil form, on the other hand, tends to be used where the subject of an intransitive verb is a participant that is affected by the action and undergoes a change of state or location. The subjects in expressions such as 'He coughed', 'He sneezed', 'He yawned' in (7) above may sometimes instigate the action, though clearly the action is often out of their control. It appears that the language has lexicalized these verbs as having agent-like subjects, even if in individual occurrences the subject may not be in control. It is relevant to note that in the Kurdish dialect of Sulemaniyya actions that result in the production of sound such as those in (7) and ( 16) are often expressed by transitive phrasal verbs consisting of the verb 'to do' (kirdin) and a nominal object: (17) 'He yawned' 'He shouted' 'He coughed' 'He sneezed' 'It barked' 'He thundered'

Aramaic

Kurdish

pfhirre ~rixle sfhille tpille nwfxle girgimle

bawit-i kird biing-i kird kox-i kird pitma-y kird gafa-y kird trisqa-y kird

Furthermore, many verbs denoting the production of a sound are treated as transitives in Sorani Kurdish when they are expressed as a simple past form (MacKenzie 1961: 108). Another relevant factor is the nature of the verbal action by virtue of the lexical meaning of the verb (Aktionsart). Verbs in (11) above such as xi/le 'He ate', stele 'He drank', etc. that retain the L-suffixes when the direct object is omitted are typically used to refer to a specific, punctual event, whereas a verb such as yip that has the q{il form when the object is omitted in constructions such as ga-maktab b:pl 'He learnt at school' refers to a more diffuse, durative activity, spread over a long period of time, although presented perfectively as a unitary whole. The use of the q{il form in verbs that have a prepositional phrase such as those in (18) and (19) appears to be conditioned by the fact that the patient is affected by the action only to a limited degree:

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(18)

hanga dwiqa ba-yalake. 'The bee became attached to the child (i.e. stung the child).'

(19)

xmata tmira ba-yaldke. 'The needle pricked the child.'

1

1

The crucial difference between these expressions and constructions with a direct object and L-suffixes such as yalake dwiqla 'She seized the child' lies in the degree of affectedness of the 'child' by the action. In the latter construction 'the child' is more affected than in (18) and (19) in that the subject takes complete control of 'the child' whereas in (18) and (19) the control is less. The construction without the L-suffix is normally only used when the subject is non-human. It may, nevertheless, be said that the expressions in (18) and (19) are in some way transitive, in that the complement of the verb is in some way affected by the action. As we have seen, however, some verbs that have a prepositional phrase as their complement are inflected with L-suffixes. This applies, for example, to the verb bdy 'to begin': (20)

bdele b-xala. 'He started eating.' 1

It is interesting to note that the verb prq 'to finish', which is used in a similar syntactic frame with a prepositional phrase as complement, is not inflected with L-suffixes: (21) pfrzq m-xala. 1'He finished eating.'

How are we to explain why bdy has L-suffixes whereas prq does not? Both verbs have a subject that has properties of an agent, in that the subject is in control of what happens. The relevant feature that distinguishes these two constructions seems to be that (20) expresses action whereas (21) expresses cessation of action. It can be said that (20) is more dynamic than (21 ). In sum, we see that there are various circumstances that condition the use of L-suffixes in the past form of the verb. These include the following: 1. The action has an affectee that is expressed by an object. 2. The subject of the clause possesses properties of an agent, such as being the controller and instigator of the action. 3. The verb has punctual Aktionsart. 4. The predicate is dynamic, expressing action rather than non-action.

SYNTAX OF VERBS

305

Not all these factors have to co-occur in order for the verb to take an L-suffix. What is particularly significant is that a verb may be inflected with an L-suffix when the clause lacks an object argument but possesses one or more of the other factors. In other words, the fact that the clause is transitive in the simple sense of having an object is a sufficient condition but not a necessary condition for the occurrence of the L-suffixes. We may say that the L-suffixes are conditioned by the transitivity of the clause in the broader sense that was proposed by Hopper and Thompson (1980). These linguists proposed that transitivity is a continuum rather than an absolute category. Clauses can possess different degrees of transitivity according to a variety of parameters. The existence of an object participant in the clause is only one parameter. Other parameters identified by Hopper and Thompson that condition high transitivity include nos. 2---4 of the phenomena that we have found condition the occurrence L-suffixes, viz. potency of agent, dynamism and punctuality of the action. 15.3.1. qfille and qffl forms (i) Preterite These forms are most commonly used as a preterite to refer to events in the past with a perfective aspect, e.g. (1) hiye postaci silmana,I kaxiita hiwle baqa babi. 'A Muslim postman came and delivered a letter for my grandfather.' (M:5) 1

(2) duqali kaxiitiike min-d-awa silmana,I ciqyaii,I pilxali. 'I took the letter from the Muslim, tore it and opened it.' (M:5) 1

(3) xera min-polisxana talafon-dilu ta-duxtar Malik. 'From the police-station they quickly phoned Dr. Malik.' (R:90) 1

1

(4) Utile mind.ix sqillu mtulu ga-trumbel rabta. 'They bought everything and put it in a big car.' (R:98) 1

1

(5) xa l,laji baxtiike liblale. 'A ):laji took the wife away.' (R:157) 1

(6) tati min-gare pfl-tex. 'My father fell down from the roof.' (R:88) (7) Jitka jorew qffe. 'The place of his urine was cut.' (R:89) 1

1

(8) qima,I zUa ta-garaj. tiwa ga-trumbel, zila ta-Karkuk. 'She set off and went to the (bus and taxi) garage. She sat in a car and went to Karkuk.' (R: 160) 1

1

1

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When used with verbs with a lexical meaning denoting a state, the forms sometimes have an inchoative sense, expressing the point where the subject referent of the verb enters the state in question, e.g. (9) tiwa ga-samandafar. 'She sat down in the train.' (R:161) 1

(10) tati-s qfm-gfne. 'My father went and fell asleep.' (R:88) 1

The forms may express a single event that had an inception and an end in the past but had a duration that extended over a period of time. This period may be specified and can be of considerable length. In such cases verbs with a stative lexical meaning express a prolonged but delimited state, e.g. (11) >6 >arba tiwi ba-lagan so>a yome. 'The four of them stayed with us for seven days.' (R: 100) 1

1

(12) tiwa madama b-lagew. 'A nurse sat with him.' (R:92) 1

(13) (frelu tre sacate. 'They prayed for three hours.' (M:4) 1

1

(14) >onye >axonawali la-lilu bfi>u. 'Those brothers of mine did not know about them.' (R: 107) 1

(15) har-xa-bela pfs ga-Slemanz. 'Only one family remained in Sulemaniyya.' (R:155) 1

(ii) Present perfect The forms q{ille and q{il are sometimes used to express the perfect, i.e. a past action the relevance of which continues into the present, e.g. (16) ml}ex Bagdad. 'We have arrived in Baghdad.' (R: 162) 1

(17) >aya ma-ya myalox? 'Why have you brought her?' (R: 163) 1

(18) mani pilxale-u mani ciqyale? 'Who has opened it and who has tom it?' (M:7) 1

1

(19) >ana gezinna m-(falma komuli brati zila ta-carabe. 'I am going on account of my shame that my daughter has gone to the Arabs.' (R:151) 1

(iii) Conditional constructions The forms are occasionally used in clauses expressing a condition in the present or future, e.g.

SYNTAX OF VERBS

307

(20) dwiqlu >ilJan, >u-parake kwfxilu. hema-"mistara" dwiqla >ilJan, parake kwfxilu baqu marpenilan. 1 'If they stop us, we shall give them the money. If any police stop us, we shall give them the money and they will let us go.' (R: 190) 1

1

1

(21) mani >asxa >iJa dile baxun, >ana mas>a/-yena. 'If anybody lays a hand on you in this way, I am responsible.' (A:2) 1

1

15.3.2. q{ilwale and q{ilwa forms These forms are used to mark explicitly that an event is anterior in time to adjacent past events that are expressed by the q{ille or q{il forms, e.g. (1) xalusta-pfs. ga-lfalabja gora-wilwala, Maryam. 'There remained a sister. She had married in ij:alabja, (her name was) Maryam.' (R: 158) 1

1

(2) hfye postaci silmana,I kaxata hiwle baqa babz. min-Berlin hiyawa baqeu. 'A Muslim postman came and delivered a letter for my grandfather. It had come for him from Berlin.' (M:5) 1

1

(3) kaxata ga-daftar ga-dena >iJ-dena x-ka-awa-ntyale mire qUa. ka-ci la qilawa >zntyawale. 'The letter in the notebook, which (had the record of) the debt ... he at once took the (record of) the debt away and said "It has been burnt (and is lost)". But it had not burnt, he had taken it away.' (R: 105) 1

1

1

1

1

1

If the verb has a lexical meaning expressing a state, these forms may be used to express a state that begins at an anterior point in time but continues and overlaps with the event expressed by adjacent q{ille or q{U forms, e.g.

(4) hiye sfmix leka >aya bela bratake, >o-sfmix >o-bar-awa. sawqe paskilake dile ga->enaw. >6 smixawa resa gare. 'He came and stood by the house of the girl. He stood behind (out of sight). He flashed the light of the bicycle in her eyes. She was (already) standing on the roof.' (R:145) 1

1

1

1

1

(5) pzsiwa tirnu blanake,I blanake-s msilmz. 'The two daughters remained. The daughters converted to Islam.' (R:157) 1

(6) pzsawa, >6 mfl, Salomo qfillu. 'She stayed, then he died, Salomo was killed.' (R:156-157) 1

1

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15.4. The copula The copula is defective in that it is not used in all the morphological forms that are available for other verbs. The present copula is conjugated with the inflectional endings of the qa{il form and the past copula is inflected with L-suffixes, which are characteristic of the q{ille form. The copula is not used in any other form. 15.4.1. The present copula Predicates with the present copula express a state in the present. This may be a state that is a permanent property of a subject or a state that is a contingent property, i.e. one that is observable at the present moment but is not a permanent characteristic of the subject. The boundary between these two categories is often not clear-cut and depends on the subjective judgement of the speaker. In all cases the predication is indicative in that it refers to a real situation. Examples: (1) Jaxni nawagaw-yex. 'We are her grandchildren.' (R:187) 1

(2) Jaxniixun kafir-yetun. 'You are disbelievers.' (Z: 18) 1

(3) J6 brata jwan-ya. 'That girl is beautiful.' (R:30) 1

(4) Jay-nase set-yen. 'These people are mad.' (B:6) 1

(5) laxxa-ya. 'She is here.' (R:173) 1

(6) yalax zoren. 'Your children are small.' (R:106) 1

Such predicates correspond temporally and aspectually to stative predicates expressed by the verbal form qafil. In past contexts the present copula is sometimes used to express a state in the past. Here, as is the case with the qa{il form, the copula has a relative tense and takes the past reference of the adjacent verbs as its deictic centre. The copula clause in such cases is syntactically subordinate to a main clause with a past verb (7) or is dependent by some discourse connection as in (8) and (9), where the copula clauses express a situation that is circumstantial to the past action expressed in the adjacent clause, or the copula clause expresses background information (10): (7) kayenwa mani dawlamand-ye mani faqlr-ye. 'They knew who was rich and who was poor.' (R:6) 1

1

(8) qzma yoma Lalange, yoma Lalange zane-hiyen Jillaw. tati ga-Bagdad-ye. 'She got up on the day of Purim, on the day of Purim, and labour pains came upon her. My father was in Baghdad.' (R:20 I) 1

1

1

1

1

SYNTAX OF VERBS

309

(9) qima,I kaldake hamrex,I Dfna kasaw zmata-ya,I hiya-wa laga da)akaw. 'She got up, that is (literally: let's say) the daughterin-law, Dinah, while she was pregnant, and went back to her mother.' (R:205) 1

(10) )6 brata qima zfla mira ta-da)akaw. da)akaw xizma-didan-ya. mira day. 'That girl went and told her mother. Her mother was a relative of ours. She said "Mummy.'" (R: 199) 1

1

1

Adverbial expressions such as bqatta-ye and the like (§13.2., §19.4.4.) should be included here: (11) gure geziwa ta-baztir bfqatta-ye. 'The men used to go to the market (when) it was morning(= in the morning).' (R:27) 1

(12) bqatta-ye qemiwa. 'They would get up (when) it was morning (= in the morning).' (R:69) 1

(13) mfsitxa yoma sabbat-ye. 'She gave birth (when) it was the Sabbath(= on the Sabbath).' (R:202) 1

15.4.2. The past copula Predicates with the past copula express a state in the past. This may have an imperfective aspect expressing a state that was permanently m existence in the past without the connotation of inception and end, e.g. (1) Sulemanijwan-yela. 'Sulemaniyya was beautiful.' (R:1) 1

(2) tati )aqildar-yele. 'My father was clever.' (R: 15) 1

(3) )asawlin silmana-yele. 'The miller was a Muslim.' (R:65) 1

(4) madama hulelta-yela. 'She was a Jewish nurse.' (R:38) 1

The state is, in some cases, intermittent and so has a habitual, iterative sense, e.g. (5) )ana gal-xalusti kulle sata,I ga-pafire bi-xle-yelan,I ga-patire bi-xle-yelan. 'I and my sister every year were together at Passover.' (Z: 14) 1

(6) ba-yoma rosana kulle hula)e ga-knista-yelu. 'At New Year all the Jews were in the synagogue.' (Z: 19) 1

1

(7) qefa xa-taw ximma-yela xa-taw qarda-yela. 'In summer sometimes it was hot and sometimes it was cold.' (R:124) 1

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The past copula may, however, have a perfective aspectual sense and express a contingent action in the past that is delimited in its duration, e.g. (8) xa-y6ma nanawa nasax-yela. 'One day the baker-woman was ill.' (R:71) 1

(9) skira-yele. 'He was drunk.' (R:89) 1

(10) >ax6na zori tre-sinne >u-pilge-yele. 'My younger brother was two and a half years old (at that time).' (R: 13) 1

1

The past copula, therefore, is neutral as to aspect. Although it has morphology of a qtille form inflected with L-suffixes, it is used with aspectual meaning not only of q{ille, which is normally restricted to perfective aspect, but also of qa{ilwa, which is restricted to imperfective.

the the the the

15 .5. The existential particle The past existential particle hitwa generally expresses permanent, continuous existence or at least an existence that the speaker wishes to present as being permanent. Its corresponding negative form litwa expresses the lack of this. (1) tkane hitwa. 'There were shops.' (R:23) 1

(2) qa:jabxana hitwa. 'There was a butcher's shop.' (Z:10) 1

(3) xesar >itkane hitwalan ga-Bagdad. 'We had eleven shops in Baghdad.' (R: 13) 1

(4) hitwalan bire. 'We had wells.' (R:126) 1

(5) qrawe harawe Utwa. 'There were no fights or quarrels.' (R:2) 1

(6) farq-u juday Utwa min-faqir-u dawlamande. 'There was no distinction or separation between the poor and the rich.' (R:6) 1

It may have perfective aspect in contexts where it describes a temporally delimited situation, e.g. (7) xa-q6ra hitwa,I xa-yala zora, har xa-yala qwira. 'There was a (free) grave (at that particular point in time).' (R:192) 1

1

(8) ma-hitwa >intele. 'He took whatever there was.' (R: 105) 1

(9) mf-ma mfla-y? ma hitwale? 'What has he died of? What was the matter with him?" (R:129) 1

1

SYNTAX OF VERBS

311

The past existential particle hitwa, therefore, may express both imperfective and perfective aspect, as is the case with the past copula. 15.6. The verb hwy The verb hwy is conjugated in the qii,!il and qii{ilwa forms. A morphological distinction is made between the indicative with a k- prefix (kwe, kwa, kwen, etc.) and the subjunctive that lacks this (hiiwe, hawya, hiiwen, etc.). The uses of this verb are suppletive to those of the copula and existential particle hit. They may be classified as follows: (i) Future (kwe) (1) xa-sata xet ~isra sinne kwe. 'Next year he will be ten.' 1

(2) dax-ma kiwya, ma la-kiwya? 'Like what will it be, what will it not be? (i.e. What on earth will happen?)' (R:144) 1

1

(3) min-Karkuk-is har-kweli ~ana ~ezan ta-Bagdad. 'From Karkuk I shall be able to go to Baghdad.' (R: 168) 1

(ii) Present (kwe) The indicative qiifil form may also be used with present time reference, though this is not frequently attested. It has the function of indicating specifically that the attribute ascribed to the subject of the clause is a permanent rather than a contingent property. The form is used in clauses in which the subject is a generic class term as in (4). In such cases the predicate expresses a permanent, characteristic property of the class. Note also its usage in (5), which is found in the text corpus. The subject referent here is the informant's dead grandmother. It appears to be used here since the age of the dead woman is perceived as permanent property: 1 (4) taiga qarda kiwya. 'Snow is cold.' 1

(5) mire mazalaw xa-qora hittan. ba-cikma sinne? mire ~imma-u ~isri kiwya. ~imma-u ~isd kiwya. 'He said "She is lucky, we have a grave. How old is she?" He said "She is a hundred and twenty. She is a hundred and twenty."' (R: l 86) 1

1

1I

1

1

owe this interpretation of example (5) to Eleanor Coghill.

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(iii) Subjunctive The verb is frequently attested in the present and past subjunctive: Present subjunctive (hiiwe) (6) )ilha hiiwe gallox. 'May God be with you.' 1

(7) brixa hiiwe. brixa hiiwe. 'May he be blessed. May he be blessed.' (A:14) 1

1

(8) )anye hiiwen lagax. 'Let these be in your possession.' (R: 17) 1

(9) b-laxxa hawya. 'Let her be here.' (R: 177) 1

(10) dax hawe? 'How could that be?' (R:96) 1

(11) tama silmane hawelu maktab w-axni la-hiiwelan? 'Why should the Muslims have a school while we do not have one?' (R: 140) 1

1

(12) zfnna Walla m-qam-d-awa b-/:tityaj la-hiiwena. 'I went so that I would not be in need.' (Z:43) 1

(iv) Past subjunctive (hawewa) (13) Zele lltwa )arba-u xamsa mewane min-Bagdad )u-min-Karkuk la-hawewalan. 'There was not a night when we did not have four or five guests from Baghdad or Karkuk.' (R: 10) 1

1

(14) )agar ba-pisra hawewa, )akle mattiwa resa,I pisra mattiwa resi1. 'If it (was cooked) with meat, they put chickens on it, they put meat on it.' (R:42) 1

1

, (15) ba-sitwa )agar naxla hawewa-u taiga hawyawa-u )urxale dwiqe, la kewalu s!Jita holiwa. 'In winter, if there was rain and there was snow, and the roads were blocked, they could not slaughter animals.' (V:24) 1

1

1

1

1

(16) manit !Jatan hiiwewa labliwalu diirenwalu ga-sarwalew. 'Whoever was a groom, they would take them and put them on his trousers.' (R:85) 1

1

(17) ba-pisra hawewa, pisra /:tiisenwalu. '(If) it was with meat (that they cooked them), they would stuff them with meat.' (R:4 7) 1

1

(18) zariike biinenwale hie la hawewa ga)ew. 'They would clean the wheat so that there was nothing in it.' (R:65) 1

1

(19) kulle nasa ... zara siiqflwa m-qam d-awa ga-naxla talga naxla la hiiwe. 'Everybody ... used to buy wheat, against the possibility that, if it snowed or rained, there would not be (any of it to buy).' (Z:9) 1

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313

(v) Past imperfective (kwewa) The indicative qa{ilwa form of the verb hwy always has an imperfective aspect and tends to be used when the predicate expresses a property that is characteristic of the subject or when it describes a habitual situation. It overlaps with the function of the past copula and the past existential particle hftwa, which, as remarked above, may be used with either an imperfective or a perfective aspect. (20) yom-sabbat 1 u-r6ta lagan kwewa xsaba gezil-awa ta-Bagdad. 'He would be with us on Saturday and Friday, and on Sunday go back to Baghdad.' (R:87)

1

(21) fimcew basima kwewa. 'Its taste was pleasant.' (R:54) 1

(22) 1arba-mma xamsa-mma mispa!Je kwixwa bi-zoda. 'We were four hundred, five hundred families, more.' (R:24) 1

1

1

(23) ca#r xddir bsile kwenwa. 'By the time evening came, they used to be cooked.' (R:60) 1

(24) tre-mma,I f[aba-mma gure-u 1inse kwenwa. 'There used to be two hundred, three hundred men and women.' (R:32) 1

(25) 1itka la-kwewa yatwiwa. 'There was no space to sit.' (Z: 11) 1

15. 7. Compound verbal forms 15.7.1. qifla-y and qfila-y forms These forms consist of a past participle combined with a copula. The most common forms are those that contain the present copula, i.e. qfila-y (intransitive) and qifla-y (transitive). Equivalent constructions with the subjunctive form of hwy substituting for the present copula are also attested in the text corpus. Compound verbal forms with the past copula, however, are not used. Cases that are found in the text corpus consisting of a participle and past copula are attributive adjectives, e.g. skira-yele 'He was drunk' (R:89). A general observation that can be made regarding compound verbal forms with the past participle is that they do not seem to be used as extensively as in some other NENA dialects and appear to be losing ground to other verbal forms. This applies especially to subjunctive compound forms, which are generally replaced by past subjunctive qafilwa forms.

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314

The distinction between the intransitive qfila-y form and the transitive qitfa-y form and their distribution in the lexicon corresponds for the most part to what was described in §15.3. regarding the q{il and qfille forms. pl!

Transitive 'to bring out' plf{le pilta-y

Intransitive 'to come out' pllt ptita-y

smx 'to wait' (intransitive) smlx smixa-y

The anomalous set of verbs that do not take a direct object complement but nevertheless take the qfille form would in most cases have the transitive compound form qifla-y rather than qfila-y, e.g.

phr 'to yawn' shl 'to cough' tpl 'to sneeze'

qfille

qifla-y

pfhirre sfhille tpitle

pihra-y sihta-y tipla-y

The formal distinction between the qfila-y and the qifla-y forms has been levelled in many categories of verbs with weak radicals (see chapter 8). Turning now to function, in general it may be said that the qifla-y and qfila-y forms are used to refer to a past action when the speaker wishes to focus on the property of the subject resulting from the action rather than on the action itself. In broad terms, the choice between qfillelqfll and qifla-ylqfila-y depends on the perspective with which the speaker wishes present the event. The qifla-y!qfila-y construction is used to put the state that results from the event into the foreground. This is a durable and sometimes permanent state resulting from a punctual action. The qfille

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and q{il forms, on the other hand, are preferred when the dynamic, punctual action itself is foregrounded. In some intransitive verbs, the qfila-y form is often most appropriately translated by an English present predication expressing a stative property and does not have a clear connotation of a past action. This applies to verbs such as smx 'to stand', ytw 'to sit', skr 'to be drunk', skn 'to dwell', my/ 'to die', pys 'to remain', pyl 'to fall', e.g. smixa-y 'He is standing', tiwa-y 'He is sitting', skira-y 'He is drunk', ga-leka skina-y? 'Where does he live?', mila-y 'He is dead', 'ana la-pista-yan brata 'I am no longer a girl' (R:150), pila-y 'He is lying on the ground'. In many cases the qit/a-y and q{ila-y forms correspond to a present perfect in English, e.g.

1

1

(1) har-n6si hita-yan. 'I have come all by myself.' (R:162) 1

(2) mire ta-hula'el ma-ye ba-lele hiyetun? miru walla ma 'amrex? qimen resan. 1 'He said to the Jews "Why have you come at night?" They said "Well, what should we say? They have risen against us."' (Z:28) 1

1

(3) 'ay-brata ma-ya mitaw-yet? 'Why have you brought this girl?' (R:163) 1

(4) dwa'i miru: 'e ~ukmat hiwen baqu. 1 'After that they said "Yes, they have given a government to them."' (A:4) (5) ~ukmat-i c1rii,q qarar plirta-ya. 'The government of Iraq has issued a decree.' (A:5) 1

Some such transitive constructions may be translated idiomatically into English with a present tense predication, e.g. (6) '6 baxta la-mya-y. 'He has not brought a woman (in marriage)' = 'He is not married'. 1

(7) '6 gora la-wilta-ya. 'She has not made (marriage to) a man' = She is not married.' 1

In some instances the forms are in clauses that are syntactically subordinate to clauses with a preterite qfillelqfil verb and take the past time reference of this verb as their deictic centre rather than the present. This is found also in examples such as (10) in which the clause with the compound verb form has a close discourse connection with the preterite clause, in this case supplying elaborative information on the preceding

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clause. It is generally appropriate to translate such constructions by the English pluperfect: (8) xzelu limma mityen dokakaw,I :>a,gar babaw pisa-hawewa,I da:>akaw pista hawyawa. 'With one or two others, three others, several others, they would go to the home of the bride, to her father or to her mother, if her father was still alive and her mother was still alive.' (A:14) 1

1

1

1

As remarked above, these subjunctive compound forms are used relatively infrequently in the dialect and are generally replaced by simple past subjunctive qii,filwa forms. 15.7.2. qafola-y form This form consists of an infinitive and the present copula. The replacement of the present copula by the past copula or by a subjunctive form of hwy is not attested in my recordings and is not accepted by informants. Even the form with the present copula is not very extensively attested in the text corpus. It appears to be losing ground to the indicative qiifil form, with which it overlaps in function. The form is used to express a progressive aspect and refers to an action that is taking place at the present moment, e.g. (1) :,6 kwasa-y tex. 'He is coming down.' 1

(2) hestan kalo-y. 'He is still writing.' 1

(3) :>6 :>atta saxo-ye. 'He is having a shower at the moment.' 1

(4) ma:>iike radoxen. 'The water is boiling.' 1

(5) :,ewa gargoma-y. 'It is thundering.' 1

(6) Dina mastoxa-ya. 'Dina is giving birth.' (R:206) 1

It may be used also with verbs that have a stative lexical meaning to express the 'actual present', i.e. the fact that the state is in existence at the present moment, but is not necessarily a permanent property of the subject. When the verb expresses a perception, it is often appropriate to translate the construction into English with the modal auxiliary 'can', e.g.

SYNTAX OF VERBS

319

(7) ~6 xa-mfndi xet haboy. 'He wants something else.' 1

(8) xazow-yena. 'I can see him.' 1

(9) famow-yena. 'I can hear him.' 1

It may express an activity that has continued from a earlier point in the past, e.g. (10) ~ana cikma-y gallaw-zalena! 'How much is it that I am going with her! (i.e. I have been going out with her for a long time).' (R:149) 1

In some cases it expresses an imminent activity, e.g. (11) lapola-y. 'He is about to fall.' 1

15.8. The verb xdr

The verb xdr is used in predicates corresponding to the types that occur with the copula, the existential particle and the verb hwy. It differs from these in that it has an ingressive sense of entering a state ('coming into existence, becoming'). It may be conjugated in the full range of verbal forms that are available to regular verbs. Unlike the past copula, which is inflected with L-suffixes, xdr takes the intransitive past form qtil. The following forms are attested in the text corpus: (i) qii{il

When referring to future time, including cases where it functions as a subjunctive, the form expresses a perfective aspect, e.g. (1) ~uha xadran qurbanew mele-llan laxxa. 'God- may I become his sacrifice - brought us here.' (R:2) (2) kimrfwa nakun xa-mfndi xddir ~ulu. 1 'They said (this was done) lest something happen to them.' (R: 135) 1

1

It may express a habitual or iterative occurrence and so have an

imperfective aspect. This applies to (3), in which the form takes the time reference of the following past tense verb as its deictic centre and so refers to the past. The clause with xdr here functions as a temporal adverbial, as is frequently the case with the qafilwa forms of the verb that are attested in the text corpus.

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320

(3) ca~ir xJdir bsile kwenwa. '(When) it became evening(= in the evening), they used to be cooked.' (R:60) 1

(ii) qa{ilwa form This form is used imperfectively to express a habitual, iterative occurrence in the past, e.g. (4) >u-waxta xadrawa ba-kalda,I dh6r-u z6rna dayawa. 'When she became a bride, the drums and pipes sounded.' (R:35) 1

(5) hema nasa hula>a nasax xadirwa, mandenwale ga-xastaxana. 'When a Jewish person became ill and they put him in the hospital.' (R:3 7) 1

1

(6) >u-xadrfwa qi{te :Jasxa:Je. 'They became small pieces like this.' (R:50) 1

(7) br6na xadirwa, bar tmanya y6me mira koliwale. 'When a boy came into existence (i.e. was born), after eight days they would circumcise him.' (R:8) 1

1

The form is often used in temporal adverbial expressions: (8) bqattd xadirwa gezUwa tmanya :Jic:Ja facne zara saqUwa. '(When) it was morning(= in the morning), he would go and buy eight or nine bundles of wheat.' (R: 116) 1

1

1

(9) ba-y6ma rota xadirwa xamsusab xadirwa,I >ins£) kulle da>ake lablfwalun-u yalu geziwa ta-f_iammtim xepiwa. '(When) it was Friday or (when) it was Thursday, the women, all the mothers would take their children and go to wash in the baths.' (R:127) 1

1

1

(10) Zele xadirwa tre kenwa baraw. '(When) it was night (= at night), three people would come (asking) for her.' (R:196) 1

(11) ham-qeta xadirwa >ay-waxtara, sala doqiwa retfwa geziwa ta-xastaxana. '(When) it was summer, and in that season people had fever and trembled, they would go to hospital.' (R:128) 1

1

1

1

These are parallel in structure with temporal adverbial expressions containing the present copula such as bqatta-ye '(when) it is morning (i.e in the morning)', which is attested throughout the text corpus, and y6ma sabbat-ye 'on Saturday' (R:202).

SYNTAX OF VERBS

321

(iii) q{il form This is always perfective in aspect. When used in this form, the verb sometimes has the variant /z/ rather than /di as its middle radical(§ 1.4.). (12) xdira ba-kalda. 'She has become a bride.' (R:35) 1

(13) geban ci-lltwa,I ta-xzira sata Virbi-u tmanya. 1 'But in our community there was nothing, until it was the year forty-eight.' (A:3) (iv) q{llwa form This is attested in adverbial expressions that set the temporal frame of a following clause containing a past verb, e.g. (14) saftka j6re walew. 'The place of his urinating (literally: his making urine).' (R:89) 1

(14) waxta ~6ma fafore, :,o-nase kenwa-wa. 'At the time of their breaking the fast, the people would come back.' (R:7) 1

1

(iii) Adverbial complement An infinitive may be juxtaposed to a finite verb in an adverbial function. It may serve to express an circumstantial action that overlaps with the action of the main verb as in (15):

(15) tiwa 'J:taq6y-u tanoye. 'He sits talking and telling stories.' (R:90) 1

An infinitive may be juxtaposed to a finite verb from the same root. This is attested in (16) where it imparts the connotation of thoroughness and completeness:

(16) nas la-lfle leka liblale. :,6 zala-zll,I x6l-la hye-wa. 'Nobody knew where he took her. He went away and never came back.' (R:153) 1

1

15 .11. Direct object

The expression of pronominal direct objects on the various verbal forms has been described in chapter 8. When the direct object is a nominal, four types of syntactic construction are used. (i) The object has no grammatical marking either on the nominal or on the verb in the form of a pronominal suffix or gender and number agreement with the object on the verbal base. This is the usual construction when the object nominal is indefinite, e.g. (1) xa-mindi siiqUwa ta-ya.lake 'He would buy something for the children' (R:118)

(2) hiye postaci silmana, kaxata hiwle baqa babz. 'A Muslim postman came and delivered a letter (kaxiita f.) for my grandfather.' (M:5) 1

1

SYNTAX OF VERBS

325

(3) ~iwe saqliwa. 'They would buy wood.' (R:114) 1

(4) 'u-ja_(laye kolixwa yarixe. 'We would make long scarves.' (R:76) 1

(5) 'isri polise mele. 'They brought twenty policemen.' (R:135) 1

(6) tikle ta-1}-atane /xe{ixwa,I julle ta-kalale xe{ixwa. 'We used to sew belt-stran4s for grooms, we used to sew clothes for brides.' (R:86) , 1

I

Grammatical marking is sporadically omitted when the object is definite in status. This is attested when the noun plays an incidental role in the discourse. In (7), for example, there is no grammatical agreement with the feminine object 'ara 'the ground' on the verb. The main topic referent in this passage is the collection of gold coins, which, conversely, are marked by object agreement on the verb in the first clause: (7) tati tre-safre Ure zayre hiwile ta-da'aki. 'ara cqele mittile gaw. 'My father gave two buckets of gold liras to my mother. He dug the ground and put them in it.' (R: 17) 1

1

1

1

Grammatical agreement is also omitted in some cases where the object is an independent demonstrative pronoun or the quantifier kull- with pronominal suffixes, e.g. (8) 'awa gbex. 'We want that.' (R:31) 1

(9) kullu Juqlu baqu. 'They left them all to them.' (R:120) 1

(ii) The object nominal is marked by the preposition /- but there is no grammatical marking on the verb. This type of construction is largely restricted to definite human objects, e.g. (10) br6ni 'il-brataxun gbe. 'My son loves your daughter.' (R:29) 1

(11) kayenwa ga-'6 brata 'il-d-o-br6na gba. 'They would know that the girl loved the boy.' (R:29) 1

(12) l-hula'e raba gbenwa laga didan} ga-Slemani. 1 'They used to like the Jews a lot in our community, in Sulemaniyya.' (Z: 17) (13) xa-yoma mlru 'il-hula'e qa{li. 'They will kill the Jews.' (Z:27) 1

1

(14) 'il-dasgiranaw 'asilr-ye xazya. 'It was forbidden for her to see her fiance.' (V:14) 1

(15) 'o-waxta. l}-atan 'il-kalda xazewa. 'Then the groom would see the bride.' (R:36) 1

1

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(16) manid >il-axoni >iifewa-wa, kulle hfyen tex. 'Those who knew my brother, they all came down.' (R:137) 1

1

(17) >ay tre-br6ne ruwwe bdxew la-k6li l-yalax. 'these two older boys will not look after your children.' (R: 17) 1

1

A verb form with a past base, however, agrees with the object in gender and number: (18) lii-yale liblile ta-Bagdad. 'He took the children to Baghdad.' (R:154) 1

Reciprocal constructions containing the phrase xa l-xa, in which the second xa is the direct object, should be included here. The referents are typically humans, e.g. (19) kulle xa-l-xa kiiyenwa-wa. 1 'Everybody knew each other.' (A:13) (20) xa-l-xa qfillu. 'They killed one another.' (R:201) 1

(iii) The object nominal has no grammatical marking but there is marking on the verb in the form of a co-referential pronominal object suffix or gender and number agreement on a past verbal base, which is equivalent to a pronominal object suffix. This is the usual type of construction when the object is definite in status. It is not restricted to human objects, as is the case with construction (ii): (21) araq dyale 1-xa br6na xet. 1 'A youth threw a bottle of arak at another youth.' (R: 136) (35) ha-Iha hiyex ta-Yisra>e/, >ana xamsi dinare menUi. 'By God, (when) we came to Israel, I brought fifty dinars.' (R:18) 1

1

(iv) In some sporadic cases an object nominal that has a coreferential pronominal agreement element on the verb is also marked with the preposition/-. In (36) the object has a human referent. In (37) the referent of the object nominal is contrasted with previous items in a list. In (38) the postposed object nominals appear to be an afterthought. In neither case is the referent of the object nominal human:

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(36) la-yale liblile ta-Bagdad. 'He took the children to Baghdad.' (R:153) 1

(37) ba-pisra hawewa, pisra J:uisenwalu. ba-misxa hawewa, b-misxa f;,asenwalu. >it-girse la f;,asenwalu. '(If) it was with meat (that they cooked them), they would stuff them with meat. If it was with oil, they stuffed them with oil. They did not stuff (the meat-balls made) of groats.' (R:47) 1

1

1

1

1

(38) ba-xmata semanta xefixwatu,I >i/-ksilake,I >i/-J6-tikle f;,atan. 'We would (also) sew them with a silver needle, the hats and the belt-strands of the groom.' (R:85) 1

15 .12. Double direct object Some verbs take two direct objects. This is found most commonly with the verb >w/ in the sense of 'make into': (1) duka >irbe, hanzniwale, kolfwale qalya. 'They would chop up the skin of sheep and make it into sheep fat.' (R:53) 1

1

(2) >awa dasgiran kollwala. betrothed woman.' (V:12)

1

'They would make her into a

1

Phrasal verbs containing an object noun may be included here: (3) >ay faqira rawana kolexilu hezi ta->Ere~-Yisra>et. 'We shall make this poor man (and others like him) envoys in order for them to go to the Land oflsrael.' (R:139) 1

1

(4) br6niike mila koliwale. 'They circumcised the boy.' (V:21) 1

(5) xam-u biluri,I cite w-asxa,I bawretu,I xwarelu,I rang koliwalu b-xuba. 'By dying they would colour raw cloth, white linen, cloth and the like, which were off-white or white.' (V:4) 1

15 .13. Indirect object The indirect object expresses the recipient or beneficiary of the verbal action. Pronominal 1ndirect objects have been described in §8.14.6. They are expressed by L-suffixes or suffixes on the prepositions Jill- and baq-. Indirect objects that are full nominals are in most cases introduced by the prepositions ta- or baqa. There is no agreement with such

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329

nominals on the verb in the form of a pronominal copy, even when the nominal is definite in status. (i) ta:

(1) dawlamandiike kwfwa ta-faqire. 'The rich would give to the poor.' (R:6) 1

(2) tre jarrakane,I tre sa{re,I tre sa{re 'asxa'e lire zayre hfwle ta-da'aki. 'He gave two jars, two buckets, two buckets like this, of gold liras to my mother.' (R:15) 1

1

(3) bi-zoda min-isri-sure ta-nase xe{anwa. 'I sewed more than twenty dresses for people.' (R:80) 1

(4) talafon-dflu ta-duxtar Malik. 'They made a phone call to Dr. Malik.' (R:90) 1

(5) 'o dawlamande zadriwa ta-dawlamande. 'The rich people sent (gifts) to other rich people.' (R: 131) 1

(6) giwrale ta-bronew. 'He gave her in marriage to his son.' (R:166) 1

(ii) baqa (7) kaxiita hiwle baqa babi. 'He gave a letter to my grandfather.' (M:5) 1

(8) holla baqa 'ay bronan! 'Give her to this son of ours!' (V:10) 1

(9) 'oni-s min-be babe xalenye 'asxa kwiwa baqa f:tatan-u kalla. 'Those people who belonged to the family, furthermore, would give gifts to the groom and the bride.' (V: 18) 1

1

(10) min-be kalda xala mazdrfwa haqa f:tatan. 'They would send food to the groom from the house of the bride.' (M: 18) 1

1

(11) kulle nase xaleta kmenwa baqa f:tatan. 'Everybody brought a gift for the groom.' (M:20) 1

15.14. The postverbal particle awa The Kurdish particle awa is widely used in the dialect. After a vowel it is generally contracted to wa. In some cases it expresses the sense of 'returning back', 'restoring', 'repetition' or 'completion': (I) hiye-wa. 'He came back.' 1

(2) qadome der-awa. 'He will return tomorrow.' 1

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(3) kulle-wa baqi. 'He will give it back to me.' 1

(4) se-wa. 'Go back! Go away!' 1

(5) fikri zil-awa. 'I have forgotten (literally: My thought has gone away).' 1

(6) prisi-wa. 'They separated (intransitive).' 1

(7) ta~enile-wa. 'They will find it (again).' 1

(8) >o-sax wille-wa lleu. 'He cured him.' 1

(9) >o-xaya wille-wa lleu. 'He revived him.' 1

(10) miqlible-wa. 'He threw up again, vomited.' 1

(11) tiU;a pisiwa-wa. 'Three remained behind.' 1

(12) xt{alu-wa baqew. 'They sewed it up again for him.' (R:137) 1

(13) >ay-ka qeriwa-wa. 'Then they would cool down.' (R:58) 1

(14) la-kelu makwfsila-wa. 'They cannot put it down again.' (M:1) 1

In many cases, however, it forms an idiomatic phrase with the verb and is not directly translatable into English. The particle is always placed before prepositional phrases expressing the pronominal object: (15) qirwa >a~ra xdir-awa. 'He approached the town.' 1

(16) >ana axon1 xfze baqan ba-tata. 'My brother was looked upon by us as a father.' (Z:41) 1

1

(v) Prepositional complements of verbs Some uses of the preposition as a complement of a verb are most easily treated as lexically determined. This applies, for example, to bdy b- 'to begin', gora >wl b- 'to marry' (with woman as subject), kiiye b- 'He knows about': (39) dwa>i g6ra willi ba-bronew 'Then I married his son.' (R: 177) 1

(40) g6ra ho/a ba;>u 'in order that she marry them' (R: 165) 1

(41) >onye >axonawali la-lilu ba>u. 'Those brothers of mine did not know about them.' (R: 107) 1

(42) b-goriike nas la-kiiye. 'Nobody knows about the man.' (R:157) 1

1

(43) du-hara bdela b-Uxma wala. 'She started to make bread again.' (R:71) 1

(44) hiyen bdelu ha-hara-hara wala-u b-cirike. 'They came and began wailing and shouting.' (R: 182) 1

16.2. IA distinction should be made between the uses of this preposition with pronominal suffixes and its usages when attached to a nominal. When it takes pronominal suffixes it expresses either the direct or the indirect object. As already described, in such circumstances it has one of two forms. It either has the form of L-suffixes, which are inflectional elements of verbal forms, or it has the base >ill- and is external to the verb form. When the preposition is attached to a nominal, it may function as a marker of the direct object. This usage, however, tends to be restricted to cases where the object is human and so is more limited in its distribution

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than prepositional phrases with pronominal suffixes ( see § 15 .11 ii for further details). A usage that is common to l- in both its adpronominal and its adnominal forms is the expression of possession in predicative phrases, e.g. (1) 1 0-mfre 1 illi-ye. 1'He said "It belongs to me.'" (R:101) (2) bela 1 illew-ye. 1'The house belongs to him.' (3) kulle l-1:,,ukmat-ye. 1 'Everything belongs to the government' (Z:5) The preposition can be used before a nominal to form a phrase that is a genitive attribute of a preceding noun or a genitive appositional expression. In both these and in the preceding examples l- is used where more conservative dialects would have the genitive particle d-. Note its usage also in (7), where it occurs before the independent genitive pronoun: ( 4) mani gezilwa ta-Bagdad1 mlriqe xet stiwa >it-rizza-y, >tiwa >i/-sawar-ye, >awa >ii-xurtmane-y. 'Every type (of food) had a pot, which we called a humba. One was for rice, one was for burghul, one was for chickpeas.' (V :26) 1

1

1

1

1

Verbs that typically have beneficiary or recipients as complements such as 'to give' and 'to send', however, are generally used with the prepositions ta or baqa. On some occasions the nominal introduced by I- is detrimentally affected by the action: (11) har-ninden,I p6lise smixe baru, ka-hic-la >oii >i/->inse hulaye silmane. 'They continued dancing, while the police stood behind them, so that the Muslims would do nothing to the Jewish women.' (R:137) 1

1

1

(12) xa-sisa ,tiraq dytile l-xa br6na xet. 'He threw a bottle at another boy.' (R:136) 1

The complement of /- is sometimes the addressee of a verb such as 'to say' or 'to shout', though the prepositions ta and baqa are more common in this context: (13) >6 ,ax6ni Hzixron6 li-vraxtiH ruwwake f[a!Ja-ka l-da>aki mire gbe-,eza ta-knista. 'Indeed, my older brother, of blessed memory, three times said to my mother that she should go to the synagogue.' (R: 109) 1

1

1

(14) ~rixli zixrona-lvraxti lf-xtilusti Mixai. 'I called to my sister Mikhal, of blessed memory.' (R:80) 1

Finally/- occasionally expresses static spatial location: (15) tati l-Bagdad-yele. 'My father was in Baghdad.' (R:10) 1

16.3. ta As already noted (§15.13.), the preposition ta is used to mark a nominal as the indirect object (i.e. recipient or beneficiary) of the verb. Its semantic range also includes the following usages:

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(i) Destination The preposition has this function after verbs of movement and conveyance: (1) gezfxwa ta-'irxel. 'We used to go to the water-mill.' (R:3) 1

(2) har-min-bqatta-y geziwa ta-knista. 'They would go to the synagogue from the early morning onwards.' (R:7) 1

1

(3) hiyex ta-Yisra'el. 'We came to Israel.' (R:18) 1

(4) ba-trumbele geziwa ta-doka. 'They used to go there in a car.' (R:26) 1

(5) la qabUwa hamenwa ta-laxxa. 'People were not allowed to bring (them) here.' (R:19) 1

1

(6) la-kenwa ta-lagan. 'They did not come to us.' (R:2) 1

(7) 'irqali ta-dasta. 'I ran to the field.' (R:180) 1

(8) menilan ta-Yisra'el. 'We brought them to Israel.' (R:18) 1

(9) labliwala ta-miqve. 'They would take her to the miqveh.' (R:34) 1

(10) '6 dawlamande zadrfwa ta-dawlamande. 'The rich people sent (gifts) to other rich people.' (R: 131) 1

(ii) Temporal or spatial extent

It may be used to indicate the limit of period of time ('until') or of a spatial area: (11) lele yatwiwa ta-sacat 'arba. 'They used to sit at night until four o'clock.' (R:69) 1

(12) tre-yome peswa ta-pafire, {laJ:ui,-yome peswa ta-pa{ire, 1 ma$$aye kolfwa. 'When two days remained before Passover, or three days remained before Passover, they would make matzas.' (R:66) 1

1

(13) kolfwala xlulake fetid rota, lelid xamsusab, xamsusab ta-xamsusab,I Zele rota,I ta-xa xamsusab xet. 'they held the wedding on the eve of Friday, (that is) Thursday night, (from) Thursday to Thursday (the following week), (from) the eve of Friday to the next Thursday.' (A:17) 1

1

1

1

(14) har min-laxxa knista-yela ta-doka. 'The synagogue extended all the way from here to there.' (R:22) 1

1

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS

339

Other expressions with ta relating to time are the following: (15) 'axni kex-hawa ta-yarxa. 'We shall come back in a month.' (R:100) 1

( 16) walla bar-dwa'e ta-duwam lele kulle-ka nase ga-warya giinen m-zdulu. 'By God, after that, for the second night, people slept all the time outside on account of their fear.' (Z:31) 1

1

1

(17) kulle yan ta-sabbat kenwa-wa yan draga draga kenwa-wa ta-sabbat, ta-'elawaye. 'They all either returned for the Sabbath or would come back sporadically for the Sabbath or for festivals.' (V:3) 1

1

1

(18) 'ana qreli ta-'ista sinne. 'I studied for six years.' 1

(iii) Address The preposition is used before a nominal that is the addressee in a clause containing the verb 'to say': (19) duxtar Malik mire ta-'axonawali 'Dr. Malik said to my brothers' (R:91) 1

(20) mire ta-'axona ruwwi David 'He said to my elder brother David' (R:94) (21) qima zila mira ta-ax6na tataw. 'She went and said to the brother of her father.' (R:159) 1

(iv) Purpose The phrase introduced by ta may express the purpose of the action in the clause: (22) saqlixwalu, ta-sitwa-u ta-qefa. 'We would buy them, for winter and summer.' (R: 126) 1

1

When ta has this purposive function, it is more commonly followed by an infinitive clause(§ 15.10.) or a finite clause(§ 15.2.1.2. (iii)): (23) dwa'i qim ta-jore-wala. 'Then he got up in order to urinate.' (R:89) 1

(24) kulle nasa cerwa ta-misxa siiqilwa. 'Everybody would go around with the purpose of buying oil.' (Z:15) 1

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(v) 'Concerning' (25) ta-lJ,asta-wala) kulle IJ,asta koliwa. 'As for working, everybody worked.' 1

16.4. baqa The preposition baqa overlaps in function with ta in most respects: It is used to express the indirect object (recipient or beneficiary) of the verb (§ 15.13.) and also relations such as the following: (i) Destination (1) kalda hiya baqa IJ,atan. 'The bride came to the groom.' (M:13) 1

(2) ba-:>azad hiye-wa baqa Slemanz. 'In the holidays, he came back to Sulemaniyya.' (M: 1) 1

1

(3) zili baqa polisxana. 'They went to the police-station.' (M:3) 1

(4) kmenwale-wa baqa bela. 'They brought him back to the house.' (M:13) 1

(5) liblali baqa babi ga-bela. 'I took it to my father in the house.' (M:7) 1

(ii) Temporal extent (6) lixma nase-hitwa raba koliwa baqa ,arba yarxe. 'There were many people who made bread (to last) for four months.' (Z:22) 1

(iii) Address (7) mire baqa bratake ... 'He said to the girl ... ' (R: 153) (8) ,ay-huza,a mire baqan kafir. disbeliever.' (Z: 18)

1

'This Jew has called us a

(9) baqa didaxun ,asxa kimri? 'Do they say things like that to you?' (Z:29) 1

(10) dwa:>i ,ana n6si baqa n6si kmznna 'Then I say to myself (M:7) 1

(11) :>i!J,qele-wa baqa nase. 'He told people (about it).' (M:2) 1

(iv) Purpose (12) deqiwale ba-:>awan,I baslzwale,I baqa sawar. 'They would crush it in a mortar, then cook it to make burghul.' (Z:23) 1

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS

341

(13) kulle bela hltwale xa-foi gezUwa /o>a,I laga kalda 'The groom would then go inside to the bride.' (R:35) 1

(12) kenwa laga >axonawali 'They would come to my brothers.' (R:10) 1

(13) laga leketun labilmuli doka 'Take me to wherever you are.' (R:95) 1

16.6. resa

This has replaced the preposition *ilana riqa resaw. 'A tree grew over her.' (R: 192) 1

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS

343

(8) 'ilaniike prima-wa ba-resa qoraw. 'The tree hung over her grave.' (R: 192) 1

(9) da'aki tiwa resan. 'My mother sat over us.' (R: 11) 1

(10) hiyen tiwex resaw. 'People came and we sat over her.' (R:183) 1

(11) Sabriyya g6ra willa ba-resa xa baxta. 'Sabriyya married over a woman (i.e. She married a man who already had a wife).' (R:38) 1

1

(iii) Destination

The preposition is sometimes used with verbs of movement. In such cases it may have the sense of 'onto' (12-14). It is also used, however, to express destination in a more general sense ( 15-17): (12) resa gare taxtabande-hitwalan, lablixwa resa gare. 'We had beds on the roof, we would take them onto the roof.' (R: 125) 1

1

(13) mandenwalu ba-resa-'ilu. 'They dropped them onto their hands.' (R:70) 1

(14) Marsel-u Ya'qob, resa 'ilaw hiyen. 'Marcelle and Ya'qob ... came onto her hand (i.e. were brought into the world by her).' (R:196) 1

1 ...

(15) geziwa resa xlulyu. 'They would go to their weddings.' (R:133) 1

(16) resa pis}:za kewa yatuwwa. 'He would come to the Passover meal and sit.' (R:4) 1

(17) 'atta gezex resa 'atare. 'Now, we come to the general stores.' (Z:5) 1

(iv) 'Against' (18) qimen resan. 'They have risen against us.' (Z:28) 1

(v) 'Concerning' (19) 'atta }:ziiqex resa 'inse. 'Now we shall talk about women.' (Z:33) 1

(20) min-ilha gzir ib-resan. 'It was decreed by God concerning us.' (Z:41) 1

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16.7. min (i) Spatial separation or removal (1) mf-ruwwa sqillu Jisrf dinare,I min-z6ra-s xamsa-sar dinare. 'From an adult they took twenty dinars and from a child fifteen dinars.' (A:5)

1

(2) Jakra dar-yelu silmane min-didan. 'The Muslims were so far away from us.' (R:25) 1

(3) tatf min-gare pzl-tex. 'My father fell down from the roof.' (R:88) 1

(ii) Source or origin This category covers a broad range of constructions, some examples of which are as follows: (4) tatf min-Bagdad-yele. 'My father was from Baghdad.' (R:10) 1

(5) min-Zaxo-yele. 'He was from Zakho.' (R:9) 1

my (6) Jana babl,I tati,I mami min-Qaradax xziren. 'I grandfather, my father and my uncle originated from Qaradax.' (Z:3) 1

1

1

(7) lele htwa Jdrba-u xamsa mewane min-Bagdad Ju-min-Karkuk la-hawewalan. 'There was not a night when we did not have four or five guests from Baghdad or Karkuk.' (R: 10) 1

1

(8) har-min-Slemani diwqalu-wa ta-Bagdad. 'They took it all the way from Sulemaniyya to Baghdad.' (R:91) 1

(9) min-bela xala labliwale. 'They would take him food from home.' (R:37) 1

(10) J6 tre-Jax6ne xeti har min-babi-yetu min-daJakf la-yelu. 'My two other brothers were only from my father, they were not from my mother.' (R:13) 1

1

1

(11) m-baxta rabtake litwa. 'There were (no children) from the older wife.' (R: 156) 1

(iii) Agent Related to the previous category is the use of the preposition to express the agent in a passive construction: (12) min-ilha gzzr ib-resan 'It was decreed by God concerning us' (Z:41) 1

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS

345

(13) ku/le garaka hu/aJe min-nase-d-o dwiqa. 'The whole of the district of the Jews was held by men of his.' (Z:30) 1

1

We may include here also (14) where the intention is deny an external agency: (14) J6 min-nosew mi/. 'He died by himself.' (R:11) 1

(iv) Material or consistency (15) /aaki. 'My father was older than my mother.' (R:16) 1

(32) bi-z6da min-isri-sure ta-nase xetanwa. 'I sewed more than twenty dresses for people.' (R:80) 1

(xi) 'With' The preposition is occasionally used in the sense of 'with', though the preposition gal is more frequently used with this sense. There appears to be a slightly greater tendency to use min in this sense in I:Ialabja than in Sulemaniyya. The use of min in the sense of 'with' probably arose from a confusion due to the ambiguity of the short form m-. This is likely to have been originally the reflex also of the preposition *cam 'with' of early Aramaic.

SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF PREPOSITIONS

347

(33) >at gezitwa ta-Bagdad, ba-samandafar xiizitwa xa-hu/a>a min-xa silmana xiizitwa 'If you were going to Baghdad and in the train you saw a Jew, you saw him together with a Muslim, ... '(Z:32) 1

1

1

(34) >afillu gure-s-yelu min-lixle xazriwa ba-x'rzim. 'Even the men would (become united) together as family members.' (V :8) 1

(35) xizme-u qawme bi-xle goriwa min-lixle. 'Relatives and families (would come) together and marry each other.' (V:7) 1

1

(36) piyaliike myali minni 'I brought the cup with me.' 1

(xii) Verbal complements The preposition min is lexically determined before the complement of some verbs, e.g. bqr min 'to ask', prq min 'to finish', jgr min 'to be angry with': (37) bqirra min-nase. 'She asked people.' (R: 175) 1

(38) >ana priqan min-xayu. 'I finished one of them.' (R:80) 1

(39) jagri min-hu/a>e. 'They hate the Jews.' (Z: 17) 1

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE CLAUSE 17.1 The copula clause 17 .1. Preliminary remarks The present and past copulas are placed after the predicate of the clause. They are used to form ascriptive and equative clauses. Ascriptive clauses ascribe a certain property to the referent of the subject. The property may be a quality, membership of a class or a spatio-temporal location. Equative clauses identify the referent of one expression with the referent of another. In ascriptive clauses the copula is regularly placed after the item that expresses the property thus marking it as the predicate. ( 1) swawan tu/ar-ye. 1 'Our neighbour is a merchant.' (2) swawanjihya-ye. 'Our neighbour is tired.' 1

(3) swawan ga-bela-y. 'Our neighbour is in the house.' 1

This syntax of ascriptive copula clauses is invariable and is not affected by changes in the information structure of the clause. The subject of an ascriptive clause typically expresses given information whereas the property that is ascribed to it typically expresses new information. This is the case in the vast majority of such clauses that are attested in the text corpus. The focus of new information is signalled by the nuclear stress, which is typically placed on the item expressing the property. If the property is expressed by a phrase, the nuclear stress is placed on the last item of the phrase. In some contexts, however, ascriptive copula clauses may have a different information structure, whereby the subject item is the focus of new information and the item expressing the property expresses given information. In such cases the copula remains in its position after the property item. The syntactic structure of the clause, therefore, does not change and from a syntactic point of view the property item should still be regarded as the predicate. The nuclear stress, however, is placed on the subject rather than on the predicate. This is demonstrated by clauses that are replies to questions such as (4-6), which

THE CLAUSE

349

supply the new information requested and incorporate old information from the question. The new information is indicated in the English translation of the reply by upper case letters: (4) A: mani tujii,r-ye? 1B: swawan tujawin-ye 'It is wrong.' (R:6) (10) har ximma-yele. 'It was always hot.' (R:124) 1

(11) xiska-yele 'It was dark.' (M:l) In many such cases the 3fs. form of the copula is used(§ 14.3.): (12) k6ra-u bara-yela. 'I was noon and later.' (R:96) 1

(13) qad6me >efa-ya. 'Tomorrow it is a festival.' (R:97) 1

(14) rek-yela bf-xle. 'It was good (to live) together.' (R:132) 1

(15) 'IJ,til-u mas>a/a-ya. 'The situation is like this (literally: It is suchand-such a state and question).' (R: 170) 1

The common temporal adverbial expression bqatta-ye should be mentioned here. Strictly speaking, it is a clause with the meaning 'It is morning.' It may be interpreted as an asyndetic temporal clause with the sense of '(when) it is morning' or the like, though it is usually appropriate to translate it idiomatically simply as 'in the morning': (16) dwa>i bqatta-ye qemzwa. 'Then in the morning they would get up.' (R:34) 1

THE CLAUSE

351

(17) bqattd-ye gezlwa,I geziwa dabl,1Jwalu "irbdke. 'They would go in the morning, they would go and slaughter the sheep.' (R:56) (18) bqatta-y 1 sffat xam.M 1 ndnawa kyawa. 1 'In the morning, at five o'clock, the baker-woman would come.' (R:61) 1

(19) rizzd bqattd-ye labliwa ta-kalda. 'In the morning they would take rice to the bride.' (R:38) 1

A similar adverbial construction is occasionally found with other expresions: (20) yoma Lalange zane-hiyen "illaw,I m'rsitxa y6ma sabbat-ye. 'On the day of Purim labour pains came upon her and she gave birth on Saturday.' (R:202) 1

Various expressions with an impersonal grammatical subject express the personal reference by means of a pronominal suffix. These generally correspond to English expressions with a personal grammatical subject. Some examples are as follows: JamJamew-ye Jamaw-ye Jamu-ye

'He remembers' 'She remembers' 'They remember'

Jamox-ye Jamax-ye Jamiixun-ye

'You (ms.) remember' 'You (fs.) remember' 'You (pl.) remember'

Jami-ye Jaman-ye

'I remember' 'We remember'

Jikrew-ye fikraw-ye fikru-ye

'He remembers' 'She remembers' 'They remember', etc.

ximmew-ya ximmaw-ya ximmu-ya

'He is hot' 'She is hot' 'They are hot', etc.

Jikr-

ximm-

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

352 qard-

'He is cold' 'She is cold' 'They are cold', etc.

qardew-ya qardaw-ya qardu-ya

If the predicate of a copula clause with an impersonal grammatical

subject is a 1st or 2nd person independent pronoun, the copula agrees with it in person, gender and number: Jana-yena or Janena 'It is me', Jaxn1-yex 'It is us', Jat-yet 'It is you (ms.)', Jat-yat 'It is you (fs.)', Jaxtun-yetun 'It is you (pl.)'. 1

1

1

1

1

Occasionally an impersonal copula has an existential sense: (21) fftwa Hsole/i ga-d6ka,I har-rizza-yele. 'There was no fine flour in that place. It was only rice(= There was only rice).' (Z:24) 1

17.1.3. Subject nominals If the subject of the clause is referred to by a noun or nominal phrase, it is

generally placed before the predicate. In most cases the subject is uttered in the same intonation group as the predicate and the nuclear stress is on the final element of the predicate: (1) J6 bratajwan-ya. 'That girl is beautiful.' (R:30) 1

(2) Jay-nase set-yen. 'These people are mad.' (M:6) 1

(3) hulaJe yale lalan-yen. 'The Jews are our cousins (literally: the children of our maternal uncle).' (Z: 17) 1

(4) yalax daqiqen. 'Your children are small.' (R: 17) 1

(5) tati tujiir-yele. 'My father was a merchant.' (R:87) 1

(6) Jasawan silmana-yele. 'The miller was a Muslim.' (R:65) 1

(7) naxla raba-yele. 'Rain was abundant.' (Z:9) 1

(8) Sulemani jwan-yela. 'Sulemaniyya was beautiful.' (R: 1) 1

(9) xmatake dewanta-yela. 'The needle was golden.' (R:85) 1

The subject nominal is sometimes presented by the speaker in a separate intonation group. In many such cases the subject is a nominal phrase consisting of two or more elements. The length of the subject nominal is not, however, always the primary motivation for its being placed in its

THE CLAUSE

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own intonation group. The speaker often uses this strategy to give particular prominence to a nominal that is contrasted with some other item in the adjacent context. This applies, for example, to (11-13) below. It is also used at the beginning of a section of discourse to introduce a topic referent that plays a prominent role in the subsequent context (14): (10) dinare >Jraq raba-yelu. 'The dinars oflraq were (worth) a lot.' (R:18) 1

1

(11) >6 tre->ax6ne xeti har min-babi-yelu. 'My two other brothers were only from my father.' (R: 13) 1

1

(12) xmata ksilake xa-naw< xet yela. 'The needle of the hats was different.' (R:85) 1

1

(13) >axni ga-lax.xa-yelan. silmane ga-'el-awa-yelu. 'We were here and the Muslims were far away.' (R:25) 1

1

1

(14) babi ana baxta-yan. 'I am a woman.' (R:153) 1

(2) >axnaxun kafir-yetun. 'You are disbelievers.' (Z:18) 1

(3) >axni yale-yelan. 'We were children.' (R: 13) 1

(4) >axni fla}:ui xalusye-yelan. 'We were three sisters.' (R: 110) 1

(5) >aya beta hu/a>a-yele >awa be/a silmanele. 'This was a Jewish house and that was a Muslim house.' (R:26) 1

1

(6) >6ni zarindii,r-yelu. 'They were powerful.' (R: 15) 1

The motivation to use independent subject pronouns is more than simply to indicate the grammatical subject, since this is already expressed by the inflection of the copula. The function must be sought in the wider discourse context of the clause. This will be examined together with pronominal subjects in verbal clauses in §17.5.5.

17.1.5. Position of nuclear stress As remarked above, in positive copula clauses the nuclear stress is generally placed on the last item of the predicate. This signals a broad

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focus that marks the predicate as a whole as prominent. In a few exceptional cases it is retracted back from this position. This is found in cases where the speaker wishes to put narrow focus on one particular component of the predicate. In (1 ), for example, narrow focus is put on the numeral, since this is regarded by the speaker as particularly noteworthy. The nuclear stress may also be retracted onto a quantifier in the subject phrase when the speaker wishes to give this particular prominence (2): (1) >imma-u >isri sinne-yela. 1'She was a hundred and twenty years old.' (R: 184) (2) bate hu/a>e kullu jwan-yelu. 1'The houses of the Jews were all beautiful.' (R:20)

17.1.6. The negative copula When the copula is negated, the negative particle la is generally placed immediately before the copula at the end of the predicate phrase and the nuclear stress falls on the negative particle: (I) >{ma brata la-yan. 1'I am not a girl.' (R:153) (2) >awa qurd la-yele. 1'He was not a Kurd.' (R: 10) (3) min-da>aki la-yelu. 1'They were not from my mother.' (R: 13) (4) >ista-sar-sinne la-yeli. 1 'I was not (yet) sixteen years old.' (R:79) (5) ga-Slemani silmane xriwe la-yelu. 1 'In Sulemaniyya the Muslims were not bad.' (Z: 17) The negative particle is placed before the predicate phrase only in contexts such as (6) where two negative clauses are set up in parallel and the negative particles have the sense of 'neither ... nor': (6) baba bratiiki) la faqir-faqir yele,I la dawlamand dawlamand-yele.1 'The father of the girl was not very poor nor was he very rich.' (R: 146) If, however, the predicate contains a compound verbal form consisting of a past participle and copula (qtila-y or qit/a-y), the negative particle is regularly placed before the whole verbal form and is not inserted between the past participle and the copula. In this respect, therefore, clauses with such forms are treated as verbal clauses rather than copula clauses:

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355

(7) hestan la milta-ya. 'She is not yet dead / has not died yet.' (R:183) 1

(8) pakki ta-pare la-pila-y. 'I am not concerned about money.' (R:159) 1

(9) xor-la mistixta-ya. 'She has not yet given birth.' (R:201) 1

(10) >ana tati la xizyew-yena. 'I did not see my father.' (Z: 1) 1

17.1.7. Splitting of the predicate nominal A predicate nominal consisting of a head and a modifier may be split by placing the copula immediately after the head. This is found with the following types of modifier: (i) Attributive prepositional phrases: (1) sa.xina-yele ta-sitwa. 'It was warm for the winter.' (Z:26) 1

(2) tati tujarbasi-yele ga-Slemani. 'My father was a chief merchant in Sulemaniyya.' (R:87) 1

(3) >akra dfir-yelu silmane min-didan. 'The Muslims were so far away from us.' (R:25) 1

(4) qarwa-ye m-itka ta-doka. 'It was a short distance from one place to another.' (A: 15) 1

(5) tatf bis ruwwele min-da>aki. 'My father was older than my mother.' (R: 16) 1

(ii) Relative clauses: (6) >ay-bratiike Sara-ya ga-mira.x ba-bnaqta xizyala. 'That girl is Sarah who you said had given birth to a dead child.' (R:208) 1

17.1.8. Postposing of subject nominal The subject nominal in a copula clause is occasionally placed after the predicate resulting in the order predicate-copula-subject. The copula remains in its regular position immediately after the predicate. In such constructions the subject nominal is normally in the same intonation group as the predicate. The nuclear stress remains on the predicate. The construction typically occurs when the subject referent has been mentioned in the immediately preceding context and there is a close semantic overlap or some other type of close semantic connection between the clause and what precedes. Such clauses do not advance the

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discourse but rather recapitulate or clarify what precedes. In (1) and (2) below, the clause with the postposed subject repeats the content of a clause that precedes it with little change in wording. In (3) the clause doka-yela da,akf is a recapitulation of the statement that the informant's mother was among the party that took her father to Baghdad for medical treatment. The second clause in (4) is an elaborative paraphrase of the clause preceding it. In (5) the connection of the clause b-Bagdad-yele tati is not so much one of semantic overlap but rather one of an elaborative tag explaining why everybody in Baghdad knew the informant's father.

1

(1) ,arba xamsa m,Nim hftwalan. gal-jamahta rek-yelu. ,e,1 rek-yelu martimi'ike. 'We had four or five rabbis. They were good to the community .... Yes, the rabbis were good.' (R:138) 1

1

...

1

(2) tatf bis ruwwele min-da:>aki. min-da,aki bis ruwwele tati. 'My father was older than my mother. My father was older than my mother.' (R: 16) 1

1

(3) q1mi lbillu ta-Bagdad,I gal-da,aki bi-xle ,u-tirnu ,axont. min-tre yome tre-yome qame ros-sana lbWu. doka-yela da,aki. 'They set off and took him to Baghdad, together with my mother and both of my brothers .... They took him (to Baghdad) two days before New Year. My mother was there.' (R:9193) 1

1

1

1

....

1

(4) bati'ike hitwa manga ,otel-yelu. 1 ruwwelu bati'ike. 1 'There were houses that were like hotels. The houses were big.' (Z:7) (5) ki'iyenwale kulle. b-Bagdad-yele tati. kulle ki'iyenwale wa. 'Everybody knew him. My father was (a resident) in Baghdad. Everybody knew him.' (R:92) 1

1

1

In two cases in the text corpus (6-7) where the predicate is a spatial or temporal expression, the copula is placed after the postposted subject: (6) knista frl$lu, har min-laxxa knista-yela ta-doka. 'They built the syngagogue. The synagogue was all the way from here to there.' (R:22) 1

1

1

(7) "f:zuppa koliwa. so,a yome "f:zuppa-yela. 'They would hold the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony was seven days.' (V:18) 1

1

THE CLAUSE

357

17.1.9. Interrogative copula clause When the predicate is an interrogative particle, the copula is placed immediately after this particle, in accordance with the regular syntax of copula clauses: (1) may-ye? 1 'What is it?' (R:199) (2) may-yat? 'What are you?' (R:162) 1

(3) mani yele? 1 'Who was he?' (R:146) (4) ga-leka-y? 'Where is he?' (R:175) 1

(5) cikma-J yeli heJtan?1 'How old was I then? (literally: How much was I still?)' (R:79) If the subject of the clause is a nominal or independent pronoun, it is placed either before or after the predicate phrase. The subject is postposed when it has been referred to in the previous context and the clause is closely connected semantically with what precedes, in that it seeks more information concerning something just mentioned by the interlocutor: (6) 'aya may-ye? 'What is she?' (R:163) 1

(7) xurma-u runake ma-yela? 'What was (the dish) "dates and eggs"?' (R:49) 1

(8) min-may-yele mifra? 'What was the oil (made) from?' (R:51) 1

(9) mani-yen 'ay-kalbe? 'Who are these dogs?' (Z:29) 1

17.1.10. Omission of the copula The copula is omitted from a clause in a few instances. The attested examples of this may be classified as follows: (i) Background clauses Clauses falling into this category supply background or circumstantial material that elaborates on the action or situation expressed by an adjacent clause: (1) gure skire reJa gare.' xa-br6najwanqa xa-JfJa 'araq dyale l-xa br6na xet. 'While the men were drunk on the roof, a youth threw a bottle of arak at another youth.' (R:136) 1

1

(2) har-ninden,' p6lise smixe baru. 'They continued dancing, while the police stood behind them.' (R:137) 1

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(3) bdelu ba-Z6har qaro)e,I f:iatta )ax6ni hiye-wa, 1 xa-)ena har plixta. xa-)ena plixta,I hfye wa. hfye-wa mi-xlula,I min-)Asqelon. 'They began reading the Zohar, one eye (i.e. of the grandmother) being still open until my brother came back. While one eye (of hers) was still open, he came back. He came back from the wedding, from Ashkelon.' (R:183-184) 1

1

1

(4) bzqatta-y duxtar Haszm kewa,I )a,$ir duxtar Malik kewa,I tre duxtare. )6-s har-ga-sawiia,I nase ken )u-gezi 'In the morning Dr. Hasim would come and in the evening Dr. Malik would come. (While) he remained in bed, people would come and go.' (R:90) 1

(5) lo)a X$U$l dwfqlu baqew, yacni la hawe ta-xaste, hiiwe ta-nase nasax. )6 lo)a ba-ja, madama b-lagew, madama b-lagew tiwta. 'They took a special room for him, that is not one that was for (other sick) sick, for sick people, the room being by itself, with a nurse by him, a nurse sitting by him.' (R:93) 1

1

1

1

1

1

(6) kulle dewa hitwalan ga-)Iraq, dewa harzan-is,I la ba-pare raba. 'We had all types of gold (jewelry) in Iraq, for, indeed, gold was cheap, it did not cost much money.' (R:113) 1

1

In (7) the clause without the copula is a tag placed at the end of a section of discourse commenting on the preceding description of the preparation ofburghul: (7) )awa sawar. 'That is burghul.' (R:40) 1

(ii) Clauses expressing an exclamation The clauses in (8) and (9) are uttered by the informant with exclamatory intonation: (8) da)akf-s kasaw zmafa/ 'My mother was pregnant! (literally: My mother her belly was full).' (R:198) 1

(9) )ana hestan-la mislimta-ana! 'I have not yet converted to Islam!' (R:160) 1

We can include here also examples such as (10), which is a peremptory question: (10) heka da)akaxf ?1 'Where is your mother!?' (R:181)

THE CLAUSE

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17.2. Clauses with the existential particle hlt!hitwa 17 .2.1. Existential clauses The nominal complement of the existential particle hit!hitwa, i.e. the term whose existence is being asserted, is normally placed before the particle, though in certain circumstances it is placed after it. The nuclear stress is generally placed on the nominal complement. If this is a phrase, the nuclear stress falls on the last item of the phrase. (i) Complement before the particle In some cases the particle has no stress and is attached to the preceding nominal as an enclitic: (1) qora hit. 1 'There is a grave.' (R:192) (2) torye-hitwa,' 'irbe-hitwa, 1 'izze-hitwa. 1 'There were cows, there were sheep, there were goats.' (R:122) (3) nase dawlamande hitwa. 1 nase faqire hitwa. 1 'There were rich people. There were poor people.' (R:2) (4) sat[e misxa-hitwa. 1 safle pisra-hitwa. 1 'There were buckets of ghee and there were buckets of meat (fat).' (R:55) (5) 'arba nanawaye-hitwa. 'There were four baker-women.' (R:66) 1

(6) lixma saji hitwa, 1 'u-lixma tanure hitwa. 1 'There was griddle bread and oven bread.' (Z:21) (7) walla 'o-Mya-u }J,ijiib ga-Slemani hitwa. 1 'Indeed there was modesty and decency in Sulemaniyya.' (R:36) A nominal phrase may be split in the middle by the existential particle. In most cases where this occurs, the particle is placed immediately after the head noun of the phrase and the modifiers, such as an adjective or relative clause, are placed after it. The nuclear stress is generally placed at the end of the phrase. On some occasions the postposed modifier is placed in a separate intonation group. When a noun is qualified by a relative clause, it is, in fact, the norm for the relative clause to occur after the particle, either by splitting the nominal phrase or by moving the entire nominal phrase after the particle: (8) dosak min-'amra-hitwa saxine. 'There were warm mattresses made of wool.' (Z:26) 1

(9) lau->axni zadrixwalu wa kulle mindix l_r,arare, 1goze-u, 1sede-u1xurme. 1'They brought us gifts. 1

1

They brought us bread. They brought us green onions, yoghurt and honey, that is leavened food, and we would send back to them all types of kosher food, nuts, almonds, dates.' (R: 131) (28) bar xa-so>,I l_r,azir koliwa Julie ta-xlula. geziwa bazar, saqliwa Julie l-inse. 'After a week they would prepare clothes for the wedding. They would go to the market and buy clothes for the women.' (M:11) 1

1

1

(29) mfru da:x willaxun ta-silmane Jada 1 >axni-s gbex. 1 'Just as you have made a road for the Muslims, we also want (one).' (R:119) Occasionally the object nominal that is placed after the verb expresses given information. The function of such a construction is different from that of examples (22-29). It is used in clauses that are closely connected to what precedes. They may be supplementary or elaborative tags to the preceding clause. This applies, for instance, to (30) below, which is recapitulates the previous clause and reidentifies the object referent by means of a full nominal. The clause 'I took the letter from the Muslim' in (31 ), which is expressed with verb-object syntax, is presented as closely linked temporally and spatially with the preceding event. (30) mirpale resa pasldl-u liblale, 1liblale Na'ima. 'He put her on the bicycle and took her away, he took Na'ima away.' (R:146) 1

(31) kaxata hiwle baqa babi. min-Berlin hiyawa baqeu. duqali kaxatake min-d-awa silmana,I ciqyali,I pilxali. 'He delivered a letter for my grandfather. It had come for him from Berlin. I took the letter from the Muslim and tore it open.' (M:5) 1

1

1

THE CLAUSE

371

Other cases where the object is placed after the verb include those where the object nominal is modified by an embedded clause: (32) Jana xzeli )ilha miinixle Yaax6na ruww1 1 xa-g6ra silmana ga->Jraq q{nte. 1 'My older brother killed a Muslim man in Iraq.' (R: 116) (11) da>aki-u >axoni bela duqwalu m-mhajirxana ba-kre. 'My mother and my brother had rented a house in the Mhajirxana district.' (R:95) 1

1

(12) >6 >arbi) tiwi ba-lagan fo>a yome. 1 'The four stayed with us for seven days.' (R: 100) (13) mani gezflwa ta-Bagdad mlaqe xet saqilwa. 1 'Whoever went to Baghdad would buy other spoons.' (R:33) 17.5.3.2. Object-subject-verb On a few occasions an object nominal is placed before the subject nominal. This construction is attested in the text corpus where the referent of the direct object nominal has topical status, i.e. it is the centre of attention in the surrounding discourse. In many cases it has been mentioned previously as in (1)-(3): (I) >o-g6ra >ifha zd1rre baqaw. 'God sent to her that man.' (R:169) 1

(2) dewa qayna>e tar#wale. 'Goldsmiths would fashion gold.' (R:112) 1

(3) knistake nosu >ay tfa~a gure tir~alu. 'These three men built the synagogue by themselves.' (R:22) 1

1

In (4) the fronted object nominals refer to melons, which, although not explicity mentioned previously, nevertheless belong to the set of 'fruit and vegetables' which is the centre of attention in the preceding and following discourse. The fronted nominal has topical status by virtue of this set relationship. The same applies to (5), where the set of 'clothes' is the centre of attention in this section of discourse, the 'jacket' and the 'dress' being items in the set: (4) ")avat ka_lake >u-sutye1 silmane kolfwa ga->ara Sleman1. 1 'But the Muslims cultivated melons and water-melons in the land of Sulemaniyya.' (R: 123) (5) qba)axonawalaw h'iya. '6 Salomo panjarew dewane-yelu, 'akra dawlamand-yele. 'One family remained in Sulemaniyya, that of Salomo La'azar. His wife - he had two wives, (he married his first wife Mikhal) and then married Piroza. Mikhal had three brothers. She had three brothers and she came (here) with her brothers. That Salomo - his windows were golden, he was so rich.' (R:155156) (4) gezfwa kimrzwa flan-u masala, ziidex qaflzlan. 'a1'ilew raba 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

rabta-yela. 'They went and said "So-and-so and such-andsuch. We are afraid they will kill us." He -his power was very great.' (A:2) 1

(5) bank htwa. 'at hfwlan baqox xanci pare h'iwlox baqan. 'There was no bank. (If) you - we gave you money, you would give us some money.' (R: 108) 1

1

1

On some occasions the extrapositional construction clearly coincides with the onset of a new thematic or episodic section of the discourse. In such cases the initial item does not necessary mark a change in topic referent, rather it is the discourse topic or discourse sub-topic that changes: 1 (6) 'ana bab'i, tat'i, mam'i min-Qaradax xziren. 'I - my grandfather, my father and my uncle originated from Qaradax.' (Z:3) 1

1

1

1

1

(7) wall-axni laga didan,I 'od-ana fam'i-ye,I xa-brata msilma, wfra ta-silmane. 'Now, we - in our community, as far as I remember, one girl converted to Islam, went over to the Muslims.' (R:143) 1

1

In some instances the main motivation for using extraposition to disjoin a clause from the preceding discourse is to give the propositional content of the clause a degree of prominence: (8) 'ana yali zoren. 'I - my children are small.' (R:103) 1

1 For

the distinction between 'topic referent' and 'discourse topic' see n.3 on p.246.

THE CLAUSE

393

An extraposed item at the front of a clause is sometimes set up in contrastive opposition to an initial item in an adjacent clause: (9) >axni belan ga-laxxa-yeie,I silmane ga-Masmia< yelu. 'We our house was here and the Muslims were in Masmia'.' (R:26) 1

It is important to note that nominals or independent pronouns that are coreferential with L-suffixes on verbs are obligatorily extraposed in many cases. This applies to the agent of qfille form verbs: (10) >ax6na ruwwi xa-g6ra silmana ga->/rtiq qfille. 'My older brother killed a Muslim man in Iraq.' (R: 116) 1

1

It applies to constructions expressing ability consisting of the verbal phrase kele (literally: 'it comes to him'), or an inflected form of this, in that a nominal or independent pronoun that is co-referential with the subject of the verb that is a complement of kele is extraposed: (11) >ax6ni kele he. 'My brother can come.' 1

(12) kullu hu/a>e kelu hezi ta->Ere~ Yisra>e/. 'All the Jews can go to the Land oflsrael.' (A:5) 1

(13) >axni la-kelan kulle-ka hex. 'We cannot come all the time.' (R:194) 1

In (14), where a narrow information focus is put on the nominal, a copy of the preposition /- is attached to it: (14) Ir-babe }:latan la-kelu gdzenila. 'Even the parents of the groom were not able to see her.' (V:14) 1

1

In possessive constructions consisting of hU/hftwa + L-suffix or Utllftwa + L-suffix (§8.15., §17.2.2.), a nominal or independent subject pronoun referring to the possessor is obligatorily extraposed: (15) >axnijada hitwalan. 'We had a road.' (R:119) 1

(16) tama kulla yale baba hittu w-axni baba lfttan. 'Why do all the children have a father but we do not have a father?' (R: 11) 1

Various other expressions with an impersonal grammatical subject that express the personal reference by means of a pronominal suffix should also be included here: (17) >anafikri-ye. 'I remember' (Z:36) 1

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

394

(18) >od-anafami-ye. 'that which I remember' (R:143) 1

(19) tatf ximmew-ya. 'My father is hot.' 1

(20) >axoni qardew-ya. 'My brother is hot.' 1

In constructions where the extraposition of an agent nominal is obligatory, it is possible to place a direct object nominal in front the nominal referring to the agent or extrapose a nominal in front of the agent nominal. In this respect the extraposed agent is treated like a grammatical subject: (21) >o-g6ra >i[ha, zdirre baqaw. 'God sent to her that man.' (R:169) 1

(22) jajfm tre nase la-kewalu kasenwa ba/eu. 'A rug-two people could not cover themselves with it.' (Z:26) 1

17.7. Placement ofadverbials The placement of adverbials in relation to other components in the clause is conditioned by a number of factors. We shall consider here both verbal and copula clauses, since the conditioning factors are the same. The majority of adverbials that occur in the text corpus are temporal or spatial expressions. The various positions can be classified as follows: (i) In clause initial position Temporal or spatial adverbials that stand at the front of a clause and are given prominence by presenting them in a separate intonation group typically mark a new orientation or section in the discourse and set the temporal or spatial frame for what follows. This frame often incorporates a series of clauses: (1) xa yoma mfra >6ni silmanen. >ana hestan-la mislimta-cfoa! bPaqla qeman >ana hezan-ana ta-Bagdad. 'One day, she said "They are Muslims, but I have not yet converted to Islam! I shall set off on foot to go to Baghdad."' (R: 160) 1

1

1

1

(2) ba-y6ma rosana kulle hula>e ga-knista-yelu. 'At New Year, all the Jews were in the synagogue.' (Z:19) 1

1

(3) y6ma kipp'ii) nas min-bela la-palz{Wa. Atonement, nobody left the house.' (Z:20)

1

'On the Day of

(4) ca#rta sabbat kenwa kulle baruxe J:,,atan. 'On Saturday evening, all the friends of the groom would come.' (M: 16) 1

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THE CLAUSE

395

(5) laga didim 1 §ilmane manga-laxxa la-yelu,1 jagri min-hula'e,1 l-hula'e raba gbenwa laga didan. 1 'In our community, the Muslims were not like here, (where) they hate the Jews, but rather they used to like the Jews a lot in our community.' (Z: 17)

When adverbials stand in clause initial position but are not isolated from the rest of the clause in a separate intonation group, they often do not express such a major spatial or temporal reorientation. The clause in (6), for example, supplies background information that is not central to the current discourse topic, which concerns the smuggling of money out of Iraq. Such adverbials, moreover, are typically restricted in scope to the action expressed by the clause in which they occur, as is the case in (6-10): (6) xa .Mta ga-Zarcln yelan. 1 'We were in Zaro-g6ra >iiha zdzrre baqaw. 'She set off and went to Karkuk. From Karkuk she went to Baghdad. She alighted (from the train) and God sent to her that man.' (R: 169) 1

1

1

1

Speakers sometimes present sequential clauses in structures such as those exemplified in (9)-{13), in which a clause is repeated before being linked by the particle u to what follows. The effect of this is to link the repeated clause to the following clause in a closely knit unit and this gives greater independence and prominence to the first mention of the clause. This is reflected in the intonation contours associated with such structures, since the first occurrence of the clause typically has a disjunctive falling tone whereas the repeated clause has a rising tone contour characteristic of semantic connection (§18.5.2.). This structure of clauses is a strategy for giving prominence to events whilst still expressing their sequentiality: (9) >ay-ka mattzwale. par{lwale-wa. par{iwale-wa-u macake sansrzwa. 'Then they put it out. They took it out. They took it out and they drained the water.' (R:39) 1

1

1

CLAUSE SEQUENCES

399

(10) >inse

lixrruike dabqiwale. I ~insiike lixmiike dabqiwale-u ceciwale. 'Women would stick the bread (to the oven). The 1

women would stick the bread (to the oven) and knead it.' (R:66) (11) >o-lixma koUwale wa. >o-lixma koliwale-u nanawa dabqawale. 'They rolled out the bread. They rolled out the bread and the baker-woman stuck it (to the oven).' (R:67) 1

1

1

(12) >akleliike baslawa. >akleliike baslawa >u-mattiwala resa kiftiike. 'The chicken would cook. The chicken would cook and they would put it on the meat-balls.' (R:48) 1

1

(13) ga-Slemani-f ziidenwa ken baqa didan-is} ken baqa didan >u-llan-is qafli. 1'They were afraid also in Sulemaniyya (thinking that) they would come also to us, they would come to us and kill also us.' (A: l) 1

1

The particle u is also used to link clauses that are not sequential to one another, but rather express events or situations that overlap temporally. If there are several clauses expressing overlapping events, the normal strategy is to link all of these by the particle rather than use the particle only at the end of the series, which is the strategy used with sequential clauses: (14) ca~irta sabbat kenwa kulle baruxe 1:zatan} siitenwa-u kixUwa-u min/:la-u carvit ~iilenwa /:latta Zele ga-be /:latan. 'On Saturday evening all the friends of the groom would come, they would drink, they would eat, and pray min/:la and carvit until the night in the house of the groom.' (M: 16) 1

1

1

(15) sacuda koliwa-ul ga/:zke-ul Hha-ce~ U-ha->adamaH maciriwa-u,l sakraw piilenwa-u sakraw gal-warde glaw. 'They would hold a banquet, there would be laughter, they passed around fruit, they distributed a sweet drink, a sweet drink with odiferous flowers.' (V:14) 1

1

(16) nase ken >u-gezi-u tiwa. 'People would come and go and he would sit up.' (R:90) 1

1

1s.1.2. -is

This particle is attached to the end of a word or phrase. If the word to which it is attached ends in a vowel, the Iii is elided.

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The particle is used as a connective between clauses in a variety of different contexts. Its general function in all cases is to express that the item on which it occurs has something in common with some item or items in the adjacent discourse. The following categories of usage are found: (i) Marking the clause as a whole The particle may occur on a clause that repeats the semantic content and indeed often the wording of a preceding clause. (1) rizza diirenwa gaJew. 1 Jo rizza-s diirenwale gaJew, 1 pisra hanzniwa biP6 rizza. 1 pisra diirenwa ga-J6 rizza. Ju-dena diirenwa ga_J6 rizza. 1'They put rice in it. They put rice in it and chopped up meat in the rice. They put meat in the rice. They put oil in the rice.' (R:59) (2) Dina kasaw zmafa-ya,I hiya-wa laga daJakaw. 1 hiya-wa laga daJakaw, 1tiwa. 1Dina-s kasaw zmafa-ya. 1'Dinah, while she was pregnant, went back to her mother. She went back to her mother and lived (with her). Dinah was pregnant.' (R:205) 1

In some cases the second clause contains an additional element, as in (3): (3) silmane xlula rek koliwa. xlula-s rek koliwa manga hulaye. 'The Muslims would have fine weddings. They would have fine weddings like the Jews.' (R: 134) 1

1

The clause containing the particle on some occasions does not overlap in meaning with a preceding clause but rather is semantically connected to it in a set relationship. In (4), for example, the event of a marriage is related to the previous discussion concerning the birth of a child in that both were occasions on which the grandmother served the community. (4) JO gezawa Jinse masitxfwa. 1manga HJalJ,ot ye[a,I HJava[H Xa-filis pare la doqawa. 1lele xiidfrwa tre kenwa baraw. 1lele xiidirwa !la~a kenwa baraw. 1... g6ra-s willu,I zila lagu. 1'She used to go (and help when) women were giving birth. She was like a nurse, but she did not take a penny in money. When it was night, two people would come (asking) for her. When it was night, three people would come (looking) for her.... (When) people married, she went to them.' (R: 196)

CLAUSE SEQUENCES

401

In several cases the clause containing the particle provides supplementary information on what has been described in the preceding discourse. In (5) the clause in question specifies one particular dish that people used to make with meat. In (6) and (7) the clause with the particle is explanatory of what precedes: (5) pisra hitwa, kulle y6ma yoma. qa$abxana hitwa. )afillu taiga naxlawa hitwa. hitwa nase-s qawurma koliwa. 'There was meat, every single day. There was a butcher's shop. Even if snow was falling, there was (meat). There were people who made fried preserved meats.' (Z: 10) 1

1

1

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1

(6) H,avatll kulle dewa hitwa/an ga-,/raq, dewa harzan-is, [a ba-pare raba 'We had all types of gold Gewelry) in Iraq, for gold was cheap, it did not cost much money.' (R: 113) 1

1

1

tu.

(7) bf-,ilha, ma ho/an ga-mosav? nase-s xapxoli-yan. 'By God, what can I do in the moshav? There is nobody. I am alone.' (R: 180) 1

1

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1

(ii) Marking a topic constituent The particle -is may be attached to a nominal or independent pronoun that is a topic constituent occurring at the front of the clause. In such cases this item does not bear the nuclear stress, unless it is presented in a separate intonation group. The referent of the topic constituent has usually been explicitly mentioned in the preceding discourse. This construction is used to shift attention to this topic after a section of discourse in which it has not been in the centre of attention. In many cases the topicality of the referent is durable over several clauses: (8) gurake zili-wa,I tati-s qim-gfne. dwa)i qim ta-jore-wala. ta lite.I skira-yete,I min-gare pi/ tex. 'The men went away and my father went to sleep. Then he got up to urinate. He did not know (what he was doing), he was drunk, he fell down from the roof.' (R:88-89) 1

1

1

(9) nas /a-lite leka lib/a/e. ,6 zala-zi/, x6/-/a hye-wa. x6/-/a hye-wa. baba bratake-I' m-$alma komulew mad-hitwale zbinne, la-yale liblile ta-Bagdad. 'Nobody knew where he took her. He went away and never came back. He never came back. The father of the girl, out of his shame sold what he had and took the children to Baghdad.' (R:153-154) 1

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

402

(10) Jo-Uxma koliwale wa. 1Jo-lixma koliwale-u 1nanawa dabqawale. 1

ma~~aJake-s, I ma~~aJake tre-y6me, tla!J,a-y6me peswa ta-pa{ire I Yifa koliwa blane. blane gezzwa ma~fjaYake pa{XlWalU-Wa Yasxa>e, 1 ma~~a>ake kolfwalu. 'They made the bread. They 1

1

made the bread and the baker-woman stuck it (to the oven). The matzas - girls would knead the matzas when two or three days remained before Passover. Girls would go and flatten out the matzas like this, and make the matzas.' (R:67) (11) ma'llm kewa 1xaxam kewa. 1le-qaddes kolwala-u 1tre sahide,I tre

sale 1 ketubba kalwfwa-u1 cikma ba-pe-i maqdarat-i nosew1 ketubba kulwala baqaw, 1cfkma dinare. 1 Jay-is baxta, bratake kimyawa jahazi,I sure,I qba>e,I mindixe ma-hztta lz-julle-u dewa-u asxa,I mflk-u ma hitwala-u. 'A rabbi would come, a 1

1

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l).axam would come. He would sanctify her and two witnesses, two witnesses woulc write the marriage document and he (the groom) would give the marriage gift to her in accordance with how much he could afford, however many dinars (this may be). As for the wife, - the girl would bring a dowry, dresses, jackets, whatever things she has in the way of clothes, gold and so forth, whatever she possessed.' (V: 17) In some cases the topic referent to which attention is turned has not been explicitly mentioned in the preceding discourse but is nevertheless semantically related in some way to a preceding topic referent. In (12), for example, the discussion of 'stuffed intestines' (miye yarixe) comes after a section on 'stuffed stomachs' (gippaye) and the speaker presents these as being linked together in a set relationship. The same applies to (13), where 'the dresses' are associated with 'the jacket' in a set relationship. (12) gippaye >asxa koliwa. Jo-mfye yarixe-s IJ,asenwalu. mattfwalu 1

1

resa. xurtmane darenwa gawu. 'a#r xiidir bsile kwenwa. 1 'They made gippaye like that. They stuffed long intestines. 1

1

They put them on top. They put chickpeas in them. By the time evening came, they used to be cooked.' (R:59-60) (13) qba>ake xaya{a xe{iwale. 1 qba>ake lablfwala laga xayafa. 1

>u-suralake-i- suralake-s >ana xefanwa, 1xalusti xefawa, 1swawe xetfwa. 1kenwa fa~rfwalu ba-qomu. 1'The jacket would be sewn by a tailor. They would take the jacket to a tailor. As for the dresses - I used to sew the dresses, my sister used to sew

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(them), the neighbours used to sew (them). They would come and they would cut them according to their measure.' (R:76) The initial relative phrase that has the particle in contrastive constructions such as (14)-(16) is, likewise, linked in a set relationship to what precedes: (14) >inja manit ba-pisra hiibewa, b-6 ciz6ke >6-kifte IJ,asewalu. manit-is ba-misxa hiibewa, ba-misxa basliwalu. 'So, whoever wanted (to cook) with meat, would stuff meat-balls with these pieces of fat. Whoever, on the other hand, wanted (to cook) with ghee would cook them in ghee.' (R:55) 1

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(15) hftwa xamsa IJ,oqe koliwa. manga ta-kilo la-yelu lagan. IJ,oqa-yele lixma tanura. manit-is >iieu la >ezawa raba holwa, lesa ceciwa, slij mattiwa. 'There were some who made five IJ,oqe. There was nothing like a kilo in our community. {The measure) was the IJ,oqa (for) bread (baked in) the oven. Anybody who was not able to make much (bread) would knead the dough and set up the griddle, and put on it the things (i.e. the bread).' (R:63) 1

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(16) kiftake la IJ,asenwalu. manit-is >abewa IJ,asewalu. 'As for meat-balls, they did not (always) stuff them. Anybody who wanted (to do so), however, would stuff them.' (R:46) 1

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In a number of cases the topic constituent with the particle -is does not mark a change in topic but rather a reorientation on some other level of discourse. This applies, for example, to ( 17) and ( 18) below, in which the clauses with the particle present background elaborations on a preceding statement: (17) wall-axni laga didan, >od-ana fami-ye,I xa-brata msilma,I wira ta-silmane. >6-s da>aka lftwala. xa-brata da>aka lftwala. baba hitwala. babake-f yacni xanci faqir-yele. >e, gezilwa ta-baziir. 'In our community, as far as I remember, one girl converted to Islam, went over to the Muslims. She had no mother. (She was) a girl who had no mother. She had a father. The father was rather poor. Yes, he used to go to (work) in the market.' (R:143) 1

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1 1

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(18) pisiwa tirnu blanake. blanake-s msilmi. 'The two daughters remained. The daughters converted to Islam.' (R: 15 7) 1

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(iii) Marking a constituent in focus The particle -is may be placed on an item on which the speaker places focus. Such an item takes the nuclear stress, unlike a topic consituent with -is, which does not take the nuclear stress unless it is presented in a separate intonation group. In focus constructions such as these, the speaker is asserting that the constituent in question is to be included in the same set as other items in the adjacent discourse. This inclusive focus is generally rendered in English by 'also': (19) mfru dax wfllaxun ta-silmane jada Ja,xni-s gbex. 'Just as you have made a road for the Muslims, we also want (one).' (R:119) 1

1

(20) raba bratake jwan-yela. gorake-s jwan-yele. 'The girl was very beautiful. The husband also was handsome.' (R:204) 1

1

(21) silmane-s kenwa ga-d6ka. 'Also Muslims used to come there.' (Z:16) 1

(22) Jil-dasgiranaw Jasar-ye xazya. Jasar-ye Jb-s xazela. 'It was forbidden for her to see her fiance. It was forbidden also for him to see her.' (V:14) 1

1

The inclusive focus may be on an attribute of a noun, as in (23) and (24): (23) Jaxani gezex hulaJe didan-is qaflex. 'Let's go and kill also our Jews.' (Z:27) 1

(24) tre duxtare hztwalan hulaJe,I duxtar Has1m,I duxtar Mallk. Ju-duxtare xet-is hfttan. 'We had two Jewish doctors, Doctor Hashim and Doctor Malik. We also had other doctors.' (R:3 7)

1

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The particle may be placed on each of two items that are presented as members of the same set in adjacent clauses: (25) ga-Bagdad q{Wu, hulaJe-s q{Ulu, silmane-s q{fllu. 'In Baghdad, however, they killed (people), they killed Jews and they killed Muslims.' (A:3) 1

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(26) nase q{illu. ham hulaJe-s q{fli,i ham silmane-s q{Ui. 'They killed people. Jews were killed and Muslims were killed.' (A: 1) 1

1

(27) kaldake-s myale} bronake-s myale. 'He brought his daughterin-law and he brought his son.' (R: 166) 1

(28) Jay-is ke} Jb-s ke. 'This man will come and that man will come.' 1

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(iv) Adverbials and prepositional phrases The particle -is is sometimes attached to adverbials and prepositional phrases. As with nominals marked by the particle, the function of these constructions differs according to whether the constituent is topical or focal. In cases where the constituent is topical, it occurs in clause initial position and does not take the nuclear stress, unless it is put in a separate intonation group. If it is a spatial or temporal adverb, it sets the spatiotemporal frame of the clause. The purpose of the particle appears to be to present the event of the clause as having a close spatio-temporal relation to what precedes: (29) saana priqan min-xayu. 1blqatta-s qiman hay. 'I finished one of them before it was twelve o'clock. In the morning I rose early.' (R:80) 1

(30) xera min-polisxana talafon-dilu ta-duxtar Malik. duxtar Malik hi.ye. blqatta sabbat-is duxtar Hasim hiye. 'From the policestation they quickly phoned Dr. Malik. Dr. Malik came ... On Saturday morning Dr. Hasim came.' (R:90) 1

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•••

(31) Jatat >a,wwa/-is} Jatat >awwa/,I >agar brona gazyawa} H>azH tata kalda} >agar dawlamand hiiwewa} >6 Hbrit-milaH k6lwale. 'In the first year, the first year, if she had a son, the father of the bride, if he was rich, would hold the circumcision ceremony for him.' (A:18) 1

(32) kalda qemawa,I resaw xallawate labliwala ta-miqve. ca,~r-i§' kalda kmenwala. kmenwala ba-dh6r-u zorna-u ba-xlule-u kulle xale bsi.le-u 'The bride would get up and wash her head. They would take her to the miqveh. In the evening they would bring the bride. They would bring her with drums and pipes, with dances and all kinds of cooked foods.' (R:34-35) 1

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(33) min-garaj trumbele-hit gezan ta-Karkuk. min-Karkuk-is har-kweli >ana >ezan ta-Bagdad. 'From the garage there are cars in which I shall go to Karkuk. From Karkuk I shall be able to go to Baghdad.' (R: 168) 1

1

The particle is also used on clause initial prepositional phrases that are the complements of verbs. This is seen, for example, in (34), where the prepositional phrase with the particle has a similar status to fronted topical nominal constituents. The noun of the phrase, zora 'young

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person', is associated in a set relationship with the preceding noun ruwwa 'adult': (34) mani gezil passaport kwUe, ruwwe zore. mf-ruwwa sqfllu ,isri dinare, min-z6ra-s xamsa-sar dinare. 'From an adult they took twenty dinars and from a young person fifteen dinars.' (A:5) 1

1

1

1

When the constituent is focal, it always bears the nuclear stress and the

focus has an inclusive sense: (35) ,onye ,asxa,e ,atta-s hwa. 'She still now has things like that.' 1

1

(R:113)

(36) sata d-arbi-u so,a,I ga-Bagdad farhad wtllu. talane willu bazare, ,itkane. ga-Slemani-s1 zadenwa ken baqa didan-is,I ken baqa didan ,u-llan-is qat[i. 'In the year (nineteen) fortyseven they had an uprising in Baghdad. They looted markets and shops. They killed people. Jews were killed and also Muslims were killed. They were afraid also in Sulemaniyya (thinking that) they would come also to us, they would come to us and kill also us.' (A: 1) 1

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1 ... 1

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(37) baqa didan-is1 maktab tri.ylu. 'They built a school also for us.' (R:141) 1

(38) tati min-Bagdad-yele, ga-Bagdad-is niftar xilr. 'My father was from Baghdad and he died also in Baghdad.' (R: 10) 1

1

18.2. Intonation group boundaries Independent clauses that present actions as separate events are generally uttered in separate intonation groups: (1) talafon-dilu ta-duxtar Maltk. duxtar Malik htye. sayir wille. sranqe ,u-mindixe dile ,illew. 'They phoned Dr. Malik. Dr. Malik came. He examined him and gave him injections and the like.' (R:90) 1

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(2) casirta sabbat kenwa kulle baruxe hatan,I satenwa-u kixltwa-u minl;a-u carvit ~alenwa l;atta Zele ~a-be l;atan. 'On Saturday evening all the friends of the groom would come, they would drink, they would eat, and pray minl;a and carvit until the night in the house of the groom.' (M: 16) 1

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A clause that has a close semantic connection with one that precedes, on the other hand, is frequently combined with the first clause in the same intonation group. This is found where the second clause is a complement or purpose clause: (3) la-qablan nas >ii/e. 'I shall not permit anybody to know.' (R:168) 1

(4) J:tailr koliwale baqa >6-lele kalda hiimenila /age J:tatan. 'They would prepare it for that night in order for them to bring the bride to the groom.' (M:12) 1

(5) gbenwa hiimenwala baqew. 'They wanted to bring her to him (in marriage).' (V :9) 1

(6) nas la-merwa hezilwa 1-/o>a. 'Nobody would dare enter inside.' (R:142) 1

(7) xa-cora ma>e jamuze meli satyan. 'Bring me a little cold water for me to drink.' (R: 179) 1

Clauses are sometimes linked in the same intonation group also where there is no grammatical dependency between them. In such cases the actions expressed by the clauses are presented as closely related, as if they were aspects of the same basic event. The first clause often contains a verb expressing some kind of movement, such as 'to go' or 'to come.' Note that the verbs are linked asyndetically, without the connective particle u. (8) zUi qwzrru. 'They went and buried him.' (R:97) 1

(9) zili jwab-lbillu baqew ga-baziir. 'They went and took him a message in the market.' (R: 146) 1

(10) ilnna sagird1 willi. 'I went and worked as a servant.' (Z:43) 1

(11) kulle nasa gezilwa rizza siiqilwa ta-beleu. 'Everybody used to go and buy rice for his home.' (Z:9) 1

(12) hiyenpili gaw-u 'They came and fell (to the task).' (R:119) 1

(13) hiyen tiwex resaw. 'They came and we sat by her.' (R:183) 1

(14) hiyen bdelu ba-hara-hara wala-u b-cirike-u 'They came and began wailing and shouting.' (R: 182) 1

A similar combination of actions expressed in a single intonation group is found where the first verb is qym 'to rise.' This verb often loses its literal

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meaning when used in such contexts and is used rather to mark the onset of a new tum of events: (15) qfman >irqali. 'I got up and ran.' (R: 180) 1

(16) qfman xa-sisa meli. 1 'I got up and brought a bottle.' (R:180) (17) qim mittale ga-trumbel. 1 'He put her in a car.' (R:153) (18) qlm >flaw diwqale. 1 'He took hold of her hand.' (R:169) (19) qlm xlula wille baqaw. 'He arranged a wedding for her.' (R:172) 1

(20) qfmi guralu baqew. 1 'They married her to him.' (R: 166) The verb ytw 'to sit' is, likewise, often combined in the same intonation group with another verb: (21) tfwi >araq stelu. 1 'They sat and drank arak.' (R:88) (22) yatwfwa ga-knista qiirenwa. 'They would sit and read in the synagogue.' (R:7) 1

(23) >ay-ka yatwiwa J:,iisenwa. 1 'Then they sat and stuffed it.' (R:43) (24) yatwiwa kixUwa. 1 'They sat down and ate them.' (R:60) On some occasions clauses containing other verbs are linked together prosodically. In such cases, the intention of the speaker is generally to present the actions of the verbs as closely cohering together, as aspects of the same basic event: (25) xera xera,I >intulu ga->arabana-u lbillu ta-xastaxana. 1 'Quickly, they put him in a carriage and took him to the hospital.' (R: 137) (26) mirpale resa paskll-u liblale. 1 'He put her on the bicycle and took her away.' (R: 146) The closely knit relationship between the verbs in the aforementioned types of constructions is demonstrated by the fact that an object nominal that is the complement of the second verb is often placed before the first verb rather than inserted between the two: (27) dehwa >anye la-qbillu hiimfxwa. 1 'They did not allow us to bring gold.' (R: 19) (28) IJ,atan kenwa lablfwale knista. 1 'They would come and take the groom to the synagogue.' (M: 17)

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(29) kulle nawarba. '\.I 'They used to sit at night until four o'clock.' (R:69) (3) deqiwale jwan. \. 1 'They crushed it well.' (R:43) (4) girsiike ba-misxa masxiwale.\. 'They would spread oil on the groats.' (R:45) 1

This type of disjunctive contour occurs where the speaker wishes to express some kind of lack of sequentiality. It is used, among other contexts, where clauses are put together in a parallel or contrastive opposition, as in (5) and (6): (5) hitwa >isri J;oqe koliwa. \. 1 hitwa xamsa IJoqe ko/fwa. \. 1 'There were some who made twenty l;oqe. There were some who made five l;oqe.' (R:63)

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(6) hltwa ta-xamsa bate koliwa. \. 1 hltwa ta-:,isri bate koliwa. \. 1 'There were some who made them for five families. There were others who made them for twenty families.' (R:68) Greater prominence is expressed by a fall from a higher level of pitch (represented by the symbol "). This is sometimes used to mark emphatically the climactic end point of a chain of clauses: (7) masiszwale, l'" 1 maskii.ke masiszwala'>) :,u-karii.ke par{zwale." 1 'They would shake it. They would shake the skin and extract the butter.' (R:52) (8) geziwa,l'" swawe kenwa,l'" koliwalu kuz lixma :,akra,l' nanawa dabqawalu. " 'They went, the neighbours came. They made for them each bread like this (in size). The baker-woman would stick them (to the side of the oven).' (R:62) 1

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18.5.2. Minor juncture The intonational contours that are typically associated with minor juncture consists of a rise in pitch on the nucleus. This is sometimes followed by a mid fall on the syllables coming after the nucleus. Such a contour is represented here by the symbol l'". On other occasions, especially where the nucleus is on the last syllable of the intonation group, the pitch does not drop, this being represented here by the symbol l'. Minor juncture contours signals incompleteness. They are typically used in clauses that occur in non-final position in a sequence, the final clause in the sequence being marked by a major juncture intonational contour. (1) xa dibqala-ul"' pita ga-tanurii.ke.\. 'She stuck on one matza and fell into the oven.' (R:71) 1

1

(2) tre gure geziwa yatwzwa,l'" qamxii.ke taxnzwale.\. 'Two men would go and sit and grind the flour.' (R:65) 1

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(3) misxake,l' Ceczwale, l'" Ceciwale,l''- Ceciwale,l''- xadirwa manga kifte. '-I 'They would knead and knead and knead the oil (and groats), and it would become like meat-balls.' (R:45) (4) xe{iwalu,l'" 1 xa-qi{{a :,asxa koliwale,l' 1 m-laxxa xe{iwalu m-doka,l' 1rizza darenwa ga:,ew. '-I 'They would sew them and make one piece like this. They sewed them here and there. They put rice in it.' (R:58) 1

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In constructions such as those described in §8.1.1., § 18.1.2. i, § 18.3. ii, where a clause is repeated before additional material being added, the first clause typically has a major juncture contour and the repeated clause a minor juncture contour signalling that it is closely linked to the following clause: (5) kasenwa/it J'I }Jatta xanci hewa resa. \.I hewa resa,J' I >antenwa/e,J' I >ay-ka geziwa tanura ltwalan ga-xel >ara. \. 1 'They covered them until it rose slightly. (Until when) it rose, they took it, and then went to an oven that we had under the ground.' (R:61) (6) qamxake zarake banenwale. \.I zarake banenwa/e J"'I hzc la hiiwewa ga>ew. \. 1 'They would clean the wheat. They would clean the wheat so that there was nothing in it.' (R:65)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES 19 .1 Relative clauses Relative clauses may be attributive and modify a head nominal or they may stand independently of a head nominal and have themselves the status of a nominal. We shall refer to these types as attributive relative clauses and nominal relative clauses respectively. 19 .1.1. Attributive relative clauses When the relative is attributive, it immediately follows the head noun. It may be syndetic, in that it is introduced by a subordinating particle, or asyndetic without any such particle. Syndetic relative clauses are used when the head noun is definite in status whereas most asyndetic clauses follow an indefinite head noun. 19.1.1.1. Syndetic relative clauses Attributive relative clauses of this type are introduced by a Kurdish relative particle that is pronounced either ga- or ka-. This is used in the Kurdish dialect of Sulemaniyya and the surrounding region (MacKenzie 1961: 131 ). The native Aramaic relative particle d- has been completely lost in relative clauses after head nouns. This is parallel to its loss in most constructions where a noun is annexed to another noun (§10.14.). The Aramaic particle d- is still preserved, however, in some nominal relative clauses (§19.l.2.l.). The head noun is definite in status. In most cases attested in the text corpus this definiteness is indicated by the definite article suffix -ake or by a demonstrative pronoun. Relative clauses introduced by the particle are generally restrictive, i.e. they are crucial for identifying the reference of the head noun: ( 1) baba '6-brona ga-liblale J:iaji-yele .1 'The father of the boy who took her away was a l;laj i.' (R: 146)

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

415

(2) bratiike ga-mira brata ba-lJnaqtii xzela, ~o-brata g6ra willa. 'The girl who said that she had given birth to a dead daughter, that girl married.' (R:204) 1

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(3) tre-blane hitwale,I Salima-u Galawis, min-d-6-baxta z6rta ga-myiile. m-baxta rabtiike /itwa. 'He had two daughters, Salima and Galawis, from the younger woman whom he had married.' (R:156) 1

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The head noun may have an adverbial function: (4) y6ma ga-gezi ta-Merim mila. 'She died on the day that they go to Meron.' (R: 185) 1

1

The particle is used also after nominal phrases consisting of an indefinite noun modified by the quantifier kulle with the sense of 'every', i.e. expressing the entire set of items named by the noun: (5) kulle kTteb ka-kalwitta h6lle baqi. 'Give to me every book that you write.' 1

Syndetic relative clauses are sometimes non-restrictive, i.e. they occur in a context where the speaker assumes that the hearer can identify the referent of the antecedent noun without further modification. In such cases the function of the relative clause is to add further information concerning the antecedent noun. Note that in (6), in which such a nonrestrictive relative is found, the head noun is separated from the relative clause by the enclitic copula: (6) mira ~ay-bratiike Sara-ya ga-mirax ba-lJnaqtii xizyala. 'That girl is Sarah, who you said had given birth to a dead child.' (R:208) 1

19.1.1.2. Asyndetic relative clauses The head noun of asyndetic relative clauses is generally indefinite. The relative clause may be placed immediately after the head noun: (1) bfqatta-y geziwa bar-xa-baxta silmanta kyawa deqawale. 'They went in the morning (to find) a Muslim woman who came to crush it.' (R:40) 1

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(2) hltwa bela {lahi tailew la hezawa faqir hawewa,I gezilwa xa-mindi saqilwa ta-yalake >u-kewa-wa. 'A person who was very desperate (literally: his hand did not go) and who was poor, would go and buy something for the children and come back.' (R: 118) 1

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The relative particle d!t is sometimes omitted: (11) mani hezil marake >antele. 'Whoever went (to the house) would take the property.' (R:102) 1

(12) mani xa-kaka gllya hawewa la qaf[iwale?! 'Whoever revealed a single tooth - did they not kill him?!' (R:73) 1

1

(13) kullu hu/a>e kelu hezi ta->Erq Yisra>e[,I mani >abe. 'All the Jews can go to the Land oflsrael, whoever wants.' (A:5) 1

On a few occasions an indicative form of verb is used in these nominal relatives rather than the subjunctive: (14) manit cikma kul minnew kul. 'Whoever will give some of it will give (i.e. People will give what they can).' (R:21) 1

(15) mani gezilwa ta-Bagdad mlaqe xet saqUwa. 'Whoever went to Baghdad would buy other spoons.' (R:33) 1

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(iii) Introduced by hema Nominal relative clauses headed by this interrogative pronoun have human referents. The examples that are attested in the text corpus have the past copula in the 3ms. form: (16) hema xanci manga faqlr-yele girse kxUwa. 'Whoever was rather poor would eat groats.' (R:44) 1

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(17) hemafaqlr yete dawlamande kwzwale. 'Whoever was poor, the rich would give to him.' (R:4) 1

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(18) mumkin yarxa-x-ka sawar basUwa,I hema dawlamand-yele. 'They cooked burghul perhaps once a month, (that is) people who were rich.' (R:44)

1

(iv) Introduced by ma This interrogative pronoun introduces nominal relatives with inanimate referents. It is sometimes combined with the interrogative particle d!t: (19) :>u-m-qam d-awa-s ganawe la-henwa-toca gudake toriwale-u,I mat-hftwalu lablzwale. 'so that thieves could not enter by breaking down the wall and take what they possessed.' (Z:8) 1

(20) ma-hltwa :,intele. 'He took whatever there was.' (R: 105) 1

(21) ma-hltwa suqla ba-tka. 'Whatever she had, she left there' (R:160) 1

(22) kulle nase xaleta kmenwa baqa f:iatan, pare, dewa,I ;fqilye, ma hawewa. 'Everybody brought a gift for the groom, money, gold, rings, whatever it was.' (M:20) 1

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(v) Used with a conditional or temporal sense A nominal relative clause that refers to a generic class sometimes loses the properties of a nominal, in that it does not have the function of a nominal component in the main clause. In such cases it is closer in syntactic function to a protasis of a conditional or temporal construction. Some cases where this loss of nominal properties is evident include (23-24), where the ·main clause contains no reference to the nominal relative clause, (25-26), where it contains only a reference to a component thereof, and (27-29), where the main clause contains a 3pl. verb with an impersonal sense and not a 3ms. verb that agrees directly with the initial nominal relative:

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

421

(23) mani )asxa )ila dile baxun, )ana mas)a/-yena. 'Anybody who lays a hand on you in this way (=If anybody lays a hand on you in this way), I am responsible.' (A:2) 1

1

(24) manit dalwa ga)ew )o-mindixa,I )afillu Rabavot samyawa. 'Somebody who knocked the thing on the door of our courtyard (= If somebody knocked the thing on the door of our courtyard,), even Ref:iovot would hear.' (R:27)

1

(25) )6t xamsa lire hltwale tajmid wililu. 'Somebody who had five liras - they froze them.' (Z:6) 1

1

(26) )6n da-biisenwalu,I kuz kifta xadrawa )akra. 'Those who stuffed them, each meat-ball would become (swollen) like this.' (R:46) 1

(27) manit-is ba-)akle biisilwa, ba-pisra biisilwa, dena, dena kmenwa. 'Somebody who cooked chicken or cooked meat(= If somebody cooked chicken or cooked meat), they would bring (animal) oil.' (R:53) 1

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1

(28) manit-is ba-misxa hiibewa, ba-misxa basliwalu. 'Somebody who wanted (to cook) with ghee (= If somebody wanted to cook with ghee), they would cook them in ghee.' (R:55) 1

1

(29) mani-s )i/eu la-gezawa, jamao-baxta ka-xi'izitta ga-d6ka swawti-ya. 'The woman whom you see there is my neighbour.' 1

(2) >o-baxta xazo>et ga-d6ka swawti-ya. 'The woman whom you see there is my neighbour.' 1

(3) kulle kfteb ka-kalwitta h6lle baqi. 'Every book that you write give to me.' 1

(4) sat/a ruwwa mattfwa resa nura koliwa-wa xela. 'They placed a big pan on a fire, which they made underneath.' (R:39) 1

A resumptive pronominal element is sometimes omitted when the antecedent head noun has an adverbial function, such as locative or instrumental, within the relative clause: (5) min-garaj trumbele-hzt gezan ta-Karkuk. 'From the garage there are cars in which I shall go to Karkuk.' (R: 168) 1

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

423

(6) )u-b/ane, I b/ane )ista-sar sinne, I so)a-sar sinne, I geziwa #niyye ruwwe,I ~inniyye ruwwe kul/e kaser,I mattiwa gar6me )asxa)e. I 'And girls, girls of sixteen or seventeen years of age, would go with big trays, with big trays, all kosher, on which they placed rolling-pins like this.' (R:67) 1

19.2. Indirect questions 19 .2.1. Polar questions

Indirect polar questions (i.e., ye~o questions) may be introduced by the conditional particle )agar: (1) se-gebu,I bdqir minnu )agar razi-yen ka-da£re$ Yisra>e/. 'They took (these) from us when we came to the Land oflsrael.' (A:5) 1

1

(ii) Overlapping events (6) >o-waxta tati mil,I >axni >akra-yelan.1'When my father died, we were (small) like this.' (R:11) (7) >o-waxta har-babi mil,I >axoni,1 >axona zori,1 tre-sinne >u-pilge-yele. 1 'At the time that my father had just died, my brother, my young brother was two and a half.' (R:13) (8) waxtara kiftdke basliwalu, 1 min-d-awa ddrenwa gaw. 1 'When they cooked meat-balls, they would add (the butter) from this pot.' (R:53) (9) H:,avalH waxtara Pesaf) didan xadrawa, pafire,I kenwa,I lele Pesaf) parqawa. 1'But at the time when our Passover took place, the feast of unleavened bread, they would come (to us), (when) Passover had finished.' (R: 130) 1

1

A waxta clause that contains an infinitive is attested in the text corpus: (10) waxta knista parfawa,I waxta $Oma fafore,I >o-nase kenwa-wa. 'When the synagogue was finished, when they broke the fast, the people would come back.' (R:7)

1

In ( 11) waxta is combined with the particle ga: (11) waxta-s ga-hiyex ta->Ere~-Yisra>el, 1 faqire pare fuwa henwa

ta->Ere$-Yisra>e/. 1 'When we came to the Land of Israel, the poor did not have money to come to the Land of Israel.' (R:139)

19.4.3. limma ('when') The interrogative particle limma is only sporadically used as a subordinating conjunction in the text corpus. It may be combined with the relative particle d or used without it: (1) limma-d milan, ldbilmuli Yerusalayim. 1'When I die, take me to Jerusalem.' (R:185) (2) limma kimretun} >axni kmfxila. 1 'When you tell us, we shall bring her.' (R:187) 1

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430

19.4.4. Asyndetic temporal clauses In many cases a clause without any subordinating particle is functionally equivalent to a temporal clause, in that the occurrence of the event expressed in the clause conditions the occurrence of an event in an adjacent clause and the speaker is committed to the truth of the proposition in both clauses. It is often appropriate to translate such clauses by an English 'when'-clause. As with the temporal constructions described in §19.4.1. and §19.4.2., the events may be discreet and sequential (1-5) or there may be some overlap (6-8): (1) >axni-hiyex ta->Ere~ Yisra>e/,I ga-cadir >intulu-llan. '(When) we came to the Land oflsrael, they put us in a tent.' (Z:7) 1

(2) liblale belu,I baxtew1 mira >aya may-ye? 1 'When he took her to their home, his wife said: "Who is this?"' (R: 170) (3) br6na xiidirwa, bar tmanya y6me mira koliwale. 'When a boy was born, after eight days they would circumcise him.' (R: 8) 1

1

(4) mi:{en doka, lbUlu ta-xastaxana Mir >Elya>u. '(When) they arrived there, they took him to the Mir Eliyahu hospital.' (R:92) 1

1

1

(5) nane kmir >eniike mcimala. 1 'When he says 'Grandma', she closed the eye.' (R:184) (6) dwa>i til!J,a-arba y6me peswa ta-patire,I ma~~aye koliwa. 'Then, when three or four days remained before Passover, they would make mazza breads.' (R:4) 1

(7) ba-lha hiyex ta-Yisra>el, 1 >ana xamsi dinare menUi. 1 'By God, when we came to Israel, I brought fifty dinars.' (R: 18) (8) >axoni >atta ga-Manu/:ta-y,I tre-sinne >u-pUgele babi mfl. 1 'My brother who is now in Menul;ia was two and a half when my father died.' (R:12)

Such asyndetic constructions are often used in clauses denoting the onset of a time period such as 'morning', 'night', 'summer' etc. (9) bqatta xiidirwa gezUwa tmanya >ic>a {a'ne zara siiqUwa. 'When it was morning, he would go and buy eight or nine bundles of wheat.' (R:116) 1

1

1

(10) Zele xiidirwa tre kenwa baraw. 1'When it was night, two people would come (asking) for her.' (R:196)

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

431

(11) ham-qefa xiidirwa1 'ay-waxtara, 1 fa/a doqiwa refiwa 1 geziwa ta-xastaxana. 1 'When it was summer, and in that season people had fever and trembled, they would go to hospital.' (R: 128)

(12) kulle 'anye-'asxa'e ba-y6ma rota xiidirwa xamfufab xiidirwa, 'infe kulle da'iike labliwalun-u yalu geziwa ta-lJ,ammlim xepiwa. 'When it was Friday or when it was Thursday, the women, all the mothers would take their things and their children and go to wash in the baths.' (R: 127) 1

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1

1

We may include here the temporal adverbial expression bqatta-ye, which can be interpreted as an asyndetic temporal clause with the sense of '(when) it is morning' or the like, though it is usually appropriate to translate it idiomatically simply as 'in the morning': (13) bqatta-ye geziwa,I geziwa dablJ,iwalu 'irbiike. 'They would go in the morning, they would go and slaughter the sheep.' (R:56) 1

(14) bqatta-y saana baxta meli ba->arbi-u->arba. 'Before I came, I married in Sulemaniyya, in forty-four.' (Z:1) 1

1

1

(2) >ana IJ,asta willi bar-min-d-iiwa, qame d-aw-ana baxta >amenawa, laga silmane. 'I worked after that, before I married, with Muslims.' (Z: 1) 1

1

1

1

(3) la-kii,yan waxtara sata may-ya. xamsa >ista-sinne qam-hex laxxa. 'I do not know what year it was then. (It was) five or six years before we came here.' (R:154) 1

1

In one case the verb of the clause introduced by qame is negated: (4) >6 waxtad qame tati la-pelwa min-gare-u melwa,I tre tanake >asxa lire zayre hiwle ba->ila da>akl. 'At that time, before my father fell from the roof and died, he put into the hands of my mother two tins like this, (full) of golden liras.' (R: 106) 1

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1

19.4.6. bar ('after') This is either placed immediately before the clause or is linked to it by the particle ka!ga: (l) bar-xala xille, baraxa wille >u-zll. 'After he had eaten, he made the blessing and went away.' 1

1

(2) bar-axni xipex >u-xillex,I >6ni-s xipi qame didan, zili-wa ta-Bagdad. 'After we had washed and cleansed ourselves they washed before us and went back to Baghdad.' (R: 100) 1

1

(3) bar ka-lbillu Bagdad, loka-yele. 'After they took him to Baghdad, he was (i.e. remained) there'. 1

1

19.4.7. IJ,atta ('until') When the Arabic particle IJ,atta, or its variant form hatta with a laryngal, is used as a clausal conjunction, it generally has the sense of 'until' and

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

433

introduces an event that marks the endpoint of the activity or situation denoted by the main clause. The l_,,atta clause may contain a past or present base verb. It is normally placed after the main clause: (i) l_,,atta clauses with past base forms (1) raba nase ga-warya giinen mi-zdulu,I IJ,atta nase sex MalJ,mud hiyen,I tiwi ta-nosu. 1 'Many people slept outside on account of their fear, until the people of sheikh Mal;uniid came and they settled down.' (Z:31)

(2) r'iqale bari ba-#wa IJ,atta di.le-lli. 'He ran after me with a stick until he beat me.' (M:7) (3) bdelu ba-Zohar qaro>e,I IJ,atta >ax6ni hiye-wa,I xa->ena har plixta. 1 'They began reading the Zohar and she kept one eye open all the time until my brother came back.' (R: 183) 1

The IJ,atta clause in some cases does not necessarily mark the endpoint of the activity or situation expressed in the main clause but rather restricts the focus to this activity or situation in the period before the event expressed in the l_,,atta clause. In such constructions the particle may be translated idiomatically 'before': (4) IJ,ityaji la-grislan1 IJ,atta hiyex ta-Yisra>e/. 1 'We were not in need before we came to Israel.' (R: 18) (5) )imtula-llan l_,,atta-hyex ta-Yisra)el. 'She provided for us before we came to Israel.' (R: 110) 1

(ii) IJ,atta clauses with present base forms (6) min-bar sukke koliwa 1 IJ,atta naxla niixilwa. 1 'They prepared it from the end of Sukkot until the rain fell.' (R: 114) (7) kulle ga-d6ka pesiwa fla!J,a yarxe, )arba yarxe,I IJ,atta naxla niixi.lwa.1 'They would all stay there for three months, four months, until the rain fell.' (Z:35) (8) la-gbe )6 daskirii.n xazewala1 IJ,atta )6 Lele barxiwala.1 'The boy to whom she was betrothed was not allowed to see her until they blessed her that night.' (R:36) 1

(9) Hve-seva' brax6f ku/-y6ma ko/iwa,I IJ,att/J ma{ewa yoma xamsusab. 'Every day they would perform the Seven Benedictions, until Thursday came.' (M: 19) 1

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A subjunctive verb form is attested in (I 0), which could be interpreted with a purposive sense: (IO) kasenwalu I J,uitta xanci hewa resa. 'They covered them until it rose slightly/in order for it to rise slightly.' (R:61) 1

When the verb in the IJ,atta clause denotes a continuous activity, the end of the activity expressed in the main clause is sometimes the end rather than the onset of the activity denoted by the IJ,atta clause. In such cases the particle may be translated idiomatically as 'so long as': (11) gezixwa ga-be mami xa-waxtara,I raba sinne IJ,atta-mami peswa. 'We used to go to the family ofmy paternal uncle at the time (of the festival) for many years, so long as my uncle was still alive.' (Z:14) 1

1

The f;atta clauses may be placed before the main clause: (12) IJ,atta da)aki zixrona-li-vraxa cay-u maye mird1xla )ana tiwan xifl'i. 'Before my mother, of blessed memory, boiled the tea and water, I sat down and sewed.' (R:80) 1

1

(13) IJ,atta mafixwa rosana har ximma-yele. 'Until we reached New Year it was only hot.' (R:124) 1

1

(14) }:iatta m'rten Yerusalayim ga-Givcat-Sa)ul J:,,atta qiwralu} nas la-dwiqle. 1 'Up until they reached Jerusalem and buried her in Givagnawa nase dacwaw-koli. 'If you love her (fine), if not (other) people will make suit for her.' (R:171) 1

1

19.5.1.4. Form of verb in the apodosis The verb form in the apodosis clause is generally the one that would be expected in an independent clause with the same tense, aspect and mood. In counterfactual conditional constructions, however, the verb of the apodosis may be put in the subjunctive: (1) >agar laxxa hewa >ixala hawiwale. 'If he had come here, they would have given him food'. (2) )agar halewa1 hamzrwalox. 1 'If he had known, he would have 1

told you.'

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439

SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

19.5.2. Asyndetic conditional constructions On some occasions, the protasis of a conditional is not introduced by a conditional particle. The verb forms of the protasis correspond to those that are found in 'agar clauses. The qii{il form is found in protases that denote a probable future action: (1) qa{litti,I 'ana har-gbenaw. foqztti, 'ana har-gbenaw. 'If you kill me, I shall still love her. If you leave me, I shall still love her.' (R:153) 1

1

1

(2) kimrit heza-wa,I 'awa tob-ye. 'If you tell her to go back, that is good.' (R:149) 1

In (3) a q{ille form is used in the protasis with the same function of expressing a probable future action. This verbal form is not attested in syndetic conditional constructions in the text corpus: (3)

dwzqla 'illox,I mar-'ana ba-ma~wa liibinnaw. 'If the police stop you, say "I am taking her as a mi~wa."' (R: 189)

8 mWarcl1

1

Examples (4-6) attest to the use of the subjunctive qii{ilwa form in the protasis to express an unspecified instance of a habitual situation in the past: (4) brata g6ra holawa1 gezawa laga be-ximyanaw. 1 'If a daughter married, she would go to the home of her father-in-law.' (R:24) (5) la hewale hulwa,I mindixe koliwa. 1 '(If) he could not give (them), they would do such-and-such.' (R:31) (6) simM hiiwewa, slJ,ifa koUwa 'aw nase pisra saqliwa. 'If there was sunshine, they would slaughter (animals) or people would buy meat.' (V:24) 1

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Protases that contain clauses expressing alternative conditions generally do not have a conditional particle: (7) mewane hiiwewa, mewane la-hiiwewa, par{iwalu wa, yatwiwa kixllwa. 1 'Whether there were guests or there were no guests, they took them out, sat down and ate them.' (R:60) 1

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1

(8) kul-nasa bela hltwale,I 'aya ba-kreci hiiwe,I 'aya bela nosew hiiwewa. 'Everybody had a house, whether this was rented accommodation or whether this was his own house.' (Z:7) 1

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19 .6. Concessive constructions In a concessive construction, the situation expressed by the main clause is presented by the speaker as an unexpected consequent of the situation expressed in the concessive clause. Syntactically subordinate clauses that have a concessive sense are generally introduced by the particle ,afillu:

(1) ,afillu ,6 baru.xz-ye ,ana yaridew la-kunna. 'Although he is my friend, I shall not help him.' 1

1

(2) ,afillu yaridi hiwlox,I ,ana naji~ la-xz"irna. 'Although you helped me, I did not succeed.' 1

(3) ,affllu talga naxlawa hltwa. 'Even if snow was falling, there was (meat).' (Z:10) 1

Occasionally clauses introduced by the conditional particle ,agar are used with a concessive sense:

(4) sata-x-ka Jagar-mami xa-satfa, xa-gunya rizza masdirwale baqan, ,6 xa-gunya zara,I b-d-awa xa,e la-yelan. 'Although my uncle sent us a bucket, a sack of rice once a year, or a sack of wheat, with this we could not live.' (Z:42) 1

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19. 7. Complement clauses

Complement clauses are subordinate clauses that are embedded as the direct complement ofa verb. In §15.2.1.2. iii and 15.2.2.2. iv complement clauses with subjunctive verbs have been described. These refer to actions or situations that are unrealized at the time referred to by the verb in the main clause. Here we shall look at some other types of complement clauses. 19. 7 .1. Complement clauses with ka-1 gaCertain verbs have complement clauses that are introduced by the particle ka or its variant ga. These are always placed after the main verb. The attested examples include complements of the verb 'to know' that contain factual propositions: (1) kayenwa ga-,6 brata ,il-d-o-br6na gba. 'They would know that the girl loved the boy.' (R:29) 1

(2) br6na silmanake tile ga-hiya-wa ta-bela. 'The Muslim boy knew that she had gone back home.' (R: 145) 1

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SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION OF CLAUSES

(3) la-lila ga-hita-ya ta->are~. 1 'She did not know that she had come to the Land oflsrael.' (R: 173)

In (4) the sense requires that an expression of 'knowing' be supplied in the translation: (4) bar cikma sinne min-Miryam xalusta >asxa-yele ga->o-msilma. 'After a few years, it was (became known) concerning her sister Miryam that she had coverted to Islam.' (R: 172) 1

1

On some occasions complement ka-clauses refer to future actions. This is attested in ( 5-7). Examples (6) and (7) exhibit peculiarities of syntax. In (6) the particle introduces an indirect question that is the complement of the verb. In (7) the complement clause introduced by ga that expresses the content of the telephone message the verb is in the second person, which is characteristic of reported direct speech. The subjunctive has a deontic sense: (5) biiqir minnu >agar razl-yen ka-da'waw kolex gorexila. 'Ask them whether they are agreeable that we make suit for her and marry her.' (A: 11) 1

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(6) kzlu ga-cikma gezil min-d-o >azkara. 'Write down how much is spent for the memorial.' (R: 194) 1

(7) talaf6n dile ta-d-6 sarike tati ga-het-awa >lllel. 'He telephoned the partners of my father (with the message): You must come back tonight.' (R:203) 1

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19.7.2. Asyndetic complement clauses On numerous occasions equivalent complement clauses are asyndetic without any introductory particle. This is attested in several constructions containing the verb 'to know': (1) kiiyenwa flankas dawlamand-ye. 'They knew that so-and-so was rich.' (A:13) (2) >axnaxun kiiyetun >ana yali zoren. 'You know that my children are small.' (R:103) (3) la-kiiyet sabbat >asllr kaxiita ciiqen? 'Do you not know that on Sabbath it is forbidden to tear open a letter?' (M:7) 1

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442

Asyndetic complement clauses are used after verbs of 'seeing', 'thinking' and 'swearing': (4) xazyan mila. 'I see that she has died.' (R:180) 1

(5) Jo-bela hulaha xazya daJakake-msUma ba-~aji. 'She sees that the mother in that Jewish family has converted to Islam (to marry) a l;taji.' (R:168) 1

1

(6) hiyen-awa w-axni wa dmelan tatan-s melu wa. 'They came back and we thought that they had brought back also our father.' (R:99) 1

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(7) mumele ke. 'He swore that he would come'. 1

The complement of the verb 'to say' is regularly presented asyndetically as direct speech: (8) mire: yalax daqiqen. 'He said: "Your children are small."' (R:15) 1

(9) miru Jaxni kex-hawa ta-yarxa. 'They said: "We shall come back in a month.'" (R: 100) 1

1

(10) mfra la gezan-awa. 'She said: "I shall not go back."' (R:150) 1

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE LEXICON 20.1. Preliminary remarks The main purpose of this chapter is to present inventories of lexical items arranged into various semantic fields in order to facilitate the comparison of the lexicon of JSH with that of other NENA dialects. First a few general remarks regarding the lexicon of the dialect are in order. As is the case with most other NENA dialects, the lexicon of the JSH dialect contains many loan-words. The vast majority come from Kurdish. A few originate in other languages, such as Arabic and Turkish, though most of these are likely to have been transmitted through Kurdish. The Arabic loans sometimes exhibit features that are distinctive of Arabic lexemes in Kurdish, such as the pronunciation of the tiP marbu{a as -at (e.g. ~ukmat 'government', sae 'water mixed with yoghurt' (K.) kaske 'cakes made from dried yoghurt' (K.)

THE LEXICON

453

20.2.6.4. Bread lixma m. 'bread' saj m. 'griddle for bread' (A.)

lixma saji 'flat bread cooked on a griddle lixma tanura m. 'bread baked on sides of the oven' lesa m. 'dough' gusa m. 'piece of dough' zatila f. 'pitta bread' lawasa f. 'long pitta bread' (K.)

qluca f. 'fried flat bread' (K.) pafire 'unleavened breads, matzas' samura f. 'large unleavened bread' (H.) ma!f!fa f. 'small unleavened bread, matza' (H.) 'ye 'knead (dough)' pfx 'flatten' (dough)

20.2.6.5. Cooked dishes xurma-u run 'fried date and eggs' (K.) sawar m. 'burghul wheat' (K.) girse 'groats' rizza m. 'rice' kifte 'meat-balls' (K.) kifte xi/ya 'meat-balls without hot spices' kifte xum!fa 'spicy meat-balls' yaprage 'stuffed vine-leaves' (K./T.)

tasqlt 'stuffed stomach (of animal)' gippaye 'dish consisting of stuffed stomachs' pispara 'large omelette with onions' }:tiswa 'stuffing' (A.) baqima 'filling' silkane 'pastries' kalane 'pasties made with meat and onions' (K.)

20.2.6.6. Miscellaneous beta f. 'egg' sakar 'sugar' dusa m. 'honey' nuqre 'sweets' sakraw 'sweet drink, sherbet' cay m. 'tea' (K.) pisra m. 'meat' cizoke 'pieces of fat of beef or lamb' (K.)

milxa f. 'salt' ~a_lat m. 'black pepper' (K.) zardacor m. 'saffron' (K.) misxa m. 'oil made from clarified butter' dena, dehna m. 'animal oil' qalya m. 'oil extracted from fat of sheep' (K.)

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20.2.7. Clothes

julle 'clothes' (K.) julla m. 'cloth' (K.) sura f. 'long dress' dariya f. 'dress' (K.) qba~a f. 'longjacket' dasma.l f. 'head-kerchief (K.) miski f. 'kerchief (K.) caifa f. 'scarf (K.) caifa maliki f. 'type of scarf (K.) sarpol m. 'head-scarf (K.) diwax m. 'decorative scarf put on bride' (K.) ja.l!aye 'long sleeves' (K.) sarwale 'trousers' (K.)

maraxanye 'trousers' (K.) tikle I tikre 'decorative trouser ties' (on trousers groom) hawarkase 'underpants' (K.) qo_la I qora f. 'sleeve' (K.) gorawya f. 'sock' qobca f. 'button' (K.) siyame 'shoes' pustale 'boots' (K.) ksila f. 'hat (single colour)' ~araqcin f. 'embroidered hat, skull cap' jajim m. 'blanket' zacifa m. 'quilt' (K.)

20.2.8. Types of fabric

qumlis m. 'fabric, material' (A.) camra m. 'wool' ktana m. 'cotton' biluri m. 'cotton calico' (K.) cit m. 'cotton cloth' (K.) ~awrmm m. 'silk' (K.) gudruni m. 'fabric embroidered with flowers and golden strands' (K.)

jamana f. 'striped fabric' (K.) xamak m. 'mauve silk fabric' (K.) surma m. 'gold-flecked cloth' (K.) katan reza m. 'linen decorated with rows of beads' (K.) naqsi f. 'embroidery' (K./A.) xam 'raw cloth' (K.)

20.2.9. Jewelry

xsilta f. 'jewelry' dewa m. 'gold' sema m. 'silver' $qilta f. 'ring' lagire 'decorative jewelry for forehead' (K.) plunke 'jewels worn on forehead' (K.)

xmata dewanta f. 'gold needle worn on head' dobre dewane 'gold ornaments worn on head' (K.) bacawge 'gold head ornaments worn by a bride (from ear to ear)' (K.) krimke 'ornaments worn on face from head to chin' (K.)

THE LEXICON

gware 'earrings' (K.) gardana m. 'necklace' (K.) tcfbista dewanta f. 'gold chain worn around neck'

lire dewane 'gold coins worn around neck' lulga-u zre 'small gold cylinders on a chain around neck across front of body' (K.)

455

bii.zna f. 'small bracelet' (K.) qulba f. 'large bracelet' (K.) goye dewane 'golden beads' (K.) xa~a dewana m. 'golden belt' }Jujle 'bangles on angles' (A.) gu_lange 'beads sown on edges of kerchief (K.)

pulake 'small beads sown onto fabric' (K.)

20.2.10. Professions

tujar m. 'merchant' (A.) mara #nceta m. 'craftsman' (A.) :,istal m. 'master craftsman' (K./T.)

mara tkana m. 'shopkeeper' :,atar m. 'keeper of a general store' (K.)

qayna:,a m. 'goldsmith' dartas m. 'carpenter' (K.) jolaya m. 'weaver' (K.) pinaci m. 'cobbler' (K.) nanawa m. 'baker' (K.) xuba-walana m. 'dyer'

xayafa m. 'tailor' :,asawii.n m. 'miller' (K.) bazirgan m. 'clothier' (K.) postaci m. 'postman' (K.) duxtar m. 'doctor' madama £ 'nurse' (K.) }Jammii.mci m. 'bath-attendant' (K./A.)

karakar m. 'servant' (K.) sagird m. 'servant' (K.) }Jasta-walana m. 'labourer' katib m. 'clerk' (A.)

20.2.11. Jewish festivals

rosana 'New Year' (H.) yoma kippur 'Day of Atonement' (H.)

sukke 'Tabernacles' (H.) sim}Ja tora 'Siml;lat Tora' (H.) }Jannuka:,e 'J:lanukka' (H.)

sim}Ja :,ilane 'Festival of trees (Tu Bi-Svat)' (H.)

lalange 'Purim' (H.) pafire 'Passover' pis}Ja 'Passover meal' ziyara 'Feast of Weeks (Savu'ot)' (A.)

456

CHAPTER TWENTY

20.2.12. Fauna l},aywan f. 'animal' (A.) colaka f. 'bird' (K.) >irba m. 'sheep' kawur m. 'lamb' (3-6 months) (K.) barxa m. or f. 'lamb' (before first shearing) (K.) >izza f. 'goat' mayfn m. or f. 'horse' (K.) mayfnta f. 'mare' (K.) he stir m. or f. 'mule' (K.) tora m. 'bull' torta f. 'cow' gwiraka m. 'calf (K.) xmara f. 'ass' xmarta f. 'she-ass' ser m. 'lion' (K.) gurg m. 'wolf (K.) >aska f. 'gazelle' (K.) caqal f. 'fox' (K.) >aklela, >aklelta f. 'chicken' kalaser m. 'cock' (K.) karwisk f. 'rabbit' (K.)

jiji f. 'hedgehog' (K.) 6-pare mxilpUan >aw xilUan. Hbariix ha-semH >ana-s g6ra wUli, 1

1

xalusti willa, >ax6ni baxta mele. 1

1

1

Houses (20) bate hu/a>e kullu jwan-yelu. kulle bate xalelu. kulle har har ffna 1

1

litwa lagan,I bate ba-tinane,I kulle manga >atta. manga >atta kulle, xiste 1

1

>u-miste nawe nawce, >are yaruqe, panjare halwane. (21) faqire xa 1

1

1

f[a!J,a-arba lztwa lagan. kullu dawlamand-yelu. kulle dawlamand-yelu. 1

1

1

>itha manfxle tall-ul gal-tre-gure xet knista tri$lu ha-pare nosu. waxtara 1

1

1

ga-knista mrru: m1ndix kolex,I pare brzxlu. pare brixlu mire manit cikma 1

1

kul minnew kul. (22) tatz-u gal-tre-gure xet,I >Awrameme, >Abda ruwwa, 1

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

469

father and were not from my mother. They were powerful. They did such things to us, they did. (17) But my father gave two buckets of gold liras to my mother. He dug the ground and put them in it. He put them in it, he said 'Your children are small. When I die, these two older boys will not look after your children. Let these (coins) be in your possession.' (18) The Lord be praised, we were not in need before we came to Israel. By God, when we came to Israel, I brought fifty dinars. My brother brought fifty dinars. My sister brought fifty dinars. My mother brought fifty dinars. Also my grandmother brought fifty dinars. The dinars oflraq were (worth) a lot. We tied them to our back. We tied them to our back and brought them to Israel. (19) But they did not allow us to bring gold. We sold half of our gold in Baghdad. They said 'They will not allow us to take it to Jerusalem. Sell it here.' We had dishes, all of which we sold in Baghdad. People were not allowed to bring them here. But we tied money and dinars to our back. We tied them to our back. We were in Zar6-mace 1

saxine. bii->6-mace saxine radzxwa, }wan basllwa. >6,y-ka mattzwale. 1

1

1

1

partzwale-wa. partiwale-wa-u macake sansrzwa. darenwale resa !Ja~ire 1

1

wesawa,' >o-sawar. (40) bar d-awa, ga-w'rswa, >antenwale, bfqatta-Y' 1

1

1

1

gezzwa bar-xa-baxta silmanta kyawa deqawale. deqawale, kwawale 1

1

1

1

ba-roxa. bar xa-tre fla!Ja-yome I dastiir kmenwa, taxnzwale. taxniwale 1

1

1

>ay-ka. daqiqa mattiwale ba-ja, garusa mattiwale ba-ja. qamxake 1

1

bazrzwale. >awa sawar.

1

(41)

1

1

rizzake-s >asxa.

rizzake-s

1

1

dayiwale m-makina.

1

calkukake-s

sortzwale, rizzake peswa-wa xwara. 1waxtara basllwa, rizza basliwa. 1

1

1

INFORMANTR

477

Jewish doctors (37) We had two (Jewish) doctors. We had two doctors. We had a big hospital, like Kaplan (hospital). 14 But Muslims would cook the food. When a Jewish person became ill and they put him in the hospital, they would take him food from home. They would take him food from home. We had two Jewish doctors, Doctor Hashim and Doctor Malik. We also had other doctors. (38) There was a nurse in the hospital, she was a Jewish nurse, a Jewess, (called) Sabriyya. Sabriyya married over a woman. 15 Sabriyya married over a woman. She was a nurse. The (other) woman went and gave her a drug and killed her.

Cooking (39) They would cook burghul. They would cook rice. They would make burghul like this. 16 They placed a big pan on a fire, which they made underneath. They put wheat in the hot water. It boiled in the hot water and cooked thoroughly. Then they put it out. They took it out. They took it out and they drained the water. They put the burghul on mats to dry. (40) After that, when it had dried, they took it and went in the morning (to find) a Muslim woman who came to crush it. She would crush it and toss it into the wind. After two or three days, they brought a hand-mill and ground it. They ground it again. They put the fine grain on one side and the coarse grain on another side. They would discard 17 the flour. That is burghul. ( 41) Rice was like this. They put the rice into a machine. They threw out the dirt and the rice remained white. Then they cooked it, they cooked the rice.

14 15

16 17

Hospital near Kiryat Malachi. I.e. she married a man who already had a wife. Literally: They would do such-and-such a thing to burghul. Literally: scatter.

478

TEXTS

(42) xi(te basliwa. sawar-is b-pi~la qiilenwa. sawariike cikma hiibftwa 1

1

baslzwale, ba-mzska-u 1 ba-pzsra-u 1ba-mindixe. ,agar ba-pisra hiiwewa, 1

1

,akle mattfwa resa, pisra mattiwa resa. biisUwa. maciike ,antenwalu. 1

1

1

pisriike ,antenwale. macake I sawar baslzwa ba,ew. 1

1

1

1

GK: kifte? (43) kifte, kiftake rizziike deqzwale. ,awan hltwa. ,awan hltwa, rizziike 1

1

1

1

1

xalliwale-wa, deqiwale jwan. ,akra pisra diqa I mandenwa ga-,6 rizza. 1

1

1

,ay-ka deqzwale. deqiwale, }wan mattiwale, ,u-f:ziswdke koliwa, baqzma 1

1

1

1

koliwale, ba-pi#e, ba-karawez, ba-pisra. ,ay-ka yatwfwa f:tasenwa.

1

sa{la ruwwa res-ara. mani d-iibewa ba-tamata k6lwa. mani d-iibewa

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

ba-qilya k6lwa. f:tiisenwalu mandenwalu gawu. 1

1

1

(44) Jaxni girse laga didan la kixlzwa. hema xanci manga faqfr-yele

1

girse kxUwa. H,avazH J6 dawlamande I girse la kixlzwa. sawar-zs,

1

1

1

1

1

1

ga-basliwa sawar deqiwale. mumkin yarxa-x-ka 1 sawar basliwa,I hema 1

dawlamand-yele. H,avazH faqire, kulle-ga koliwa kixliwa. ba-girse koliwa 1

1

1

kifte. b-sawar kixliwa. H,avaf dawlamande 1

1

1

la,. 1 (45) dawlamande

mumkin yarxa-x-ka, tre yarxe-x-ka,12 hamriwa: sawar baslex, ham kifte 1

1

girsane baslex. kifte girsanake-s dax basliwalu? girsake ba-misxa 1

1

masxfwale. misxiike, Ceczwale, Ceczwale, Ceczwale, xiidfrwa manga kifte. 1 1

1

1

1

1

,ay-ka ,z1a koliwa, day, day, day, ,asxa koliwa ruwwe koliwalu, 1

1

1

mandenwalu ga-,6 mace. 1(46) xurtmane darenwa ga-,6 mace. 1xurtmanake basnwa, pisra mandenwa ga,ew. kiftake la f:zasenwalu. manit-is Jii,bewa 1

< yarxa xa ka. 2

< yarxa xa ka, tre yarxe xa ka.

1

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

479

(42) They cooked wheat. They also fried burghul with an onion. They cooked whatever quantity of burghul was required, 18 with oil, with meat, with other things. If it was (cooked) with meat, they put chickens on top, they put meat on top. It cooked. They took water. They took meat. They cooked the burghul in the water. GK: (What about) meat-balls? (43) Meat-balls - they ground the meat-balls, the rice. There was a mortar. There was a mortar, they washed the rice and crushed it well. They put such-and-such an amount of crushed meat in the rice. Then they crushed it. They crushed it, they put it all out and made the stuffing, they made the filling, with onions, with celery, with meat. Then they sat and stuffed it. (It was put in) a large bucket on the ground. Some liked to make it with tomato. Others liked to make it with something fried. 19 They would stuff them (i.e. the meat-balls) and put them (i.e. the tomatoes etc.) into them. (44) We - in our community they did not eat groats. People who were rather poor would eat groats, but the rich would not eat groats. As for burghul, when they cooked burghul they crushed it. They cooked burghul perhaps once a month, (that is) people who were rich. But the poor would make it to eat all the time. They made meat-balls with groats. They ate them with burghul. But not the rich. (45) Perhaps once a month or once every two months the rich would say 'Let's cook burghul,' also 'Let's cook meat-balls with groats.' How did they cook meat-balls with groats? They would spread oil on the groats. They would knead and knead and knead the oil (and groats), and it would become like meat-balls. Then they would form it with their hands, and eventually would make it like this. They would make them big and put them in the water. (46) They would put chickpeas in the water. They would cook chickpeas and put in meat. As for meat-balls, they did not (always) stuff them. If somebody

18 19

Literally: however much you wanted. Literally: Whoever wanted would make it with tomato. Whoever wanted would make it with something fried.

480

TEXTS

ljasewalu. ,on da-ljii,senwalu, kuz kifta xadrawa ,akra, torltwala, 1

1

kimrztwa:

1

may-ya? 1 smoqta-awa!

1

kimritwa manga ljannela.

1

ba-pisra hawewa,I pisra ljasenwalu. ljasenwalu.

1

,il-girse la ljii,senwalu.

(47)

ba-misxa hawewa, 1 b-misxa

1

girsake I xa-s-taw

1

1

1

1

ljasenwalu.

1

ceciwalu, 1ceciwalu. misxa darenwa gawu. 1,ay-ka koliwalu day, day, day 1

)asxa,I sabir sabir mandenwalu ga-macake. (48) xurtmane darenwa 1

gawu. )u-xa Jakiela mandenwa gawu. )aklelake baslawa. )aklelake 1

1

1

baslawa )u-mattiwala resa kiftake. waxtara )aklelake parflwala wa, 1

kiftake-s xa-xa xa-xa bi-mlaq,I la torawa )u-mattiwalu ga-dawriye. 1

1

1

(49) xurma-u run-is,I xurma-u runake ma-yela? 1 xurma saqliwa, 1 fawa

mattiwa. misxiike dax xiidfrwa, xurmiike mandenwale, qiilenwale jwan 1

1

1

bi-mlaqa asxa koliwalu. misxake qalewa jwan, xurmiike parfiwale-wa. 1

1

1

)ay-ka be,iike diirenwalu ga-xa safla, xamsa-sar )isrz behe. (50) )akra 1

1

1

milxa diirenwa gaw )u-xa-danka qamxa. xa-danka qamxa diirenwa gaw, 1

1

1

marwlwalu} marwiwalu, 1 marwlwalu, )u-xadriwa qiffe )asxa)e. 1 )akra 1

koliwa xurma-wa behe. dwa)i xa-tmanya )icca behe, har piiqenwalu babe 1

1

1

qamxa. darenwalu ga-misxake, marwlwalu,I marwlwalu. xadriwa manga 1

1

1

nargze, manga warde. xa-lag xurma-u xa-lag behake kollwalu. 1

1

1

1

(51) R's husband: misxiike may-yele? min-may-yele misxa? 1

R: misxa zaytun lftwa lagan. R's husband: may-yele?

1

1

R: misxa nosan. kara. 1kara-yele lagan. 1 1

R's husband: kara Hme-)efo ba?HI

1

1

INFORMANTR

481

wanted, they would stuff them. When people stuffed them, 20 each meatball would become (swollen) like this and if you broke it open, you would say 'What is it? Look it is red!' You would say it was like henna. (47) If it was with meat (that they cooked them), they would stuff them with meat. If it was with oil, they stuffed them with oil. They did not stuff (the meat-balls made) of groats. Sometimes they stuffed the groat (meatballs). They used to knead them and knead them. They would put oil in them. Then they would make them all 21 like this and slowly put them in the water. ( 48) They would put chickpeas in them. They would put a chicken among them. The chicken would cook. The chicken would cook and they would put it on the meat-balls. Then they would take out the chicken and also the meat-balls, one by one with a spoon, so that (each one) did not break and they would place them on plates. (49) 'Dates and eggs' - what was 'dates and eggs'? They used to buy dates and put them in a frying pan. As the oil formed, 22 they put in the dates and fried them well, stirring23 them like this with a spoon. The oil (with the dates) would be well fried and they would take out the dates. Then they would put the eggs in a bucket, fifteen or twenty eggs. (50) They would put in such-and-such an amount of salt and a little flour. They would put in a little flour and stir them, stir them, stir them and they became small pieces like this. They made 'dates and eggs' in this way. Then they broke eight or nine eggs without flour. They put them in the oil and stirred and stirred. They became like narcissi, like flowers. They arranged them with the dates on one side and the eggs on the other. (51) R's husband: What was the oil? What was the oil made from? R: There was no olive oil in our community. R's husband: What was it? R: Our own oil. Butter. It was butter in our community. R's husband: Where did butter come from? 20

21

22

23

Literally: Those who stuffed them ... The expression day day day is non-linguistic filler that is intended to stand in the place of various activities that are not mentioned. Here the sense appears to be that they made each one of the kifte in such-and-such a way. I.e. as the heated fat turned into oil. Literally: 'doing.'

TEXTS

482

(52) R: min-)irbe. masis'iwale, maskake masWwala )u-karake par{'iwale. 1

1

1

1

)o kara pasrfwale wa )u-mawt with the particle awa (§ 15.14. example (28)).

26

A Kurdish expression. Literally: The moon of the night. Moon-light was thought to have beneficial properties.

TEXTS

488

ba-Ji/ew JU-:finye ba-qamew Ju-day.I Jonye gusiike qiifenwalu, Ju-koliwalu 1

wa. Jay-ka xadrfwa Jakra 1mandenwalu ba-resa-Ji/u, day, day, day, day, 1

1

day. Jay Jifa Jo Jfla. 1 Jay Jz/a 1 J6 Jz/a 1 xadrfwa Jasxa. Ju-nanawa dabqawalu. 1

1

1

1

(71) xa-y6ma nanawa nasttx-yela. 1 la-Ula Zare. 1 mira la-lili ga-raba mindix-yele. xa dibqala-u pUa ga-tanuriike. ba-qurbasarf pirtalu-wa, 1

1

1

1

nanawiike. miru dax la-qzla? hie la-hye-l/aw. qima dubara bdela 1

1

1

b-lixma wala. (72) J6 ga-lagan-yele. Jatta ga-YisraJe/ 1

1

1

tu.

1

Hbe-Jemet,H

1

min-mace Zele parzi koliwa. 1 min-mace Zele parzi koliwa. 1 Jay-xala dax-baslile-u dax-kolile, mani kiiye? 1

1

1

Clothes (73) GK: ma losiwa?

1

R: surale IJ,atta laxxa. qbaJe, dariye losiwa. manga kimri hawarkase 1

1

1

1

1

l,zatta laxxa. I J6 la-kfmri manga laxxa q6ra gilya-u, I kulle gilya. 1 mani xa-kaka gilya hiiwewa la qaf[iwale?! bPo-q6re sura l,zatta laxxa,I q6re 1

qbaJe.

1

1

(74) GK: mafarq hftwa ga-bayni hulaJe Ju-silmane? 1 R: ma farq hitwa? 1 Jaxnf dasmar la diirixwa,I dasmar pulake. 1 dasmar Jaxni la-diirixwa. 1Jaxnf julla qatrzxwa,I miski} catfa maliki. 1 catfa maliki} catfa SUrmanta,I qafrfxwa/a ga-laxxa. HJavat Joni silmanake dasmar 1

1

diirenwa. 1 xa-Ura mattfwa ga-laxxa,I ga-laxxa ger koliwala-u 1 dasmar

INFORMANTR

489

had a rolling pin in his hand and trays were before him, and so forth. They cut up the small pieces (of dough) and pressed them down. Then, when they became like this, they dropped them onto their hands, and so forth, (from) this hand (to) that hand, (from) this hand (to) that hand, until they became like this. Then the baker-woman stuck them (to the oven). (71) One day the baker-woman (who stuck bread to the oven) was ill. Zare did not know (how to stick bread to the oven). She said 'I did not know that it was such a difficult thing.' She stuck on one matza and fell into the oven. They brought the baker-woman out in a wretched state. 27 They said 'How is it that she did not bum? Nothing has happened to her.' She got up and started to make bread again. (72) This was in our community. (Such things) are not found in Israel. In truth, they had faith in the water of the night (to make bread). They had faith in the water of the night. How they cook this food or make it (here), who knows?

Clothes

(73) GK: What did they used to wear? R: They used to wear dresses (that extended down) to here. Jackets and blouses, pants, as they called them, (that extended down) to here. As for a bare sleeve like here, 28 with everything revealed - you should realize that they would kill whoever revealed a single tooth. 29 (They go around) in these (long) sleeves and dresses, (long) sleeves and jackets, even here. (74) GK: What was the difference between Jews and Muslims? R: What was the difference? We did not put on a head-shawl, a headshawl with beads. We did not put on a head shawl. We tied (onto our heads) a piece of fabric, a kerchief, a 'royal' scarf .30 We tied here (onto our heads) the 'royal' scarf, a scarf with glittering threads. But the Muslims would put on a head-shawl. They would place a lira coin here

27 28

29 30

Literally: In a state of having mud on the head. Literally: That revealed sleeve like here, do not they say? Literally: Would they not kill ...... ? I.e. a scarf with a particular design.

490

TEXTS

pu[akad6,r ga-[axxa. (75) H>ava[H jullan }J,arang-ye[u,I qba>e gudrunyel 1

1

sure gudrunye,I qba>e jamane,I sure jamane. farq lltwa, >flla dasmarake 1

1

farq hltwa. >6 dasmar farq hltwalan. ba-d-awa kayenwa silmane. 1

1

(76) GK: daxjulle koliwalu?

1

1

R: dax kolfwalu? xefzwalu. qba>ake xayafa xefiwale. qba>ake labliwala 1

1

1

laga xayafa. >u-suralake-s suralake-s >ana xeranwa,I xalusti xefawa,I 1

1

swawe xefiwa. kenwa fa~riwalu ba-qomu. >u-ja!!aye kolixwa yarixe,

1

mandixwalu ga-bqaran. >e. ba-lha >ana nosi nosi ju/le kalda xi{!a-yan.

1

(77) fa~riwalu ba-qomu. qemiwa ba->aqte,I fa~riwalu ba-qomu, ba-qayci.

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

>ay-ka mattiwalu >a,y qorake. kulle mattiwalu >u-xefzwalu. xef1walu,I 1

1

1

ba-lha >ana nosi n6si julle kalda xirra-yan tlahi qiffe. (78) kulle-s 1

1

1

ba-siraj,I ba-siraj kolanwatu,I xa-xmata laxxa-u xa-xmata doka. xmatake 1

1

1

kolanwala, xmatake kolanwala,I >asxa>e kolanwalu. xa-k-xet5 xmatake 1

1

daryanwala. >awa kolanwal-u xmata daryanwala. daryanwala sura 1

1

katan reza,I >aya surmana.

1

(79) ba-lha. xa-yoma tre-sure xitili.

1

>u-cikma-s yeti hestan? >ista-sar-sinne la-yeli. tre-sure xi(ili katan reza,

1

1

1

1

1

ta >i/ma xalusti. kimra nas lit xeflu, miri melu >ana xefu. xa>u ba-lele 1

1

1

xitali. min-aki Hzixrona-li-vrax~ cay-u 1

1

maye mirdixta >ana tiwan xifli. xif[i,I la-xdirawa k6ra sai/-kalda. yaf1wram :>£zra, Siwan :,Asian,' :,Eliyahu Zablz,

1

:>Awram Deze, Sason Bal:,,rz, gal tati xamsa. (88) waxta tati mll,

1

1

1

1

1

1

ga-Bagdad mil, tall min-gore pil-tex. hiye wa,' y6ma rota hiye wa. gure 1

1

1

hiyen lagew lele sabbat, tiwi :,araq stelu. :>a,raq stelu, skirelu. gurake 1

1

1

1

zUi-wa.' tatf-s qim-g'rne. (89) dwa:,i qim ta-jore-wala. la tue,' skira-yele, 1

1

1

min-gore pil tex. 1 l:zawsan-is' kulle kepela. 1 1:zawsan-is kulle talabardela. 1 :,akra hic-litwa, 1:zawsa rabta! pll, hie /a-hye :>il[ew. la-:,aqlew twiri, 1

1

1

1

1

/a-:,Uew twiri,' hie la-hye-/lew. tati ruwwele, samina. hie la-hye :,illew,' 1

1

1

:,itka jorew qf{e, :>ifka j6re walew. (90) xera min-polisxana talafon-dilu 1

1

1

ta-duxtar Malzk. duxtar Malik hiye, sayir wille, sranqe :,u-mindfxe dile 1

1

1

:,illew.' bfqatta sabbat-is duxtar Hasim hiye. 1 bfqatta-y duxtar Hasim kewa,' :,a#r duxtar Malik kewa, tre duxtare. :,6-s har-ga-sawUa,' nase ken 1

1

:,u-gezi-u tiwa. tiwa l:zaq6y-u tanoye, la-kele jore h61. la-kele jore h61. 1

6

< yarxa-xa-ka.

1

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

495

(86) We used to sew belt-strands for grooms, we used to sew clothes for brides, we used to do things like that, but we did not work outside. None of us dared go outside (the house). We 34 would stay at home, with the door closed, with four or five girls sitting together doing the jobs.

The informant's father (87) My father was a merchant. My father was a chief merchant in Sulemaniyya. He used not to come back (home), but was always in Baghdad. He would come back from Baghdad once a month. Once a month he would come back from Baghdad, he would be with us on Friday, Saturday and Friday, and on Sunday go back to Baghdad. They were four partners. My father had four partners. With my father there were five: 'Awram 'Ezra, Siwan 'Aslan, 'Eliyahu Zabli, 'Awram Deze, Sason Bal}li, with my father there were five. (88) When my father died he died in Baghdad - my father fell down from the roof (in Sulemaniyya). He came back (home to Sulemaniyya), on Friday he came back. Men came to his home on Sabbath eve. They sat and drank arak. They drank arak and became drunk. The men went away and my father went to sleep. (89) Then he got up to urinate. He did not know (what he was doing), he was drunk, he fell down from the roof. Our courtyard was all stones. Our courtyard was all marble slabs. There was nothing like it, an enormous courtyard! He fell, but nothing happened to him. His legs did not break, his hands did not break, nothing happened to him. My father was big and fat. Nothing happened to him, (except that) the place of his urine was cut, the place where he urinated. (90) From the policestation they quickly phoned Dr. Malik. Dr. Malik came, he examined him and gave him injections and the like. On Saturday morning Dr. Hasim came. In the morning Dr. Hasim would come and in the evening Dr. Malik would come. He was all the time in bed. People would come and go and he would sit up. He would sit up talking and telling stories, but he could not pass urine. He could not pass urine. (91) Two days before New

34

Literally: a person.

496

TEXTS

(91) tre-y6me qame ros-sana,I duxtar Malik mire ta-,axonawan,I ta-Mose

,u-David, Hzixronam li-vraxaH,I liibulmunne ta-Bagdad. q1mi lbillu 1

1

1

ta-Bagdad} gal-da,aki bi-xle ,u-tirnu ,axon1. la ba-m1ndix zili,I ba-mindix 1

simmew ma-y samanafar.

zili

1

1

ba-trumbel X$U$l.

1

har-min-Slemani

diwqalu-wa ta-Bagdad. (92) xzelu Umma mityen doka. mffen doka, lbillu 1

1

1

ta-xastaxana Mfr ,Elya,u,I yacni ta-hula,e. 16,a dwiqlu ba-kre-X$U$1. tiwa 1

1

1

madama b-lagew. mindix Hbdiq~ willu. kayenwale kulle. b-Bagdad-yele 1

1

1

tati. kulle kayenwale wa. tiwi ba-lagew. madama tfwa ba-lagew. tiwi 1

1

1

1

ba-lagew. min-tre yome tre-yome qame ros-sana lbWu. (93) doka-yela 1

1

1

da,aki. ,ax6na z6ri hlye-wa,I Mose} Hzixron6 li-vraxa.HJ David pls lagew.

1

David ,ax6na ruww1-yele. David pls lagew. da,aki ,u-David pisi lagew.

1

1

1

1

ia yome. bar-axni xipex >u-xillex, '6ni-s xipi qame 1

1

1

didan, zili-wa ta-Bagdad. >arbannu zili-wa ta-Bagdad. miru ta->axonz, 1

1

1

1

ta-tirnu >ax6ne ruwwiike,I >ax6ni >atta ga-mosav-ye,I >o-zoriike /a>,I zoriike tre-sinne

'u-pilgele,I

>asxa.

miru

1

>axni

1

kex-hawa

ta-yarxa.

1

(JOI) hiyen-awa ta-yarxa,I xale bas6le-u mindixe, 1 >ay-ka,I mar,I m!i.r ba-ma piilewa? hiyen min-Bagdad, >o-mire >illz-ye,I 'o-mire >illz-ye, 1

1

1

'o-mire >illz-ye,I >o-mire >illz-ye. 1 (102) 'axni-s ga-tazya-yelan. 1 mani hezil marake >antele. kulle nase /bU/u. H>ava/H >itkane hftwa[an,I xesar 'itkane 1

1

hftwalan ga-Bagdad. xesar >itkane ga-Bagdad hltwalan. >u-tmanya 1

1

bate-JI hitwalan ga-Slemani. 1 tmanya bate >asxa>i) ga-Slemani hitwalan. 1 (JOJ)>ay-ka hiyen-awa >oni,I miru ta-da>akz ma kolat? mira 'axniixun 1

1

kiiyetun 'ana yali zoren. >ax6ni ga-mosav-ye 'atta tre-sinne >u-pilgele.

1

>ana kiwyanwa yacni tmanya >if:>a-sinne >ana kiwyanwa. >u-xalusta xeti

1

1

1

1

1

1

xamsa sinne[a,I >ista sinne[a,I H>avaf xa/usta rabtf bis-rabte/a min-didf. 1 mira >axniixun kiiyetun. ma koletun? hulmun. (104) H>avaf tre >ax6ne 1

1

1

hlttu. tre >ax6ne ruwwe hittu. >axona bis-zoriike 'il-didan, Mose 1

1

1

1

Hzixrono-li-vraxa,HI >6 ba-Hpe din-at6rc/1 zil ba->urxa. J:iarame la-wille. 1

1

H>avaf >6 xa-xet bis-har ye/e. bis-har-U zarindar-yeie. (105) ma-hftwa 1

>intele.

1

ma-hftwa

1

>intele.

1

1

kaxiita

ga-daftar

1

ga-dena

1

>il-dena

x-ka-awa-ntyale mire qila. ka-ci la qilawa >zntyawale. >fntyawale >axoni, 1

1

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

499

Siml).at Torah. (98) Night and morning, after Siml).at Torah, the people36 who were partners came, the four of them. They went and bought oil, olive oil, various things, dates, and all sorts of other things. They bought everything and put it in a big car. Those four with my mother and my brother came back home (to Sulemaniyya). (99) They came back and we thought that they had brought back also our father. When we looked, (we saw that) my mother wailed and wept. The whole of Sulemaniyya came. 'What is the matter?' 'Oh, >Elyal).ay is dead. >Elyal).ay is dead.' (100) The four (partners) stayed with us for seven days. After we had washed and cleansed ourselves37 - they washed before us and went back to Baghdad. They said to my brother, to both my elder brothers - not the brother of mine who is now in the Moshav, the young one, the young one was two and a half years old, or so. They said 'We shall come back in a month.' ( 101) They came back in a month, there was food and cooking and so forth, then there was the property - how was the property to be divided? They came from Baghdad. This one said 'It belongs to me.' That one said 'It belongs to me.' This one said 'It belongs to me.' That one said 'It belongs to me.' (102) We were in mourning. Whoever went (to the house) would take the property. Everybody took it away. But we had shops, we had eleven shops in Baghdad. We had eleven shops in Baghdad and we also had eight houses in Sulemaniyya. We had eight houses like this in Sulemaniyya. (103) Then they came back and said to my mother 'What will you do?' She said 'You know that my children are small.' My brother who is now in a moshav was two and a half years old. I was about eight or nine years old. My other sister was five years old, six years old, but my elder sister was older than me. She said 'You know. What will you do (for us)? Give (something to us).' (104) But they (i.e. the children) had two brothers. They had two older brothers. One brother, the younger one of ours, Mose of blessed memory, he went on a (straight) path according to the law of the Torah. He did not do bad things. But the other one was more stubborn, he was more stubborn and hard. (105) He took whatever there was. He took whatever there was. The letter in the notebook, which (had the record of) the debt ... he at once took the (record of) the debt away and said 'It has been burnt (and is lost).' But it 36

Literally: 'things.'

37

I.e. at the end of the Shivaxona ruwwi. (106) >ay-ka >axnf ma-holex? yale zoren. 1 da>aki tiwa 1

1

1

ba-resan. b6xew willa-llan. H>avatll >6 waxtara qame tatf [a-pe[wa 1

1

1

min-gare-u 1melwa,I tre taniike >asxa lire zayre 1hiwle ba->iia da>akz. tre 1

1

1

>asxa>e bi-zoda hiwle ta-da>aki,I mire yalax daqiqen mattulu ga->ara. 1

1

1

dwa>i mani bcixew k6llax? 1>u-yalax zoren. >at par(attun-u,I kwattu xale-u 1

male kwattu baqu. (107) >onye >axonawali la-lilu ba>u. >axonawali,I >6 1

1

tre-ruwwe, 1 la-lilu ba-d-onye. >6ni xa-xet mar ba-x-ka7 zil. mar zil, 1

1

1

>itkane zbinnu,I xanci hfwlu baqan. 1bela zbinnu, xanci hiwlu baqan. 1nase 1

>intenUu pare hfwlu baqan. (108) pare-s hltwalan ba-fayfilan. hiwilan 1

1

1

ba->ila nase,I bank litwa. >at hiwlan baqox xanci pare hiwlox baqan. 1

1

1

hfwlan ta-Yose/,1 xanci pare hiwle baqan. pare past-asxa }:iumulu d-ay 1

dinare,I ma-qam-d-awa ga-riiwixwa. 1(109) Hbarux ha-semH r[wex. 1rfwex >u-mi:tex >i/lew. 1Hbe->emeiH >6 >ax6ni Hzixron6 /i-vraxaH rUWWiike 1{la}:ia-ka l-da>aki mire gbe->ezat ta-knista 1w-ila d6yat ba-sefer t6ra ma-hit lagax. 1

1

(110) nase ruwwe la-qbillu. miru milox la-melf} >6-hitla yatume. 1>axni 1

tla}:ia xalusye-yelan >u-xa >axona. >6ni ba-ma biixew xadri? mad-hftta 1

1

1

nosaw-ye. da>aki la swiqla-llan ba-tka,I g6ra la-willa-wa. 1 g6ra 1

la-wzlla-wa. >imtula-llan }:iatta-hyex ta-Yisra>el. 111) xa xalusti ga_cJraq 1

1

(

g6ra willa,I Mixal Hzixrona li-vraxaHI >u->axni ga-laxxa g6ra willan,I 1

>ana-u xalusti-u1>ax6ni baxta mele. 1>6 tre->ax6ne ruwwe 1mili. 1xayu qame tre-sinne mil} Mose. H>ava/H >6 xa-xet qame xamsasar sinne bi-z6da 1

mila-y. 1ga-Ramat ha-Saron-yele.

7

< ba-xa-ka.

1

INFORMANTR

501

had not burnt, he had taken it away. My brother had taken it away, my elder brother. (106) So then, what could we do? The children are young. My mother looked after us. She brought us up. Now, at that time, before my father fell from the roof and died, he put into the hands of my mother two tins like this, (full) of golden liras. He gave two (tins) like this and more to my mother and said 'Your children are young. Put them (the coins) in the ground! Who will look after you in the future? Your children, moreover, are small. You will take them (the coins) out and give them (the children) food and so forth.' (107) Those brothers of mine did not know about them. My brothers, the two older ones, did not know about them. They - other property disappeared at once. The property disappeared. They sold shops and gave some (of the money) to us. They sold a house and gave some (of the money) to us. People took the money and gave it to us. (108) We had money in abundance. We gave it into the keeping of other people. There was no bank. (If, for example,) we gave you money, you would (subsequently) give us some money. (If) we gave money to Joseph, 38 he would give some to us. The money was in packages like this, which carried these dinars (which we received), (put aside) for when we were grown up, (109) God be praised, we grew up. We grew up and came into this (money). Indeed, my older brother, of blessed memory, three times said to my mother 'You should go to the synagogue and should put your hand on the Torah (and declare thus by oath) what you possess.' (110) The leading people, however, did not agree. They said 'For goodness sake,39 she has orphans!' We were three sisters and one brother. How could they be cared for? All that she had was herself. 40 My mother did not leave us anywhere, she did not marry (again). She did not marry, she provided for us before we came to Israel. ( 111) One sister of mine married in Iraq, Mikhal, of blessed memory. But we, I myself and my (other) sister married here, and my brother married (here). The two older brothers of mine have died. One of them, Mose, died two years ago, but the other one died more than fifteen years ago. He was in Ramat ha-Saron.

38 39 40

One of the people present during the interview of the informant. Literally: May your dead not die. I.e. she possessed nothing.

502

TEXTS

Jewelry dewa,I dewa qayna>e tar:fiwale. 1 geziwa saqliwa. 1 >e-walla

(112)

dewa-hi:twa lagan, 1 lulga-u-zre dewanta-u 1 lagire-u 1 plunkedar-u kulle, 1 ku/le dewa ma-hltl ga-/axxa flt} H,avazH /aga didan hltwa. lJ 3) H,avazH 1

(

>Ester xalust1 ga-laxxa trz:f!a,I ga-Ris6n i-Siyon,I >u-lulga-zre dewanta,I 1

>onye >asxa>el >atta-S hltta. qaynaJe Jfraq tir:fi/U,I qaynaJe >Jraq. H,ava[H 1

1

kulle dewa hltwalan ga-,Jraq,I dewa harzan-is, la ha-pare raba, dewa 1

1

>asri. 1

Preparations for winter (114) la-sitwa rizza mattixwa ga-kware. zara mattixwa, taxnixwale. 1

1

1

1

barimye misxa-u barimye dena 1hltwa, mattixwa ta-sitwa. 1:flWe saq[iwa. 1 1

{loxe, mase,I sawar, xi{{e, 1 kulle koliwalu. 1 min-bar sukke koliwa IJ,atta 1

1

1

naxfa naxi/wa. (1J5) hltwa be[al {lahz {acne Jarbz {acne :flWe saqi/wa. 1

1

1

hltwa {lahLI >arbi {acne :flWe saq/iwa. 1 kul/e foq/ixwa. 1 kufle foq/ixwa,I ba-{acne bqatta-ye kenwa,I tmanya Jii?a-{acne zara. geziwa kmenwale. 1

1

(1 I 6) ,ax6na ruwwi gezilwa kmewale. ,ax6na ruwwi xa-g6ra silmana 1

ga->Jraq qfille. ba-laxxa,ew

1

Jakra zarindar-yele.

1

>agar

mare-qiwta-yele.

1

riixiswa

1

1

xa-dabanca ba-laxxa-u

hezilwa

>ariike

Jasxa-re{awa,I

1

tfang Jakra

bqatta xiidirwa gezilwa tmanya >icY1, {acne zara 1

1

siiqilwa. rizza saqilwa. rizzake saqilwale,I kmenwale, 1deqiwale, kwiwale 1

1

1

ba-roxa. xi{{ake har-asxa. (117) b(qatta xiidirwa sa>at xamsa gezilwa 1

1

1

:fiwe,I ba-{acna,I {lahi {acne, >isri {acne, xamsasar {acne. :flWe kenwa 1

1

1

INFORMANTR

503

Jewelry (112) As for gold, goldsmiths would fashion gold. People would go and buy (from them). Yes, indeed there was gold in our community, cylindrical beads on golden chains, ornaments for the forehead with beads. All these types of gold Gewelry) are not found here, but they were found in our community (in Sulemaniyya). (113) My sister, however, made it here, in Rison le-Siyon, a golden chain with cylindrical beads, she still has things like that. The goldsmiths of Iraq made them, the goldsmiths oflraq. We had all types of gold Gewelry) in Iraq, for, indeed, gold was cheap, it did not cost much money. It was pure gold.

Preparations for winter (114) For winter we would put aside rice in large pots. We would put aside wheat, which we would grind. There were jars of clarified butter and jars of oil, which we would put aside. People would buy wood, red lentils, green lentils, burghul, wheat and prepare it all. They prepared it from the end of Sukkot until the rain fell. (115) There were some families who bought thirty or forty bundles of wood, yes, there were some who bought thirty or forty bundles of wood. We would buy everything. We would buy everything. People would come with bundles in the morning, eight or nine bundles of wheat. They would go to fetch it. (116) My elder brother would go to fetch it. My older brother killed a Muslim man in Iraq. He was so tough. He had a pistol here and a rifle on him here. If he walked along, the ground shook like this, he was so strong. When it was morning, he would go and buy eight or nine bundles of wheat. He would buy rice. He would buy the rice and people would bring it and grind it, then put it in the wind (i.e. winnow it). (They would do) the same with wheat. (117) When it was morning, at five o'clock he would go (and buy) wood, in a bundle, thirty bundles, twenty bundles, fifteen bundles. The

TEXTS

504

silmane

mandenwalu

ga-taran.

garsiwalu

1

wa-mattiwalu

1

ga-lo>a

1

ta-sitwa. xaraz har-asxa. >anye >asxa>e hztwalan kulle. dinyadari koliwa 1

1

1

min-bar sukke. min-bar sukke koliwa !Jatta pafire mindixane kwiwalu. 1

(118)

1

sitwa za!Jamta-yele.

1

hltwa gure >itkane hiiwewatu,I hitwa

1

tmanya-yome la-geziwa ta-bazar. la kewalu heziwa, !Jatta-laxxa talga-u 1

1

tzna,I !Jatta-laxxa talga-u fzna-yele. hitwa la kewalu heziwa. manid raba 1

1

raba >flew la hezawa faqlr hiiwewa,I gezilwa xa-mindi siiqilwa ta-yaliike 1

1

>u-kewa-wa. H,avaf >6 dawlamandiike hztwa tmanya-yome [a-geziwa 1

ta-bazar.

1

1

Events in the Jewish community (119) >axni jada hitwalan. >axni >atta >ay jada dax-ya lagan, >axni 1

1

>asxa-yelan,I tara belan >asxa-yele. hu/a>e zili laga !Jakzm. !Jakim 1

>u-!Jukmat hltwalan.

walla

1

xa

1

saray

Malaxi-yela,I top >u-topxane-u caskare-u 1

1

•••

hitwalan,I pilgula

1

Qiryat

ziii, mindixanu mittilu qam 1

1

!Jakim. miru dax willaxun ta-silmane jada >axni-s gbex. >axni-s gbex,I >ay1

1

1

ka hiyen silmane,I hiyen pili gaw-u willu baqan. 1

1

(120) hiyex ta-Yisri:i>el kullu suqlu baqu. ba-lha >axni belan bela didan 1

>u-bela swawan xa-har bela didan-yele 1

1

1 •..

1

xa-g6ra hiye,I la-kayan !fa!Ja

dinare hiwle baqan >agar >arba dinare hiwle baqan ta-,6-bela ruwwa. 1

1

kulle-s ba-carpaye-u ba-dosake )u-ba-mindixe suqlan ba-tka baqu. 1

1

1

INFORMANTR

505

Muslims would bring wood and put it by our door. People would drag it in and put it inside for the winter. (They would do) the same with coal. We had all these things. They would put things in storage from the end of Sukkot. From the end of Sukkot until Passover we would put the things aside. (118) Winter was hard. There were men who had shops. 41 Sometimes they did not go to the market for eight days. They could not go, since there was snow and mud up to here, there was snow and mud up to here. Sometimes people could not go. A person who was very desperate 42 and who was poor, would go and buy something for the children and come back. But the rich people sometimes did not go to the market for eight days.

Events in the Jewish community (119) We had a road. Just as this road is now, we were like that, the door of our house was like that. The Jews went to the governor. We had a governor and government. Indeed, we had a government building, which was half of Kiryat Malakhi (in size), guns and arsenals, soldiers and ... They went and presented their case43 before the governor. They said 'Just as you have made a road for the Muslims, we also want (one), we also want (one).' Then Muslims came, they came and fell (to the task) and made it for us. (120) (When) we came to Israel, people left everything to them (the Muslims). Indeed, our house, our house together with the house of our neighbours, which constituted part of our house - a man came and gave us I do not know whether it was three dinars or four dinars for that big house. We left it all there for them with beds, mattresses and so forth.

41

42 43

I.e. they were wealthy and possessed property. Literally: his hand did not go. Literally: things.

506

TEXTS

Spring (121) hltwa qarda-yela. hitwa naxla-yele. warde-hltwa,I re'J:tane hitwa. 1

1

1

kdwar-U karawze-hltwa. macdanusz-hitwa,I tene-hitwa. kulle. H>avaf 1

1

1

xamuse-u haruje-u koxe laga didan litwa. min->itke-kewa baqan,I 1

1

min->itke-kewa

1

baqan.

1

(122)

1

H>avalH

torye-hitwa,I

>irbe-hitwa,I

>izze-hitwa. macdanuz hltwalan, karawez hltwalan,I kulle hltwalan, pele 1

1

1

hltwalan. 1 >in§e §ilmane kolzwa. 1 hula>e >asxa la koliwale. 1 silmane kolzwa,I gezixwa saqlzxwa ba-pare. >6nye >asxa>e Hkam6 perol1 laga didan litwa. 1

1

1

1

1

(123) min->itka-kewa. 1 min-Zazre kewa,I min-Qaradeze-kewa,I min-Danyi >asxa>e kenwa. H>avalH kaJake >u-!utye silmane koliwa ga->ara Slemanz. 1

1

1

· kolzwalu,I zabnzwa/u. H>avazH xiyare-u trosye-u tamate >onyel kenwa 1

baqan. n6san la koliwalu. 1

1

1

1

1

Summer (124) qe!a rek-yela. qe!a xa-taw ximma-yela xa-taw qarda-yela. waxta 1

1

1

sali'J:tot qarda-yela. >atta dax-ya ga-laxxa ba-laga didan >asxa-yele. '/:tatta 1

1

1

matixwa rosana har ximma-yele. 1

1

1

(125) ba-qeta resa gare ganixwa. resa gare taxtabande-hitwalan,I 1

lablixwa resa gare. 1 gare ga-payja la gezixwa,I palakane-hltwalan ta-gare. ta'J:ttabande mattiwa. hitwa cige doqiwa-wa,I kulla doqiwa-wa 1

1

ba-resa. gezixa resa gare ganzxwa. 1

INFORMANTR

507

Spring

(121) It was sometimes cold. It was sometimes rainy. There were flowers. There were odiferous herbs. There were leeks and celery. There was parsley. There were figs. (There was) everything. But there were no apples, plums or peaches (produced locally) in our community. Such things would come to us from (other) places, they would come to us from other places. (122) But there were cows, there were sheep, there were goats. We had parsley. We had celery. We had everything. We had radishes. Muslim women produced these. The Jews did not produce such things. The Muslims produced them and we would go and take them (in exchange) for money. There were no such things as fruit, however, in our community. (123) They would come from (another) place. They would come from Zazre, they would come from Qaradeze, such things would come from Danyi. The Muslims, however, cultivated melons and watermelons in the land of Sulemaniyya. They produced them and sold them. Small cucumbers, long cucumbers and tomatoes, on the other hand, those would come to us (from outside). People did not produce them themselves in our community.

Summer

(124) The summer was pleasant. In summer sometimes it was hot and sometimes it was cold. At the time of the penitential prayers it was cold. Just as it is now here, so was it there in our community. Until we reached New Year it was invariably hot. (125) In summer we slept on the roof. We had beds on the roof, we would take them onto the roof. We did not go onto the roof by a ladder, but had steps up to the roof. We put out beds. Some people carried mat partitions, they carried everything on their heads. We would go onto the roof to sleep.

TEXTS

508 Water

(126) hltwalan bire. ba-~iwe ma.Je masixnixwa. satle ruwwe hftwalan, 1

1

1

ba-d-6ni masixnixwa. ba-xmare silmane, silmane kmenwalan. hitwa 1

1

1

{laht {acne saqliwa, 1 hltwa Jarbt {acne saqliwa. 1 saqltxwaiu,I ta-sitwa-u ta-qefa. 1maJe masixnixwa, xepiwa. 1(127) HJavalH J:,,ammtim hltwa lagan. 1

J:,,ammame gezzwa,

1

J:,,ammame silmane-yelu, J:,,ammdm lfaji Gani,I

1

1

J:,,ammfim Xalta, J:,,ammfim Surad. kulle Janye-Jasxa,e ba-y6ma rota 1

1

1

xadirwa xamsusab xadirwa,I Jinse kulle da)ake labliwalun-u yalu geziwa 1

1

1

ta-J:,,ammtim xepzwa. 1xa-Jana kwiwa xepiwa-u kenwa-wa. 1

1

Sickness in the Jewish community (128) nasaxe i[twa lagan. 1 Hbe-Jeme~ hltwa tre-sinne x-ka 8 xa-nasa

melwa,I mar6tu paqyawa. basor hltwa ga-Jfrfiq. ga-Jenu marenwa,I 1

1

geziwa laga duxtar. ham-qefa xadirwa Jay-waxtara,I sala doqiwa retfwa 1

1

1

geziwa ta-xastaxana. (129) maJe smoqe, maJe sm6qe kwfwalu marire 1

1

marire. 1 HJava/H nasaxf ga-lagan i[twa. 1 /a,J_I tre-sinne-x-ka, 19 sata-x-ka xa-melwa, kullu kimriwa hay-hawar mt-ma mila-y? mt-ma mila-y? ma 1

1

1

hitwale? HJavalH Jasma hltwa /agan. hanasu rakwawa,I ham sahltwa. 1

HJava[H nasaxf i[twa /agan.

ava[H '6d nasa yacni 1

1

n6sew ga-'iilelu-wa,I dawlamandake.

1

(

133) dawlamande rekake 'fnja 1

zadrUu ta-lixle. zadrfwalu-wa ta-lixle. gezfwa resa xlulyu. pare kwfwa,I 1

1

1

t6pe jamana lablfwa,I t6pe gudrunye lablfwa,I t6pe xamake lablfwa. {acne 1

kolfwa lablfwalu ta-kalda-u }:tatan.

1

(134) silmane xlula rek kolfwa. 1 xlula-s rek koliwa manga hulaye. 1'6ni-s

kenwa, 1 ba-mindixane kmenwalan,I ba-rek-u pekz. 1 '6ni xala dfdan kixliwale. H'avazH '6ni ga-hamrfwa halmun ta-xlulan,I hulaye xala 1

silmanake la kixliwale. 1 behe mattiwalu,I xurma mattiwatu,I masta mattiwalu. 1 'anye 'asxa'e mattfwalu ga-haxliwa. 1 goze mattiwatu,I sede mattiwa[u. 1hor-xa[a si[mane [a-kixlzxwa[e. H>avazH si/manake kenwal [aga 1

dfdan ta-xlula-u ta-mindixe, 1xalan kixliwale. 1

INFORMANTR

511

Relations of the Jews with Muslims and Christians (130) There were no Christians (in our quarter). There was one house among five in our community, but they were far away. The Muslims were far away. People would go to them in a carriage or they would go in a car. But at the time when our Passover took place, the feast of unleavened bread, they would come (to us), (when) Passover had finished. ( 13 1) They brought us gifts. They brought us bread. They brought us green onions, yoghurt and honey, that is leavened food, and we would send back to them all types of kosher food, nuts, almonds, dates. They put them on a tray and took them to rich people. The rich people sent (gifts of food) to other rich people, and they all sent (gifts) back. There were not many really poor people in our community. In all there were scarcely twenty poor people in our community. Such people were without a mother and without a father, that is there was nobody to look after them. (132) It was good (to live) together. They (the Muslims) would come to weddings. (The Jews) would invite them. They would send them a letter, yes, they indeed would send them a letter, saying 'Come to the wedding.' They, the Muslims, did the same regarding the Jews. The Jews did the same regarding the Muslims, but (this applied) to somebody who knew them himself, i.e. the rich person. (133) The fine rich people, then, would send them (i.e. letters of invitation) to one another. They would send them back to one another. They would go to their weddings. They would give money (as gifts). They would take rolls of striped material. They would take rolls of embroidered material. They would take rolls of silk fabric. They would make bundles and take them to the bride and groom. (134) The Muslims would have fine weddings. They would have fine weddings like the Jews. They would come and bring us fine and splendid things. They would eat our food. But when they said 'Come to our wedding', the Jews did not eat the food of the Muslims. They would serve them eggs, they would serve them dates, they would serve them yoghurt. They would serve them such things so that they could eat. They would serve them nuts, they would serve them almonds. We never used to eat the food of the Muslims. But (when) the Muslims came to us, to a wedding or the like, they would eat our food.

512

TEXTS

Events at a wedding

(135) xlula br6na >axoni

IJ,awsan rabta-yela. >axoni, ma hamran? >6d

1 -

1

ga-kimranwa zarinda-y. miru ma holex? cµm 1

1

1

1

zU ta-saray,

Lele IJ,anna,

1

1

>isri polise mele. samxiwa,I >inse nandenwa. kimriwa nakun xa-mindi 1

1

xddir >illu. 136) y6ma sabbat-i'f' bi-zoda p6lise mele. tre dhor-u-zorna>e 1 (

1

1

hitwalan. tre dhor-u-zorna>e. gure skire resa gare, xa-br6na jwanqa 1

1

1

1

xa-sisa >araq dyale l-xa br6na xet. har min-l{vc:d >aqlew pila dimma,I 1

slixa, IJ,atta mindix. 1

1

(

1

137) xera xera,I >intulu ga->arabana-u lbillu

ta-xastaxana. >i[billu ta-xastaxana, ga-d6ka xitalu-wa baqew. >6ni 1

1

1

dhor-u-zornake pakkaw la-pil, har-diqa. har-ninden, p6lise smixe baru,I 1

1

1

ka-hic-la >oli >ii->inse hulaye silmane. silmane hiyen tex. manid >it-axoni 1

1

1

>a/ewa-wa,I kulle hiyen tex, min-garaka silmane hiyen ta-garaka hulaye. 1

1

The rabbis of the community (138) >arba xamsa mcie,

1

rek-yelu

ma/slJ,aq. tlalJ,a maclim 1

1

1

>[slJ,aq hitwalan doka. ga-knista qrawa lftwa. hara lftwa. manit barixwa 1

1

1

pare barixwa,I >izyo hamriwa,I >izyo,I qemi ta-sefer.

1

(

1

139) waxtara

ba-rupyelu, rupye, ham dinare. xa dinar barixwa, tre dinare barixwa,I 1

1

1

1

ta-faqire. waxta-s ga-hiyex ta->Ere$-Yisra>ef, faqire pare litwa henwa 1

1

ta->Ere$-Yisra>ef. min-knisye-hiwlu baqu. min-knisye-hiwlu baqu. ti!IJ,a 1

1

1

>arba ruwwe ruwwe tzwi. bi-xle dax-tiwi, >anye tfwi majlis. mfru 1

>ay-pare

1

1

ma-mindix holexilu?

ta->Ere$-Yisra>e/.

1

1

1

>ay faqfra

1

rawana

kolexilu

1

hezi

INFORMANTR

513

Events at a wedding

(135) The wedding of the son of my brother: Our courtyard was large. My brother - what should I say? - the one whom I was just saying was tough, people said (to him) 'What should we do?' He got up and went to the government building, on the henna night, and brought twenty policemen. They stood (guard), while the women were dancing. They said (this was done) lest something happen to them. (136) On the Sabbath he brought more police. We had two groups playing the drum and pipe, two groups playing the drum and pipe. While the men were drunk on the roof, a youth threw a bottle of arak at another youth. His leg bled, it was tom open, all the way from here up to what-do-you-call-it? (137) Quickly, they put him in a carriage and took him to the hospital. They took him to the hospital and there sewed it up again for him. The drum and pipe music did not stop, but continued to be played. They continued dancing, while the police stood behind them, so that the Muslims would do nothing to the Jewish women. The Muslims came down (to attend the wedding). All those who knew my brother came down, they came from the Muslim quarter to the Jewish quarter.

The rabbis of the community

(138) We had four or five rabbis. They were good to the community. We had beadles. We had three synagogues. Indeed, we had three synagogues. Yes, the rabbis were good. Rabbi Mose, Rabbi Rafa'el, Rabbi 'Isl}aq we had three Rabbi 'lsl}aqs there. There was no conflict in the synagogue. There was no disturbance. Whoever made a blessing, blessed money, they would say that today they would go up to (read) the Torah. (139) At that time they (did so) for rupya coins, also for dinars. They would bless one dinar, or bless two dinars for the poor. When we came to the Land of Israel, the poor did not have money to come to the Land of Israel. They gave them money from the synagogues. Three or four important people sat. They sat in a meeting, as people did. They said 'What should we do with this money? We shall make this poor man (and others like him) envoys in order for them to go to the Land of Israel.'

514

TEXTS

The building of a Jewish school (140) maktab hitwalan, 1 maktab-i silmane, 1 )atta dax kimri bet-sefer. 1

maktab-i silmane hitwalan, yalan gezfwa ta-doka. dwa)i )ayka nase 1

1

1

ruwwe Slemani la qbfllu. mfru tama silmane hawelu maktab w-axni 1

1

la-hiiwelan? (141) baqa didiin-i§' maktab trz.ylu. maktab trz.ylu,I yalan 1

1

kulle zW. yale )axon1, yale xalusa,I kulle zili ta-maktab-i hulaye. )atta 1

1

1

Tel-Abfb dax-ya,I RalJ,ov6t dax-ya,I Slemanfyya )asxa-yela. w-axni ga-cori 1

la-yelan.

)axni IJ,akim-u-lJ,ukmat hitwalan. )axni kahraba hitwalan.

1

1

)arbimma, xams1mma bate hulaye-yelan. 1

1

1

Aghas and Muslim officials (142) )age-s hitwa. 1 )age hitwa1 silmane. 1 qrawa la-kolfwa. 1 )axni m1ndix

hitwalan, !J,akzm,I dax-atta kimr1 Hros-memsa/iJl,I Jasxa-hitwa/an. saray 1

1

1

hitwalan. t6p-u topxane hitwalan. walla Kani )Askan tlalJ,a-mma,I 1

1

1

)arba-mma )askare hitwa. qayim-mqam hitwalan. )imtasarrif hitwalan. 1

walla

t6p-u

topxane

1

hitwalan.

1

saray

hitwalan.

polise

1

1

smixe

ba-tfanga-hawa. nas la-merwa hezflwa lo)a. mani skayta-u skaytakarf 1

hawewa gezfl laga IJ,akzm. 1

1

1

Elopement of a Jewish girl with a Muslim (143) wall-axni laga didan, )od-ana fami-ye, xa-brata msflma,I wfra 1

1

ta-silmane. )6-s da)aka litwala. xa-brata da)aka litwala. baba hitwala. 1

1

1

1

1

babake-s yo/ni xancifaqir-yele. )e, gezflwa ta-bazdr. )ax6ne hitwala,I tre 1

1

1

1

)ax6ne hitwala,I )u-tre xalusye. n6saw ma willa? simmaw Nacimele. 1

1

1

INFORMANTR

515

The building ofa Jewish school (140) We had a school, the school of the Muslims, a bet-sefer as they say now. We had the school of the Muslims and our children would go there. Then the leading (Jewish) people of Sulemaniyya did not accept this. They said 'Why should the Muslims have a school while we do not have one?' (141) So, they built a school also for us. They built a school and all our children went there. The children of my brother, the children of my sister, they all went to the school of the Jews. Like Tel-Aviv is now, like Rel;iovot is, so was Sulemaniyya. We were not living in the desert. We had a governor and a government. We had electricity. We were four hundred or five hundred Jewish families.

Aghas and Muslim officials (142) There were also aghas. There were Muslim aghas. They did not make war. We had what-do-you-call-it, a governor, as they say now 'prime minister', we used to have the same. We had a government building. We had guns and arsenals. Indeed, at Kani >Askan47 there were three or four hundred soldiers. We had a deputy. We had an officer. Yes, we had guns and arsenals. We had a government building. Police would stand there with a gun. Nobody would dare enter inside. Whoever had a complaint or wished to make a claim would go to the governor.

Elopement ofa Jewish girl with a Muslim (143) In our community, as far as I remember, one girl converted to Islam, went over to the Muslims. She had no mother. (She was) a girl who had no mother. She had a father. The father was rather poor. Yes, he used to go to (work) in the market. She had brothers, she had two brothers and two sisters. What did she herself do? Her name was Na'ima.

47

The Kani 'Askan is a river in the vicinity of Sulemaniyya.

516

TEXTS

(144) zUa, karakiir yela,I wira ta-xa-bela ruwwa,I be/a ruwwa hula,a. 1

1

jwanqa silmana izq ,illaw. jwanqa silmana izq ,il-d-o Nailaw 1

1

1

1

1

diwqale, liblale belu. (170) liblale belu,I baxtew mira >aya may-ye? >aya 1

1

1

1

ma-myalox? mire >ifha min-simme mindyale baqi tex. J:iii,J-u mas>ala-ya. 1

1

:fanaxla. f:iasta hola-u >axla. mira tab. 1

1

1

(

1

171) xa-br6na-s

hftte,I Jo g6ra har-xa brana-hitte. 1 blane la-kiiyan hltte halla. 1 brata-u br6na rek-pili bz-xle. mire ta-br6nake 'agar gbWa,I 'agnawa nase 1

1

daat kayet. mire 1

1

1

1

madam >ana kdyena,I yaagar >6 zila laga Miryam.

1

1

1

1

1

(174) yale mamaw ga-Netanya Naf:ium xzelox,I Nisim br6na Mixa'el Barna>z,I Jinja bronew ga-Netanya-yele. Jana bronake, 'ana tre-brone 1

1

xetew, Sawmel-u JAfi-u Yam-'[ob Jana ga-Kafar Yana xzenili. mira 1

1

1

xalusta hitti. ga-Ifalabja g6ra wilwala. g6raw simmew >asxa-y. dax 1

1

1

Jo-hita-ya min-Ifalabja,I la hita-ya. (175) bqfrra min-nase. miru 0 6 1

1

INFORMANTR

525

converted to Islam (to marry) a ):laji (after the death of the husband). The two daughters, Galawis and Salima, remained alive. She said 'Should I not go? By God, tomorrow I shall set out, in the morning, I shall not let anybody know. I shall go to the (bus and taxi) garage. From the garage there are cars in which I shall go to Karkuk. From Karkuk I shall be able to go to Baghdad.' (169) She set off and went to Karkuk. From Karkuk she went to Baghdad. She alighted (from the train) and God sent to her that man. He said to her 'What are you doing?' She looks and looks at him like this. He said 'Your mother? Your father?' She said 'I have nobody.' He took hold of her hand and took her to their home. (170) When he took her to their home, his wife said 'Who is this? Why have you brought this woman?' He said 'God sent her to me down from heaven. Such-and-such happened. Let her do service (here) and eat. Let her work and eat.' She said 'Fine.' (171) He had a son. The man had only one son. I do not know whether he had daughters or not. The girl and the boy got on well together. He said to the boy 'If you love her (fine), if not (other) people will make suit for her. I shall give her away in marriage. It is a duty.' (172) He said 'You know.' He said 'So long as I know that you love her (that is fine).' He arranged a wedding for her. They brought Na'ima along with them to the Land of Israel. There remained (in Iraq) a sister of hers, Miryam. She was in }:Ialabja. After a few years, it was (became known) concerning her sister Miryam that she had converted to Islam, that is in Sulemaniyya she had gone over to the Muslims. (173) She did not know that she (Na'ima) had come to the Land of Israel. She (Miryam) said (when she herself came to Israel) 'I had a sister. The story is such-and-such. She is like this.' They said 'Yes, she is here, she is here.' I do not know whether Miryam went to her or whether she went to Miryam. (174) Na):lum, [the informant addresses her husbandJ you saw the children of her paternal uncle in Netanya, Nisim the son of Mixa>el Bama>i, his son then was in Netanya. I saw the son and his two other sons, Sawmel >Afi and Yorn-Toh, in Kefar Yonah. She (Na'ima) said 'I have a sister. She got married in }:Ialabja. Her husband's name is suchand-such. (I do not know) whether she has come (to Israel) from }:Ialabja or not. 57 (175) She asked people. They said 'She has come.' The sister, 57

Literally: How has she come from l;[alabja (or) she has not come.

526

TEXTS

hita-ya. ham xalustake Miryam zfla laga Nacima. ham Nacima zfla laga 1

1

Miryam. dwaJi zfla laga yale mamaw. m-yale mamaw bqirra mira 1

1

ga-leka-y? zila laga mamaw. mira ta-mamaw Jagar luwatoJ Jana 1

1

kreJaxun kwanwale Jaxnaxun hezetuwa ta-Jare$,I hamitwali. (176) mire 1

1

dax-hiyat? pisat ba-tka. mira zflan be-Salomo Lacazar. baxta Salomo 1

1

1

Lacazar msUma. pisi Galawis-u Salzma. Joni zili gal-daJaku. xa-lela 1

1

1

xayyti.al willi, miri la qeman-ana hezan-ana? (177) brqatta-y hay 1

1

qimana,I qiman zflan ta-garaj. zflan ta-Karkuk. 1 min-Karkuk hiyan 1

ta-Bagdad. xa-gora lbille-lli. xa-g6ra lbille-lli, mire b-laxxa hawya. 1

1

1

$anca k6la-u kixla. dwaJi gora willi ba-bronew. 1

1

1

The death of the informant's grandmother

(178) daJaka daJaki Jfmma-u Jisrz sinnela. ga-Jare$ mfla, ga-laxxa. walla 1

1

1

1

tiwa-u mila Jasxa, tiwa-u mila, la nasdx, la hic. miru maJe qityen 1

1

1

1

m'i-mosav. qimi J6-u daJak"i, qimi ma>e >anten,I ga-satfe. (179) mira 1

1

1

hiyex-awa tiwex,I >o-tiwa resa carpa'ake, xa-carpa ga-tara, >u->ana-s 1

1

tiwan doka. tiwan doka, mira sayr kolan, mira ta-da'aki xa-c6ra ma'e 1

1

1

1

jamuze meli! kimra qiman maJe meli baqaw. bi-xle ma'e ntelan. hiya 1

1

1

1

tiwa 'asxa. mira xa-cora ma>e jamuze meli satyan. 180) kimra qiman 1

1 (

xa-sisa meli, ma'e jamuze hiwli baqaw. tiwa. mira 'agar sayr kolan 1

1

1

xazyan mUa. b'i-'ilha,I ma holan ga-mosav? nase-s 1

1

lu.

1

xapxoli-yan.

1

qiman 'irqali. >irqali ta-dasta. birya b:t. brata xalusti min-dasta kyawa,I 1

1

1

1

nawagtaw. 181) mira Le'a Le>a! heka da>akax? mira zila ta-tkana saqla 1

(

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

527

Miryam, went to Na'ima and Na'ima went to Miryam. Then she went to the children of her paternal uncle. She asked the children of her paternal uncle saying 'Where is he?' Then she went to her uncle. She said to her uncle 'If you did not have (money), I would have paid your fare for you all to come Israel, and for you to bring me.' (176) He said 'How did you come? You remained there.' She said 'I went to the house of Salomo La'azar. The wife of Salomo La'azar converted to Islam. (The daughters) Galawis and Salima remained (after the death of their father). They went with their mother. One night I thought to myself and said "Should I not set off and go away?" (177) Early in the morning I set off, I set off and went to the (bus and taxi) garage. I went to Karkuk. From Karkuk I came to Baghdad. A man took me in. A man took me in and said "Let her stay here. She will do service and (have food to) eat." Then I married his son.'

The death of the informant's grandmother

(178) The mother of my mother was a hundred and twenty years old. She died in the Land of Israel, here. Yes, she sat down and died, like this. [informant puts her head back] She sat down and died, she was not ill or anything. They said 'The water has been cut off from the moshav.' So, she and my mother set off, they set off to fetch water in buckets. (179) She (my mother) said 'We came back and sat down. She sat on the bed, a bed that was outside, and I also sat there. I sat there,' she (my mother) said 'to keep an eye on her.' 58 She (my grandmother) said to my mother 'Bring me a little cold water!' She (my mother) says 'I got up and brought water to her. We fetched water together. She (my grandmother) came and sat down like this. She said "Bring me a little cold water for me to drink"' (180) She (my mother) says 'I got up and brought a bottle and gave her cold water. She sat back.' She (my mother) said 'When I look, I see that she has died. By God, what can I do in the moshav? There is nobody. I am alone. I got up and ran. I ran to the field, but there was not a soul.' (At that point) the daughter of my sister, her (my mother's) granddaughter, was coming out of the field. (181) She said 'Leah, Leah, where is your mother?' She said 'She has gone to the shop to buy things.' 58

Literally: I look.

528

TEXTS

mindixane. mira /1:,,ruqla, se-marra, mar-Na'omi mUa,I nane mUa. mira 1

1

1

1

Jatta xizyali. ma mfla!. mira bCtro JCtruqla baraw! (182) qima zila baraw.

1

mira ta-daJakaw halax. mira may-ye? mira walla nane mzla. dax mUa?

1

Jana b'{qatta xizyali. mira mUa. Jay-xalusti mfra t-6-xalusta xeti,I hiyen.

1

hiyen bdelu ha-hara-hara wala-u b-cirike-u

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Jo-ginya

1

mginyalu.

(183) mginyalu, hestan la milta-ya_l xanci hanasaw pista-ya. hanasaw 1

1

pista-ya. J6 Zele xlula br6na xalusti xeti yeta,I ga-JA.sqelon. bPUha, dax 1

1

1

Jezex? 1 Jaxoni-u 1 gal-yale xalusyzl qfmi zUi. hfyen tfwex resaw. 1 bdelu 1

ba-Z6har qaroJe, IJ,atta Jax6ni hiye-wa, xa-Jena har plixta. 184) xa-Jena 1

1

1 (

plixta,I hiye wa. hiye-wa mi-xluta,I min-JAsqelon. miru hiyen-awa. Jax6ni 1

1

1

Jilaw diwqale, 1 mire nane, nane, Jana hiyena-wa. 1 nane kmfr Jenake mcimala :>u-mUa. Jimma-u :,isri sinne-yela,I :,imma-u :>isri. (185) limma 1

1

1

mUa? y6ma ga-gezi ta-Meron mUa. Jotobus dwiqlu, :,otobusake zila 1

1

1

1

ta-Meron. bPUha,I ma hoU? Jfnja kulle-ka kimriwa nane labffxilax 1

1

1

Yerusalayim laga David ha-melex. kimrawa la. 1

ga-trumbel.

1

limma-d mUan,

la-meran yatwan

1

ldbilmuli Yerusalayim.

1

1

limma milan

ldbilmuli Yerusalayim, :>atta la-gezan laga David ha-melex. (186) qimi 1

1

talaf6n dilu ta-xevra qadisa Yerusalayim. miru IJ,til-u mas:>a/a. Jaya 1

1

xa-baxta lele mila. q6re hlttaxun halla? mire mazalaw xa-qora hittan.

1

ba-cikma sinne? mire :>imma-u :,isri kiwya. :,imma-u :,isri kiwya.

1

1

1

1

1

(187) mire yale male? 1 mire :>axni nawagaw-yex. 1 yale d-yalaw-yex. 1

xa-brata hltta. har da:>aki-hztwala. mire limma kmetula? mire limma 1

1

1

1

kimretun,I :>6,xni kmfxUa. walla, mire sa'at tre-sar memida. 188) sa'at 1

1

1 (

tre-sar trumbele la-labli ba-JUa,I kulle zili ta-Meron. m6sav ManulJ,a-s 1

kulla gezi ta-Yerusalayim. ba-:>Uha, ma hoU? :>Ezra Hmazki/1 mire :>A.bid} 1

1

1

1

INFORMANTR

529

She said 'Run, go and tell her, say that Na'omi has died, Grandma has died.' She said 'I have just seen her. What do you mean "She has died"'? She said 'Go and run after her!' (182) She set off and went after her. She said to her mother 'Come!' She said 'What is the matter?' She said 'Oh, Grandma has died.' 'How could she have died? I saw her this morning.' She said 'She has died.' This sister of mine told my other sister and they came. They came and began wailing and shouting, but (it turned out that) she had fallen asleep and so they let her sleep. (183) They let her sleep, for she was not yet dead. Some of her breath remained. Her breath remained. On that night the wedding of the son of my other sister took place in Ashkelon. My brother together with the children of my sisters set off and went there. People came and we sat by her. They began reading the Zohar and she kept one eye open all the time until my brother came back. ( 184) She had one eye open and then he came back. He came back from the wedding, from Ashkelon. They said 'They have come back.' My brother held her hand and said 'Grandma, Grandma, I have come back.' When he says 'Grandma', she closed the eye and died. She was a hundred and twenty years old, a hundred and twenty. (185) When did she die? She died on the day that they go to Meron. 59 They took a bus and the bus went to Meron. By God, what should they do? Now, they always used to say 'Grandma, we shall take you to Jerusalem, to the place of King David.' She would say 'No. I dare not sit in a car. When I die, take me to Jerusalem. When I die take me to Jerusalem, I shall not go now to the place of King David.' ( 186) They telephoned the undertakers in

Jerusalem. They said 'The situation is such-and-such. A woman has died in the night. Do you have (empty) graves or not? He said 'She is lucky, we have a grave. How old is she?' He said 'She is a hundred and twenty. She is a hundred and twenty.' (187) He said '(Does she have) children and other relatives?' He said 'We are her grandchildren. We are the children of her children. She has a daughter.' She only had my mother. He said 'When will you bring her?' He said 'We shall bring her when you tell us to.' 'Well,' he said 'bring her at twelve o'clock.' (188) But at twelve o'clock they could not get hold of any cars, since everybody had gone to Meron. The whole of the moshav of Menul).a (who had not gone to Meron) were (intending to) go to Jerusalem. By God, what should they 59

I.e. at Lag ba-azkara,I cikma pare. (195) xa sata >asxa wille, xevra 1

1

qaddz'sa. xevra qaddis xa sata >asxa willu. yarxa-x-ka geziwa,I tre 1

1

yarxe-x-ka} f[a}Ja-x-ka geziwa. xa-sata bar-sata zili. mire mat-xirjet, 1

1

1

ba-hararz,I zoda kwTxilox,I basor la-kwTxilox. mire hawa rasima-ya. hawa 1

1

rasimaxun-ye. kulle res-yarxa >azkara willan baqaw. >imma-u >isri 1

sinnela.

1

1

1

(196) >6 gezawa >inse masitXiWa. manga H>a}JotH yela,I H>avalH Xa-filis 1

pare la doqawa. lele xadirwa tre kenwa baraw. lele xadirwa fla}Ja kenwa 1

1

baraw. >atta >6 Marsel, Marsel-u Yacqob, 1

1

>ifaw hiyen. g6ra-s wWu,I zila lagu.

1

-

>atta doka-ylaxun

1 -

resa

197) >e,I filsi pare la-doqawa.

1

kimrawa ta-ma~wa nosi k6lan. mani d-melwa, gezawa xallawale.

1

1

1

(

1

1

>e-walla, mile xallawa,I kraxa xefawa. Zele hltwa f[a}Ja >arba kenwa 1

1

1

baraw. kimriwa >awa br6na xzela. >awa brata xzela. xera qulax halax. 1

1

1

1

Malicious neighbours (198) >inja hftwa lagan swawe. swawe hltwa lagan jigru kenwa minnan. 1

1

1

1

da>aki-s kasaw zmafa! f[a}Ja blane da>aki hitwala,I yacni,I tati br6ne 1

hltwale,I tre-brone hltwale, H>ava!H da>akf lltwala. zUa,I mira ta-xa-baxta 1

1

swawtan: >at kayat? mira may-ye? mira Sara xa-brata ba-}Jnaqta 1

1

1

xizyala. (199) zita,I mira da>a,I mira walla xa-brata ba-}Jnaqta xizyala. >6 1

1

INFORMANTR

533

down how much is spent for such a memorial, how much money.' (195) The undertakers did this for a year. The undertakers did this for a year. Once a month they used to go (there from the moshav), once every two months, once every three they would go. They went year after year. He (my brother) said 'Whatever you have spent, truly we shall give you more, we shall not give you less.' He said 'Here is the list, here is your list.' Every beginning of the month we made a memorial for her. She was a hundred and twenty years old. (196) She used to go (and help when) women were giving birth. She was like a nurse, but she did not take a penny in money. When it was night, two people would come (looking) for her. When it was night, three people would come (looking) for her. Now, Marcelle, Marcelle and Ya'qob - you have just been there (to their home) - were brought into the world by her. 64 When people married, she went to them. (197) Yes, she did not take a penny in money. She would say 'I am doing it as a good deed to my credit.' Whenever somebody died, she would go and wash him. Indeed, she would wash dead people and she would sew a shroud. At night sometimes three or four people came (asking) for her. They would say 'This one has given birth to a boy. This one has given birth to a girl. Quickly, get up and come (to help)!'

Malicious neighbours

(198) Now, we had some neighbours. We had some neighbours who disliked us. (At that time) my mother was pregnant. 65 My mother had three daughters, that is my father had sons, he had two sons, but my mother had none. She66 went and said to a woman who was a neighbour of ours 'Do you know?' She said 'What is the matter?' She said 'Sarah has given birth to a dead girl.' 67 (199) She went and said 'Mummy', she said 'By God, she has given birth to a dead daughter.' That girl went and

64 65 66 67

Literally: They crune onto her hand. Literally: Her belly was full. I.e. a girl from the neighbours who disliked them. Literally: Sarah has seen a girl (afflicted) with throttling.

TEXTS

534

brata qima zila mira ta-da)akaw. da)akaw xizma-didan-ya. mira day. 1

1

1

mira ha. mira )at kiiyat? mira may-ye. mira ba-lha, Sara xa-brata 1

1

1

1

ba-1:znaqta xzitaw-ya. mira dax?! mira )atxa. mani mire? mira Dina 1

1

1

1

mira. (200) da)akiike hiya lagan. da)akiike hiya lagan, tre {lal:za yome 1

1

1

1

qame Lalange,I da)aki smixta,I kasaw zma{a, xalusti-u ta-)axonawali julle 1

1

xalli. mira ta-soti kdyat ma, Sara mistixta-ya. walla Dina-mira xa-brata 1

1

1

1

ba-'f:maqta xizyala. mira ta-mani? mira ta-Mixal. (201) qima s6ti zila 1

laga

Jfj

1

1

brata. wilalu qrawa,1 xa-l-xa qfillu. miru dax mirax xa-brata 1

1

ba-1:znaqta xizyala? xor-la mistixta-ya. da)aki ma-willa da)akz,I )ilha 1

1

1

miinzxla? qzma yoma Lalange, yoma Lalange zane-hiyen )illaw. tati 1

1

1

1

1

ga-Bagdad-ye. (202) yoma Lalange zane-hiyen )Ulaw, m'rsitxa y6ma 1

1

sabbat-ye. y6ma sabbat-ye, br6na xzela. bar till:za-blane Sara br6na 1

1

1

xzita-ya. mani jwtih hiiwil ta-Bagdad? tati ga-Bagdad-ye. (203) )ax6ni 1

1

1

zll ta-saray. talaf6n dile ta-d-6 sarike tatz ga-het-awa )Ulel. )intu 1

1

1

samandafar. Sara br6na xzela. ba-lele, tati 1

1

1

1

tlw ga-samandafar,

1

bfqatta

xsaba hiye-wa ta-Sulemanz,1 ga-da)aki br6na xzela. br6na xzela,I Hbarux 1

ha-serrt, mira wWu, tati zll-awa ta-Bagdad. 1

1

1

(204) tati zfl-awa ta-Bagdad. bratiike ga-mira brata ba-1:znaqta xzela,

1

)o-brata g6ra willa. )6 brata g6ra wuta,I g6raw simmew lfezqel-yele.

1

1

1

1

raba bratiike jwan-yela. goriike-s jwan-yele. g6ra willa,I xmaliike 1

1

la-)ibyala. kaldiike la-Jibyala. kul-yoma qrawe yela. (205) qima, kaldiike 1

1

1

1

hamrex,I Dina kasaw zmafa-ya,I hiya-wa laga daJakaw. hiya-wa laga 1

daJakaw,I tlwa.l Dfna-s kasaw zmafa-ya. g6riike ke-lagaw. kulle lele 1

1

g6riike ke-lagaw,I mindixane kmela,I mindix kolla. lele sabbat mistxa. lele 1

1

INFORMANTR

535

told her mother. Her mother was a relative of ours. She said 'Mummy.' She said 'Yes.' She said 'Do you know?' She said 'What is the matter?' She said 'By God, Sarah has given birth to a dead daughter.' She said 'How (could that be)?!' She said 'It is so.' 'Who said so?' She said 'Dinah said so.' (200) The mother came to our house. The mother came to our house, two or three days before Purim. My mother was standing, pregnant, (together with) my sister, while they were washing clothes for my brothers. She said to my grandmother 'You know what, Sarah has given birth. Oh, Dinah has said that she has given birth to a dead girl.' 'To whom did she say this?' 'She said this to Mikhal.' (201) My grandmother got up and went to that girl. They had a battle and (almost) killed one another. They said 'How could you say that she has given birth to a dead daughter? In truth, she has not yet given birth.' My mother, what did my mother do? She got up on the day of Purim, on the day of Purim, and labour pains came upon her. My father was in Baghdad. (202) On the day of Purim labour pains came upon her and she gave birth on Saturday. On Saturday, she gave birth to a boy. After three girls Sarah had given birth to a boy. Who could give a message to Baghdad? My father was in Baghdad. (203) My brother went to the government office. He telephoned the partners of my father (with the message): 'You must come back tonight. Take the train. Sarah has given birth to a son.' At night my father sat in the train and on Sunday morning he came back to Sulemaniyya, where my mother had given birth to a son. The Lord be blessed, they performed the circumcision and my father went back to Baghdad. (204) My father went back to Baghdad. Now, the girl who said that she had given birth to a dead daughter, that girl married. That girl married, her husband was called I:Iezqel. The girl was very beautiful. The husband also was handsome. When she married, the mother-in-law did not like her. She did not like the daughter-in-law. There were arguments every day. (205) She got up, that is68 the daughter-in-law, Dinah, while she was pregnant, and went back to her mother. She went back to her mother and lived (with her). Dinah was pregnant. The husband came to her. Every night the husband came to her, brought things for her and did something 68

Literally: Let us say.

TEXTS

536

sabbat mistxa,I do/akaw hiya bar-soti. (206) >axni swawe-yelan,I manga 1

1

d-anye. hiya bar-soti, kimra: Dina mastoxa-ya. da>ak1-u sot1-u baxta 1

1

1

1

1

1

>ax6ni qimi zili. >itha mindix wUle-llaw. mfstxa xa-brata ba-J;naqta 1

1

1

xizyala. (207) dax-d-mira ta-da>aki brata ba-J;naqta xzelax, bar taltasar 1

1

sinne,I bar taltasar-sinne >6 xa-brata ba-J;naqta xizyala. >axoni tfilzn dlle. 1

>i[ha mzre: dax mirax ta-d-6, >at brata ba-J;naqta xazyat. bratake 1

1

1

ba-J;naqta xizyala Zele sabbat. (208) qimi kirxalu-wa, mittalu xela 1

1

xa-fast. waxta d-mittalu ga-swila,I bratake,I da>akaw mzra, da>akaw 1

1

simmaw Ral;el-yele, mira: Dina. mira ha! mira >ay-bratake Sara-ya 1

1

1

ga-mirax ba-J;naqta xizyala. >awa >at brata ba-J;naqta xzelax. 1

1

INFORMANTR

537

for her. On Saturday night she gave birth. On Saturday night she gave birth and her mother came (looking) for my grandmother. (206) We were neighbours, like these [the informant points to her neighbours' house]. She came (looking) for my grandmother and said 'Dinah is giving birth.' My mother, my grandmother and the wife of my brother got up and went. God afflicted upon her something. When she gave birth, she gave birth to a dead daughter. (207) Just as she said to my mother 'You have given birth to a dead daughter', after thirteen years, after thirteen years she gave birth to a dead daughter. My brother put on phylacteries. God said 'As you said to her, you will give birth to a dead daughter.' She gave birth to a dead child on Saturday night. (208) They bound her (in a shroud) and put her under (the ground in) a box. When they put the girl to bed (to recover), her mother said, her mother was called Rachel, she said 'Dinah.' She said 'Yes.' She said 'That girl is Sarah, who you said had given birth to a dead child. Look now it is you who have given birth to a dead daughter.'

INFORMANTZ (SULEMANIYYA) Autobiography (1) )ana hiyena m-Slemani ba-sata xamsi-u-xa. qame hena ga-Slemanz 1

1

)ana baxta meli ba-)arbi-u-)arba. ba-)arbi-u-)arba )ana br6na tmani-sar 1

1

1

sinne-yeli. >ana kimrUi Re)uben br6na Zoqa. )anti tat£ la xizyew-yena. 1

1

mama

hitwali.

1

kfmri

1

rtiba

dawlamand-yelu.

1

)ana

1

IJ,asta

1

wU!i

bar-min-d-awa,I qame d-aw-ana baxta )amenawa,I laga silmane,I laga be-lJ,aji,I IJ,tiji Brayim >A_ga, 1be-lJ,aji Faqe. 1(2) >ana hitwali )axinnawa xala, 1 frtwali z6da pare diiriqnawa-wa. ga-d-o-tka mani litwale HmiskenH-yele. 1

1

1

H)ava!H )anti gezinnawa ta-Qaradze 1laga mfr Mordexay IJ,asta kolnawa 1 ga-tutin. 1 gezinnawa tfalJ,a yarxe, 1 )arba yarxe1 pesnawa ga-Qaradze. 1 min-doka gezinnawa ga-dasta d-Raniye. ga-Raniye gezinnawa tre-lele, 1 1

tillJ,a-lele, 1>arba-tillJ,a ga-dasta b-c6l ganenawa. 1kenawa ta-bela. ba-d-ay 1

nawana babz, tatz, mamz min-Qaradax xziren. >ana fikrz-la-y >ana 1

1

1

1

1

1

hiyena ta-Slemanz1waxta n6saw Qaradax miqlalu. 1

The professions of the Jews (4)

)axani

ga-Slemanz, 1 Hbarux

bazirgtin-yete1 surma

ha-semH,I

zabinwa, 1 cite

IJ,itytij

la-yelan. 1 )6t

zabinwa,1 >awr(sim,

bilurz,I

INFORMANT Z (SULEMANIYYA) Autobiography

(1) I came from Sulemaniyya in the year fifty-one. Before I came, I married in Sulemaniyya, in forty-four. In forty-four I was eighteen years old. I am called Reuben son of Zoqa. I did not see my father. I had an uncle. They say they (i.e. his family) were very rich. I worked after that, 69 before I married, with Muslims, with the family of a l;iaji, l;iaji Brayim Aghah, the family of l;iaji Faqe. (2) I had enough to eat food, but did not have more money to save. In that place whoever had nothing was wretched. But I used to go to Qalad;)ze to Mir Mordechai and work in a tobacconist's shop. I went and stayed for three months, four months in Qalad;)ze. From there I would go out into the plain of Rani ye. I went out to Raniye and slept for two nights, three nights, four nights on the plain, in the open countryside. Then I would come home. I lived in this way. (3) I - my grandfather, my father and my uncle originated from Qaradax. I do not remember, I came to Sulemaniyya at the time when they burned Qaradax.

The professions of the Jews

(4) We in Sulemaniyya, the Lord be blessed, were not in need. Whoever was a clothier would sell glittering fabric, he would sell cloth, he would

69

I.e. after my uncle brought me up.

TEXTS

540 mindix-asxa)e zabinwa.

qayna)e dewa koliwa.

1

dewa hula)e raba

1

maqbal-yele ga-d6ka. 1 dewa koliwa,I sema koliwa,I gardane,I xa~e dewane, bacawge, krimke, lagire. kulle mindix-asxa)e koliwa ta-nosu. 1

1

1

1

1

qayna)e,I )aya l;astit-yela. (5) )atta gezex resa )atare. )atare cay zabniwa,I 1

qahwa

zabniwa,I

1

piyale

zabniwa,I

kulle

zabniwa. 1

mindix-asxa:>e

xa-waxtara, l;ukmat :>Jraq mira baqit, mira tkanake l;alqexilu, tajmid-ya. 1

1

1

1

hie la-labletun gallaxun. kulle l-J:tukmat-ye. (6) tajmfd wililu kulle 1

1

1

ma-hftwalan. )6t xamsa lire hftwa!e 1tajmfd wililu. d-o-xa-lire-s hztwate 1

1

1

tajmzd wililu. najatit hiwlu l-hula)e,I kulle misdrilu ba-)ila xali. hiyen 1

1

ga-laxxa, Hbaril.x ha-semH,I ga-)Ere~ Yisra)el. 1

1

Houses (7) :>axni-hiyex ta-)Ere~ Yisra)el, 1 ga-cadir :>intulu-llan. 1ga-d-o-tka-yelan,I

kul-nasa bela hftwale, 1 :>aya ba-kreci hawe, :>a,ya be/a nosew hawewa. 1

kul-nasa hitwale :>arba, xamsa, )ista /ocane. 1xa)u kulwale ta-d-ay brona. 1

1

1

xa)u kulwale ta-d-o brona. xa)u nosew giinewa gaw. 1batiike hitwa manga 1

>otel-yelu. ruwwelu batiike. kulle karrna-hftwalu ga-bela. yatwiwa 1

1

ga-karmiike ta-nosu.

1

1

(8) batiike bnenilu ba-)ipra. 1 bar-dwa)i1 ba-swax koliwalu manga laxxa,I

ba-gaj bar-dwa)i kepe matwiwa m-bar )awa, kepe jwane matwiwalu, 1

1

1

ba-kepe bate biinenwa. 1hztwa bate taza bnelu. 1kulle guda,I kulle gudiike min-xamsi santime, ga-naxlawa,I

1

qardu

:>atxa meter patuxa-yele, la

hawyawa,I

1

)u-m-qam

m-qam-d-awa taiga d-awa-s

la-henwa-loasxa koletu? hula'e la-gben ta-laxxa.

1

hitwa ga-d6ka xanci xriwe, kenwa kimriwa kafir, yale,I la ruwwe.

1

1

1

1

1

1

Jarqixwa baru kimrixwa: tama Jati kimritti kafir? la merixwa hamrixwalu 1

1

,axnaxun kafir-yetun,I geziwa ta-da,aku-tatu, kimriwa: >ay-hula>a mire 1

baqan kafir.

1

(19) ba-y6ma rosana kulle hu/aJe ga-knista-yetu,I kippilr Ju-rosana. kulle 1

1

julle xware los1wa,I sure xware, sirwale-u maraxanye, ,iqba,e hitwa, 1

JiqbaJe rosana.

1

1

1

INFORMANTZ

545

grandfather, the family of his sister. (14) I together with my sister every year were together at Passover, with my brother and with the family of my paternal uncle. We used to go to the family of my paternal uncle at the time (of the festival) for many years, so long as my uncle was still alive. We would go to the family of my uncle and sit there. We would perform a blessing there in honour of my uncle. (15) We would come then to the Feast of Weeks. At the Feast of Weeks, everybody would go around buying oil. Oil in food, when people cooked with oil, was very tasty. They would cook stuffed vine-leaves. They would make pastries. They would make meat pasties. They would make fried flat breads. They would toss these latter into the oil, take them out and put honey on them. ( 16) After that people would go into the fields. They would go to the springs of water. They took their food and took a samovar and sat there. Also Muslims used to come there. The Muslims would begin playing the drum and pipe, and we would dance with them. (17) In our community the Muslims were not like here, (where) they hate the Jews, but rather they used to like the Jews a lot in our community, in Sulemaniyya. In Sulemaniyya the Muslims were not bad people. They were not bad people like (they are) to us (now). For example, Sheikh Mal:_imiid said to them (the Muslims) 'The Jews are our cousins. 71 Nobody should talk (disrespectfully) with them.' (18) We used to go and sit in their mosques. We would even wash in the water there. Nobody would say to us 'Why are you doing that? Jews are not wanted here.' There were a few nasty people there, who would come and say 'Disbeliever!', children, not adults. We used to run after them and say 'Why do you call me disbeliever?' We did not dare say 'You are disbelievers', for they would go to their mother and father and say 'This Jew has called us a disbeliever.' (19) At New Year all the Jews were in the synagogue, on the Day of Atonement and at New Year. Everybody would wear white clothes, white dresses, trousers and maraxanye. 72 There were also long garments, long garments for New Year. 71

72

Literally: the children of our maternal uncle. Traditional Kurdish baggy trousers.

TEXTS

546

(20) ba-yoma kippar nas-fztwa $Oma la-hawewa. kulle $Oma kwenwa.

1

yoma kippar nas min-bela la-pii1i{Wa. mani ga-knista-s yatuwwa,

1

1

1

1

ga-knista yatuwwa IJatta $Oma fa{irwale-wa. ga-Slemani raba bis-din-u 1

1

diyanat hftwalan, la-manga ga-laxxa ga-)ere$ Yisra)et. 1

1

Bread (21) lixma safi hltwa, )u-lixma tanure hltwa. lixma sa}l, resa sti,j 1

1

1

koUwale. ~iwe matwiwa xel-siij. lixma ga-tanura, ltitwa baxta kolawa 1

1

1

ta-dabqawale ba-tanura. kyawa kolawale lixma,I )arba xamsa Jfnse 1

yatwiwa1 ba-$iwa kolfwale. 1 (22) nanawa kewa kolawale baqa )o-nasa,I 1

kul yoma ta-xa-nasa. piska. ta-xa-yarxa k6lwa, 1

1

tre-yarxe kolwa,I

)arba-yarxe kolwa. lixma nase-hitwa raba koUwa baqa )arba yarxe. 1

1

Cooking (23) sawar ba-d-iiy waxtara, 1 ga-yiirxa )Awgust,I ga-laxxa kimrile yarxa

)Awgust, ga-d-o-tka kulle )olam gezilwa sawar kolwa. gezilwa zara 1

1

1

saqilwa, k6lwale ba-sawar. basliwate,I }wan }wan basliwale,I bar-dwa)i 1

1

mawisiwaie,I bar-dwa,i taxniwale. deqfwale ba-)awan,I basliwale,I baqa 1

sawar.

1

(24) kifte xilye ba-rizza basUwa. fztwa Hsolel1 ga-doka, har-rizza-yele. 1

1

1

rizzake deqfwale ga-)awan. kul nasa Jawan hftwale ga-bela. Jara-hltwa 1

1

INFORMANTZ

547

(20) On the Day of Atonement, there was nobody who did not fast. Everybody used to fast. On the Day of Atonement, nobody left the house. Whoever was sitting in the synagogue, sat in the synagogue until he broke the fast. In Sulemaniyya we had more religion and religiosity, (it was) not like here in the Land oflsrael.

Bread

(21) There was griddle bread and oven bread. They used to make griddle bread on a griddle. They put sticks under the griddle. As for bread made in the oven, there was a woman whose job it was to stick it to the oven.73 She would come and make the bread. Four or five women would sit and stoke74 it with wood. (22) A baker would come and make it for the person (who had commissioned her), (she made it) everyday for a (different) person. One would make enough (bread) for a month, one would make (enough bread) for two months, one would make (enough bread) for four months. There were many people who made bread (to last) for four months.

Cooking

(23) As for burghul, at this time (of year), in the month of August- here it is called August - everybody there (in Sulemaniyya) would go and make burghul. One would go and buy wheat and make it into burghul. They would cook it, they would cook it very well. Then they would dry it, then grind it. They would crush it in a mortar, then cook it to make burghul. (24) People would cook 'sweet' meat-balls. 75 There was no fine flour there. There was only rice. They ground the rice in a mortar. Everybody had a mortar at home. There was an area where they ground with the

73 74 75

Literally: who worked in order to stick it to the oven. Literally: made. I.e. meat-balls without hot spices.

548

TEXTS

)awan deqiwa baw. ga-(Lawsa )awan hftwalu. xallfwala jwan jwan.

1

)o-nasa gezilwa ga-d6ka taxinwa. dast'ar-hitwa,I koliwa baw sawar.

1

1

1

1

sawar koliwale ba-dast'ar.

1

Weaving (25) )ana xzeli1 )ilha manixle Yaa-yome 1

1

1

ci la-k6lwa;' hie la-k6lwa. 1 malik-yele. 1

(10) xlu[a ga-'frjj,q ga-H:,u/ameH la-ko/iwa. kulle nase x[u[a kolfwa 1

ga-bela nosu,I kuz nasa ga-belid nosew. 1ga-Slemani,I blane1 la matenwa laga brone Xazenwa. 1 [aka 'ayba-ye[e baqu,I mafenwa [zx[e. 1 H:,a~ ma koliwa? 1 ( 11) Hza-masal,111 :>[sl_taq brata )ftte,I wz-Ra)uwun-is br6na )ftte,I H:,a~ kimrfwa ta-nasa ruwwa,I ya-gora,I ya-baxta,I kimrzwa Se-gebu,I 1

bdqir minnu1)agar razi-yen 1ka-da'waw kolex1gorexila. 1)agar tatake razz hawewa,I kmirwa: 1 tob,I )ana jwab kunniixun )awa. 1 (12) ba-xa-yoma,I tre-yome, 1 jwab kulwa,I kmirwa: 1 keliixun hetun. 1 kmirwa ta-baxtew, 1

INFORMANT A

559

(these) from us when we came to the Land of Israel. (6) We left, the whole of (the Jewish community of) Sulemaniyya, three thousand, five hundred and twenty-three people, in four stages. 81 Each time eight hundred, seven hundred people left. They came to Baghdad. In Baghdad they stayed in the synagogue of Mir 'Elyas. They stayed two, three days, four days, several days, then they brought them by plane to the Land of Israel.

Weddings (7) (When there was) a wedding, the friends of the girl would come to her, to the home of the bride, and the friends of the groom to the home of the groom. They would celebrate the wedding for seven days. Every day they performed the Seven Benedictions, every day. What did they use to do? (8) In the morning, those who were family relatives, 82 relatives of the family, either relatives of the bride or relatives of the groom, would do cooking in the morning. They would send two trays, three trays, big trays, of rice, okras, meat-balls, meat. At that time they would send them all to the family of the bride and to the family of the groom. (9) They would say 'This has come from the family of the bride' or 'from her sister' or 'from her brother' or 'from her paternal uncle' or 'from her maternal uncle.' They performed the Seven Benedictions. The groom did nothing for seven days, he did nothing, he was a king. (10) In Iraq they did not hold a wedding in '(function) rooms.' Everybody held a wedding in their own house, each person in his own house. In Sulemaniyya the girls did not go to see boys. There it was a disgrace for them to have contact with one another. So, what did they do? (11) For example, (suppose) 'Isl:_laq has a daughter and Reuben has a son, so they say to an important person (in the community), either a man or a woman, they would say 'Go to their home, ask them whether they agree for us to make suit for her and marry her.' If the father agreed, he would say 'Good. I shall give you a reply.' (12) In one day, two days he gave a reply

81

82

Literally: times. Literally: relatives of one another (i.e. in the case of people who were related).

TEXTS

560

wa-lJ,iiqewa gal-baxtew,I kmirwa: flan IJ,asta >asxa-ya,I br6naflanakas gbe 1

bratan gora. razi-yat, ken {albila. 1

1

1

(

13) rek lapliwa. yaimma, 1

1

H>ulayH xa rek la-lapliwa, tre rek la-lapliwa. ga-loka,I ga-Slemanz, kulle 1

xa-l-xa

kiiyenwa-wa.

1

kulle

1

lixle

1

kayenwa-wa.

kiiyenwa

1

flankas

dawlamand-ye,I br6na flanakas-ye, IJ,asta k6l, ga-maktab lipa-y, lisana 1

1

1

kiiye,I qaraJu/a kiiye, kurdi kiiye,I carabi kiiye. (14) H)azH x[ufa koliwa. 1

1

1

>awwal, geziwa talbiwala. labliwa gallu )arba xamsa nafare. da)aka-u 1

1

1

tatid IJ,atan geziwa. gal-xa,I tre-xet,I tillJa-xet,I cikma-xet geziwa be kalda,I 1

laga babaw,I ya-laga da>akaw, 1>agar babaw pisa-hiiwewa, 1 da>akaw pista hawyawa. f:tiiqenwa, taku kmirwa kunnaw baqew. 1 brixa hiiwe, brixa 1

1

1

hiiwe. (15) HJa~ masdrfwa bar IJ,atan he,I har )o-[e[e. qarwa-ye m-itka 1

1

ta-doka. kewa >fla babaw niisiqwala, ke>illu yaimma nafare,I >imma-u 1

1

xamsi nafare. hltwa-s xlula >afillu >isri nafare. ga-l6ka la kliwa cikma 1

1

nafare hiiwen. dawlamand-yete,I bi-zoda hltwale. faqlr-yele,I bis basor 1

1

hztwale. 1

(17) Hb-derex kfa[,HI koliwa/a xfuliikel le/id rota,I le/id xamsusab,I

xamsusab ta-xamsusab, 1Lele rota,' ta-xa xamsusab xet,I fo>a yome. 1 geziwa lagaw, tataw, da>akaw, xalusyaw, diyari kwiwala, julle, dewa,I dewa 1

1

1

1

1

1

d-waxtara mad hiiwewa,I ta-resaw,I ya-ta->i[aw, ya-qulbe, 1ya-bazne. 1(18) 1

satat >awwaf-is,I satat >awwa[,I >agar brona gazyawa,I H>a~ tata kafda,I >agar dawlamand hiiwewa, 1 >6 Hbrit-mil~ k6lwale. 1 baqa d-awa kabod-yela. 1 labliwale knista,I ga-knista koliwale.

1

mattiwala kursi

>Eliyahu-ha-navi, kursi >£liyahu-ha-navi mattiwala lagew. 1

mao-gze[e,I xiska-ye[e b-[e/e} gze[e smixen,I >flu mrumtaw-yen

1

wa-la-kelu makwWla-wa.

1

(2)

dwa>i zil-awa bela,

1

>if;qele-wa baqa nase. mire: til!Ja nase silmane resa gare knista smixen,I 1

1

1

1

la-kelu parfi. >Uu mrumtaw-yen, wa-la-kelu makw(sila. (3) ztli baqa 1

1

1

polisxana. miru baqu. hiyen. gzelu. miru: >anya>r) la-kelu l;,,asta holi, >flu 1

1

1

1

1

1

goj-yen. zfli mfru baqa ra>fsa baladya,I baqa muta~arrif. nase ruwwe 1

1

ga->alJ,ra. hfyen gzelu. (4) >ajibi. miru: 8 ze8 xa-mindi min-simme, 1cunga 1

1

1

1

hiyen knista marwfla. spira hulmun,I >ay-nase marpemunu. smixi 1

1

1

ga-seli!Jot,I ~relu tre sacate. bar sal:,,arft, >ay til/:,,a silmane najatu-hiye. 1

1

1

1

1

kwfsi-wa tex. 8 >az8 kul/u miru: 8 ze nes8 min-simme, cunga hiyen knista 1

marwfla} 8

1

wf->i/hal

jaza-sqille

1

minnu.1 wa-8 >az81

ku/le

a/:,,rake

!Jagiga8-willu. 1

(5) xa-y6ma sabbat, cimri xamsa-sar sinnete,I ga- 8 rel;,,obffl tab ta>lixwa. 1

8 >az8

1

hiye postaci silmana, 1kaxata hiwle baqa babi. 1min-Berlin hiyawa

INFORMANTM (SULEMANIYYA) Two stories (1) My grandfather was a soldier. He was twenty years old. In the holidays, he came back to Sulemaniyya. He went to the synagogue, (it was) the month of penitential prayers, like this month. Early in the morning, at four o'clock, he saw three Muslims standing on the roof, trying to destroy the synagogue, with a pick-axe and spade (in their hands). He saw - it was dark (since it was) at night - he saw them standing having raised their arm but not being able to lower it. (2) Then he went home and spoke to people. He said 'Three Muslim men are standing on the roof of the synagogue and they cannot come off. They have raised their arm but cannot lower it.' (3) They went to the policestation. They told them (what the situation was). They came and saw it. They said 'These people cannot do any work, their hands are paralyzed.' They went and told the head of the municipality, the muta~arrif. The important people in the town came and saw it. (4) They were amazed and said 'This is something from heaven, because they have come to destroy the synagogue. Do a good deed and release these people.' They stood in penitential prayers, they prayed for two hours. After the morning service, those three Muslims were rescued. They came down. Then everyone said 'This is a miracle from heaven, because they came to destroy the synagogue and God punished them.' Then all the town held a festivity (to celebrate). (5) One Sabbath, when I was fifteen years old, we were playing ball in the street. A Muslim postman came and delivered a letter for my grandfather. It had come for him from Berlin. I took the letter from the

564

TEXTS

baqeu. 1duqali kaxatake min-d-awa silmana, 1ciqyali, 1pilxali. 1(6) kliwa-y gaw: 1kev6d xaxam CEzra, 1mar baqa Jama)tox1sabbat doqi. 1)agar sabbat la doqetun,1 xafad kixU. 1 )ana-gzeli,1 miri: )ay-nase set-yen. 1 hula)e hlt sabbat la-doqf? 1 (7) liblali baqa babf ga-bela. 1 gizyale, 1 kmir: mani pilxale-u1mani ciqyale? 1miri: )ana. 1 kmir: la-kii,yet sabbat )asar kaxata caqen? 1 rfqale bari ba-$fwa l_latta dile-lli. 1 dwa)i )ana n6si baqa nosi kminna: 1 )ay-nase ga-Germanya set-yen. 1 hula)e1 dax sabbat la-doqf? 1 ma-kimri baqa babi sabbat doqmun? 11

Weddings (8) )agar brona1 cimreu ma{ewa tmanya-sar sinne,I gbewa maguriwale,I cunga kliwa-y1Hben smona Cesre la-l_luppa_HI la samxfwa ba-Ja l_latta tfahi sinne,I {lahf-U Xamsa sinne manga )atta. 1H)a? la baqrfwa min-bronake1 )ay-brata gbitta? 1)ay la-gbftta? 1tatew )u-babew1kimriwa )aya brata1)at gbe goritta.1 la-kewale hamfrwa hic. 1 (9) H)a? ma kolzwa? 1gezfwa )isra nase labliwa 1laga tata kalda,I ga-belu. 1yatwiwa, 1mez l_lazfr koliwa, 1mewa mattfwa res-mez, 1 )araq, xamra. 1 (10) )il-u-rese1 tata kalda-u1 da)aka kalda-u1)axona kalda nasqiwalu.1yffni Hgamarnu,lfl )ay bratiixun1kwetula baqal bronan. 1Xa-pya[a caraq satenwa,I HVeH-gezfwa be/a.I

(11) bar xa-so),I l;aizr koUwa Julie ta-xlula. 1gezfwa bazar,I saqlfwa Julie l-inse, 1 kulle nawe Julle, 1Julie gudrune, 1xamak. 1wf-kmenwalu-wa bela. 1 da)aki, 1Hzixrona livraxa,HI macazmiwala,I kiyawa )6 pasrawalu. 1nuqre-u sakar darenwa ba-resu. 1 har-hare dii,yiwa kfmriwa kililili, kilili!i. 1

INFORMANTM

565

Muslim and tore it open. 84 (6) Inside it is written: 'Your Honour I:Iaxam Ezra, tell your community to keep the Sabbath. If you do not keep the Sabbath, they will be in trouble. ' 85 I saw this and said 'These people are mad. Are there Jews who do not keep the Sabbath?' (7) I took it to my grandfather in the house. He saw it and said 'Who has opened it? Who has tom it?' I said 'Me.' He said 'Do you not know that on the Sabbath it is forbidden to tear open a letter?' He ran after me with a stick and beat me. Then I said to myself 'Those people in Germany are mad. How can Jews not keep the Sabbath? How can they say to my grandfather "Keep the Sabbath"?'

Weddings

(8) If the age of a boy reached eighteen years, they had to arrange for him to marry, because it is written: 'A boy of eighteen (must go) to the marriage canopy.' They did not wait86 until thirty years old or thirty-five years old like here. Now, they did not ask the boy 'Do you like this girl?' 'Do you not like this one?' His father and his grandfather would say 'You must marry this girl.' He could not say anything. (9) So, what did they do? They would go and take ten people to the father of the bride in their house. 87 They (i.e. the guests) would sit and they (i.e. the bride's family) would prepare the table and put fruit on the table, arak, wine. (10) They would kiss the hand and head of the father of the bride, of the mother of the bride, and of the brother of the bride, which meant: 'We have agreed, you will give this daughter of yours to our son.' They would drink a glass of arak and return home. (11) After a week they would prepare clothes for the wedding. They would go to the market and buy clothes for the women, all kinds of material, decorative material, silk, and bring them back home. They would invite my mother, of blessed memory, to come and cut them out. They would put sweets and sugar on them. They would cry out saying 84 85 86 87

Literally: I tore it, I opened it. Literally: They will eat trouble. Literally: wait on the side. I.e. in the house of the bride's family.

566

TEXTS

(12) ka-jullake timiwa,I >ay-kar bar xa-sir, 1 xa-lele darqiwa-wa ga-be

l:zatan. kmenwa qamis yarixa. >agar rang dayiwale, range range, >a/,I 1

1

1

1

yaruqa, smoqa, zayra, xwara,I raba range. l:zazir koliwale baqa >6-lele 1

1

1

1

kalda hamenila !age 1:zatan, 1 xanci dal ga-resaw,I ka zadya minneu,I br-d-6 qamfs. (13) dwa>i nase qamisake doqiwale,I la qabliwa dalla. rizza-u 1

1

1

pare darewa ba-resaw, "ve"-kalda hiya baqa l:zatan. >ay-kar bar dwa>i,I 1

1

l:zatan labliwale baqa knista. julle labliwa,I julle malbfsiwale. pizmone 1

1

kimriwale. kmenwale-wa baqa bela. (14) kmenwa ga-bela, >ay-kar, 1

1

1

1

"sevac ha-braxot ha-rav" kolwa,I maqdsiwalu. mewane tiwen, kifte 1

1

1

kxlfwa kulle. "birkat ha-mazon," >u-geziwa-wa bela. (15) >ay-kar, 1

1

1

brqatta-ye, 1 kenwa kulle geziwa be kalda. 1 ceriwa ga-belake,I ma-liitwa 1

labliwale,I >akle,I pisra,I mewa,I caraq, 1 xamra,I kmenwale be l:zatan. 1 "ve"-basliwale y6ma rota baqa ca~irta sabbat. (16) ca,~irta sabbat kenwa 1

kulle baruxe l:zatan,I satenwa-u1 kixliwa-u 1 min!:za-u carvit ~alenwa l:zatta lele ga-be l:zatan. >u-y6ma rota) bf-bfqatta-ye, l:zatan macazimwa nase 1

1

1

1

kixlfwa ga-belu bfqatta-ye. (17) y6ma sabbat bfqatta-ye,I 1:zatan kenwa 1

labliwale knista. ga-knista >inse kenwa. maqrenwale tora. har-hare 1

1

1

dii,yiwa ba-resu,I haleli, halelu. "ve-caliyya la-tora,HI bar-dwa>i kenwa-wa 1

bela l:zatan. 1 (18) kulle yomake1 kixliwa siitenwa nanden l:zatta ca~irta. 1 bar-dwa>i, 1 bfqatta-ye, 1y6ma xsaba) min-be kalda 1xala mazdriwa baqa l:zatan, be>e qilye, xurma qilya, bamye,I rizza, xala misxana la pisrana. 1

1

1

1

1

1

Hve-sevac brax6t" koliwa,I "birkat ha-maz6n," geziwa bela. (19) fo>a 1

yome kulle bfqatta-ye min-mispal:zat kalda xala masdriwa,I ~iniye ruwwe 1

1

baqa >isri, t[ahi nase. 1 "ve-sevac brax6fl kul-y6ma koliwa) l:zatta miitewa yoma xamsusab. (20) lele rota, kimriwale resa xyapana. l:zatuna priqa. 1

1

1

1

Zele resa xyapana,I qarpfsiwa ga-be 1:zatan. kulle nase xaleta kmenwa 1

baqa l:zatan, pare, dewa, ~qilye,I ma hiiwewa. 1

1

1

1

INFORMANTM

567

'Kililili, kililili!' (12) When the clothes were finished, a week later, they would gather one night in the house of the groom. They would bring a long cane. If they coloured it, (it would be coloured) with many colours, scarlet, green, red, yellow, white, many colours. They would prepare it for that night in order for them to bring the bride to the groom and for him to hit her gently on the head with that cane, so that she would fear him. (13) Then the people would take the cane and would not permit him to hit her. They would put rice and money on her head and the bride then came to the groom. After that they took the groom to the synagogue. They took clothes and dressed him in clothes. They would sing religious songs. Then they brought him back to the house. (14) They brought him to the house, then the rabbi would perform the Seven Benedictions and they would sanctify them. The guests would sit and all eat meat-balls. (They would say) the grace and go home. (15) Then, in the morning, they would all come and go to the house of the bride. They searched in the house and took whatever there was, chickens, meat, fruit, arak, wine, and brought it to the house of the groom. They would cook it on Friday for Saturday evening. ( 16) On Saturday evening all the friends of the groom would come, they would drink, they would eat, pray minl_za and carvit and (stay) until nighttime in the house of the groom. On Friday, in the morning, the groom would invite people to eat in their house in the morning. (17) On Saturday morning, they would come and take the groom to the synagogue. The women would come to the synagogue. They would have the Torah read to him. They would shout Qoyous) shouts for their sake, haleli, halelu. (There would be) the going up to read the Torah, then they would return to the house of the groom. (18) All the day they would eat, drink and dance until evening. After that, in the morning, on Sunday, they would send food for the groom from the house of the bride: fried eggs, fried dates, okras, rice, dairy food, not meat food. They would perform the Seven Benedictions, the grace after meals, and go home. (19) For seven days, every morning they would send food from the family of the bride, big trays for twenty, thirty people. Every day they would perform the Seven Benedictions, until Thursday came. (20) They called the Friday night 'the washing of the head.' 88 The wedding was then over. On the night of 'the washing of the head', they would gather together in the house of the groom. Everybody brought a gift for the groom: money, gold, rings, whatever it was. 88

This was a ceremony at the end of the wedding in which the henna was washed from the head of the bride.

INFORMANTV (I:IALABJA) The Jewish community ofI:Ialabja

(}) wu[a>e d-Jfa[abjal xa HkehillaH zurta-yefan. 1>axni rabe nase fa-yefan. 1 kulle wula>e Jfalabja,I >imma-u >isri bate, 1>imma-u >isri mispal_te, 1taqriban so>a-mma tmanya-mma nafare. hftwa/an1 nase Htafmide XaXamzm.HJ 1

mactzm hitwalan,I Hso/_tet, 1 ham Hha-mohe/,HI ham ta/mide maqrewa. 1 (2) gure 1kasbz koliwa. 1>itkane hftwalu rabe-u 1zabnzwa. 1kasabat koliwa ba-qumti.s zabone-u 1 catarz. 1 >u-h[twa-s nase rabe dawlamand-yelu, 1 faqfr-yelu. 1geziwa ta-malwaye, 1malwaye ba-xmara ga-lablzwa1qumase-u1 sakre-u caye-u >asxa,1 zabniwalu ta-goyme. 1 (3) kulle yan ta-sabbat kenwa-wa 1yan draga draga kenwa-wa ta-sabbat} ta-'elawaye, yan pesal:,, 1

kenwa-wa,I yan ros-ha-sana. 1 >i[u la-gezawa,I geziwa ta-malwaye zabnzwalu1 'ay mindixane-u1 min-d6ka-s kmenwalu-wa. 1 ( 4) misxe-u1 kare-u 1be>e-u 1>akle-u 'asxa, 1zabnzwalu. 1ba-d-awa xayenwa, 1xa baczu. 1xa baCzU hztwa/U jofayz kolfWa. 1jajme kOlfWa. 1XQ bifzU XUbQ kolfWa. 1rang dayiwa baqox,I qum&s-u mindixe baqa goyme. 1xam-u biluri,I cite w-asxa, 1 bawreiu,I xwarelu, 1rang koliwalu b-xuba. 1

(5) mal}allat wula'e1ga-pilgawa kulla goymela. 1ba-Jfalabja n6saw h[twa bagzade kimriwalu. 1 sexe-u bagzade hftwa. 1 'onya'e 1 rabe malwaye

INFORMANTV (}:IALABJA) The Jewish community oflfalabja (1) The Jews of I:Ialabja - we were a small community. We were not many people. All the Jews ofI:Ialabja were a hundred and twenty houses, a hundred and twenty families, about seven hundred, eight hundred people. We had people who were scholars. We had a rabbi, who was a slaughterer, also the one who performed circumcisions and also the one who taught students. (2) The men would conduct business. They had many shops and would sell things. They earned a living by selling material and small items. There were many people who were rich and also who were poor. They would go to various villages by donkey in order to take materials, sugar, tea and the like and sell them to the Muslims. (3) They all either returned for the Sabbath or would come back less frequently, for the Sabbath or for festivals, or would come back at Passover, or at New Year. (If) they could not manage89 (to make a living at home), they would go to the villages and sell them these things and bring them back again from there. (4) They would sell them oils, butter, eggs, chickens and the like. Some of them would live in this way. Some of them had a weaving business, which they worked at. They would make blankets. Some of them did dying. They would colour material and other things for you and for the Muslims. By dying they would colour raw cloth, white calico, cloth and the like, which were off-white or white. (5) The district of the Jews was in the midst of all the Muslims. In I:Ialabja itself9° there were people called dignitaries. There were elders and dignitaries. They had many villages, they had many plots of lands,

89

90

Literally: Their hand did not go. I.e. not in the district of the Jews.

570 hitwalu,

TEXTS 1

rabe Jarale hitwalu,

rabe bate hitwalu.

1

1

(6)

JanyaJe-s

HqasfirH-yelu min-wu/aJe didan. 1WU[aJe Jamin-ye[u. 1/cul/a bis Jamin-ye[e. 1 HJa/f kul/e bagzada Jasxi} xa-wu[aJa hitwa/e. 1 yacni Hqese,Jl hltwa ga-pilgawajamacta wulaJe ljalabja >u-ga-pilgawa bagzade. 1

1

Weddings (7) rabe xlulye xazriwa ba-muwafaqat-i tate-u da>ake brona 1 >u-tate-u da>ake brata. 1JanyaJe 1kmirwa asxa kmir: 1Jay brata baqa bronz1 >{zy br6na baqa bratz. 1xizme-u qawme bz-xle1 goriwa min-lbcle. 1 (8) tafqawa 1 yacni xa-nas bis-bas6r xizimye, 1xa-jamacta zurtela, 1 kulle xa-l-xa kiiyzwa-wa, 1 H>a/1 brata1xa begana1tafqawa min-xa mispa/Ja xet, g6ra ko[awa baJew, 1 1

H>a/1 xazriwa ba-xfzim. 1JafUlu gure-s-yelu min-lixle xazriwa ba-xfzim. 1

(9) baqriwa min-bratiike min-broniike: 1 >at gbatte? 1 gbztta? 1 lzxle kayiwa-wa 1 br6na-u

bratake

kayiwa-wa

lzxle. 1 tate-u

da~akake-!

kayzwa-wa Uxle. 1H>azH b-aw-waxtariika-wa gbenwa hiimenwala baqew. 1 1

(10) xa-taqma geziwa min-mispal;at goriike,I geziwa laga mispal;at bratiike. 1 kimrzwa: 1 xa brata hitt6x. 1 Hba-remezH kimriwale: 1 xa-warda hztt6x1 ga-karmox. 1 h6lla baqa Jay bronan. 1 >axni gbexila. 1 yacni baqa bratiike kimriwa warda,1 h6lla baqa bronan. 1 (11) gezzwa 1 laga be-mispa!Jat kalda. 1 ka

muwafaqat koliwa

b-resaw, 1 brixa-hiiwe, 1

brixa-hiiwe. 1 Jay nase1 Jil-mispal;at broniike1 Jil-u-rese tate-u da>ake 1 xizme-u qawme1 bratiike nasqzwalu, 1 kimriwa brixa-hiiwe. 1 (12) Jawa dasgiran kolzwala. 1 dwa>z 1 bar d-aw-xabra, 1 ka-muwafaqat willu tirnu

INFORMANTV

571

they had many houses. (6) These had connections with91 our Jews. The Jews were trustworthy. Each one was very trustworthy. So, every dignitary would have a Jew (in his entourage). There was, therefore, a connection between the Jewish community of I:Ialabja and between the dignitaries.

Weddings (7) Many weddings took place by the agreement of the father and the mother of the boy and the father and the mother of the girl. He (the father of the family) would say such things, he would say 'This girl is for my son,' 'This boy is for my daughter.' Relatives and families (would come) together and marry each other. (8) If it happened that somebody (had) less family - it was a small community, everybody knew one another - a girl who was a stranger from a different family would come and she would marry him. Then they would become family. Even the men92 would become (united) together as family members. (9) They would ask the girl and the boy 'Do you (f.) love him?' 'Do you (m.) love her?' They would know each other (already), the boy and girl would know each other. Also the father and mother would know each other. So, from that time onwards, they would have the intention of bringing her to him (in marriage). (10) A group from the family of the husband would go, they would go to the family of the girl. They would say 'You have a daughter.' They would say it by means of a symbolic allusion 'You have a flower in your garden. Give her to this son of ours. We would like her.' That is, they would call the girl a flower (and say) 'Give her to our son.' (11) They would go to the home of the bride's family. When they agreed regarding her, (they would say) 'May he be blessed, may he be blessed.' The people belonging to the family of the boy would kiss the hand and head of the father and mother, and of the family and relatives of the girl and they would say 'May he be blessed.' (12) They would then consider her betrothed. Then, after this event, when both sides had made the agreement, the family of the parents of the 91 92

Literally: were connected with. Literally: 'Even those who are men .. .'

572

TEXTS

lage, be babe l}atan kmenwa ~qilta, bazne, xsilta,I dewa, Janye JasxaJe 1

1

kmenwa,I

1

Hb-derex klaf ga-xa Je[a

1

1

hawyawa qarwa,

lafange,I

1

siml}a-ilane,I {u-bi-svaf, Jo pafire} Jo ziyara, xa res-yarxa. 1 (13) Jay 1

1

xsUta-u1Jay dewa kmenwale-u sarpos kmenwa. 1xa diwa.x mattiwa resa 1

ka/da. JO xszlta kwfwa/a baqaw. 1 Sacuda, kolfwa-u gal}ke-u1 HhaJe$ 1

1

u-ha-JadamaH macirzwa-u, sakraw palenwa-u sakraw ga[-warde g[aw. 1

1

1

xazrfwa ba-xfzim. 1 (14) HJazH min-d-O yoma-wal Jay brata 1 ka-awa dasgirtin gzfra, 1 resaw kasyale. 1Jil-dasgiranaw Jasar-ye xazya. Jasar-ye 1

Jo-s xazela. tt-babe l}atan la-kelu gazenila. 1~almaw kasyiile. 1ka-gazya,I 1

1

tafqa, 1 ma{enila ga-Jurxa,I $almaw kasyiile. 1 yacni1 Jasar-ye gazenzla. 1 (15) yatwz 1xa-yarxa, 1tre-yarxe, 1till}a-yarxe, 1cikma ba-pe-i muwafaqat-i tirnu liige. dwaJi l}atuna koliwa. lele !Janna l}anna doqiwa-wa ga-resaw, 1 1

1

1

ga-zbonye,I ga-Ji/e-u caqlaw-is il-kalda. 1 (16) xalane basliwa. 1 lixma koliwa,I lixma res-stij. 1 dwaJf bar lele-l}anna, 1 xa-lele bar lele-l}anna,I l}uppa-u qiddusfn kolfwa. 1 (17) macnm kewa,I xaxam kewa. le-qaddes 1

kolwala-u1 tre sahide,I tre sate 1 ketubba kalwiwa-u 1 cikma ba-pe-i maqdarat-i nosew1ketubba kulwala baqaw, 1cikma dinare. 1Jay-is baxta, 1 bratake kimyawa jahazz,I sure,I qbaJe,I mindixe ma-hztta1tt-julle-u dewa-u asxa, 1milk-u ma hztwala-u. 1(18) Joni-s min-be babe 1xalenye Jasxa kwiwa baqa l}atan-u kalla. 1 l}uppa kolzwa. 1 foJa yome l}uppa-yela. 1 foJa yome l}atan ga-be[a nosew1 Sacuda l}atan kolfwa. 1Hsevac braxot.111 kul/e karte HzehazmznH ko/iwa 1xa-taqma xet. 1 kul/e [ele, 1 bar tfilla minl}a-u carvzt, 1 kenwa-wa min-knista. 1 (19) Zele sabbat wf-yoma sabbat ga-be l}atan ~a[enwa. HJa:Jl kul/e /ele 1 xa-taqma kyawa. 1 pizmonye-u goranye-u 1

1

1

INFORMANTV

573

groom would bring a ring, bracelets, jewelry, gold, - they would bring things like that, usually when a festival was near, such as Purim, the festival of the 'joy of trees', Tu-bi-Svat, or Passover, or the Feast of Weeks, or a new month. (13) They would bring this jewelry and this gold, they would also bring a headscarf. They would put a kerchief on the head of the bride. They would give her this jewelry. They would hold a banquet, there would be laughter, they passed around fruit, they distributed a sweet drink, a sweet drink with odiferous flowers. They became family. (14) So, from that day onwards, when she had become betrothed, she covered her head. It was forbidden for her to see her fiance. It was forbidden also for him to see her. The parents of the groom were not able to see her. She covered her face. When it happened that she saw people coming up to her on the road, she would cover her face, for it was forbidden for them to see her. (15) They remained (in this state) for a month, two months, three months, however long it was in accordance with the agreement of the two sides. Then they would hold the wedding. On the night of henna they would put henna on her head, on the fingers, on the hands and feet of the bride. (16) They would cook various foods. They would bake bread, bread on a griddle. Then after the night of henna, one night after the night of henna, they would hold the ceremony of the bridal canopy and the sanctification. (17) A rabbi would come, a i).axam would come. He would sanctify her and two witnesses, two witnesses would write the marriage document and he (the groom) would give the marriage gift to her in accordance with how much he could afford, however many dinars (this may be). As for the wife, - the girl would bring a trousseau, dresses, jackets, whatever things she has in the way of clothes, gold and so forth, whatever she possessed. ( 18) Those people who belonged to the family of the parents, furthermore, would give gifts to the groom and the bride. They would hold the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony lasted seven days. For seven days they held the banquet of the groom in the groom's house. (They performed) the Seven Benedictions. Every time they invited a different group (of guests). Every night, after the prayers of min~a and '{jib) (Arab.) know (>Tlile) (§8.12.6.) 1

say (mire) (§8.9.1.) I gorane 1 mr sing; 1ana kimrili Re1 uben br6na Zoqa I am called Reuben son of Zoqa (Z:1) bring (mete) (§8.12.4.) I baxta mele He married (a woman); karu mele It became mouldy 1

1

1

my

nty rq 1 sr 1

1

>sq 1

wl

take away (>intele) (§8.11.2.) run, flee (>irqale He fled, 1ariqla He flees) (§8.9.1., §14.3.) bind; wring (>zsirre) (§8.9.1.) I julla Yisir He wrings out a cloth fall in love (siq) (§8.9.1.) I jwanqa silmana ilq 1 Waw A Muslim youth fell in love with her (R:144) (Arab.) do, make (wille) (§8.9.3.) I 1 wl awa open; press down (>6nye gusake qafenwalu, 1 u-koliwalu wa They cut up the small pieces (of dough) and pressed them down (R:70); 1azimta >wl invite (>azimta koliwalu They would invite them R:132,--+ m-czm); 1 ila >wl handle, knead; caraqa >wl (awa) sweat; baxew >wl care for; ba-lha birwa >wl believe in God; daw/ beg; skayta 'wl complain; tak 'wl try; xaya 'wl awa revive; xayyal 'wl ponder, think; xuba :>w/ dye; zaxira :>w/ store ( food for winter) enter, pass (wir) I wira ta-silmani) She passed over to the Muslims (R:143); wira ta-xa-bela ruwwa She entered a large house (R:144) eat (xi/le) (§8.9.1.) I kulla '6-pare mxilpilan 'aw xililan. We changed all that money or spent it. (R:19); xafad 'xi worry, be distressed, cf. Kurd. xafat xuwardin (xafad la-xu/! Do not worry! R:188) 1

1

1

1

-'yy

come (hiye) (§8.12.3.) I jigrew ke He is angry, hates, jigrew ke min tatox He hates your father; mirxew ke He snores; sindew ke He is sleepy; ser nurew ke The lion roars; hie la-hye-llaw. Nothing happened to her (R:71) 1

'zl

'zl

go, go away (zil) (§8.12.2.) I zil il-/oca he entered the room; fikrew zil He has forgotten; fikri zil-awa I have forgotten; libbeu zll he fainted (literally: his heart went away); :>z/ bar search for; :>i/u la-gezawa 1 (If) they could not managed (to do so) ... (V:3) weave (:>Tzille) (§8.9.1.)

knead (dough) (cicle)

/bl bdy

start (bdele) I dubara bdela b-lixma wala She started to make bread again (R:71) (Arab.) 1

582

GLOSSARY OF VERBS

bhr

become light (bhir)

bny

count; clean (grain); build (bnele) ask, request (bqirre) twist (brimle) bless (brixle) diminish (intr. bsir)

bqr brm brx bsr bxs

cook (tr. bsille, intr. bsil) forgive (bxisle) (Kurd.)

bxy

weep (bfxe)

bzr

pour (water); scatter (grain, flour); discard (tr. bzirre); spill (intr. bzir)

bsl

tel

cqy cym cyr

tear; dig (cqele) I Jara cqele He dug the ground (R:19) (Kurd.) be closed (elm) I Jenew cima His eye closed (Kurd.) 1

cyr awa move around; spin round; search (bar for) (cir-awa) (Kurd.)

Id/

dbJ:i dbq dhy dmy drq

slaughter (dbiJ:ile) stick (tr. dbiqle) dhy awa fade; be faint, pale (dhe-wa) wa dmy think, believe (wa dmele) drq awa collect together (intr. driqi-wa They gathered); collect, save (money) (tr. driqle-wa) I fuwali z6da pare dariqnawa-wa I did not have more money to save (Z:2) 1

dry

put, place (drele) I zarake darenwale biP6-mai/-da>akox Give my regards to your mother hold; receive; seize, arrest; catch; keep; block (dwiqle) I hula>e hit sabbat la-doqi? Are there Jews who do not keep the Sabbath; ~oma dwiqle He fasted; sala doqiwa They had a fever (R:128); ga-doka doqilan jwan There they receive us well (i.e. welcome us); >esta doqiwa People had respect (Z:40); labliwa resa kalda doqiwale ga-J;anna They would take the head of the bride and daub it with henna (R:34); >urxale doqiwa They (the rains and snowstorms) blocked the roads (V:22); dwq b- stick to (dwiq) I hanga dwiqa ba>i The bee stuck to me(= stung me) 1

1

1

1

1

dyq

crush (diqle) (§8.9.6.)

dyy

(dile §8.12.8.) (i) hit I mani dal ba-tara? Who is knocking at the door?; dhor-u zorna dayawa 1 The drum and pipe music was played (R:35). (ii) put, put on I ba-qe{a nas la-dalwale ba-resa noseu 1 In summer nobody put it over himself (Z:26); >axoni tfi{in dile. My brother put on phylacteries (R:207); rizzake-s I dayiwale m-makina1 They 1

put the rice into a machine. (iii) component in phrasal verbs (§8.16.3.): >ifa dyy b- touch; saqqa dyy kick; skita dyy stab; qapal dyy bite; bi'iz dyy jump; jiqe dyy shout; rang dyy colour; talafon dyy telephone; tijfe dyy spit; cirike dyy shout; fika dyy whistle; bora dyy low, bellow (cow); qannara dyy hang; cap_le dyy clap, applaud. (Kurd.)

/fl fkr fry

f# f~r

ftr

understand (fkirre) (Arab.) I lafkirri I do not understand fly (fire) (Kurd.) cut (fabric) (f~ille) (Arab.)

-J#

break (fast) (ft.irre) (Arab.) I waxta ~6mafa{ore When they broke the fast (R:7); + awa (§15.14) I l;atta ~6ma fa{irwale-wa until they broke the fast (Z:20) 1

1

584

GLOSSARY OF VERBS

lg/ g'f:tk gndr gny grgm

laugh (gi'IJ,kale He laughed, ga'IJ,ikla He laughs) roll (gindir) (Kurd.) sleep; set (sun) (glne) I simsa ginya The sun set

thunder (girgimle) I >ewa girgimle There was thunder (lit. the cloud thundered); >ewa gargoma-y There is thunder

grs

drag (grisle) I jigara grs smoke; 'f:tityaji grs be in need; hanasa grs breathe; zardakani grs smile

gry gwr gxk gzr

shave (grele) I diqneu giryale He shaved his beard marry (gwirre)

g'f:tk (§16.3.1.) decree (gzirre) I >ana min-ilha gzlr ba-resan It was decreed by God concerning us (Z:41) -+

1

1

lg/

gzy

-+xzy

/hi

hnzn hw

chop (hinzinne) (Kurd.)

hwy

give (hiwle) (§8.12.7.) I yaridew hiwle He helped him; najatew hiwle He rescued him; left, abandoned him; kwawale ba-roxa She tossed it into the wind (R:40); >ana kunnaw ba-gora. I shall give her away in marriage (R:164) be (§8.12.1., §15.6., §17.4.)

hyy

-+)'y

1

1

IIJ,/ 'IJ,lq bnq

close (bliqle) (Arab.) suffocate (intr. 'f:tniq; tr. 'IJ,niqle) drowned in the water

I 'IJ,lniq ga-ma>e

He

GLOSSARY OF VERBS }:iqy

585

speak, talk (}:iqele) I qu~ta }:iqele baqi He told me a story; nas la-}:iaqe gallu Nobody should speak (harshly) with them (Z:17); +awa (§15.14) I Ji}J,qele-wa baqa nase He 1

1

}:isy

talked to people (M:2) (Arab.) succeed, achieve (b~ille) (Arab.) stuff(}:isele) (Arab.)

}:iyk

scratch (}:iikle) (Arab.)

b#

/j/

jhy

hate, be angry (jglr) Ijagri min-hulaJe They hate the Jews (Z:17) (Kurd.) become tired (/fhe)

jnjx

scratch I Jiteu jinjxale He scratched his hand (Kurd.)

}gr

1

/kl klw

write (klule) (§8.9.4.)

kpn

become hungry (kpln) bind (in a shroud) (krixle)

krx ksy kws

kyp

cover (ksele) I ksele ba-batani He covered himself with a blanket(§ 15.3.) go down (kwls) (§8.9.2.) I kwisa te~ She alighted (from the train) (R:162) kyp awa bend over (klp-awa)

Ill lb!

take, convey (lbille) I xala m-bela labliwale They would take him food from home (R:37); + awa (§15.14) I labliwalu-wa ta-nase dawlamande They would take them to rich people (R: 131 ); rek lbl manage to do something: Jagar rek labllwa If they managed (to do so) (R:34) 1

1

1

lpl

fall (pl/) (§8.12.10.) I pal lpl lie down; Jaqlew pfla dimma His leg bled (R: 136); rek /pl agree, get on well: brata-u br6na rek-pUi The girl and boy got on well (R: 165) 1

1

1

586 lws

GLOSSARY OF VERBS dress (tr. and refl. lwisle He dressed, He dressed himself §15.3.)

Im/

invite (mtzimle) (Arab.) m-brq

shine (mibriq) I simsa mbfrqa The sun shone

m-dyp

fold (midiple)

m-dyr

close (mdirre)

m-cym

close (mcimle) I>ana >eni macimnaw I close my eye

m-cyr

cause to go round, pass round (mcirre)

m-gny

put to sleep (mignele)

m-gwr

cause to marry (migwirre)

m-J:iqy m-kws

speak (mi/:ikele) I ma/:iqewale He would speak to him (Z:32) (Arab.) bring down (mkusle) (§8.10.4.)

m-lbs

dress (tr. milbisle) (§8.10.4.)

mlp

teach (mliple) (§8.13.)

mlq

kindle (mliqle) (§8.13.) - mql be full, sufficient (mz'1e) I mdle! That is enough!

mly m-ndy

drop, throw down; put, place (mindele) (§8.10.3.) I n6saw mindyala tex She threw herself down (R: 147); gurange mandyanwa gawu I would put also beads on them (R:85); mandenwale ga-xastaxana They put him in the hospital (R:37); paran mandzxwalu ga-bank. We deposited our money in a bank (R:14) cause to rest (mnixle); extinguish(+ awa) I nuriike mnixlewa He extinguished the fire 1

1

1

1

m-nyx

m-qds

finish, stop (tr. mipriqle) I J:iastew mpirqale He finished his work sanctify (miqdisle)

mql

kindle (mqille) (§8.13) - mlq

m-qlb

overturn (miqlible); vomit(+ awa) I miqlible-wa He threw up, vomited (Arab.) cause to read; teach (miqrele)

m-prq

m-qry

587

GLOSSARY OF VERBS mrc

press (mricle)

m-rdx

boil (tr.) (mirdixle)

mrm mrp

raise up (mrimle) (§8.13.) --+ m-rpy

m-rpy

let go; lay down; put down (mirpele) (§8.13.)--+ mrp

mrq

lick (mriqle); sometimes used with awa (§ 15.14) I >o-kalba girmake mriqle-wa The dog licked the bone 1

mrw

mix; destroy (mrule) (§8.13.)

mry

be painful, ache (mfre) I kasi marya I have a stomachache, resi mare I have a head-ache

m-rys

wake (tr. mrisle); wake up (+ awa) I sifatake mfrlsla-wa Iii The clock woke me

m-ryt m-ryx

shake (tr. mrlt/e) I >ifanake mrifle He shook the tree

m-skr

m-smx

smell, sniff (mrlxle) lose I only used passively: >urxake miskira-lleu He lost the way (lit. The road was lost to him); paskili miskira I have lost my bicycle cause to stand, direct (mismixle) I msimxale ga-qam samandafar. He directed her to the train (R: 161) 1

1

m-sry

stink; go off (food) (misre) (§8.10.3.)

m-sxy

wash (a person) (tr. misxele)

m-~tcr

curse (mi~fcirre) (§8.12.11.)

m-~yl m-sdr

listen (m~ille) I nalja/a m~ille He gave ear, listened --+ m-zdr

mslm

become a Muslim (mislim)

m-stx

give birth (mistxa 3fs.)

msx

spread (oil) (msixle)

m-sxn

heat (tr. misxinne)

msy

wipe (msele) I mez msele He wiped the table

m-sys

rock (a baby); shake (mslsle) (§8.10.2)

m-tmr

cause to prick (mitmirre) I xmata mitmirre ba>ew He caused a needle to prick him (= He pricked him with a needle)

GLOSSARY OF VERBS

588

m-tym

place (mtule) (§8.13.) I xala matu He serves food; xale geziwa mattiwa qam nase1 They would go and serve the food to people (R:32); daqiqa mattiwale ba-ja, 1 garusa mattiwale ba-Ja They put the fine grain on one side and the coarse grain on another side (R:40); Jimtula-llan She provided for us (R: 110) finish, complete (tr. mtimle)

m-{py

exterminate, eradicate (mifpele)

mty

reach, arrive (mfte) (§8.9.7.) I la mityena gaw I do not understand, b-ay mzfe-giz>ew! Understand this! (R:153)

mtw

1

1

m-wys

dry (tr. mwfsle) (§8.10.2)

mxl

feed (mxille) (§8.10.1.)

m-xlp

change, exchange (mixliple)

m-xrp

sharpen (mixriple) I skita mxirpale He sharpened the knife

m-xwy myl

show (mixwele) (§8.10.5.) made trouble for us (R:13) die (mil)

m-ymy

swear (mumele) (§8.10.6.)

myr

dare (mir)

m-zdy m-zmf

frighten (mizdele)

I Jajubye

mixwelu-llan They 1

fill (tr. mizmifle); also used intransitively: sukkake mzamtawa The booth would fill up (Z: 11)

m-zyd

add (mzidle) (§8.10.2) (Arab.)

m-zyr

--->

m-zdr

send (mizdirre)

1

m-dyr (§ 1.4.)

In/

ngz

bite (ngizle) Ipisrake ngizle He bit the meat

nhr

glow (nhir)

nndy

dance (nfnde) (§8.l 1.1.)

nqr

pinch (nqirre) I Jili niqrale He pinched my hand; wink Jena nqirre He winked

nqs

embroider (nqisle) (Arab.)

nqf

drip (nqif) I maJe nqifi The water dripped

I

GLOSSARY OF VERBS

589

nsq

kiss (nsiqle)

nwx nxl

bark (nwixle) I kalba nwixle The dog barked fall (rain, snow) (nxil)

nxp

be ashamed (nxip)

nyx

rest (nix); sometimes+ awa (§15.14) I nix-awa He rested

/pl

I

pc
fslq res-saxe He climbed in the mountains

ytw

sit; stay (tfw) (§8.9.8) I ti"w res-birkew He knelt

l:d zbn

sell (zbinne) (§8.13)

zdy

fear (ztde) I zade min-kalba He is afraid for the dog

zmt

fill (tr. zmifle) I kasaw zmita Her belly was filled (= She became pregnant) neigh (zirzirre) I mayfn zirzirra The horse neighed

zrzr

lzl zdr

send I zdirru bar-baba broniike 1They sent for the father of the boy (R:148) --t m-zdr

GENERAL GLOSSARY The ?e~der of nouns is m~rked by the abbreviations m. (masculine) and f. (femmme). When a noun 1s not marked with m. or f., it was not possible to establish its gender. Pl and zero

'abi blue (Kurd.) 'adab toilet (Arab.) 'adita f. custom (Kurd.< Arab.) 'afillu even, even if(§l9.6.) (Heb.) 'agar if(introducing protasis §19.5.1.); whether (introducing indirect polar question §19.2.1.); when (Kurd.) I 'agar sayir k6lan xazyan ml/al When I look, I see that she has died (R:180) 'agna if not(§ 19.5.1.3.) (Kurd.) 'agnawa if not(§ 19.5.1.3.) (Kurd.) 'iihil m. people, family (Arab.) 'ah!--> 'iihil 'a}Jra f. (pl. 'a}Jrane) town (§1.6.1.3.) 'ajubta f. (pl. 'ajubye, 'ajubyane) trouble, nuisance I 'ajubye mixwelu-llan1They made trouble for us (R:13) 'aklela, 'aklelta f. (pl. 'akle) chicken (§10.5.) 'aklelta --> 'aklela 'akra thus; such (an amount of), so much (§14.10.10.) I'ana tre 'akra hfwli baqeu1I gave him twice as much; f[a}Ja 'akra bi.f-ruwwa-y min-d-o1He is three times as big as him (§14.13.) 'iii I 'iir, 'ala, 'ali (invar.) red, scarlet (Kurd. < Turk.) I qulme 'al red cheeks 'a.la red (Kurd. < Turk.) 'a.lat m. black pepper (Kurd.)

'a/pa m. thousand I tre 'a/pa two thousand, f[a}Ja 'alpa three thousand (§ 12.1.5.) 'amana m. implement; pl. 'amane cutlery 'amin trustworthy (Arab.) 'amta £ (pl. 'amtawale) paternal or maternal aunt 'ana I (§7.1.) 'aniixun you (pl.) (§7.1.) 'anya'e these (§7.4.) 'anye these (§7.4.) 'aqildar intelligent (Kurd.) 'aqla -> 'aqla 'ara --> 'a.la 'ara f. (pl. 'are, 'arale) land, earth, ground (§1.6.3.2.) 'arabana m. (pl. 'arabane) horsedrawn carriage 'arabi m. Arabic 'araq m. arak (Arab.) 'araqcin f. (pl. 'araqcine) embroidered hat, skull-cap 'arat --> 'afat 'arba four I 'arbannan the four ofus (§12.1.7.) 'arbamin fourth 'arbasar fourteen 'arbi forty 'arbu.fab Wednesday 'arimla m. (pl. 'arimle) widower 'armilda f. (pl. 'armilye) widow 'armota f. (pl. 'armonye) pomegranate 'arota, rota f. Friday (§1.6.3.2.)

596

GENERAL GLOSSARY

'aska f. (pl. 'aske) gazelle (Kurd.) 'as/i, 'asri original (Kurd.< Arab.) 'asma asthma 'asri --> 'as.ti 'asxa such, like this, thus (§14.10.9.) I har-asxa exactly the same way; 'asxa'e such things; tre sa{re 'asxa'e) two buckets like this (R: 15)

>asawan m. (pl. >a§awane) miller (Kurd.)

'at you (ms. and fs.) (§7.1.) >atiir, atari, o >atta laxxa-y He is here now/already >atuqa ancient >awa that (§7.4.) >awa, hawa look; here is ... (presentative particle) I hawa pare1 Here is some money (R:189); 'awa 'at brata ba-1:znaqta xzel~ Look now it is you who have given birth to a dead daughter (R:208); smoqta-awat1 Look it is red! (R:46) awa, hawa, wa Kurdish post-verbal particle (§15.14.); back I hiye-wa1 He came back; liibilli htiwa bela Take me back home! (R:94); used after adverbs(§ 13.2.) I ga-/_cel-awa beyond and far away (R:2); doka-wa way over there; bar-awa behind and out of sight (R: 145); qame-wa beforehand >awan f. mortar (Kurd.) >awin m. wrong-doing (Heb.) I >awin-ye It is wrong (R:6) 'awita I kullu har-'awita-yelu1They were all together (R:24) >awrfsim m. silk 'awrismana made of silk I tikla 'awrismanta silk band >awwal first I ba->awwal at first; min-'awwa/ at first; beforehand >axani we (§7.1.) 'axnan we (§7.1.) 1

'axnani we (§7.1.) 'axni we (§7.1.) >axona (pl. 'axonawale, >axone) brother >axtun you (pl.) (§7.1.) >ay this/these (§7.4.) >aya this (§7.4.) 'ay-ka at that time, then --> ka 'aywtin --> haywtin >aztid holiday (Kurd.) >azimta f. invitation (Arab.) I 'azimta koltwalu1 They would invite them (R:132)

>azkara f. memorial (Heb.) >azyat trouble, suffering (Kurd. < Arab.) I tamapilet'azyat? 'Why have you taken the trouble?' (appreciation of a kind act) 'eyes >eka, heka where? >ela f. (pl. 'elawaye, >e/awa>e) festival I 'elox brixta (May) your festival (be) blessed 'ena f. eye; spring I 'enox >ii-nosox Be careful! 'esta respect (Kurd.) i >esta doqiwa1 People had respect (Z:40)

>estir --> hestir 'ewa m. cloud 'ic'a nine (§ 1.6.2.) i >icilha! (R:162), ba-lhti! (R:8) By

GENERAL GLOSSARY God!; ba->ilha la-'astil! 1What a pity!; >i/ha qad6me qeman By God, tomorrow I shall set out (R: 168); >iiha hiiwe gallox God be with you; brixa simma >i[ha la-'olam 1 May the name of God be blessed for ever (R: 192); min-ilha gzlr ba-resan1 It was decreed by God concerning us (Z:41 ); >ilha manfe May God grant >ilia except, only lfarq litwa, 1 >illa dasmariikefarq hitwa. There was no difference, only with regard to the head-shawl was there a difference. (R:75) >illel tonight >iima m. (pl. >iime) brother-in-law (brother of husband) >imma m. hundred I tre-mma twohundred, tla}:ui-mma three-hundred (§ 12.1.4. ); min-imma >isra ten percent >inja then (Kurd.) >inse women ---+ baxta >ipra m. mud >iqa narrow >irba m. and f. (pl. >irbe) sheep >irbala f. (pl. >irbale) large sieve >irxel f. (pl. >irxele) water-mill >isra ten i >isrannan the ten ofus (§12.1.7.) >isramin tenth >isri twenty >istal m. (pl. >istale) master (craftsman), teacher -is also, and, as for (connective particle expressing that an item has something in common with what precedes §18.1.2.) (Kurd.) >ista six I >istannan the six of us (§ 12.1.7.) >istamin sixth >istasar sixteen >isti sixty >it, >ftwa -> hit, hitwa >itka f. (pl. >itke) place >itkana f. (pl. >itkane) shop >iwya (fs. >iwita) thick 1

1

597

>izna permission (Arab.) >izyo, >izyom-> >idyo, >idyom >izza f. (pl. >izze) goat >o he/she/it; that/those (§7.1., §7.4.) I >6t bazirgiin-yele1 surma zilbinwa 1 Whoever was a clothier would sell glittering fabric. (Z:4) (§ 19.1.2.1.) >oda-> hoda >oni they; those (§7.1.) >onya>e those (§7.4.) >onye those (§7.4.) >otel m. hotel u and (phrasal and clausal connective §14.11., §18.1.1.) >urxa f. (pl. >urxale) road, way

I'/

'adta f. (pl. 'adte) custom (Kurd.< Arab.) 'ana coin 'amra m. wool 'aqirwa f. scorpion. 'aqla f. (pl. 'aqle) leg, foot 'aqubra m. (pl. 'aqubre) mouse 'arabe Arabs 'araqa m. sweat I'araqa >w/ (awa) to sweat: >ana 'araqa k6lna-wa 1 I am sweating 'askar m. (pl. 'askare) soldier (Arab.) 'a:fir m. afternoon (after about 4pm.) (Arab.) 'a:firta f. (pl. 'a:firyawane, 'a:firye) evening (Arab.) 'atari -> >atari 'ayba m. disgrace, shame (Arab.) 'azyad (Kurd.) I tama pilet 'azyad? Why have you taken the trouble? (appreciation of a kind act) 'el---+ l-'el 'ilyana upper 'imra m. age (Arab.) 'iraqi Iraqi

598

GENERAL GLOSSARY

!bl b- in, at, by, with, as (§ 13 .3 .1., § 16.1.) ba to (Kurd.) I only in expressions of time such as isri ba-flal;a twenty to three, xa-carag ba-f[al;a a quarter to three. Combined with ta: xa-carag ba-ta-f[a}Ja 'A quarter to three' (§ 14.13.) ba volitional preverbal particle (§15.2.1.2. i) (Kurd.) Iba-he Let him come baCz- some (Arab.) I xa baczu hftwalu jolayi koUwa1... xa baCzu xubii koliwal Some of them had a weaving business, which they worked at. ... Some of them did dying (V:4) baba m. (pl. babawale) grandfather; father; pl. babe parents I be babe l;atanl the family of the parents of the groom (V:12) babe without(§ 13.3.4.) (Kurd.) babena m. forehead (§10.14) bacawge gold head ornaments worn by a bride (from ear to ear) (Kurd.) bagzada m. (pl. bagzade) dignitary (I:Ial.) (Kurd.) bagdayi m. man from Baghdad bahar Spring (Kurd.) bahru the day after tomorrow bahuru in three days time bahura bright, light I cay bahura weak tea bal;ar m. river, sea (Arab.) ba-ja--+ ja bala f. (pl. bale) wing (Kurd.) baladya f. municipality (Arab.) I ra>isa baladya head of the municipality biili without (Heb.) bamya f. (pl. bamye) okra bank m. (pl. banke) bank (financial) ba-pe-i in accordance with (Kurd.) I ba-pe-i maqdarat-i no.l'ew1 according to his ability (to pay) (V: 17); ba-pe-i muwafaqat-i tirnu liige 1in accordance with the agreement of the two sides (V: 15)

baqa to, for (§13.3.3., §8.14.6., §15.13., §16.4.) (Kurd.); in order that (subordinating particle §15.2.1.2. iii) baqima filling (for meat-balls etc.) bar after, behind (§13.3.2.); subordinating particle (§19.4.6.) I tzal;a kenwa baraw Three people would come (looking) for her (R:196) bar side (Kurd.)\ 'o prix-awa 'o-barit guda He passed/jumped over to the other side of the wall; zfl min-jada 'o-bar He went to the other side of the road / He went beyond the road hara behind; aside I se hara! Move aside! baraxa f. (pl. baraxe) blessing (Heb.) barimya f. (barimye) cooking-pot bartil m. bribe (Kurd.) baru Go! (Kurd.) baruxa m. (pl. baruxawale, baruxe) friend (m.) baruxta f. (pl. baruxye) friend (f.) barxa m. and f. (pl. barxe) lamb (before first shearing) (Kurd.) basima pleasant I basima hiiwet! May you be well! baska 'ila f. lower arm (Kurd.) basor a few I bis basor less (§14.10.12.) ba#rta (pl. ba#re) grape Ixa bola ba!jirta a single grape bawra off-white (§20.2.14.) baxew (Kurd.) I bdxew >wl look after, nurture baxsfs m. tip, gift for service (Kurd. < Turk.) baxta f. (pl. 'inse) woman, wife I baxta mele He married; 'ana la-pista-yan brata.' 'ana baxtii-yan1I am no longer a girl (i.e. a virgin). I am a woman (R:150) bayni between (§13.3.5.) (Kurd.) I ga-biiyni n6su between themselves (R:165) biiz f. jump (Kurd.) I biiz dyy to jump

GENERAL GLOSSARY baziir f. (pl. bazare) market (Kurd.) bazirgiin m. clothier (Kurd.) biizna f. (pl. biizne) small bracelet (Kurd.) be m. house of, family of(§l0.14.) I be-mamew1 the house/family of his uncle (Z:13); be kalda the house/family of the bride (M:15)-+ bela be without (§13.3.4.) (Kurd.) begana m. (pl. begane) stranger (Kurd.) bela m. (pl. bate) house; family I kulla belan-u binyanan all the members ofour family (R:12); mara bela householder -+ be bena, ben between (§13.3.5.) I ma ca/a cara fortune (Kurd.) I caran pili lax.xii) Our fortunes fell here (R:2) carag quarter (Kurd.) carpa, carpaya m. (pl. carpaye) bed (Kurd.) carxa cigarette lighter (Kurd.) catfa f. (pl. catfe) scarf(Kurd.) I catfa maliki scarf of the king (type of scarf) cay m. (pl. caye) tea (Kurd.) I cay-u maye mirdixla She boiled the water to make tea (R:80); cay xalfs strong tea cayxana f. teashop (Kurd.) ci nothing (Kurd.) I cl la-k6lwa 1He did nothing (A:9) cidoke -> cizoke erg m. reed mat partition (Kurd.) (placed between beds when people slept on the roof) cikma how many (interrogative and exclamation); several (§14.10.7.) cinga f. handful (using one hand) (Kurd.)-> xupna cingiil f. fork (Kurd.) circ (pl. circe) wrinkle (Kurd.) I circe xdirta-ya she has become wrinkled cirike shouts (Kurd.) I cirike dry, cirike dyy to shout cizoke pieces of fat of beef or lamb (Kurd.) cizza f. sting (Kurd.) I cizza hinga zll ba-"ili I was stung by a bee cum. (pl. cite) cotton cloth (Kurd.) I xa qiffa cit a piece of cotton fabric co/, cola0 i, cori m. desert (Kurd.) coliika f. (pl. coliike) bird (§20.1.) (Kurd.) cora a little (Kurd.) I xa-c6ra ma"e jamuze mel1!1Bring me a little cold water! (R:179) cori-> cof cunga because (Kurd.) 1

/di

d genitive and relative particle (§7.3., §10.14., §19.1.2.l.) da, d- emphatic particle (Kurd.) I walla da 0 o-hiye min-Bagdad By God, indeed, he came (here) from Baghdad (R: 166); d-o-xa-lire-s hitwale1tajmrd wilUu1Indeed, if somebody had even just one lira, they froze it (Z:6) da 0a f. mummy (familiar address) (Kurd.) da0aka, da0ake f. mother (Kurd.) da0 im always (Arab.) da do,l dhor----> do.l did- base of genitive pronoun (§7.3.) dimma m. blood I 'aqlew pi/a dimm?z' His leg bled (R:136) din religion (Arab.) dinar m. (pl. dinare) dinar dinwa f. (pl. dinwe) fly dinya f. world (Arab.) dinyadari f. storage, prudent management (Kurd.) diqa crushed diqna f. (pl. diqnane) beard diwax m. decorative scarf put on bride (Kurd.) diya'a m. conflict, fight diyanat f. religiosity (Kurd.< Arab.) diyari f. (pl. diyarye) gift (Kurd.) diyari f. maintenance, administration (Kurd.< Arab.) I Salomo la-tu 1

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601

ba-diyari mlir1Salomo, do not stay to look after the property! (R: 156) dobra f. (pl. dobre) head-ornament (Kurd.) I dobre dewane gold ornaments worn on head do'e water mixed with yoghurt doka, ga-doka there do,l drum (Kurd.) I do,l-u zorna drum and pipe (treated as fs., e.g. d6r-u z6rna deqawa 1 the drum and pipe music was playing Z:37) dolta f. wealth (Kurd.) dor----> do.I dosak m. (pl. dosiike) mattress (Kurd.) draga late (Kurd.) I kulle yan ta-sabbat kenwa-wa 1 yan draga draga kenwa-wa ta-sabbat,I ta-'elawaye,I yan pesab kenwa-wa yan ros-ha-sana. They all either returned for the sabbath or would come back less frequently, for the sabbath or for festivals, or would come back at Passover, or at New Year (V:3) dubara again (Kurd.) dug/am. (pl. dugle) lie I dugle 'wl to lie duk, duka skin (Kurd.) I duka 'irba sheep-skin dumin second (Kurd.) dur distant (Kurd.) dusa m. honey duwam second (Kurd.) I ta-duwam lele 1 for the second night (Z:31) duxtar m. (pl. duxtare) doctor dwa'i, dwayi afterwards (Kurd.) 1

1

If/ fallaqa f. (pl.fallaqe) bastinado-pole (Kurd. < Arab.) fam- lfamew-ye He remembers (§17.1.2.) (Kurd.< Arab.) faqir (pl.faqire) poor(§ 11.5.) (Arab.) faqiri f. poverty (Kurd.) farda f. (pl.farde) sack (Arab.)

602

GENERAL GLOSSARY

f arfurye crockery farhad m. uprising, atrocity (Arab.) farq m. difference (Arab.) lfarq-u juday Utwa min-faqzr-u dawlamande There was no distinction or separation between the poor and the rich (R:6) fayfilan large quantity (Kurd.) I ba-fayfilan in a great quantity fezrangi pink (Kurd.) fika whistling (Kurd.) lfika dyy to whistle fikra m. thought (Arab.) lfikrew-ye He remembers(§ 17.1.2.);fikrew zfl He has forgotten /flis,filsi m. coin (Arab.) I xa-fflis pare la doqawa She did not take a penny of money (R: 196) fistawfinqa f. (pl.fistawfinqe) pistachio nut (Kurd.) flan m. (Arab.) Iflan IJ,asta 0asxa-ya The situation is like this (literally: Such-and-such a matter is like this) (A:12)----> flankas,flanakas flankas,flanakas m. so-and-so (Kurd.) I brana flanakas gbe bratan gor?i' The son of so-and-so requests that our daughter marry (A:12) 1

1

1

lg/ gain; among(§ 13.3.7.) ga subordinating conjunction ----> ka ga time, instance ----> ka ga!J,ke laughter gaj gypsum (Kurd.) gal with (§13.3.8., §20.1.)(Kurd.) ga.(la, ga}laya f. (pl. ga.(laye, ga_l_la0 e) leaf (Kurd.) I ga_l_la mewe vineleaves, ga_l_la silqe beetroot ganawa m. (pl. ganawe) thief ganula f. stealth garaj f. bus garage, bus station (Eng.) garak, garaka f. residential quarter (Kurd.) gardana m. necklace (Kurd.)

gare roof(pl. tantum §10.12.14.) gargurke (Kurd.) I gargurke 0 wl to crawl garma m. bone garmawe f. fine sieve (for flour) (Kurd.) garoma m. rolling-pin garusa coarse; thick geba at the home of, in the presence of (§13.3.9.) ger (Kurd.) I ger 0wl to catch, clasp gera long thin rolling-pin giji (Kurd.) I resi giji xdir-awa 'I felt dizzy' (literally: My head became dizzy) gilla m. grass gilya (fs. glita) revealed, uncovered ginya (fs. gnita) asleep gippaya f. stuffed stomach of a sheep; gippaye dish consisting of stuffed stomachs girsana made of groats girse groats glala m. (pl. glale) thread glaw (Kurd.) I warde glaw odiferous flowers (V:13) gfop f. (pl. -e) lamp (Kurd.) goj paralyzed, maimed (Kurd.) gora m. (pl. gure) man I gora 0 wl (b-) to marry (somebody) (said of a woman): 0 ana la qabinna gora-holat b-broni. I do not allow you to marry my son (R:150); 0 ana kunnaw ba-gora. I shall give her away in marriage (R:164) gorana f. (pl. gorane), gorani f. (pl. goranye) song (Kurd.) I gorani 0 mr to sing gorawya f. (pl. gorawye) sock goya m. (pl. goye) ball (Kurd.) I goye dewane small golden balls goyme Muslims (Heb.) goza f. (pl. goze) nut grani f. hunger (Kurd.) grani f. (pl. granye) song (Kurd.)----> gorana, gorani 1

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1

GENERAL GLOSSARY grinje grinje rough (Kurd.) grop-+ glop guda m. (pl. gudane) wall gudruni, pl. gudrunye, gudrune fabric embroidered with flowers and golden strands (Kurd.) gu/ange, gurange beads sown on edges of kerchief (Kurd.) gunya f. (pl. gunye) sack (Kurd.) gupta f. cheese gurange -+ gufange gurg m. wolf (Kurd.) gurma f. burning coal gusa m. (pl. guse) small piece (of dough) guza-+ guda gwara f. (pl. gware) earrings (Kurd.) gwenya m. (pl. gwenye) eyebrow gwiraka m. (pl. gwirake) calf (Kurd.)

/hi hadab -+ 'adab halaktrik f. electric light (Eng.) ha/amta f. head-cold (Kurd.) ha/la or not -+ han ha/ujta f. (pl. hafuje) plum (Kurd.) ha/wan coloured (Arab.) I panjare halwane1coloured windows (R:20) ham also (Kurd.) I ham ... ham both ... and han or (Kurd.) I han-la, ha/la or not hanasa f. breathing (Kurd.) hanga f. (pl. hange) bee (Kurd.) har only; just; exactly; always; still (Kurd.) I har-xa na.M kiisewa ba'eu1 Only one person would cover himself with it (Z:26); har-xa-bela pis ga-Slemanl' Only one single family remained in Sulemaniyya (R: 155); har-n6si all by myself (R:162); har-[irnu ken1Both of them will come; har 'o-lele 1that same night (A: 15); har-asxa exactly the same way; sukke har-asxa1Sukkot was exactly like this (R:5);

603

har-min-bqatta-y right from the morning onwards (R:7); har kwiwalu ba-xora'i1They just gave them away free (R:57); xa-'ena har plixta1An eye was still open (R:183); qa[litti, 'ana har-gbenaw1 If you kill me, I shall still love her (R: 153); har har never; har-ci everything; everybody: har-ci hula'e yelu 1ba-lagan yelu. 1All those who were Jews were with us (R:25) -+ f:iarang har hard, stubborn (Kurd.) hara disturbance, commotion (Kurd.) I hara 'wl!dyy to cause a commotion; hara hara 'wl!dyy shout (in joy or grief), ululate: har-hare d!iyiwa They ululated (M:11) harawe -+ qrawa haruje -+ ha! uje harzan cheap (Kurd.) hatari -+ 'atari hatta -+ f:iatta hawa air (Arab.) I biiz dile ga-hawa He jumped in the air hawa-+ 'awa hawa-+ awa (post-verbal particle) hawarkase underpants (Kurd.) hawis (swimming) pool (Kurd.< Arab.) hawre vessels hawwal -+ 'awwal haye, hay early (Kurd.) haywiin f. balcony (Kurd.)-+ 'aywiin heka-+ 'eka helana nest (Kurd.) hema which? (§7.5.); any (indefinite marker in conditional type constructions §14.10.13., §19.1.1.2.) I hema brata hiibawa l-hema brona, 1la manga-'atta hezi ta-sinama 1Any girl who loved any boy ( = If a girl loved a boy), they did not go there, like here, to the cinema (R:29); whoever I hema faqfr yele 1dawlamande kwiwale 1 1

GENERAL GLOSSARY

604

Whoever was poor, the rich would give to him. (R:4) (§19.1.2.1.) hestir, ,estir m. and f. (pl. hestre) mule (Kurd.) hesta, hestan still (Kurd.) hewas slowly (Kurd.) hie nothing; no (nominal modifier §14.10.8.) (Kurd.) I hicjarq lltwa There was no difference; hic-itka nowhere (Kurd.) hit, ,ft there is/ there are (past hftwa, ,rtwa) (§8.15., §15.5., §17.2.) I 1

hitwa qarda-yela. hitwa naxla-ye!e 1

1

It was sometimes cold. It was sometimes rainy. (R:121); ma ,ftwalu holiwa? 1 What could they do? (Z:28) hoda f. (pl. hode) room (Kurd. < Turk.) hor ... la never (Kurd.) I hor-xala silmane la-kixl1xwale1 We never used to eat the food of the Muslims (R:134) huza,a m. (pl. hula,e) Jew

hulaha -> hula,a hulalta f. Jewish woman hulelta f. Jewish woman humba f. pot for storing food (Kurd.)

which the hennah ceremony is performed at a wedding JJannuka,e Hanukka (Heb.) lJaqqa m. right (Arab.) I JJ J:ui.l lJarame bad things (Arab.) I JJarame la-wUie 1 He did not do bad things (R:104)

}Jarang the same(< har rang) (Kurd.) IJ,arari what is lawful (< JJa.lafi) I ba-hararz by what is lawful, in truth (R:195)

IJ,ariir -> lJafiiJ lJw;iir f. compound, enclosure (Arab.) 1Ja$ira f. (pl. 1Ja$ire) mat (Arab.) IJ,asta f. (pl. lJajye) work, job (Arab.) I JJasta >wl to work; lJasta-walana labourer; mara lJasta worker lJatan m. groom (Heb.) l;atta until (subordinating particle §19.4.7.)

lJawsa f. (pl. JJawse) courtyard (Arab.) JJaya modesty I lJaya-u JJijab modesty and decency (R:36) (Arab.)

J;aywiin f. (pl. JJaywane) animal (Arab.)

/IJ,I }Jaji m. i,laji (Arab.) }Jakim m. governor (Arab.) IJ,iiJ, IJ,iir f. condition (Kurd.< Arab.) I IJ.fi.i-u mas>ala-ya1The situation is like this. This is what happened (R:170) IJ,aJiiJ kosher (Arab.) IJ,ame$ m. leaven (Heb.) I IJ,ame$e foods with leaven }Jammala m. porter (Arab.) IJ,ammiim f. public baths (Arab.) IJ,ammiimci m. bath-attendant (Kurd. < Arab.) IJ,anna f. henna (Arab.) I !Janna >wl to perform the henna ceremony at a wedding (R:34); lele !Janna night on

JJazfr ready (Kurd. < Arab.) I }Jazfr ,wz to prepare

JJijiib decency, modesty I IJ.aya-u JJijab modesty and decency (R:36) (Arab.)

lJiswa stuffing (Arab.) lJityiij, JJityaji need (Arab.) JJ!iqa closed (Arab.) JJnaqta f. throttling, asphyxiation I xa-brata ba-}Jnaqta xizyala1She has given birth to a dead daughter (R:199) JJola m. (pl. ]Joie) rope JJoqa unit of weight (3 ½ kilos) JJujle (sing. JJujla) bangles on ankles (Arab.) JJujra f. (pl. lJujre) storeroom (Kurd.) JJukmat, JJukumat f. government (Kurd. jama'ta jamana f. (pl. jamane) striped cloth worn on head (Kurd.) jamuza cold (Kurd.) I maa inside lobya f. (pl. Jobye) green bean loka there lulga f. flute, pipe I lulga-u zre pipe and chain (ornament consisting of silver or gold cylinders linked with chains, worn around the neck and across the front of the body) (Kurd.) 1

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608

GENERAL GLOSSARY

ma what? (interrogative particle §7.5. § 19.2.); what, whatever (particle introducing relative clause § 19.1.2.1. iv)

ma ma mii.l mara m. owner I mara bela householder; mara mii.l property owner; mara !Jasta worker; mara ttin mas>a/a mas>a[ responsible (Arab.) masita f. (pl. masiye) fish (Kurd.) miista f. yoghurt (Kurd.) ma!f!fa f. (pl. matt!faye) small unleavened bread, matza (Heb.) ma!fforta f. (pl. ma!f{Orye) curse mase black lentils (Kurd.) maska f. (pl. maske) chum made of skin (for making do>e) (Kurd.) miit sad; silent, still (Kurd.) I mtit xiidirwa. 1It (the oil) would settle (R:54) may what? (§7.5.) I may-ye? 1What is it? (R:182); may-yat? 1What (kind of person) are you? (R:162) mayin (pl. mayne) horse (m. or f.) (Kurd.) 1

1

GENERAL GLOSSARY maylnta f. mare (Kurd.) mayt (pl. mayte) corpse (Kurd. < Arab.) mazal m. good fortune (Heb.) mazuza f. (pl. mazuze) mazuza (Heb.) mazza snack of dried fruit and nuts (Kurd.) mewa fruit; grapes (Kurd.)--> ga_(la mewe mewan, mewar m. (pl. mewane) guest (Kurd.) mewar --> mewan mez m. table (Kurd.) mhajir m. (pl. mhajirye) immigrant, refugee (Arab.) mila dead mila, mira f. (pl. mi/a'e, mira'e) circumcision (Heb.) I mi/a >wl to perform circumcision milk possessions (Arab.) I milk-u ma hltwala whatever she possessed (V:17) milxa f. salt min from; than; of; consisting of; on account of; by (agent); since; concerning; with(§l3.3.12., §16.7.) mindix m. (pl. mindixe, mindixane) thing; used as a general filler when a speaker is stuck for a word mira --> mi/a misgalta f. (pl. misgalye) mosque mista f. (pl. miste) a strand of hair mi:{l;af f. Bible (Arab.) mi~wa f. (pl. mi~wa'e) duty, good deed (Heb.) miska m. skin miski f. kerchief (Kurd.) missiir f. saw (Kurd.< Arab.) miste --> xista misxa m. oil made from clarified butter; clarified butter, ghee I misxa d-zetuna, misxa zaytun olive oil misxana dairy (food) I xala mi.frana dairy food miye intestines (pl. tantum §10.12.14.) mlaqa f. (pl. mlaqe) spoon (Arab.)

609

mola m. death I b-mola-lha mU1He died a natural death (literally: a death of God) (R:157) mor mauve, purple (Kurd.) mtasarrif--> muta~arrif mul;ami m. (pl. mul;amye) solicitor, lawyer (Arab.) mumase --> qumiis muta~arrif, mtasarrif m. town administrator (Arab.) muwafaqat f. agreement (Kurd. < Arab.)

Inf

nadaba f. alms (Heb.) I nadaba 'wl to beg nafare people (after numerals) I 'isri nafare twenty people (R: 192), 'arba-mma nafare1four-hundred people (R:35) nal;ala f. (pl. nal;ale) ear (§1.6.1.3.) najiit liberation, evacuation (Arab.) I najatu-hiye 1They were rescued (M:4); najatew hiwle He rescued him; najatu hiwlu l-hula'e1They evacuated the Jews (Z:6) nakun, naku lest (Kurd.) nana f. grandmother (Kurd.) nanawa m. (pl. nanawaye) baker (Kurd.) niindiin f. bread basket (Kurd.) nane granny (vocative form) (Kurd.) naqla (fs. nqilta) thin naqsi f. embroidery (Kurd. < Arab.) na-rek unwell (Kurd.) I l;ari na-rek-ye My condition is not good; I am ill (R:96) nargez f. (pl. nargeze, nargze) narcissus (Kurd.) nasiix (invar.) ill (Kurd.) nasaxi f. illness (Kurd.) nasa m. (pl. nase) person nawaga m. (pl. nawage) grandchild, grandson (Kurd.) nawagta f. granddaughter (Kurd.)

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610

GENERAL GLOSSARY

nawC, nawa m. (pl. qayna>e) goldsmith

612

GENERAL GLOSSARY

qaysya f. (pl. qaysye) apricot (Kurd.< Turk.) qazome -+ qadome qba>a f. (pl. qba>e) long jacket qe!a m. Summer qifil m. (pl. qifle) lock (Arab.) qila burnt qilya fried qinne kernel of nuts and fruit qirwa near I qirwa >aiJra xdfr-awa 1 He approached the town. qi.~ta f. (pl. qi~te) story (Arab.) qifra m. (pl. qifre) knot qiffa (pl. qiqe) piece qiwta f. strength I mare-qiwta strong, tough qiwya (fs. qwita) strong, tough (material) qliwa clean, nice qluca f. (pl. qluce) fried flat bread (Kurd.) qobca f. (pl. qobce) button (Kurd.) qoca f. (pl. qoca) horn (Kurd.) qo./a, qora f. (pl. qo_le) arm; sleeve (Kurd.) qoma m. (pl. qome) stature; storey (of building) qomalta f. (pl. qomalye) pile q6me tomorrow (l;lal.) qora m. (pl. qore, qorane) grave qora f. arm; sleeve ----> qoJa qrawa m. battle; conflict I qrawe harawe conflicts (R:2) (§ 14.11.); wilalu qrawa They had a battle (R:201) (§14.3.) qu_l, qur (invar.) deep (Kurd.) I mace qu_l-yen The water is deep qulaca f. (pl. qulace) cockroach (Kurd.) qulba f. (pl. qulbe) large bracelet (Kurd.) qulma f. (pl. qulme) cheek (Kurd.) qumtis m. (pl. qumase) cloth, fabric (Arab.) I qumase-u mumase1all kinds of cloth (R:23) (§14.11.) qar-+ qal 1

qurbana m. sacrifice I >iiha xadran qurbanew1mele-llan laxxa 1God may I become his sacrifice brought us here. (R:2) qurbasar wretched (literally: mud on the head) (Kurd.) I ga-hiye-wa baba qurbasariike When the wretched father came back (R: 147) qurbasari f. shame; wretchedness (literally: state of having mud on the head) (Kurd.) qurdm. Kurd 1

Ir/ ra>isa baladya m. head of the municipality (Arab.) raba, rabe much, many; very (§14.10.3.) I >itkana willi-wa raba la-y 1 I have opened a shop recently rabta -+ ruwwa raf;im pity (Arab.) I raf;im >w/ to pity rak hard (Kurd.) rakixa soft rtil mute, dumb (Kurd.) rala f. (pl. rale) lung (§ 10.5 .) rang colour (Kurd.) I rang dyy to colour rani hunting (Kurd.) I rani >w/ to hunt rtist truth (noun); right, correct (adjective); straight ahead (adv.) (Kurd.) rasima f. list (Heb.) raw moving (Kurd.)J raw >wl to move around rawana m. envoy (Kurd.) I rawana >w[ to send somebody as an envoy; rawana willi-lleu I sent him on his way, rawana willi baqew I have sent (something) by an envoy to him. razi pleased, content (Kurd. < Arab.) ref;ane odiferous herbs rek (invar.) good (Kurd.) I dax-iyet? ,ana rek-yena skur How are you? I am well, thanks (be to God); rek-u

GENERAL GLOSSARY peki 1fine and splendid things (R: 134); rek lb! to manage to do something; rek !pl to agree, get on well: brata-u br6na rek-pili' The girl and boy got on well (R:165)--->

na-rek resa m. head; end (noun); immediately (adv.); on top (adv.); upon (prep.); against (prep.); concerning (prep.) (§13.3.16., §16.6.) I res-yarxa beginning of the month; min-d-ay-rei min-d-o-rei at this end and at that end (Z:25) (§ 14.2.);

kiisenwa[u I /Jatta xanci hewa resa 1

They covered them (the bowls) until it (the dough) rose slightly (R:61 ); da>aki tiwa ba-resan1My mother looked after us (R:106); resa >ifaw hiyen1They were brought into the world by her (literally: they came, i.e. were born, on her hand) (R: 196); qimen resan 1They have risen against us (Z:28) rixa m. smell rizza m. rice rosana m. New Year (Heb.) rota ---> >arota roxa f. wind I >idyo roxa-ya It is windy today rumana high run ---> xurma-u run rupya m. (pl. rupye) type of coin rutJa, rutra m. (pl. ru(le) pound (weight) (Kurd. < Arab.) rutra ---> rut/a ruwanduzi m. man from Ruwanduz ruwwa (fs. rabta, pl. ruwwe) big

Isl

saa m. Christian suralta f. Christian woman surelta f. Christian woman surma m. gold-flecked cloth (Kurd.) surmana made of surma (gold-flecked cloth)

swaf begging for alms I swa_l >wl to beg swan stone for sharpening knives (Kurd.)

swar-> swaJ swata f. satiety I swatena I have had enough to eat swax m. plaster (Kurd.)

l~I :jaddiq just, good (Heb.) !fa[ma m. face; honour I !falma komula shame (literally: face-blackness) !fanwl to complain: 'ana skayta kimna-llo~ I shall make a complaint against you skaytakari f. complaint making (Kurd. tmani fma'anyasar-> {ma'nisar fma'nisar eighteen(§ 1.6.3.2., § 12.1.2.) fura f. (pl. {urane) mountain

xala new xaleta f. (pl. xalenye) (wedding) gift xali (invar.) empty (Arab.) I kulle misdrilu ba->iia xaU 1They sent them

lw/

xajaz m. coal (Kurd.) xalwa m. milk xam raw cloth (Kurd.) xamak mauve silk fabric (Kurd.) xamsa five I xamsannan the five ofus

all away empty-handed (Z:6)

xalls (Kurd. < Arab.) I cay xalls strong tea

xalusta f. (pl. xalusye, xalusyawale) sister(§ 1.4., § I 0.9.4.)

walana m. I IJasta-walana labourer; xuba-walana dyer wallaby God, indeed (Arab.) warda f. (pl. warde) flower warya, ga-warya outside waxta time; when (subordinating particle §19.4.2.) (Kurd.) I >o-waxta at that. time, then; waxte sometimes waxtara at that time I >o-waxtara at that time, >ay-waxtara at this time; b-aw-waxtariika-wa from that time 1

onwards (V:9) wazira zara'a m. minister of agriculture (Arab.) wifo dry wu/a>a m. (pl. wu/a>e) Jew (1:[al.)

Ix/

xa one; indefinite article (§ 14.1.1., §14.10.4.)

xiibar m. message; news (Arab.) I xiibar hiwle t-6 >arba sarike He 1

1

informed the four partners (R:95) xabra m. (pl. xabre) word; event (Arab.) I bar d-aw-xabra 1 after this event (V:12) xafad worry (Kurd.) Ixafad >x/ to worry, be distressed (cf. Kurd. xafat xuwardin): xafad la-xiut 1Do not worry! (R: 188) xakanas f. (pl. xakanaze) spade (Kurd.)

(§12.1.7.)

xamsamln fifth xamsasar fifteen xamsi fifty xamsusab Thursday xamw1a sour xamu:fula f. sour foods xamusta f. (pl. xamuse) apple xana m. lap xanci a little, a few, some (§14.10.6.) xapisxana f. jail (Kurd.) xapxol- by--self, e.g. xapxoli by myself, xapxolox by yourself (§14.6.)

xaruz-+ xa_luz xastaxana f. hospital (Kurd.) xa:fa m. (pl. xa:fe) back; belt i >isrilan xa:fan We tied them to our back (R: 18); xa:fe dewane gold belts 1

(Z:4)

xasta a few xataw sometimes xaw weak (Kurd.) xaya, xa>a alive I b-d-awa xa>e la-yelan 1With this we could not live (Z:42); xaya >wl awa to revive: >o-xaya wille-wa lleu 1He revived him

xayafa m. (pl. xayafe) tailor

618

GENERAL GLOSSARY

xayyiil thought, imagination (Arab.) I xayyal willi1 I pondered (R: 176) xel, xela under (prep.) (§13.3.18.); xela underneath (adv.) xelana lower xera quickly (Kurd.) I xera xera,' >intulu ga->arabana They took him quickly in a carriage (R: 13 7) xesar eleven xetother(§ll.4., §14.10.5.); disjunctive particle I xet >ajubye mixwelu-llan. 1But they made trouble for us. (R: 13) xilya (fs. xlita) sweet I kifte xilya meatballs without hot spices ximma heat; hot I ximmew-ya He is hot (§14.3., §17.1.2.) ximyana m. father-in-law xiska m. darkness I xiska-yele It was dark (M:1) xista f. (pl. xiste) brick (Kurd.) I xiste >u-miste naw IJ,ola (§16.3.1.) xol-la indeed not -> xor xor indeed, really, in fact I xor->arabi la-kiiya 1She does not know Arabic at all (R:160); xor-la -xol-la indeed not: x6l-la hye-wa1Indeed he did not come back (R:153); xor-la mistixta-ya 1In truth, she has not yet given birth (R:201)

xora>i I ba-xora>i free, without charge (Kurd.) xriwa bad x~u# (invar.) special (Arab.) xsaba Sunday xsilta f. jewelry xuba dying I xuba >wl to dye; xuba-walana dyer x~a pungency, spiciness I kifte xumJa spicy meat-balls xupna f. handful (using two hands) I xa xupna ntele He took a handful -> cinga xurma f. (pl. xurmaye) stoned date (Kurd.) I xurma-u run fried date and eggs (Kurd.) xurtmane (sing. xurtmanta) chick-peas xwara white xyapana washing I resa xyapana washing of the head (ceremony at the end of the wedding in which the henna was washed from the head of the bride M:20)

/y/ ya-> yan ya/a m. boy, child; pl. yale children I yale male children and relatives (R:187) (§14.11.) yalula f. youth yan, ya or I yan ... yan either ... or (Kurd.) yapraxta f. (pl. yaprage) stuffed vineleaf (Kurd. < Turk.) yaqura heavy yarida, yariza help (Kurd.) I yaridew hiwle He helped him yarixa long, tall yariza -> yarida yaruqa green yaruqula f. vegetables yarxa m. (pl. yarxe) month yatuma m. orphan (boy) yatumta f. orphan (girl)

GENERAL GLOSSARY yoma m. (pl. yome, yomale) day I yoma kippur Day of Atonement yumkin perhaps (Arab.)

lz/ za misxa zbota f. (pl. zbonye, zbonyale) finger; toe I zbota rabta thumb zdula f. fear zer-zamfn cellar (Kurd.) zetuna m. (pl. zetune) olive ziyara f. Feast of Weeks (Savu'ot) (Arab.) zmata fullness; full (A.?) (invar. § I 0.2.1. (6), § 11.2. (3)) I kasaw zmiita-ya Her stomach is full, i.e. she is pregnant (R:205); tre satle zmate m-lire dewane two buckets full of gold liras zo'a m. pair zoda, bi-zoda (< bis-zoda) more, more of(§l4.10.11.) zopa f. (pl. zope) stove (for heating a room) (Kurd.) zora small zora f. (pl. zore) jar (for water)

619

zorna pipe (Kurd.) I dol-u zorna drum and pipe (treated as fs., e.g. dh6r-u z6rna diiyiiwa 1The drum and pipe music would play R:35); tre dhor-u-zornii'e hitwalan1 We had two groups playing the drum and pipe (R: 136) zre beads (Kurd.)-> lulga-w zre

/z/ tane labour pains (Kurd.) I tane-hfyen 'illaw1She had labour pains (R:20 I) tinbra m. brother-in-law (brother of wife) (Kurd.) tinxusk m. sister-in-law (sister of wife) (Kurd.)

STUDIES IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS 3. Corre, A.D. The Daughter ef ~ People. Arabic and Hebrew Paraphrases of Jeremiah 8.13-9.23. 1971. ISBN 90 04 02552 9 5. Grand'Henry,J. Les parters arabes de la region du Mzii b (Sahara algerien). 1976. ISBN 90 04 04533 3 6. Bravmann, M.M. Studies in Semitic Philology. 1977. ISBN 90 04 04743 3 8. Fenech, E. Contemporary Journalistic Maltese. An Analytical and Comparative Study. 1978. ISBN 90 04 05756 0 9. Hospers, J.H. (ed.). General Linguistics and the Teaching ef Dead HamitoSemitic Languages. Proceedings of the Symposium held in Groningen, 7th8th November 197 5, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Semitic Studies and Near Eastern Archaeology of the State University at Groningen. 1978. ISBN 90 04 05806 0 12. Hoftijzer,J. A Search.for Method. A Study in the Syntactic Use of the Hlocale in Classical Hebrew. With the collaboration of H.R. van der Laan and N.P. de Koo. 1981. ISBN 90 04 0625 7 2 13. Murtonen, A. Hebrew in its West Semitic Setting. A Comparative Survey of Non-Masoretic Hebrew Dialects and Traditions. Part I. A Comparative Lexicon. Section A. Proper Names. 1986. ISBN 90 04 07245 4 Section Ba. Root System: Hebrew Material. 1988. ISBN 90 04 08064 3 Section Bb. Root System: Comparative Material and Discussion. Sections C, D and E: Numerals under 100, Pronouns, Particles. 1989. ISBN 90 04 08899 7 14. Retso, J. Diathesis in the Semitic Languages. A Comparative Morphological Study. 1989. ISBN 90 04 08818 0 15. Rouchdy, A. Nubians and the Nubian Language in Contemporary Egypt. A Case of Cultural and Linguistic Contact. 1991. ISBN 90 04 09197 1 16. Murtonen, A. Hebrew in its West Semitic Setting. A Comparative Survey of Non-Masoretic Hebrew Dialects and Traditions. Part 2. Phonetics and Phonology. Part 3. Morphosyntactics. 1990. ISBN 90 04 09309 5 17. Jongeling K., H.L. Murre-van den Berg & L. van Rompay (eds.). Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic Syntax: Presented to Professor J. Hoftijzer on the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday. 1991. ISBN 90 04 09520 9 18. Cadora, FJ. Bedouin, Village, and Urban Arabic. An Ecolinguistic Study. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09627 2 19. Versteegh, C.H.M. Arabic Grammar and Qyr' iinic Exegesis in Early Islam. 1993. ISBN 90 04 09845 3 20. Humbert, G. Les voies de la transmission du Kitiib de Sfbawayhi. 1995. ISBN 90 04 09918 2 21. Mifsud, M. Loan Verbs in Maltese. A Descriptive and Comparative Study. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10091 1 22. Joosten,]. The Syriac Language ef the Peshitta and Old Syriac Versions ef Matthew. Syntactic Structure, Inner-Syriac Developments and Translation Technique. 1996. ISBN 90 04 10036 9 23. Bernards, M. Changing Traditions. Al-Mubarrad's Refutation of Sibawayh and the Subsequent Reception of the Kztiib. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10595 6

24. Belnap, R.K. and N. Haeri. Structuralist Studies in Arabic Linguistics. Charles A. Ferguson's Papers, 1954-1994. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10511 5 25. Talmon R. Arabic Grammar in its Formative Age. Kitiib al-'Ayn and its Attribution to ]jalil b. Alµnad. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10812 2 26. Testen, D.D. Parallels in Semitic Linguistics. The Development of Arabic 1!- and Related Semitic Particles. 1998. ISBN 90 04 10973 0 27. Bolozky, S. Measuring Productivity in T#Jrd Formation. The Case of Israeli Hebrew. 1999. ISBN 90 04 11252 9 28. Ermers, R. Arabic Grammars ef Turkic. The Arabic Linguistic Model Applied to Foreign Languages & Translation ef 'Abu