The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Dohok: Two Folktales and Selected Features of Verbal Semantics
© Dorota Molin, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0209.03
1. Introduction
This paper presents a selection of primary data from the hitherto unstudied NENA dialect of the Jews of the town of Dohok, located in north-western Iraq (this dialect is henceforth referred to as ‘Jewish Dohok’). Glossing is provided for a part of the texts to ensure accessibility for readers who are not NENA specialists and notes on noteworthy linguistic features are supplied. These texts are complemented by a brief grammatical study, which is based on the texts. This study surveys selected features of verbal semantics1 of Jewish Dohok. In particular, the study focuses on verbal forms with a grammatical function that is distinct from the function of the corresponding forms in many other NENA dialects. This demonstrates the importance of studying each dialect in its own right. The paper aims to situate the Jewish Dohok dialect typologically within the broader NENA family. In addition, it draws attention to certain less prototypical functions of the verbal forms in question. Such functions apparently reflect the subjective creative use of the tense-aspect-mood system in order to achieve a particular discourse effect.
The Jewish Dohok dialect is most closely affiliated with a group of Jewish dialects that were historically spoken West of the Great Zab River, and are known by their speakers and scholars as Lišana Deni (‘our language’). Dialects belonging to this group were spoken also in Zakho, Amedia, Betanure, Nerwa (north-western Iraq) and Challa (south-eastern Turkey). Today, the Jewish Dohok dialect is on the verge of extinction, having only about twenty remaining active speakers. These speakers were born in the 1930s or 1940s in Dohok, or in the 1950s in Israel. As far as I know, all of them live today in Israel, mostly in the Jerusalem area.
In the following section, two folk tales are presented. I recorded these in 2018 in Castel (near Jerusalem). They were narrated by Mr Tzvi Avraham (aged 79).
The stories presented here give a taste of the rich oral literature of the NENA-speaking Jews.2 Though stories such as the ones presented here were narrated in the Jewish community in Aramaic, many of them are likely to have been Kurdish (or Arabic) in origin (Sabar 1982, xxxii). The folktales are indeed sometimes situated in the realia of the Kurdish world—a fact illustrated in the following stories by the direct speech in lines 19 and 20 of the first story. A part of this speech is given in Bahdini Kurdish.3 Other stories, however, appear to be distinctly Jewish, as shown by their ideological character. This was the view of the narrator himself. I have collected several stories that feature the figure of a poor, yet wise Jew, who—contrary to everyone’s expectation—emerges as the hero of the story. Such folktales are apparently aimed at raising the morale of the Jews by presenting them in a very positive light (e.g. showing their resourcefulness).
2. The Verbal System of Jewish Dohok
In addition to their cultural value, the following folktales also attest to the complexity of the verbal system. The verbal system of Jewish Dohok, as is the case with that of other NENA dialects, can convey nuanced meanings of tense, aspect and mood, and enliven and structure the narrative, e.g., draw attention to noteworthy situations, divide story units (cf. Coghill 2009; Khan 2009). Some noteworthy forms found in the stories are used as the starting point of the grammatical survey. Reference will also be made to ‘the corpus’. This is a body of Jewish Dohok texts consisting of orally-delivered personal narratives, folktales and descriptions of customs that I have collected from five different speakers.
Methodologically, this study draws from the notions of Function Grammar (Dik 1997), which maintains that the meaning of a given verbal form is context-dependent, in that it emerges from the interaction of the form with the other arguments in the context. The relevant context may be the clause or the broader discourse. In some cases a form conveys a general meaning, but the specific meaning arises from the contextual usage of the verbal form. In such cases, the verbal form is said to be ‘unmarked’ for the specific contextual meaning (Comrie 1976, 111–12). For example, while the future is most often ‘perfective’ (that is, the clause does not focus on the internal temporal composition of the situation such as its iteration or temporal duration), in Jewish Dohok, there is only one form for the expression of futurity. This means that the prototypically-future verbal form itself is aspectually unmarked and the specific aspect of the verb depends on contextual usage. A similar question of interaction between different factors contributing to ‘meaning’ applies to lexical semantics: sometimes—though not always—grammatical meaning interacts with lexical meaning (Comrie 1976, 41–51), suggesting that lexical meaning may also be a relevant factor in the semantics of verbs.4
The following overview of the verbal system will aid the reader in following the stories and the grammatical survey. Jewish Dohok has four inflectional bases: šaqəl, šqəl, šqul and šqil.5 The šaqəl form is semantically the most versatile one. Its grammatical meaning is determined by a verbal prefix or its absence. In addition to these bases, the infinitive form šqala is also used in some constructions.
The table below presents the inventory of verbal forms, their prototypical grammatical functions and the glosses used to mark them in this paper. A category is left blank if the form is considered unmarked for that feature (i.e. it may express different values of this feature). In light of the aforementioned versatility of šaqəl, I have adopted a glossing system in which only the meaning-specifying verbal affixes—and not the inflectional base itself—are tagged.6 The base itself is glossed only with the lexical meaning of the verb.
Table 1: Forms based on šaqəl
Form |
Gloss |
Tense |
Aspect |
Mood |
|
Ø-šaqəl |
irr- |
present, future |
irrealis |
||
fut/irr-* |
future |
||||
la šaqəl |
neg irr- |
irrealis (including negative imperative) |
|||
k-šaqəl |
hab- |
present |
|||
wəl k-šaqəl |
prog |
present |
|||
la k-šaqəl |
neg hab- |
present |
|||
future |
predictive |
||||
p-šaqəl |
fut- |
future |
predictive |
||
la p-šaqəl |
(no negation of p-šaqəl) |
||||
qam-šaqəl-le** |
pfv- |
past |
|||
Ø-šaqəl-wa |
irr- -pst |
past |
irrealis |
||
past |
habitual |
||||
k-šaqəl-wa |
hab- -pst |
past |
habitual |
||
p-šaqəl-wa |
fut- -pst |
future in the past, past |
habitual |
*This applies to Patterns II, III and IV (whose traditional names in Semitic philology are, respectively, ‘stems II and III’ and ‘the quadriliteral stem’). In these forms, whic realis h always begin with m, the future prefix b-/p- has been lost after being assimilated to the following m, e.g.: *b-mašxən-Ø (fut-warm_up-he) ‘he will warm up’ > *m-mašxən > mašxən. This has led to their merger with the šaqəl forms, i.e.: Ømašxən-Ø (irr-warm_up-he) ‘he may warm up’. In order to indicate this morphological ambiguity, all Pattern II, III and IV šaqəl forms and those that may have been underlyingly p-šaqəl are glossed as irr/fut.
**The alternative to šqəlle, used with object suffixes.
Table 2: Forms based on šqəlle
Form |
Gloss |
Tense |
Aspect |
Mood |
šqəl-le |
pfv. |
past |
||
šqəl-wa-le |
pfv. -pst |
Table 3: Forms based on the infinitive (šqala)
Form |
Gloss |
Tense |
Aspect |
Mood |
Resultativity |
in-(taking) |
present |
||||
Table 4: Forms based on the imperative (šqul)
Form |
Gloss |
Mood |
šqul |
imp. |
irrealis: imperative |
la šqul |
(no negation of šqul) |
Table 5: Forms based on the resultative participle (šqila)
Form |
Gloss |
Resultativity |
res. |
3. Texts with Comments on Selected Grammatical Features
3.1. Transcription and Translation Conventions
As the overview of the verbal system will have made apparent, the complexity of the meanings of verbal forms cannot be fully captured by a glossing system. The glosses that are used here, therefore, are conventional. The table above may be consulted for a more nuanced characterisation of the forms.
As for the transcription, a minimalist system is used. This assumes a phonetically predictable opposition of long vowels (open, unaccented syllables) and of short ones (elsewhere). Consequently, vowel length or shortness is only indicated when not predictable from this rule. One of the exceptions to this are monosyllabic words with a with an open syllable (the most common of which are xa ‘one, a certain’, la ‘no’ and verbal negator, ma ‘what’ ta ‘for (+noun)’), which are always short. Being lexically predictable, shortness in these words is not marked. Monosyllabic prepositions and conjunctions (that is, with the exception of monophonemic ones) are transcribed as separate words. In the vast majority of cases, however, they do not carry nucleus stress, and lexical stress in them is inaudible.
Typically, only nucleus stress is marked ( ̀), and the end of an intonation unit is indicated by the symbol ‘ˈ’. Sometimes, however, a single intonation unit apparently has two nucleus stresses, both of which are indicated. Lexical stress is only indicated when it is not penultimate (in morphologically complex verbal forms, this typically has implications for vowel length, which is also marked).
The symbols ‘-’ and ‘=’ are employed in the transcription. ‘=’ is used for enclitics. In Jewish Dohok, the only certain (i.e. phonetically verifiable) type of clitic is the present copula, so this sign is used only in those cases. The symbol ‘-’ is used for certain units that are morphologically complex, but prosodically are one word. This is done to make the reading more transparent.
Foreign words and phrases which reflect spontaneous code-switching, rather than being loans, are marked with superscript ‘H’, ‘A’ and ‘K’. These indicate, respectively, Modern Hebrew, Arabic or Bahdini Kurdish as the source. In these words, phonological detail, i.e. vowel length and lexical stress, is not indicated. Morphologically unintegrated loanwords are not parsed.
The recordings of the two stories are available online at https://nena.ames.cam.ac.uk/.
Text 1: A Man is a Wolf to a Wolf
1. |
ʾǝθ-wa |
xa-beθa |
d-Ø-ʿāyə̀š-Ø-wa…ˈ |
exist-pst |
a-house |
rel-irr-live-he-pst |
|
There was a household who used to live on… |
2. |
bab-ət |
beθa |
d-Ø-ʿāyǝš-Ø-wa |
mǝn ṣìw-e.ˈ |
father-gen |
house |
rel-irr-live-he-pst |
from wood-pl |
|
…a father of a household who used to make his living by woodcutting.7 |
3. |
g-ezǝl-Ø-wa |
go ṭùra,ˈ |
q-qāṭe-Ø-wa |
ṣìw-e.ˈ |
hab-go-he-pst |
in mountain, |
hab-cut-he-pst |
wood-pl |
|
He used to go to the mountain and cut wood. |
4. |
g-meθè-Ø-wa-lu,ˈ |
Ø-dāré-Ø-wa-lu |
rəš xmara |
dìde,ˈ |
hab-bring-he-pst-them, |
irr-place-he-pst-them |
on donkey |
his |
|
He would bring them, place them on his donkey |
5. |
g-ewə́ð-Ø-wā-lu |
kàr-ta,ˈ |
hab-make-he-pst-them |
bundle-fs |
|
and bind them in a bundle. |
6. |
g-dāré-Ø-wa-lu |
kàr-taˈ |
rəš xmara |
dìde.ˈ |
hab-place-he-pst-them |
bundle-fs |
on donkey |
his |
|
He would put them [as] a bundle on his donkey’s back. |
7. |
ʾu-g-nābə́l-Ø-wa-lu |
šùqa,ˈ |
gǝ-mzābǝ̀n-Ø-wa-lu.ˈ |
and-hab-take-he-pst-them |
market, |
hab-sell-he-pst-them |
|
He would take them to the market and sell them. |
8. |
g-meθe-Ø-wa |
ʾĭxala |
ta yalunk-e |
dìde.ˈ |
hab-bring-he-pst |
food. |
to child-pl |
his. |
|
Then, he would bring food for his children. |
9. |
ʾu-k-eθe-Ø-wa |
k-əxl-i-wa |
and-hab-come-he-pst. |
hab-eat-they-pst |
10. |
g-ʿeš-i-wa |
b-ǝt-ʾànna,ˈ |
mǝn mzabon-ǝt |
ṣìw-e.ˈ |
hab-live-they-pst |
in-gen-these, |
from selling-gen |
wood-pl. |
|
When he came, they would eat and live on this, from the selling of the wood. |
11. |
xa |
yoma |
zǝl-le |
l-ṭùra,ˈ |
b-qaṭe-Ø |
ṣìw-e,ˈ |
One |
day |
pfv.go-he |
to-mountain, |
fut-cut-he |
wood-pl, |
|
One day he went to the mountain—he would cut trees, |
12. |
xze-le |
xa-gùrga.ˈ |
pfv.see-he |
a-wolf. |
|
and he saw a wolf. |
13. |
ʾaw |
gurga |
g-emǝr-Ø |
ṭa-le |
thatM |
wolf |
hab-say-he |
to-him |
|
mà |
wǝt |
ʾǝθya?ˈ |
||
what |
cop.prs.youMS |
res.come.ms? |
||
This wolf said to him ‘Why have you come?’ |
14. |
g-emǝr-Ø |
ʾana |
g-ǝb-ǝn8...ˈ |
hab-say-he |
I |
hab-want-IM |
|
g-ʿeš-ǝn |
b-ǝt qaṭʾ-ǝn9 |
ṣìw-e.ˈ |
|
hab-live-IM |
in-gen irr-cut-IM |
wood-pl. |
|
He said ‘I want to… I make my living by woodcutting. |
15. |
gǝ-mzabn-ǝn-nu |
go šuqa |
|
hab-sell-IM-them |
in market |
||
ʾu-Ø-máʿăyǝš-ǝn |
yalunk-e |
dìdi.ˈ |
|
and-irr/fut-sustain-I |
child-pl |
my |
|
I sell it in the market and provide for my children. |
16. |
bǝ-d-è |
ʾana |
g-ʿeš-ǝn.ˈ |
In-gen-thisF |
I |
hab-live-IM |
|
In this way I make my living.’ |
17. |
g-emər-Ø |
ʾana |
b-yāw-ǝn-nox |
kud-yom |
hab-say-he |
I |
fut-give-I-you |
every-day |
|
xa |
lira |
kurkamàna.ˈ |
||
one |
coin |
golden |
||
He replied ‘Every day, I will give you one golden coin. |
18. |
s-i |
maṣrəf-Ø |
ta yalunk-e |
didox.ˈ |
imp.go-youMS |
imp.spend-youCS |
to child-pl |
yourMS |
|
Go, spend it on your children.’ |
19. |
g-emər-Ø, |
Kxera xudèK=la,ˈ |
hab-say-he |
KGod’s favourK=cop.prs.she |
|
He said ‘it is KGod’s favourK, |
20. |
Kxera xudeK |
b-ǝt kǝrmànji |
g-ǝmr-i.ˈ |
KGod’s favourK |
hab-say-they |
||
21. |
šqǝl-le10 |
lira |
kurkamana |
dide |
mǝn gùrgaˈ |
pfv.take-he |
coin |
golden |
his |
from wolf |
|
He took his golden coin from the wolf |
22. |
ʾu-θe-le |
l-šùqa.ˈ |
and-pfv.come-he |
to-market. |
|
and came to the market |
23. |
ʾu-zun-ne |
ta gyane |
ʾĭxala |
and-pfv.buy-he |
to himself |
food |
|
ʾu-jull-e |
ta yalunk-e |
dìde,ˈ |
|
and-cloth-pl |
to child-pl |
his. |
|
and bought food for himself, and clothes for his children, |
24. |
ʾu-AmabsuṭA |
mǝr-re |
ta bàx-t-eˈ |
and-ApleasedA |
pfv.say-he |
to wife-fs-his |
|
and pleased, he told his wife |
25. |
waḷḷa |
ʾana |
xze-li |
xa-xùraˈ |
indeed |
I |
pfv.meet-I |
a-friend |
|
go ṭuraˈ |
bale |
gùrgā=le. |
||
in-mountain |
but |
wolf=cop.prs.he. |
||
‘Indeed, I met a friend on the mountain, but he is a wolf. |
26. |
kud-yom |
g-emǝr-Ø |
||
every-day |
hab-say-he |
|||
ʾana |
b-yāwǝn-nox |
xa |
kurkamàna.ˈ |
|
I |
fut-give-I-youM |
one |
golden |
|
“Every day”—he said—“I will give you one golden coin.” |
27. |
ʾùd-le-li |
ʾədyo |
kurkamàna.ˈ |
pfv.make-he-me |
today |
golden. |
|
He has given me today a golden coin.’ |
28. |
kud-yom |
g-ezǝl-Ø |
l-ṭura |
every-day |
hab-go-he |
to-mountain |
|
ʾu-g-ewəð-Ø |
ṣìw-eˈ |
||
and-hab-make-he |
wood-pl |
||
So every day, he goes to the mountain, cuts wood |
29. |
ʾu-k-eθe-Ø |
gurga |
g-yāwǝl-Ø-le |
kurkamàna.ˈ |
and-hab-come-he |
wolf |
hab-give-he-him |
golden |
|
and the wolf comes and gives him a coin. |
30. |
pǝš-le |
xằ |
yarxa,ˈ |
trè,ˈ |
ṭḷàha,ˈ |
xa |
šà-ta.ˈ |
pfv.stay-he |
one |
month |
two, |
three, |
one |
year-fs |
|
One month went by, then two, three, one year. |
31. |
bax-t-e |
g-ǝmra |
|||||
wife-fs-his |
hab-say-she |
||||||
waḷḷa |
hatxa |
xṑš |
naša,ˈ |
ḅā̀š=ile.ˈ |
|||
indeed, |
such |
good |
man |
good-cop.prs.he |
|||
His wife said ‘Indeed, what a kind man! He is good. |
32. |
ʾana |
g-ǝban |
Ø-ʾoð-an-ne |
qàðr-e,ˈ |
I |
hab-want-IF |
irr-make-IF-him |
dish-pl |
|
I want to make some dishes for him, |
33. |
Ø-qaðr-an-ne |
ʾu-Ø-ʿazm-ax-le |
kəs-lan |
l-bèθa.ˈ |
irr-treat-IF-him |
and-irr-invite-we-him |
by-us |
to-house |
|
Let’s host him, invite him for a feast at our house. |
34. |
Ø-ʾoð-ax-le |
xa-ʾĭxala |
basìmaˈ |
irr-make-we-him |
some-food |
good |
|
We shall prepare some good food for him, |
35. |
ʾu-AØ-mstaʿən-ØA |
go beθa |
kəs-lan |
|
and-irr/fut-help_oneself-he |
in house-ms |
by-us |
||
ʾu-Ø-doq-ax |
qàðr-e.ˈ |
|||
and-irr-hold-we |
banquet-pl |
|||
he will enjoy himself at our house, and we will feast together.’ |
36. |
g-emər-Ø |
ṭa-la |
šùq-Ø-le.ˈ |
prs-say-he |
to-her |
imp.leave-youCS-him. |
|
gùrg-ā=le.ˈ |
ḥèwan=ile.ˈ |
||
wolf-cop.prs.he |
animal-cop.prs.he |
||
He says to her ‘Leave him alone. He’s a wolf. He’s an animal. |
37. |
mà |
b-aθe-Ø |
go naš-e?ˈ11 |
naš-e |
b-zàdʾ-i.ˈ |
what |
fut-come-he |
in man-pl? |
man-pl |
fut-fear-they |
|
What does it mean “He will come among people”? People will be afraid. |
38. |
Ø-mbàrbəʿă-Ø-lu |
gurga |
Ø-yaʾəl-Ø |
go ma-θa.ˈ |
irr/fut-alarm-he-them |
wolf |
irr-enter-he |
in city-fs. |
|
A wolf that enters the city will alarm them.’ |
39. |
g-əmr-a |
là,ˈ |
là,ˈ |
mar-Ø-re. |
Ø-ʾàθe-Ø.ˈ |
prs-say-she |
no, |
no, |
imp.say-youCS-him |
irr-come-he |
|
She said ‘No, no, tell him to come.’ |
40. |
zəl-le |
g-emər-Ø |
ṭà-le,ˈ |
||
pfv.go-he |
prs-say-he |
to-him |
|||
g-emər-Ø |
ʾana |
l-èb-i |
Ø-ʾaθ-ən.ˈ |
||
prs-say-he |
I |
neg-can-I |
irr-come-IM |
||
So he went and told the wolf, but he said ‘I can’t come. |
41. |
gùrgā=wən, |
k-əxl-ən |
nàš-e.ˈ |
wolf=cop.prs.I |
prs-eat-I |
man-pl |
|
I am a wolf. I eat people. |
42. |
b-aθ-ən |
go ma-θa |
kull-u |
Ø-mbàrbəʿ-i.ˈ |
fut-come-IM |
in city-fs |
all-they |
irr/fut-alarm-they |
|
If I come to town, everyone will be alarmed.’ |
43. |
zəl-le |
mər-re |
ta-bax-ta |
hàtxa |
g-emər-Ø |
pfv.go-he |
pfv-say-he |
to-wife-fs |
such |
prs-say-he |
|
gurga.ˈ |
|||||
wolf |
|||||
So the man went and told his wife, this is what the wolf said. |
44. |
ʾaz |
g-əmr-a |
šud |
Ø-ʾaθe-Ø |
b-lèle, |
xə̀ška.ˈ |
so |
prs-say-she |
let |
irr-come-he |
in night.ms |
darkness |
|
So she said ‘Let him come at night, when there is darkness.’ |
45. |
bə-d-aw |
wàxtˈ |
l-əθ-wa |
beher-ùθaˈ. |
in-gen-thatM |
time.ms |
neg-exist.pst |
light-fs. |
|
At that time, there were no lights. |
46. |
l-əθ-wa |
Aʿan-ṭariqA |
Hmenoròt.H |
|
neg-exist-pst |
by way of |
HlampsH |
||
AkahrabaA |
l-ə̀θ-wa.ˈ |
|||
AelectricityA |
neg-exist-pst |
|||
There was nothing like lamps. There was no electricity. |
47. |
xə̀ška |
wewa.ˈ |
darkness |
cop.pst.he |
|
It was dark. |
48. |
ʾu-pāyəš-Ø-wa |
xə̀ška,ˈ |
||
and-irr-stay-he |
darkness |
|||
kull-a |
ma-θa |
xə̀ška |
wawa.ˈ |
|
all-she |
city-fs |
darkness |
cop.pst.she. |
|
When it got dark, the whole city would be dark. |
49. |
g-əmr-a |
dammət |
Ø-payəš-Ø |
xə̀ška,ˈ |
|
prs-say-she |
when |
irr-stay-he |
darkness |
||
šud |
Ø-ʾaθe-Ø,ˈ |
||||
let |
irr-come-he |
||||
She said ‘Let him come after it gets dark. |
50. |
beθ-Ø-an |
wele |
bə-dumằhik |
dət ma-θa.ˈ |
house-our |
deix.cop.prs.he |
in-outskirts |
gen city-fs |
|
Our house is on the outskirts of town. |
51. |
b-aθe-Ø |
kəs-lan |
beθa |
ʾu-b-àzəl-Ø.ˈ |
fut-come-he |
by-us |
house |
and-fut-go-he |
|
čŭxa |
la |
k-xāzè-Ø-le.ˈ |
||
nobody |
neg |
hab-see-he-him |
||
He will come straight to our house and go back. No one will see him.’ |
52. |
g-emər-Ø |
bax-t-i |
b-oð-a-lox-Ø |
prs-say-he |
wife-fs-my |
fut-make-she-youMS |
|
xa-ʿazime |
bā̀š. |
||
some-banquet |
good. |
||
So he told the wolf ‘My wife will make for you a great banquet.’ |
53. |
mər-re |
ṭa-le |
b-àθ-ən,ˈ |
g-emər-Ø |
b-àθ-ən.ˈ |
pfv.say-he |
to-him |
fut-come-IM |
prs-say-he |
fut-come-IM |
|
He replied to him ‘I will come,’ he said ‘I will come’. |
54. |
g-emər-Ø, |
HtovH, |
b-àθ-ən.ˈ |
prs-say-he |
HgoodH, |
fut-come-IM |
|
The wolf said ‘Well then, I will come.’ |
55. |
θèle,ˈ baxte qam-qaðràle ʾu-ʾudla ʾĭxala basìma ṭale,ˈ |
He came, his wife showed him hospitality for him and made good food for him, |
56. |
ʾu-pəšle ʾāṣərta kə̀slu,ˈ xəlle, štele ʾu-muḥkèlu.ˈ |
And he stayed the evening at theirs, he ate, drank and they spoke. |
57. |
pəšla12 dràngi, ˈ g-emǝr ʾana b-azən l-ṭùra.ˈ |
It got late, [so] he says ‘I will go [back] to [the] mountain.’ |
58. |
qəmle … măre beθa ži zəlle qam-maxzele ʾurxa ʾu-mpə̀qle.ˈ |
He got up … the house owner also went and showed him the way, and he went out. |
59. |
ʾu-ʾawa yĭʾəlle l-ʾòya,ˈ gurga ḥməlle go tằra.ˈ |
[As] that one entered, the wolf waited at the door. |
60. |
gurga ḥməlle go tằra,ˈ šame ma bàmri băθər zəlle.ˈ |
The wolf waited at the door to hear what they will say after he has left. |
61. |
baxte ži g-əmra waḷḷa xṑš,ˈ xōš xùra ʾətlox.ˈ |
His wife says ‘Indeed, a good, good friend you have. |
62. |
xṑš xúrā=le ʾo gurga.ˈ |
[A] good friend he is, that wolf. |
63. |
băle xa-məndi qŭ̀ṣur ʾibe.ˈ |
But there is a flaw in him.’ |
64. |
g-emər ṭala mà ʾibe qŭṣur?ˈ |
He says to her ‘What flaw is there in him?’ |
65. |
g-əmra ṭale rìxa…ˈ raba rixa là basima k-eθe mən pəmme.ˈ |
She says to him ‘A smell, a lot of bad smell comes out of his mouth. |
66. |
rixa là basima k-eθe mən pəmme.ˈ |
A bad smell comes out from his mouth.’ |
67. |
HʾazH g-emər gùrgā=le ʾóhā=le.ˈ mà ʾoðən?ˈ |
So he says ‘He is a wolf, this he is. What should I do?’ |
68. |
šmèʾle gurga muḥkela hatxa ʾəlle,ˈ xrìwa.ˈ |
The wolf heard [how] she spoke in this way about him, maliciously. |
69. |
qam-dārele go nàθeˈ ʾu-qḥə̀rre,ˈ krə̀ble.ˈ |
He kept it to himself (lit. he put it in his ear), and he was upset he became angry. |
70. |
g-emǝr ʾana g-oðənnu hawùθa,ˈ ʾani k-parʾila ṭali bət xriwùθa.ˈ |
He says ‘I do them a favour and they pay me back with evil. |
71. |
g-əmri rixa raba pīs g-napəq mən pə̀mme.ˈ |
They say “A very dirty smell comes out from his mouth.”’ |
72. |
zəlle l-ṭùra.ˈ durdət yom q-qayəm măre bèθa,ˈ g-ezəl ta ṣìwe.ˈ |
He went to the mountain. The next day the house owner gets up and goes for wood. |
73. |
gurga žiθèle,ˈ g-emər, šqullox ʾədyo ži xa lira kurkamàna,ˈ băle mən ʾədyo,ˈ là -k-eθət,ˈ ḥəl ʾarbi yome xèta.ˈ |
The wolf came and says ‘Take for yourself also today one golden coin, but from today [onwards], don’t come, until forty more days. |
74. |
băle šqulle năra dìdox. |
But take your axe. |
75. |
năra didox šqùlle,ˈ g-emər, mxile go rèši,ˈ kmà ʾibox!ˈ |
Take your axe,’ he says ‘[and] hit my head (lit. hit it on my head)13 as [hard as] you can. |
76. |
ʾu-tùrre reši bət năra.ˈ |
And break my head with [the] axe.’ |
77. |
g-emər màṭo māxənne go rešox?ˈ b-qaṭlə̀nnox?ˈ |
He says ‘How [is it that] I should hit your head? Will I kill you?’ |
78. |
g-emǝr là-q-qaṭlətti.ˈ |
He says ‘You won’t kill me.’ |
79. |
g-emǝr ʾatta ʾan māxətte năra go rèši,ˈ ʾàn b-axlənnox.ˈ |
He says ‘Now either you hit me [with the] axe on my head or I will eat you. |
80. |
xzi, mà gəbət?ˈ |
Look, what do you want? |
81. |
ʾēn là-māxətte năra go reši,ˈ ʾan b-axlə̀nnox.ˈ |
If you don’t hit me on my head, I will eat you.’ |
82. |
ʾaw naša ži faqìra,ˈ kma də-mṣèle, qam-māxele go rèše,ˈ Hqam-sālə̀ḥleH gurga.ˈ |
This poor man, he hit him14 on his head as [hard as] he could [and] the wolf forgave him. |
83. |
ʾu-zə̀lle,ˈ gurga ži qam-yāsərre reš gyàne,ˈ brìndar=ile.ˈ |
And he went, the wolf bandaged his head—he was wounded. |
84. |
g-emər ṭale bas ʾarbi yoma xeta b-àθət.ˈ |
He says to him ‘Only after another forty days will you come again. |
85. |
bas ʾarbi yoma xeta b-àθət ˈb-axlə̀nnox.ˈ |
Only, in another forty days will you come, [otherwise] I will eat you.’ |
86. |
zə̀lle,ˈ muḥkele ta baxta, g-emǝr ḥāl ʾu-mắsale didi,ˈ ʾèhā=la.ˈ |
He went and spoke to [his] wife, he says ‘My situation is this. |
87. |
gurga mərre ṭali là-k-eθət ʾarbi yoma xeta ʾaxxa.ˈ |
The wolf told me “You will not be coming here for another forty days.”’ |
88. |
HtòvH.ˈ pədlu ʾarbi yòme,ˈ qəmle ʾaw naša15 xa-ga-xə̀t,ˈ |
Good. Forty days passed by, the man got up once again, |
89. |
zəlle l-ṭùra,ˈ zəlle xzele gùrga,ˈ g-emər ṭale, g-emər θằ ʾaxxa,ˈ |
he went to [the] mountain, he went and saw the wolf [who] says to him, he says ‘Come here’, |
90. |
g-emǝr θèlox,ˈ g-emǝr šqullox xa lira kurkamana xèta.ˈ |
he says ‘[since] you have come,’ he says ‘take for yourself another golden coin.’ |
91. |
g-emər šrìlaˈ ʾe kafiya mən reši ʾu-xzì,ˈ duktət mxelox ʾo narà əlla.ˈ |
He says ‘Untie this scarf from my head and see [the] place [which] you hit [with] that axe (lit. see [the] place you hit your axe on it).’ |
92. |
qam-šārela mən ʿāqə̀le,ˈ wela trə̀ṣta.ˈ |
He untied it from his head (lit. mind)—it had healed. |
93. |
g-emər mà k-xazət?ˈ |
He says ‘What do you see?’ |
94. |
g-emər wele rešox trìṣa.ˈ |
He says ‘Your head has healed!’16 |
95. |
g-emər k-xàzət?ˈ g-emər šwirət17 năra dìdoxˈ qam-māxətte baθər ʾarbi yòme,ˈ trə̀ṣle reši.ˈ |
He says ‘Do you see?’ He says ‘The wound of your axe [which] you had hit—after forty days, my head has healed. |
96. |
băle xabrət bàxtox mərra ṭaliˈ ḥəl mòθaˈ là-g-našən-ne.ˈ |
But your wife’s word, which she said to me, till death I will not forget.’ |
97. |
g-emər mà mərra ṭalox?ˈ |
He says ‘What did she say to you?’ |
98. |
g-emər ʾaxtoxun, baxtox muḥkèloxun,ˈ baxtox mərra ʾo gugra xoš nàšā=le, ḅā̀š=ile, balé xa-rixa pī̀s k-eθe mən pəmme.ˈ |
He says ‘You, your wife spoke, your wife said “This wolf is a good man, but a bad smell comes out of his mouth.”’ |
99. |
šwirət xàbraˈ là-k-eθe nšaya.ˈ |
[A] wound [caused by a] word is not forgotten. |
100. |
šwirət ḍə̀rbaˈ naša g-našèle.ˈ |
A wound [caused by] a blow [a] man forgets. |
101. |
šwirət xàbraˈ ḥə̀l moθaˈ naša là-g-našele.ˈ |
[But] a wound [caused by a] word until death does [a] man not forget. |
102. |
lazəm yàʾe naša maṭo maḥke.ˈ |
A man should know how to speak. |
103. |
dər bā̀l,ˈ mən ʾədyo pēf18 là-k-eθət l-ṭura.ˈ |
Watch out [that] from today onwards, you do not enter the mountain. |
Text 2: The True Lie
1. |
ʾәθwa xa-ḥakòma,ˈ mərre ta dawəlta dìde—ˈ |
There was a ruler, he said to his state— |
2. |
ta kùllu naše go dawəlta—ˈ |
to all [the] people in [the] state— |
3. |
bə-daw wàxtˈ kud màθaˈ dawə̀lta wawa.ˈ |
At that time, every city was [a] state. |
4. |
k-ṣarxíwāla dawə̀lta.ˈ |
They used to call it a state. |
5. |
mǝrre ta dawə̀lta dide:ˈ |
He said to his state |
6. |
ʾana g-ǝbǝn ta ḥukum dìdi…ˈ ta parlamèn didi—ˈ |
‘I want for my government… for my parliament… |
7. |
ʾana g-əbǝn xa…ˈ meθə́tūli xa mdagǝl ṭali xa-dùgle19ˈ |
I want [some]one, [I want you] to bring me [some]one who would tell me a lie |
8. |
la hawe-bi ʾamrǝnne kulle mǝndi mən ʾilàhā=la,ˈ |
[so that] I could not say all things are from God, |
9. |
d-ʾamrǝnneˈ ʾo dùglē=la,20ˈ ṭròṣā=wǝt,ˈ ʾo dùglē=la.ˈ |
so that I would say “This is [a] lie, you are right, this is [a] lie.” |
10. |
HvH-ʾana g-yāwə́nnoxun ṭḷà yome.ˈ |
And I give you three days. |
11. |
là-meθə́tūli xa mdāgəlli xa-dugle d-maṭe l-ʿāqəli,ˈ |
[If] you do not bring me [some]one [who] will tell me a lie that would be acceptable to me (lit. would enter my reason), |
12. |
rešoxun mafərə̀nne.ˈ |
I will cut off your heads (lit. make them fly). |
13. |
b-qaṭlə̀nnoxun,ˈ rešoxun b-qeṣə̀nne.ˈ |
I will kill you, I will cut off your heads.’ |
14. |
kullu zdèʾluˈ ʾu-zə̀lluˈ |
All were afraid and went, |
15. |
mǝθelu naše d-ʾamri…ˈ mdagli dùgle.ˈ |
brought people who would say… would lie [a] lie. |
16. |
xa θèle,ˈ g-èmərˈ ʾana b-amrən xa-mǝndi xḕt žik.ˈ |
One [person] came [and] says ‘I will tell something else too.’ |
17. |
ʾu-ḥakòma žik mərre,ˈ k-xāzə́tula kǝsta dǝt-pàre,ˈ kǝs dət zùze,ˈ zuzət dèhwa?ˈ |
And the ruler also said ‘Do you see [the] bag of money, bag of coins, golden coins? |
18. |
ʾe kǝsta wela mliθa zùze,ˈ |
Look, this bag is full of coins, |
19. |
kud də-mdagəl ṭali dùglaˈ |
[and] every[one] who would tell me a lie |
20. |
ʾamrǝn dùglē=la ʿāqǝli q-qate,ˈ dùglē=la,ˈ |
[about which] I would say “My mind decides (lit. my mind cuts) [that] this is a lie,” |
21. |
ʾè b-yāwǝnna ṭale.ˈ |
I will give this to him. |
22. |
ʾu-ana ṭḷà yome b-yāwə́nnoxun,ˈ b-qaṭlə̀nnoxun.ˈ |
And I will give you three days, [then] I will kill you.’ |
23. |
xa g-emǝr ʾana xzeli bət ʾèniˈ |
One says ‘I saw with my [own] eyes |
24. |
xa-nàšaˈ tule rəš kanùšta.ˈ |
a man [who] sat on top of [a] broom. |
25. |
duqle kanùštaˈ ʾu-fǝrre šə̀mme.ˈ |
He seized a broom and flew into the sky.’ |
26. |
θele kǝs ḥakòma,ˈ g-emǝr ʾana hàtxa xzeli bət ʾeni.ˈ |
He came to [the] ruler [and] says ‘I saw this with my own eyes.’ |
27. |
g-èmǝrˈ kulle mǝndi mən ʾilàhā=le.ˈ |
[The ruler] says ‘All of this is from God. |
28. |
ʾilaha ʾìbe ʾaweð hatxa.ˈ |
God can do this.’ |
29. |
xa dārele rǝš kanùštaˈ ʾu-màfǝrre21 šəmme.ˈ |
Someone may put [a man] on top of [a] broom and make him fly to the sky. |
30. |
ʾeha lèwa dugle.ˈ |
This was not [a] lie. |
31. |
xa-xǝt θèle,ˈ g-emǝr ʾana xzeli kàlbaˈ |
Another one came and says ‘I saw [a] dog |
32. |
yĭʾə̀lleˈ go nuqbǝt xmàṭa.ˈ |
[that] entered into the eye of a needle. |
33. |
xzèliˈ yĭʾə̀lleˈ go nuqbǝt xmàṭa.ˈ |
I saw him [when he] entered in the eye of [a] needle.’ |
34. |
g-emǝr ʾeha lèwa dugle,ˈ |
[The ruler] says ‘This was not a lie.’ |
35. |
g-emǝr ʾilaha ʾìbe ʾawǝð hatxa.ˈ |
He says ‘God can do this.’ |
36. |
ʾatta ʾo ḥakòma,ˈ ma d-g-ǝmrìleˈ |
Now this ruler, what[ever] they tell him, |
37. |
ʾawa duqle b-ʾiða dǝt-ʾilàha.ˈ |
he continued to swear by God (lit. he seized the hand of God) |
38. |
ʾilaha ʾìbe ʾawǝð. |
[saying,] ‘God can do [this].’ |
39. |
zǝllu…ˈ xa wewa huðaya go šùqa,ˈ |
They went … there was a Jew in the market (lit. one he was a Jew in the market) |
40. |
ṭāləbwa HnedavòtH,ˈ |
[who] he used to beg, |
41. |
ʿāyəšwa bət Hnedavòt.Hˈ g-yāwiwa ṭale ʾu-bʿāyìšwa.ˈ |
[who] used to live off alms. They used to give him and he would live off [that]. |
42. |
šmeʾle,ˈ g-emǝr mà-loxun ta parlament.ˈ |
He heard [and] says ‘What is [up] with you?’ to the parliament. |
43. |
g-ǝmri ḥāl ʾu-mắsale ʾèha=la.ˈ |
They say ‘The situation is this.’ |
44. |
g-ə̀mərˈ nàblūliˈ ʾana mdaglǝn ṭale xa-dùgle.ˈ |
He says ‘Take me, I will tell him a lie.’ |
45. |
ᴴveᴴ-ʾana ži g-ə̀bǝn ʾāmǝrriˈ lèwa dugle.ˈ |
And I, in fact, want him to tell me it was not a lie. |
46. |
ʾana g-ə̀bǝn ʾāmǝrri lewa dugle.ˈ |
I want him to tell me it was not a lie. |
47. |
zŭ́nūli xa-bàdlaˈ dət ḥakòmeˈ ʾu-náblūli l-ḥàmmamˈ ʾu-xèpənˈ ʾu-mbadlən ʾu-gàrʾənˈ ʾu-kundằreˈ ʾu-kullu xàθeˈ |
Buy me a royal suit and take me to [the] bathhouse, and I shall wash, change and shave, shoes and everything new, |
48. |
ʾu-náblūli kəs ḥakòma,ˈ ʾana mdaglǝn ṭale xa-dugle žiˈ d-ʾawa ʾàmərˈ ʾe dùglē=la.ˈ |
and take me to [the] ruler, I shall tell him such a lie [that] he will say [that] it is [a] lie. |
49. |
ʾana g-ə̀bən ʾamərˈ ʾeha dùglē=la.ˈ |
I want want him to say [that] it is [a] lie.’ |
50. |
g-əmri ṭale HtòvH.ˈ |
They say to him ‘Fine!’ |
51. |
zəlle l-šùqa.ˈ pədlu go šùqa.ˈ g-emǝr zŭ́nūli šoʾa lʾìne.ˈ |
He went to the market. They passed by the market and he says ‘Buy me seven big jugs, |
52. |
ʾu-šoʾa ḥammàre žik muθunˈ ʾu-ta … d-nablilu ta ḥakòmaˈ ʾumaḥməlilu rèza go diwan dide.ˈ |
and also bring seven donkey drivers for … so that they can take them to the ruler and place them [in] a line in his reception room.’ |
53. |
HtòvHˈ. gəbe maxəlṣi b-gyànu.ˈ zunnu ṭale šoʾa lʾìneˈ ʾu-šoʾa ḥammàreˈ ʾu-zəllu kəs ḥakòma.ˈ |
Good. They want to save themselves. They bought him seven big jugs and seven donkey drivers and they went to the king. |
54. |
θelu kəs dargằvanˈ dət ḥakòma,ˈ ʾanna talme ʾu-kadùne,ˈ talme ʾu-nàše,ˈ |
They came to the ruler’s gate-keeper, [all] these vessels and jugs, vessels and people. |
55. |
mà ila g-əmri ʾanna ḥarrase,ˈ ḥarras-d go tằra.ˈ |
‘What is it?’ say these keepers, the keepers who [are] at [the] gate. |
56. |
g-əmri mălək mərre ʾaθax mdaglax xa-dùgla ṭale.ˈ |
They say ‘[The] king told [us that] we should come [and] tell a lie for him.’ |
57. |
mərru ta mằləkˈ flan welu ʾə̀θye,ˈ mdagəl xa-dùgla.ˈ |
They said to the king ‘Some men have come, [one] will tell you a lie.’ |
58. |
mălək mərre ṭàluˈ suwun muθun xàˈ |
The king said to them ‘Go, bring me someone, |
59. |
băle là-hawe huðaya.ˈ |
but he should not be [a] Jew. |
60. |
là-hawe huðaya.ˈ |
He should not be [a] Jew.’ |
61. |
θèlu,ˈ yĭʾəllu kùlluˈ kəs mằlək.ˈ |
They came, they all entered into the ruler’s [presence]. |
62. |
ḥməllu go dìwan,ˈ ʾaw huðaya žìk.ˈ |
They waited in the reception room, this Jew also. |
63. |
qam-maḥməllu kullu lʾine dide bət rèzaˈ ʾu-mən ḥammare baθər lʾìneˈ |
He put all his big jugs in a line and a few of the donkey drivers behind the big jugs. |
64. |
ʾu-g-emər ṭale d-mằ,ˈ mdaglət xa-dùgleˈ d-ʾana ʿāqəli qaṭe dùglē=la?ˈ |
And [the ruler] says ‘What? You [want to] tell me a lie which my mind would consider to be a lie (lit. my mind would decide it is [a] lie)? |
65. |
ʾamrənnox dùglē=la?ˈ |
I should tell you it is [a] lie?’ |
66. |
g-èmər,ˈ ḥakoma basìma,ˈ ʾana là-gə-mdaglənnox dugle,ˈ ʾana g-əmrənnox xa-məndi d-wewa tròṣa.ˈ |
[The Jew] says ‘Good ruler, I do not tell you [a] lie, I tell you something that was true. |
67. |
tròṣa wewa.ˈ |
It was true. |
68. |
ʾana là-θeli mdaglənnox dugle.ˈ |
I haven’t come to tell [a] lie.’ |
69. |
g-emər mà ʾətlox?ˈ |
[The ruler] says ‘What have you got?’ |
70. |
g-èmərˈ k-xāzəttu ʾana lʾìne?ˈ |
[The Jew] says ‘Do you see those big jugs?’ |
71. |
g-èmərˈ sawòyiˈ xa-naša dolamànt wewa.ˈ |
He says ‘My grandfather was a rich man.’ |
72. |
dolamántˈ yáʿăni măre dawəlta,ˈ dawə̀lta ʾə́θwāle,ˈ ràba dolamant wewa.ˈ |
dolamant means somebody with wealth. He had wealth, he was very rich. |
73. |
ʾu-sawòyoxˈ ḥakòma wewa.ˈ snə̀qle,ˈ l-sawòyiˈ mdayən-ne pàre,ˈ zùze,ˈ |
‘And your grandfather was a ruler. He needed my grandfather to lend him money, coins, |
74. |
ʾu-ʾə́θwāle xa-šùla ʾāwəðwa.ˈ |
and he had a job to do. |
75. |
ʾu-lə̀θwālu go xazina,ˈ |
When they did not have [money] in the treasury, |
76. |
θele mdoyənne mən sawòyi,ˈ bə-dana lʾine qam-ṃāḷèwalu ṭalu zùze,ˈ pàre.ˈ |
he came and borrowed from my grandfather, in these big jugs, which they filled for him with golden coins, money. |
77. |
sawòyiˈ mdoyənne tà sawoyoxˈ šoʾa lʾine dət zùze.ˈ |
My grandfather lent your grandfather seven big jugs of coins. |
78. |
ʾu-ʾatta ʾana pəšli …ˈ ḥali wele twìraˈ ʾu-θeli šaqlən denət sawoyi mə̀nnox.ˈ |
And now I became … I have gone bankrupt (lit. my situation is broken) and I have come to take my grandfather’s loan from you. |
79. |
ʾāt ḥakòma=wətˈ ʾə̀tlox.ˈ |
You are the ruler [and] you have [enough].’ |
80. |
munə̀xle ḥakoma,ˈ g-emər ta do nàšaˈ măre lʾìne,ˈ |
The ruler sighed (lit. sighed the ruler) and says to this man with [the] big jugs |
81. |
ʾimal sawòyoxˈ xa-kalba hatxa ruwa wèwaˈ dət sawoyi mằlək,ˈ ḥakòmaˈ mdayən mənne lʾine d-pàre?ˈ |
‘When was your grandfather such a filthy bastard (lit. big dog) that my grandfather, the king, the ruler, would borrow from him big jugs of money? |
82. |
mən ʾèmal ila?ˈ hatxa wewa rùwa.ˈ |
Since when does such a thing happen (lit. since when is it)? He was such a great (filthy bastard). |
83. |
sawoyox kalba rùwa wewa.ˈ |
Your grandfather was a filthy bastard.’ |
84. |
g-emər ṭaleˈ ḥakòmaˈ maḥki ta gyànox,ˈ là-mṣaʾărət sawoyi.ˈ |
[The Jew] says to him ‘Ruler, speak to yourself [quietly], [but] do not curse my grandfather. |
85. |
ʾēn ila tròṣaˈ sawoyox wele šqila mən sawoyi pàreˈ ṃḷìlu ʾanna lʾine ṭàliˈ dena dìdi.ˈ |
If it is true—your grandfather had borrowed from my grandfather money—fill these big jugs for me [with the money for] my loan. |
86. |
ʾu-ʾēn ila dùgle,ˈ hàlli kəsta.ˈ |
And if it is a lie, give me a bag [of money].’ |
87. |
ʾawa ḥakoma krə̀ble,ˈ g-emər šqùl.ˈ qam-māxela ṣàdre,ˈ g-emər ʾèhaˈ qṭèle ʿāqəli duglē=la.ˈ |
That ruler got angry and says ‘Take.’ He threw the bag his way and says ‘This one I accepted as a lie (lit. this one my mind has determined to be [a] lie)’. |
4. Survey of Selected Functions of Verbal Forms
In this section I present a commentary on the grammatical meanings of selected verbal forms (mostly of those attested in the texts above). As remarked, the goal of this section is to highlight some of the more distinctive features of Jewish Dohok in the context of NENA, and to draw attention to certain non-prototypical, creative applications of verbal forms that are intended to create particular discourse effects.
4.1. Expression of Realis Mood through šaqəl-wa
The šaqəl form typically expresses irrealis present and future, while its past counterpart šaqəl-wa is prototypically past irrealis. In addition, however, šaqəl-wa also sometimes occurs in sentences conveying realis mood. The prototypical realis counterparts of šaqəl and šaqəl-wa have the habitual indicative prefix k-, thus k-šaqəl (present) and k-šaqəl-wa (past).22
As the previous paragraph implies, there is an asymmetry between the verbal forms: the k- prefix is omitted in forms conveying realis mood in the past, but in the present, such omission of the prefix is virtually unattested in the corpus.23
In the texts presented above, šaqəl-wa occurs in clauses that can be identified as subordinate relative clauses (though asyndetic), as well as in main clauses (examples 2/39–40 and 1/4 below respectively):
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If the absence of the habitual indicative prefix is a matter of phonetic elision, this elision is highly irregular (i.e. it is not restricted to a single phonetic environment). A more likely explanation for its absence, therefore, is linked to the original semantics of the k- prefix and to its process of diachronic grammaticalisation. Namely, the k- prefix (and its dialectal variants) most likely originated as a progressive or presentative marker (Khan 2007, 94), which was added to the base šaqəl, the latter subsequently becoming restricted to irrealis mood. The progressive and presentative functions are bound especially closely with the (actual) present, since they are typically used to draw attention to situations overlapping with speech time. This, in turn, suggests that the habitual indicative prefix in NENA originated in the present tense (ibid), and only later began its spread into habituality and the past tense. In light of this, it is likely that in Jewish Dohok, the k- prefix has not been fully grammaticalised as a marker of realis and habituality. Specifically, it does not always occur in contexts that are not directly associated with the original function of this morpheme, viz. present tense presentative or progressive. This hypothesis would explain the lack of obligatoriness of k- in the case of the past.
Partial grammaticalisation can also be postulated for other dialects. C. Barwar, for instance, has the realis prefix ʾi-. According to Khan, however, ʾi-qaṭəl and ʾi-qaṭəl-wa—in contrast to qaṭəl and qaṭəl-wa—are used to indicate ‘discourse prominence’. In other words, ʾi-qaṭəl and ʾi-qaṭəl-wa forms are apparently restricted to clauses conveying a high degree of pragmatic assertiveness (Khan 2008, 590–91). The domain of assertiveness (presenting a situation as new to the listener; Cristofaro 2003, 29–33) is itself likely to be related to the actual present, which draws attention to a situation in the present that is typically assumed by the speaker to be new or surprising for the hearer. Thus, the original domain of the realis prefix is not only the actual present, but also pragmatic assertion. The synchronic distribution of the ʾi- prefix in Barwar may still reflect this origin.
4.2. Expression of Emphatic Negative Imperative through la k-šaqəl (prototypically realis)
The negative form la k-šaqəl is used more broadly than its affirmative kšaqəl counterpart, which conveys realis present. The form la kšaqəl negates not only the present, but also the future, which, in the affirmative, is expressed by p-šaqəl. Modally, these future forms convey the sense of ‘near-realis’. That is, it conveys the higher-certainty, predictive type of epistemic future.25
This prototypical function notwithstanding, la k-šaqəl can also sometimes be used for an emphatic negative imperative. Prototypically, the negative imperative is expressed by the irrealis la šaqəl, e.g. la Ø-aθ-ət (neg irr-come-youMS) ‘do not come’.26 One such case is attested in the texts (1/87, see below), and a few parallel examples are found elsewhere in my corpus:
1/87 |
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là-k-eθ-ət (neg hab-come-youMS) ʾarbi yoma xeta ʾaxxa.ˈ |
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‘You will not be coming here for another forty days.’ |
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HʾazH g-əmri là-k-eθ-etu (neg hab-come-youPL) mən dəšdaša,ˈ lazəm zonetu pantaròne.ˈ |
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‘So they say you won’t be coming [wearing] a thawb, you have to buy trousers.’ |
Given that la k-šaqəl is typically used for predictive, ‘near-realis’ future, its use for a negative command is likely to be intended to have precisely that effect: it serves to present the event as almost certain. In other words, the command is so emphatic that it must certainly be obeyed. Its fulfilment may, therefore, be expressed as if it is certain by using the predictive form. Such an interpretation fits the context of sentence 1/18, in which the wolf threatens to eat the man if he—despite the prohibition—comes again. The second sentence above is a command of a school official to his pupils, so it was uttered from a position of authority.
This function of la k-šaqəl also occurs in other NENA dialects. For example, native speakers of the Christian Shaqlawa dialect describe the difference between an imperative conveyed by the predictive form (corresponding to the Jewish Dohok la kšaqəl) and with the irrealis form (corresponding to la šaqəl) in the following way: ‘the former means that there can be no discussion whether the command will or will not be obeyed, so it sounds much more authoritative.’27
4.3. Expression of the Resultative and of the Continuous Aspect (in Stative Verbs)
The resultative construction in Jewish Dohok is composed of the copula (in the 3rd person present, the deictic copula must be used) with the resultative participle šqila, inflected for gender and number of the subject. This is illustrated by the following constructions from the texts:
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In such constructions, the focus of the predication is on the persisting state that follows an event, rather than on the event itself. Such usage is confirmed by other constructions from my corpus.28
This, in turn, indicates that the copula + šqila construction in Jewish Dohok is best understood as a resultative rather than a full perfect.29 In this dialect, it is largely used only with verbs that have a clear state following the activity—typically, stative verbs (e.g. the state of sitting following the event of sitting down). This type of usage is attested in the sentence 2/57 above (flan welu ʾə̀θye), where the focus is on the result of arriving. We can paraphrase: ‘Some men are here.’
The only transitive verbs that can occur in the resultative construction in Jewish Dohok are possessive transitives, such as in 2/85 (sawoyox wele šqila mən sawoyi pare).30 In transitive verbs such as šqila, the focus of the predication is on the subsequent state of having in one’s possession. We can thus paraphrase: ‘my grandfather had a loan.’
In the case of stative verbs, the resultative function overlaps semantically with the continuous aspect, which also refers to a state that is ongoing at the time of reference and had begun at some point in the past.31 When asked to produce a sentence that includes a stative verb with continuous meaning (though typically not a verb of cognition, emotion or sensation), speakers commonly use the copula + šqila construction, for example:
ʾaw naša d-wele (deix.cop.he) ḥmila (res.stand.ms) kəs beθa ʾaxòni=le. (elicitation)
‘That man who is standing (/has stopped) by the house is my brother.’
By contrast, in other dialects, the copula + šqila construction has become a full perfect. This is the case in Christian Barwar, where copula + šqila can be used with the verb ‘to kill’ (Khan 2008, 735), there being no direct effect or state of agent resulting from the act of killing. Such perfects express a more abstract situation resulting from a previous event. The construction still does not express a specific event bound to a specific point in time, but rather the event is only an implicature. There is, however, another use of the copula + šqila construction in C. Barwar (as well as in the dialects that come originally from the Ṭyare region), which expresses a specific past event in narrative. This is a past perfective, though the event is presented as cognitively distant (typically in fictitious folktales). In this function, the ordinary (‘enclitic’) copula is used, rather than the deictic one (Khan 2008, 669).32
4.4. Expression of the Continuous Aspect
The texts presented above include no cases of verbal forms that are exclusively dedicated to the marking of continuousness.33 Indeed, in the corpus as a whole, there are very few such forms, even though there are multiple cases of k-šaqəl which—contextually—clearly describe predications of a continuous nature.
In NENA dialects in general, there are two main constructions for the expression of the continuous aspect. These also commonly include the progressive function. The first—and more common one—is formed by a copula and b-Infinitive (in Jewish Dohok, wele bə-šqala), which in dialects such as Christian Urmi has been reanalysed as its own inflectional stem (Khan 2016, 185). In the second construction, a copula or a presentative particle is combined with the prototypically realis present form (in Jewish Dohok, wal/hol/hole k-šaqəl). In many NENA dialects, these constructions are widespread. In the more typologically advanced dialects such as Christian Urmi, Jewish Arbel and Christian Qaraqosh, the (originally) continuous construction has even been extended into non-progressive domains (e.g. habitual present or even perfective past in the narrative) (e.g., Christian Urmi—Khan 2016, vol.2, 185–200).34
In Jewish Dohok, however, as mentioned above, the continuous constructions are extremely rare in the corpus. This feature, as well as the restricted function and use of the resultative construction, points to the conservative character of Jewish Dohok, even in relation to the other Lišana Deni dialects. Another noteworthy feature of Jewish Dohok is that it possesses both of the continuous constructions. These two constructions, moreover,—judging from the available data—have distinct functions.
Wele bə-šqala
This construction is only attested twice in the corpus. In both of those cases, it describes a bodily state that is not of a cognitive, emotional or sensory nature. Sentence 3f/36 below describes a state that is ongoing in the time between the Jew’s visits to the king.
mà d-g-məθele dərmaneˈ ʾu-mà d-g-oðiˈ l-èwe bə-traṣa (neg-cop.prs.he in-healing).ˈ (3f)
‘Whatever medicine they bring and whatever they do, he is not getting better.’
zəlle HmiskenH ʾo huðaya l-bèθa,ˈ l-ewe bə-dmàxa (neg-cop.prs.he in-sleeping)ˈ mən zdòʾŏθe.ˈ (3f)
‘The poor Jew went home, he is not sleeping for his fear.’
With other verbs, wele bə-šqala could not be elicited from most speakers.35 This suggests that in Jewish Dohok wele bə-šqala is—in contrast to other dialects—precisely not a progressive construction. Rather, it conveys the non-dynamic continuous aspect, but even in this function it is highly restricted, being attested only with physical states.
In many NENA dialects, by contrast, the parallel construction with a copula + b-Infinitive expresses the progressive function. A situation similar to that in Jewish Dohok, however, is attested in early-NENA sources, suggesting that the situation in Jewish Dohok is a conservative one. Such early-NENA evidence is supplied by the early Christian (apparently archaising) NENA poetry from north-western Iraq (Telkepe and Alqosh), dating to the 17th-19th centuries (Mengozzi 2012). In these texts, (copula +) b-Infinitive is very rare, and functions as a ‘circumstantial modifier or a complement of the predicate, whereas it rarely occurs in combination with the copula’ (Mengozzi 2012, 34, citing Poizat 1999, 173).
Similarly, in Jewish Dohok, wele bə-šqala is only attested with states. In this dialect, however, those states are predicative (i.e. they contain a copula). Thus, in contrast to the early-NENA poetry, they are not necessarily presented as overlapping temporarily with the predicate of the clause, on which they are syntactically dependent. Rather, they may simply overlap with a given period of time specified by the broader context. Moreover, it remains to be seen how the continuous/progressive in NENA fits with the typical grammaticalisation paths of the progressive. Cross-linguistically, progressive constructions typically involve dynamic verbs, and—according to Bybee, Perkins, and Pagliuca (1994, 133)—often develop from (metaphorically) locative constructions.
Wəl/hol/hole k-šaqəl
In contrast to wele bə-šqala, wəl/hol/hole k-šaqəl is only attested with dynamic verbs in the corpus (five times in total).36 The first element of these constructions is a presentative particle wəl or hol, or hole (i.e. apparently a fossilised 3ms form). Consider the following examples from the corpus:
θela mən tàma,ˈ ʾay baxta HmiskènaHˈ hole g-baxš-a-lu (prog hab-stir-she-them) ṭlòxe.ˈ (3h)
She came from there, that HpoorH woman, and [now] look, she is stirring the lentils.
g-yāʾəl-wa go màṭbaxˈ k-xāpəq-wa-la g-nāšə̀q-wa-la.ˈ b-amrá-wā-le d-prùq-li. ʾana wəl gə-mbàšlan (prog hab-cook-I),ˈ ʾatta gəbe ʾoðan ʾixàla.ˈ
‘He used to enter the kitchen, hug her, kiss her. [But] she would tell him ‘Leave me’. Look, I am cooking, I need to make food now.’
It is the presentative elements—wəl, hole or hol—that convey the continuous aspect. Presentative particles typically draw attention to an event that can be witnessed by the hearer. This, in turn, often has the purpose of highlighting the significance of the event. In narrative, therefore, presentatives have the effect of placing the listener in the midst of the unfolding events, as if he or she were witnessing them personally.37 This, in turn, means that such presentative forms are likely to be used for situations that are happening in the here-and-now, and are, therefore, aspectually continuous. Still, in light of the rarity of these constructions in Jewish Dohok, it is highly unlikely that the presentative particles in constructions combined with k-šaqəl have been fully grammaticalised as continuous markers. Instead, these particles probably perform a discourse function (drawing attention to significant events happening in the here-and-now), which happens to overlap with a grammatical function (marking continuousness).
5. Conclusions
This paper has presented two folktales from the hitherto unstudied NENA dialect of the Jews of Dohok accompanied by linguistic glosses (for a part of text), translation and comments on a few noteworthy constructions. These stories exemplify the rich and long-standing genre of orally transmitted folktales, typical for many of the NENA-speaking communities.
These stories were followed by a brief grammatical study of a few aspects of verbal semantics, focusing primarily on features attested in the texts themselves. I concentrated especially on forms and functions that are noteworthy either from the point of view of Jewish Dohok itself, or from the perspective of NENA more broadly. I showed that the prototypically realis and predictive la k-šaqəl can be used for deontic modality (imperative), apparently to create a stronger imperative by presenting it as predictive (‘near-realis’). I also showed that the prototypically past irrealis šaqəl-wa can be used for the realis past. I suggested that this is due to the incomplete grammaticalisation of the k- indicative habitual prefix, which is likely to have originated as a presentative-progressive marker in the present and is not yet obligatory in the past. In addition, I studied the construction copula+šqila (resultative participle), noting that it tends to be used only with stative and possessive transitive verbs. In light of this restriction, it should be analysed as a resultative and not as a fully-developed perfect, in contrast to many other dialects. Additionally, I showed that forms dedicated exclusively to the marking of continuousness are used only marginally. Moreover, one of them is apparently reserved for stative verbs. This is apparently a conservative feature in Jewish Dohok; which distinguishes this dialect even from the closely related dialects, such as Jewish Amedia or Jewish Zakho.
References
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Bybee, Joan, Perkins Revere, and William Pagliuca. 1994. The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press.
Coghill, Eleanor. 2009. ‘Four Versions of a Neo-Aramaic Children’s Story’. ARAM Periodical 21: 251–80.
———. 2014. ‘Differential Object Marking in Neo-Aramaic’. Linguistics 52 (2): 335–64.
Cohen, Eran. 2012. The Syntax of Neo-Aramaic: The Jewish Dialect of Zakho. Gorgias Neo-Aramaic Studies. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
———. 2017. ‘The Functions of Presentative Constructions in Jewish Zakho Neo-Aramaic’. Journal of Jewish Languages 5 (1): 1–21.
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———. 2008. The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Barwar. Leiden–Boston: Brill.
———. 2009. ‘The Syntax and Discourse Structure of Neo-Aramaic Narrative Texts’. ARAM Periodical 21: 163–78.
———. 2010. ‘The Expression of Deontic Modality in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Dialects’. In Verbal Festivity in Arabic and Other Semitic Languages. Proceedings of the Workshop at the Unviersitätsclub Bonn on January 16, 2009, edited by Lutz Edzard and Stephen Guth, 58–73. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
———. 2016. The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of the Assyrian Christians of Urmi. Leiden: Brill.
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———. 2012. ‘The Contribution of Early Christian Vernacular Poetry from Northern Iraq to Neo-Aramaic Dialectology: Preliminary Remarks on the Verbal System’. ARAM Periodical 24: 25–40.
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Sabar, Yona. 1982. The Folk Literature of the Kurdistani Jews: An Anthology. Yale Judaica Series 23. New Haven: Yale University Press.
———. 2002. A Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dictionary. Dialects of Amidya, Dihok, Nerwa and Zakho, Northwestern Iraq. Semitica Viva 28. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
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1 The terms ‘verbal semantics’, ‘grammatical semantics’ and ‘grammatical functions’ are used here synonymously. These refer to the tense-aspect-mood system in its various grammatical and pragmatic applications.
2 See Aloni (2018) for the folk literature of the Lišana Deni Aramaic speakers. All of the other communities of the area—NENA-speaking Christians, as well as Kurdish- and Arabic-speaking communities—also possess a wealth of oral literature. These different story-telling traditions have historically undoubtedly been in contact with one another (e.g., Coghill 2009).
3 For background on the folk literature of the Aramaic-speaking Jews, see Sabar (1982) and other publications by this author.
4 For the application of an approach which is more structuralist in nature, see Hoberman (1989, 123–24; Lišana Deni dialects), and for a functional study which pays special attention to discourse parameters and discourse functions of verbal forms, see Cohen (2012; Jewish Zakho dialect).
5 The default way of referring to inflectional categories of the verb in this article is by their morphological pattern—by using an exemplary verbal form from the root š-q-l ‘to take’—rather than by their TAM functions.
6 This idea has been suggested to me by Paul Noorlander, to whom I express my gratitude for consultation in devising the glossing system.
7 Sentence 2. is not its own clause, but rather a correction to sentence 1., itself unfinished. This is reflected in the translation.
8 Note that the modal word is gǝbǝn is followed by a realis form, though irrealis forms are standard in such contexts. These two verbs are therefore not a single construction but are separated by a hesitation. This is indicated in the translation. Indeed, it is the only attestation of such a sequence of verbs (modal verb + realis verb) in my corpus. The informant himself rejected other such constructions during an interview.
9 The activity ‘woodcutting’ in the construction gʿešǝn bǝt qaṭʾǝn ṣìwe in the sentence above is expressed by a finite form (literally ‘I live by that I cut wood’), rather than by the infinitive qṭaʾa ‘cutting’. The infinitive is expected here, and is in fact attested after the verb ʿ-y-š ‘to make a living’ in sentences 9–10 above: gʿešiwa (…) mǝn mzabonǝt ṣìwe.
10 The definite direct object lira kurkamana dide is not referenced with an object suffix on the verb. In the past tense in Jewish Dohok, we would expect here the following construction: qam-šāqəl-Ø-le (pfv-take-he-him) lira kurkamana dide. In NENA, definite objects are generally referenced with an object suffix on the verb itself. For a recent study on object marking in NENA, see, for instance, Coghill (2014).
11 This construction is likely to be a calque from Modern Israeli Hebrew. There, the interrogative ‘what’ can be used before future forms to express the speaker’s disapproval of the predicated eventuality, for instance, ‘what [do you mean] that he should come?!’ Incidentally, constructions such as this one are likely to be the ‘missing link’ in the grammaticalisation of interrogatives (‘what’) into negators. This development has been posited for, inter alia, mā in Modern Standard and some dialectal varieties of Arabic. In the present example, the meaning ‘what’ is possible, assuming an ellipsis (see translation). The implicature of this clause, however, may be understood as ‘[Surely] he won’t come!’
12 Note that it is the feminine singular subject suffix that is used non-referentially for the impersonal construction pəšla drangi (pfv.stay-she late ‘it got late’). Indeed, the non-referential use of a feminine singular subject affix is common in NENA. Moreover, a feminine non-referential object morpheme is also attested in many NENA dialects, for instance: ʾărəq-a-le (pfv.run-her-he ‘he fled’). For non-referential object affixes and likely contact dimension with Kurdish, see Mengozzi (2007).
13 The verb m-x-y ‘to hit’ takes as its direct object argument the noun năra ‘axe’, referred to here by the object suffix on the verb: mx-i-le go reš-Ø-i (imp.hit-youMS-it on head-my) lit. ‘hit it on my head’, while go reši ‘on head’ is an adjunct. The same argument structure is attested with this verb in sentences 79 and 81 below.
14 In the Aramaic text, the suffix le ‘him/it’ refers to the axe, not the wolf; see note on line 75 above.
15 The word order in both of these verbal clauses is predicate—subject: pədlu ʾarbi yòme lit. ‘passed by forty days’, and qəmle ʾaw naša lit. ‘got up that man’. Such word order occurs occasionally in Jewish Dohok—mostly with intransitive verbs, as is the case with these two verbs.
16 Note the unusual syntax: deictic copula—subject—predicate. The canonical order would be subject—copula—predicate (rešox wele triṣa), or perhaps copula—predicate—subject (wele triṣa rešox).
17 The etymology of this word is unknown to me.
18 A Kurdish loanword, compare Jewish Zakho pēv(a) (Sabar 2002, 254).
19 In Jewish Dohok, the originally plural form dugl-e lie-pl has evidently been generalised to the singular, meaning ‘a lie’. Contrast this with the form dugla in Jewish Zakho (Sabar 2002, 138).
20 The clause ʾo dùglē=la (thism lie.ms-cop.prs.she), which appears here twice, exhibits a lack of agreement between the subject and the copula. The subject (expressed by the demonstrative) is masculine singular, whereas the copula is feminine singular.
21 Note that the accent is pre-penultimate, rather than penultimate. Such accent retraction occurs sometimes in forms near the end of intonation units.
22 Overview of the use and origin of the habitualindicative prefix across the NENA dialects can be found in Khan (2007) and in Rubin (2018, 57:130–39), who presents some alternative reconstuctions.
23 For the past tense, a sample of the corpus (about 4000 words) was studied, and the ratio between k-šaqəl-wa and šaqəl-wa in Pattern I verbs in clauses interpreted as realis was found to be 11:1, though this ratio could be slightly different if the whole corpus were taken into account.
24 The first number refers to the text (first or second), the second indicates the line within that text.
25 See Akatsuka (1985) on epistemic modality as a scale.
26 For a discussion on different morphological expression of the imperative and for their various pragmatic functions in NENA, see Khan (2010, 65–70) and Hoberman (1989, 136).
27 Private communication with Lourd Chechman.
28 I am indebted to Paul Noorlander for drawing my attention to this, and for helping me test various verbs in the resultative construction during fieldwork in Jerusalem in September 2019.
29 For the distinction between the two, see (Nedjalkov 2001, 928–30). For the semantic scope of the copula + šqila construction in other NENA dialects, see, for instance, Khan (2008, 653–58). For a historical overview of these constructions, see Noorlander (2018, 328–31).
30 This construction is apparently past. Formally, the word wele can be parsed either as pfv.be-he (root hwy), which is one of the past copulas, or deix.cop.he, that is, the present deictic copula. Contextually, the former interpretation is more likely—if the grandfather was still alive, the king could easily check the truthfulness of the Jew’s claim.
31 A similar situation is attested in languages such as Chinese or Japanese (Shirai 1998).
32 This usage, though genre-restricted, is arguably typologically the most advanced one, based on the model of diachronic change proposed by Bybee : stative > resultative > perfect > preterite (Bybee, Perkins Revere, and Pagliuca 1994, 81–82).
33 Following Comrie, ‘continuous’ is used here to describe a state or event which is ongoing at the point of reference (Comrie 1976, 25). A continuous construction can, therefore, be used with both stative and dynamic verbs. By contrast, the term ‘progressive’ implies a progress, which is compatible only with dynamic verbs. The term ‘continuous’ is preferable here, even though many NENA grammars use the term ‘progressive’, since the constructions discussed here can be used in Jewish Dohok—as well as in other NENA dialects—also with stative verbs .
34 On a general discussion on the continuous (in Khan, ‘progressive’) constructions in NENA, see Khan (2007, 95–97).
35 When the speakers were presented with such a construction containing a stative verb of cognition, sensory perception or emotion, they accepted it, but said it sounded unnatural or reminiscent of another Lišana Deni dialect (e.g. Jewish Zakho) and rephrased it with a k-šaqəl form.
36 The association of the wəl/hol/hole k-šaqəl construction with lexically dynamic verbs is confirmed from interviews. Speakers showed a tendency to rephrase constructions offered by the interviewer such as *wele b-iθaya ‘he is coming’ as wəl k-eθe ‘look, he is coming’.
37 For a discussion on the function of presentative copulas and particles and their possible historical origin, see Cohen (2017).