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ORIENTAL ARCHIVE 76, 2008 âą 269
Perspektiven des Christentums im Mittleren Osten
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar
Habib Borjian
The following study of Aftari is founded on the documentations of the late Persian Academician SÄdeq KiÄ. His collected materials was archived at the Persian Academy of Language, sometime before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and were published posthumously as GuyeĆĄ-e Aftari.1 This publication consists of sentences (pp. 61-73), idioms and proverbs (75-87), two texts on the village of Aftar and its culture (89-94), all with Persian translation, and a vocabulary (95-155). I found the introductory materials added by the publishers of GuyeĆĄ-e Aftari unreliable, and thus I ignored them, save for those parts that were proved to have been belonged to KiÄâs original notes and not the publishersâ inept exploitation of his labor, something obviously beyond their faculties.
Aftari is the dialect of Aftar, a village in the environs of SemnÄn, located 228 km east of Tehran. The region of SemnÄn constitutes the easternmost location where Northwest Iranian (NWIr.) languages are spoken on the Great Khorasan Road, a segment of the Silk Route which traverses the southern foothills of the Alborz chain. What adds to the linguistic attraction of SemnÄn is the existence of three types of dialects therein: (1) SemnÄni, usually grouped with the Tatic or Central Plateau Dialects, though as an aberrant outlier, (2) ShahmirzÄdi, an outlying Tabari sub-dialect heavily influenced by its geographic neighbors, and (3) the dialects ofSangesar, Lasgerd, Sorkha, and Aftar, closely interrelated, constituting a distinct group of the Caspian Sprachbund, within the NW Iranian.
This group of dialects, i.e. the ring around SemnÄn, but not SemnÄni proper, may properly be designated Komisenian, that of Komisene (Gr. ÎÏÎŒÎčÏÎ·ÎœÎź, Pers. KĆmiĆĄ, Arab. QĆ«mis), the ancient name of the province now called SemnÄn. Komisene lied on the border of Parthia and Media, two historical super-provinces forming the Iranian Plateau together with Persis/FÄrs in the south. Thus, the Komisenian languages may be considered Parthian-Median, from the geographical perspective and linguistic one too. The interrelationships and further affiliation to other groupsof NW Iranian is yet to be established for the Komisenian group.
Second to other dialects of the Komisenian group, Aftari shows the closest affinityto Tabari, the language spoken throughout the province of MÄzandarÄn, south of the Caspian Sea. One would indeed expect a considerable influence of Tabari on Aftaridue to the geographical proximity. As semi-tribal pastoralists, Aftaris summer in the upland hamlets of Espigur (Gur-safid), KolÄrekhon, TÄren, Tayyebdara,2 and Bashm,3 on the route leading to Firuzkuh, the southernmost town of MÄzandarÄn.4
This nomadic way of life may not have deep roots in the Aftariâs way of life. It was in the twentieth century that the Aftaris, like their Sangesari neighbors, seized, often by force, much of their current pasturelands and encampments in the higher valleys toward Firuzkuh.5 In any case, a detailed linguistic survey of the region will throw light on the relationship between Aftari and various Tabari dialects.6
In spite of the substantial amount of materials available on and studies dedicated to other Komisenian dialects,7 Aftari is explored but scantily. The only documentation of Aftari before that of KiÄ, which is known to this author, was accomplished by Georg Morgenstierne (1960: 100-107), during his âcouple of hoursâ of stay in Aftar. From this source Gernot Windfuhr (1985) compiled a brief but insightful description of Aftari, highlighting its major characteristics. The very limited coverage of this source is obvious from the absence of such a recurrent word as the oblique 3rd person singular pronoun ju (listed in Table 1 below). The comparative survey of Pierre Lecoq (1989: 309-310) on the dialects of the SemnÄn region (Sorkha, LÄsgerd, Sangesar, BiÄbÄnak, and Aftar) relied upon the same source for Aftari; noteworthy are the incorrect forms hĆ«y and yĆ«n, listed by Lecoq in the table of personal pronouns for the 2nd and 3rd plural, respectively, probably a result of the misinterpretation of the transcription used in his source (cf. hĆ«j and jĆ«n listed by Morgenstierne and Windfuhr and huj and jun documented by KiÄ; see Table 1 below). Note also that the linguistic data collected by Morgenstierne accord fairly well with those collected by KiÄ, but not without disagreements,8 mainly in the transcription, that might have occurred due to existence, if any, of different subdialects of Aftari.
In this paper, I have tried to incorporate all sentences collected by KiÄ that would elucidate on the grammar while keeping the redundancy at a minimum. Although paradigms provided in some topics may appear excessive, numerous examples will serve the purpose of providing material for better understanding or further study of ambiguous or underrepresented subjects.
DIACHRONICS
§D1. The development of Aryan palatals to fricatives, one of the oldest isoglottic splits among the Iranian languages.
§D1.1. PIE (proto-Indo-European) *k > OIr. (Old Iranian) *ts (*Ä) (> Av. s, OP Ξ > MP h) > s: das âtenâ (< *dasa-), kas âsmallâ (cf. Pth. kas < *kasyah-, MP kah < *kaΞyah-), mas âbigâ, tussa âemptyâ (cf. Tabari tisÄ, NP tuhÄ«), tosxÄr (lit. âempty/plain-eaterâ) âstingyâ, asro, âtear(drop)â (< OIr. *asru-(ka-) < PIE *(d)akru-, cf. NP ars, aĆĄk, Tab. asri/asli, Kd. hÄstir, Lori hars, etc.).
§D1.2. PIE *g(h) > OIr. *dz (*Ćș) (> Av. z, OP d) > z: yez(z)e âyesterdayâ (cf. Pers. di), zon- âknowâ (< PIE *gneH3-), zomÄ âson-in-lawâ. §D1.3. PIE *kw > OIr. *tsw (*Äw) (> Av. sp, OP s) > sp: espa âdogâ (cf. Median
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The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 271
spaka-), espi âwhiteâ, guspon âsheepâ, espej âlouseâ, espon âwild rueâ, esponÄx âspinachâ (< OIr. *spinaka-), etc. But note asm (< *aspa-) âhorseâ.
§D1.4. PIE *gw > OIr. *zb > zb/zv: zevone âflare, blazeâ
§D2. OIr. *dw- > b: bar âdoorâ (< OIr. *dwar-, Pth. bar). Note also adi âagainâ, eyni âotherâ (<? OIr. *dwitÄ«ya-).
§D3. The Old Iranian split of the fricative cluster *Ξr, and similar later developments *xr and *fr, all yielding NW hr.9
§D3.1. *Ξr > (h)r: hiere âthreeâ (< OIr. *Ξri-), pur âsonâ (< OIr. *puΞra-), Ärey âmillâ (cf. Av. *ÄrΞra-), miremÄ âLibraâ (cf. OIr. *miΞra-), ĆĄarivaremÄ âVirgoâ (cf. OIr. *xĆĄaΞra-). Note also zale (Pers. zahra) âgallâ. Prominent counterexamples are the SW forms Äbessen âpregnantâ (< *Ä-puΞra-tanu), dÄz âsickleâ (< OIr. *dÄΞra-).
§D3.1.1. *Ξr > (h): anj-/a(n)t- âdraw, pullâ < *hanj- < Av. * Ξanj- âpull, drawâ. Cf. Pth. âhynj âdraw upâ, MP hnc- /hanj- âdraw (water)â, MMP âhynz- âpullâ, Sogd ÎŽunc âpull outâ, NP Ä-hanj-/hÄ«z- âpull outâ, Semn. -ta-/-anj- âdrawâ, Oss. D. itinzun âto spread, stretch outâ (Cheung, pp. 391f.), Gorgani tanjÄk âelasticâ. This verb is comparable with a series of words in New Iranian languages, with meanings as diverse as irrigate, sprinkle, and drink, in addition to âpull, drawâ. As Donald Stilo (2007c: 107) has shown, all these words are related not only phonologically but also semantically, through the shifts: âpull, draw > draw water > irrigate, water, sprinkle > drinkâ. The original meaning âpullâ is retained in Komesenian SemnÄni enj-/(h)et, Sangesari inj-/(h)et, (and dÉ-(y)inj-/(h)et âswallowâ), Khuri henj-/heid ~ het, Zazaki Änj-/Änt; âirrigate, water, sprinkleâ in Soi henj-/het âsprinkle,â (S. Tati) KhiÄraji hönj-/höt âwaterâ, Gazi enj-/enjÄ- âirrigateâ; drinkâ in J.Isf., Shirazi dialect tanj- âdrinkâ, Khoini (C. Tati) enj-/ent, MÄsÄli (S. Taleshi) hinj-/hint, MÄsulai xÉnj-/xÉnt and Koluri (C. Tati) henj-/hent.
§D3.2. *xr > r/l: Äar âspinning wheelâ,10 surije âsmallpoxâ (thus sorx âredâ < *suxr should be a borrowing from Persian), erin- âbuyâ (< OIr. *xrÄ«-; cf. Pth. xrÄ«n-/xrÄ«d-), tal âbitterâ (< OIr. *taxra-, cf. Tab. & Kd. tal).
§D3.3. *fr- > (h)r/l: herÄn âtomorrowâ, para âthe day after tomorrowâ, var âsnowâ (< *wafra-), ruĆĄ-/rut- âsellâ, jowl âdeepâ (cf. Av. gufra-, jafra-), the preverbs hi- (<? *fra- ), hÄ- (< *frÄ-), du- (<? *de- + *hu- < *frĆd).
§D4. OIr. *y- > SW j: ja âbarleyâ (< *yaw-), jot âyokeâ (< OIr. *yuxta-,11 cf. NP yuÄ, Tab. jet, Kd. jĆt), jun-/junt- âchewâ (< OIr. *jyaw-), juĆĄeĆĄ âfacial bumpsâ (< OIr. *yauĆĄa-). â Similarly, *wy- > j: jigÄ, jÄ âplaceâ (cf. Pth. wyÄg, GorgÄni yÄgÄh, MP gyÄg, S. TÄti yaga, Gur. yÄga, Gabri yoga). Retention of OIr. *y, a non-Perside
characteristic, may be sought in yÄri âsister-in-lawâ, huz âwalnutâ.
§D5. WMIr. *w- > v (instead of NP b-): vÄreĆĄ ârainâ (< *wÄr-), vÄ âwindâ (< *wÄta-), var âsnowâ, vi âwillowâ, valk âleafâ, vini ânoseâ, vin- âseeâ, vÄm âalmondâ, vare âlambâ, vaÄe âchildâ (MP waÄÄa), vÄzi âgameâ, varzigar âfarmerâ, virÄ âawakeâ, veve âwidowâ, vist âtwentyâ, vamenmÄ âAquariusâ. â *w- > v (instead of NP g-): varg âwolfâ, vaĆĄon âhungryâ (< *wiĆĄna < *wĆsna-), vesi (Pers. gosil) âsendâ, bowsetun âto ruptureâ (OIr. *wi-sis-ta-). Therefore, bad âbadâ, occasionally used as a synonym of zohe (â §D15), should be considered a Persian loan.
§D6. OIr. *-Ä- > j: jir âdownâ (< OIr. *haÄa-adara-), jor âupâ (Pers. zabar), jot12 âaboveâ, ruj âdayâ, tij âsharpâ, taj- ârunâ, tÄjen- âcause to runâ, duj- âsewâ (< OIr. *dauca-), paj- âcookâ, vij- âsiftâ, uej- âtake offâ, vÄ(j)- âsayâ, -jÄr (suffix of place,as in marju-jÄr âlentil fieldâ), powjÄr (Pers. pÄyafzÄr) âshoeâ, xoji âgoodâ (<? *hu-Äihr). Note also ju âhe, sheâ, jun âtheyâ (< *haÄa-avÄn, an old possessive), huj âyou (pl.)â (<? yĆ«ĆĄ(m), cf. Av. *yĆ«ĆŸÉm).13 But sÄz- âmakeâ, suz- âburnâ, nemÄz âprayerâ, etc. illustrate the Perside type of consonant development.
§D7. PIE *g(h) > OIr. *j > j: jek âwomanâ (OIr. *jani-), jen- âhitâ (< OIr. *Ä-jan- (gan)). But note the counter-examples arzon âcheapâ (OIr. *arj-), zende/zenne âaliveâ, etc.
§D8.1. Loss of the intervocalic WMIr. *-d- (< OIr. *-t-): pie âfatherâ, mÄ âmother; femaleâ, berÄ âbrotherâ, kie (< kadak/g) âhouseâ, kaybÄnu âlady of the houseâ (but katxoda âvillage headâ), sÄhe âshadeâ, homsoe âneighborâ, vÄm âalmondâ, virÄ âawakeâ, rue âintestineâ, ruxone âriverâ, konim âwhichâ, preverb bia- âoutâ (<? WMIr. bedar), etc. â In the final position: espi âwhiteâ, vi âwillowâ, say/sey âhundredâ, vÄ wind, du âsmokeâ, zomÄ âson-in-lawâ, dÄ- âgiveâ (< OIr. *dÄ-ta-) and all other past stems ending in vowels (â §3.1.1), derived from the old past participle in *-ta as a rule. Also -Ä- (past stem formant, cf. Pth. -Äd, GorgÄni -a(d)-, Tab. -Ä-) and the preverb de- <? *antara-.
§D8.2. OIr. *-rt- and *-nt- have been retained without loss of consonants, but the patterns of their development to rd and nd is not clear.
§D8.2.1. Consider mirde âmanâ, martum âpeopleâ, bemarde âdeadâ, mordÄlemÄ âLeoâ, all derived from the same root but belong to different stages of development. In Aftari, rt is rare,14 whereas rd is found in herdow âmanner, methodâ, kÄrd âknifeâ, kord âshepherdâ, zard âyellowâ, arde (unit of time used for the allocation of water) and probably many more words. â In the past stems, rd is the rule, though not without exception: kard- âdoâ, espÄrd- âentrustâ, uerd- âbringâ, bard/t- âcarryâ, kÄrd- âsowâ, ĆĄurd- âwashâ, xord- âeatâ, gard- âturnâ, dard- âhaveâ, vardÄrd/t- âweighâ. â We could draw the rule *-rt- > rd had martum had not occured more
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than once in the texts. Back checking of the data with a speaker of Aftari is therefore necessary.
§D8.2.2. Past stems are recorded in both nt and nd (not necessarily from OIr. *-nt- but of secondary developments): ant- âdrawâ (pres. stem anj-), kont- âdigâ, bowjint- âclean (the rice)â, rÄnt- âdriveâ, runt- âsweepâ, hivont- âspreadâ, vunt- âtieâ (pres. stem vun-), durÄqont- âstuffâ, junt-, âchewâ, piÄint- âtwistâ, rvind/t- âcutâ, sund/t- âpulverizeâ, xond/t- âreadâ, Äind- âpickâ, erind-15 âbuyâ. â If nt is the rule and nd is mere inaccuracy in documentation, then why the development nd > nn in gann- ârotâ, monn- âstayâ, zenne/zende âaliveâ, etc.? No conclusion thus can be made without further field investigations.
§D8.3. *-xt- > t: dot âdaughterâ, jot âyokeâ (<? OIr. *yuxta-) , dut- âsewâ, vit- âsiftâ, rit- âspillâ, sÄt- âmakeâ, sut- âburnâ, uet- âtake offâ, vÄt- âsayâ, rut- âsellâ, etc. Hence, Ämoxte âtrainedâ should be a loan, perhaps an aged one because of the o (< Ć), more likely from Khorasan rather than the western side of the Plateau â despite the ending -e.
§D8.4. *-ft- > t: kut- âpoundâ, xot- âsleepâ, kat- âfallâ, (g)it- âseizeâ. Retention of the old cluster in eĆĄkoft- and eĆĄkÄft- âsplitâ betrays their foreignness. saft- âtaste, suckâ (with the present stem saf-) can be a secondary formation as its alternating form safÄ- is; but this is to be established by conducting a thorough diachronic study of the stem formation in Aftari. Note also that the likelihood that jot âyokeâ is a loanword from Pers. joft (itself from OIr. *yuxta-; â §D4) is meager because Aftari borrowings preserve the cluster ft, e.g. ĆĄefte âmixture of mud and gypsumâ, ÄftÄb âsunâ (< *abi-tap-), cf. xottow âsunny sideâ (see §D12).
§D9.1. Initial *x- and h- show uneven development: (1) *x- > (h)-: hannex âmoatâ < MIr. xand-, a variant of kand-, attested in MMP, also in NP, cf. xÄnÄ«g âspringâ (Kd. kÄnÄ«), xÄn âwar, quarrelâ (Av. kaÄna-, MP kÄn, Arm. kâÄn), NP xandaq, etc., uĆĄe âbunchâ (<?), and the Perso-Arabic loan hÄle âauntâ and amir (Pers. xamir-mÄya) âdough yeastâ, (2) *x- > x-: xue âlaughterâ, xar âdonkeyâ, xoĆĄk âdryâ, etc., (3) *h- > x-: xoji/xuji âgoodâ (<? huÄihr).
§D9.2. *x- > f in de-fis-en- âto soak (trans.)â is quite unexpected and is comparable with the atypical development *xw- > f within the Caspian group: Tabari of VelÄtru fes-/fet- âsleepâ and of Yushi fes-/xet- âsleepâ, and fie âshovelâ.
§D9.3. *-xm- > m: tum âseedâ, cf. Tabari tim.
§D9.4. Other noticeable cases are xÄker âsisterâ, kueĆĄ (Pers. xÄreĆĄ) âitchingâ, Äare (Pers. xvora) âleprosyâ.§D10. *xw-/*hw- > x/h: xÄker âsisterâ, xos- âsleepâ, hoĆĄton âselfâ, hare-mÄ âthe
month of KhvardÄdâ, etc. *xw- > v: val âskewâ, val o vil âtwist and turnâ <? OIr. *xwar-.
§D11. Not only the SW development of *rd > l is the norm (e.g mÄl- ârubâ), as in Tabari, but also *r > l is quite common: vÄ-gole (Pers. gerd-bÄd) âwhirlwindâ, valk âleafâ (< OIr. *warka-, cf. Pth. wrgr, MP warg, Kd. balk), talxon âtarragonâ, ÄelÄ âlampâ, ĆĄiÄl (< OIr. ĆĄara-wÄra-; Pers. ĆĄalvÄr) âpantsâ. See also §D3.2-3.
§D11.1. l > n (?): enn- âputâ (â? causative el-en-).
§D12. Old Iranian labials in medial positions are absorbed into adjacent vowels, yielding diphthongs, etc.: ow âwaterâ (< OIr. *Äpa-), owne-mÄ âScorpioâ, owsÄr âbridleâ, ĆĄow ânightâ (< OIr. *xĆĄapa-), xottow âsunny side (of a building)â (< OIr. *xwar-tÄp-), kowk âpartridgeâ, kuter âpigeonâ, ĆĄut (Pers. ĆĄevid, ĆĄebet) âwild dillâ, kau-meru âblue beadâ, sowz âgreenâ, sey âappleâ, sÄus (Pers. sabus) âbranâ, tuer âaxâ, uel (Pers. Äbela) âsmallpoxâ, ÄreyvÄn âmillerâ (< *ÄrΞra-pÄna-), Afder âAftarâ (< *apataram âremoteâ?16). The preverbs ve- and var- may have ultimately come from OIr. *apara-. â Original b- sometimes weakens to v-: bervintun (metathesis of *vrin-/vrint-) âcutâ, bervijjiÄun (metathesis of *vrij-/vriĆĄt-) âroastâ, da-vun-/vunt- âtieâ, but ber-/bart- âcarryâ. â Note also jureb âsucksâ (cf. Tabari jereb), jik âpocketâ (cf. Tabari jif).
§D13. Other consonantal developments include: (1) *-n > Ć: Äfeng (Pers. hÄvan) âmortarâ, pÄlong âsaddleâ, rasong âropeâ, azong âcall to the prayerâ, sisiring âsparkâ. Yet, mÄ âmoonâ, contrasts with Sang. mĆ«ng, Tabari mong, etc. â (2) The ending -k (< WMIr.?) in hamiĆĄek âalwaysâ, gitak âseized?â, sutek âburning?â (â §3.14.4).
§D13.3. Loss of the consonant in the present stem of de-gi-/gaĆĄt- âbiteâ (< OIr. *gaza- and gaĆĄta, gasta- (âgaz-), cf. Pth. gaz-/gaĆĄt-, MP gaz-/gast- (âgad-), Tab. giz-/giĆĄt-) is incompatible with the stems of the same class: de-miz-/miĆĄt- âdefecateâ, sÄz-/sÄt- âmakeâ, suz-/sut- âburnâ, xiz-/xiĆĄt- âcrawlâ, as well as lis-/liĆĄt- âlickâ, ris-/riĆĄt- âspinâ, xos-/xot- âsleepâ, etc. But gaĆŸdom âscorpionâ, expected to be from *gaz-dumb (< OIr. *gaz-, cf. MP gaz âsnakeâ, gazdumb âscorpionâ), appears to have the underlying form *gaj-dom through the phonetic process explained in §1.1.2.
§D14. Vowels. Ä > o/u before nasals is a rule, but the distribution of o/u seems arbitrary (â §1.2) without diachronic justification. Än > on occurs occasionally: song âstoneâ, rasong âropeâ, etc.
§D14.1. The vowel length of Middle Iranian does not seem to have reached Aftari, at least at the phonemic level, though the material collected by Morgenstierne do show such length.17 â The majhuls are lost generally (sir âgarlic; sateâ, kur âblindâ) and retained sporadically (e.g. peĆĄ âfrontâ); note the vowel shift in rafeq âfriendâ as
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in Tabari ([e] < *[I] < [i:]). â mar âsnakeâ is documented with a short vowel; cf. Tab. ma(:)r, Sang. mohur, BiÄbÄnaki mahar âid.â
§D15. Some lexemes: a âIâ (cf. Pth. aĆŸ, Av. azÉm), burme âweepâ, ĆĄet âmilkâ (also in kaleĆĄat (Pers. xÄma) âcreamâ; lit. âhead-milkâ), dar-/dard- âhaveâ, ker-/kard- âdoâ. Note se-/sad- âhitâ ~ jen- âhitâ (aux.) ~ gen- âseize, hitâ. â Aged Perso-Arabic loans include ayon (< ayyÄm âdaysâ) âeraâ, zohe (< zÄyeâ) âbadâ, butumen âbelly potâ, zel (in zel beyton âto be eclipsedâ) âshadowâ. â The durative marker -(e)nn- for the present indicative is the remnant of the old present participle *-ant- integrated into the stem.18
PHONOLOGY
§1.1. The sound system of Aftari cannot be fully established from KiÄâs documentation alone. However, the phonemes appear to be similar to those of Tehrani Persian, including the vowels (i, e, a, u, o, Ä).19 â (1) Diphthongs include ow,20 ey, and ay, though the last two alternate freely in sey/say âhundredâ. The clusters ai and ei occur in certain morpho-phonological processes (â §1.6 below) and thus are likely to be allophones of ay and ey, respectively. The sequence ue is frequent (kueĆĄ âitchingâ, xue âlaughterâ,21 tuesson âsummerâ, etc.), including in word-initial position: uel âsmallpoxâ, uenne âhe bringsâ. Another possible diphthong is au, in kau âblueâ. â (2) Consonants. Aftari lacks ĆŸ as a phoneme; its occurrence in haĆŸde âeighteenâ and gaĆŸdom âscorpionâ is a phonetic process of regressive assimilation before d to avoid the consonantal sequence [dĆŸd].22 Consequently, the high frequency of j is explained by diversity of its origins (â §§D4, D6-7, D13.3).
§1.2. o and u vacillate freely in many words, e.g. o ~ u âhe, sheâ, to ~ tu âthouâ, hoj ~ huj âyou (pl.)â, boru ~ buru âcome!â, bemu ~ bemo âhe cameâ, babu ~ babo âthat you becomeâ, and especially before nasals, e.g. the personal pronoun mon ~ mun and the plural/infinitive marker -on ~ -un.
§1.3. a and e alternate freely in some words, e.g. ba-/be-kutenÄ âhe poundedâ, -dele/-dela âinside, intoâ.23 Otherwise, they form minimal pairs in Änna âyou comeâ, Änne âhe comesâ, etc. It is hard to tell whether this inconsistency lies in multiplicity of Aftari dialects or a distinct phoneme between a and e exists in Aftari as it does in many Tabari dialects.
§1.4. There are other alternating sounds such as in jek/jiki âwoman, wifeâ, homsÄ/hamsoe âneighborâ.
§1.5. Epentheses. Sequence of vowels is common, e.g., bemoa âhe cameâ, zoe âbadâ, dÄa âhe has givenâ. However, hiatus is generally avoided by insertion of the
epenthesis (1) h, e.g. mÄ-h-on âmothersâ, kÄku-h-on âmaternal unclesâ, bemo-h-on âto comeâ, ÄiÄihon (for Pers. Äe ÄizhÄ!) or (2) y, e.g. koja-y-a âwhere is (it)?â, a-y-am Änni âIâll come as wellâ, bÄ-y-in âthat you comeâ. â The glide y is implied between i and a succeeding vowel, e.g. hiennÄ [hijennĂ„] âhe placedâ.
§1.6. ai â ay, ei â ey. These processes occurs with the unstressed 1st person singular ending -i and the stem of (g)ir-/(g)it- âgetâ. Examples are a yakke-y (â yakke-i) âI am aloneâ, bexotey (â bexote-i) âI have sleptâ, veytoĆĄ (â ve-it-oĆĄ) âhe tookâ, bayren (â ba-ir-en) âthat they getâ. Note ba-ir-a âget!â, where the original ai has not changed to ay.
§1.7. g- is lost in the verb gir-/git- when preceded by a perfective prefix, e.g. gita âhas gottenâ, ba-y (â *ba-gir) âget!â
§1.8. Gemination is common, especially in verb stems: se- ~ nasse âhit notâ, mer- ~ bammere âthat she diesâ, etc.
§1.9. Assimilation. The stems in -r lose it when they come into contact with the durative morpheme -nn- in the present indicative: ker- ~ ker-nn-e âhe doesâ, ber- ~ benni âIâll carryâ, gir- ~ ginna âyou getâ, xor- ~ xonne âhe eatsâ, uer- ~ uenne âhe bringsâ. â Assimilation of the cluster st into ss is attested in master/masser âbiggerâ, etc.
§1.9.1. Dissimilation of nn â nd in de-nn-e/de-nd-e âhe givesâ, xosenne/xosende âhe sleepsâ, hienn-/hiend- âput, placeâ, bavin(d) (<? *bavinn < bavin) âsee!â, and the causative formant, e.g. kolen(d)-, instead of the properly constructed kol-en- âboilâ. â Note also the assimilation nd â nn, e.g. monne â mon-de (§2.9), banne/bande âslave; Iâ, etc.
§1.9.2. The process of devoicing the dental succeeding the words ending in t occurs in lak tivonton (â *di-vont-?) âto scratchâ, dast ti-vunton âto fingerâ, ki genne xat-te? (â *xat-de?) âwho wants the tails?â (in flipping a coin).
§1.10. Note on Hyphenation. The accusative marker -de is hyphenised. Other postpositions as well as the conjunction o and the copula are normally written separately for clarification despite the fact that they are pronounced without pauseafter the words they succeed, e.g. ki a [Śkija] âwho is it?â
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MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX
§2. NOUN PHRASE
§2.1. Substantives. Aftari nouns have no gender. The accusative case is maked by the postposition -de (â §§2.7.1). The indefinite markers are i âoneâ, and -i (unstressed), e.g. i jiki âa womanâ, ÄelÄ-i âa lampâ. On Definition, see also §§2.7.1.1, 3.6.1-2, 3.11.2.1.
§2.1.1. Number. The plural ending is the stressed -on/-un, as in kargon âhensâ, mirdon âmenâ, dÄron âtreesâ, aftarion âresidents of Aftarâ, kia-h-on âhousesâ, bar-h-on âdoorsâ. In the last word, h cannot be justified as an intervocalic epenthesis (â §1.5); the form is possibly influenced by the Persian plural suffix -hÄ, which has a role in demonstrative adjectives/pronouns (â §2.9a).
§2.1.2. Modifiers. The subordinate noun, pronoun, or adjective precedes the head noun without any connector. Examples: (1) Possessives: asm leng âhorseâs legâ, marqoje kote âsparrowâs chickenâ, jek-mÄ âwifeâs motherâ, ĆĄu-pie âhusbandâs fatherâ, vajigÄ per âfrom thereâ, mon mon âfor meâ24, ta lowlu âyour dressâ25 (2) Adjectives:26 masin mirde âbig manâ, xoji vaÄkÄ âgood boyâ, yax ow âcold waterâ.
§2.1.2.1. The ezÄfa construction is imposed as a result of Persian influence, often inaffected speech, e.g. the proverb ayon-e xar a, nang honer a âit is the donkeysâ era; vice is virtueâ. Otherwise ezÄfa occurs with certain prepositions (â 2.8) which are possibly simulated on the Persian model. â The âreverse ezÄfa-like connectorâ,27 employed occasionally, is perhaps a borrowing from the neighboring Tabari dialects, e.g. ĆĄel-e xar âlame assâ. It appears before the postpositions which otherwise require no connector: howz-e darin âin the poolâ, dÄr-e sar âon the treeâ (â §§2.7.2.13-14), and in dÄr-e low âup on the treeâ (â §2.7.2.12).
§2.2. Adjectives precede the noun;28 some are marked by -in, added to adverbs or nouns. Examples: masin/kasin Äu âbig/small stickâ, Äapin das âleft handâ, jorin/tain29 qanÄet âupper/lower qanÄt (subterranean channel)â, loin30/tain lowĆĄe âupper/lower lipâ, amsÄlin marqoje palisÄlin marqoje-de vÄzi denne âsparrow of this year fools the sparrow of last yearâ (proverb).
§2.2.1. Comparison. The comparative suffix -ter supersedes the adjectival suffix-in, and the comparative postposition is -tun/-ton âthan, fromâ,31 e.g. a tĂĄ-tun mastĂ©r i âI am older than thouâ, tu mun-tun kastĂ©r a âyou are smaller than meâ, an mirde ven mirde tun belertĂ©r (batĂ©r) a âthis man is better (worse) than that manâ,32 hem pier o mÄhon xeyli hem-ton viĆĄter kÄr kennen âour parents work much more than we doâ. â Superlatives are mainly expressed syntatically or by means of adverbial modifiers in dialects like Aftari; the following sole example is likely to be an
immitation of the Persian form by the informant: ju kie masser-terin kie-ye hem velÄyet a âhis house is the largest house in our localityâ; note the superadded Pers. -terin to -ter.
§2.3. Numerals. 1 i, 3 hiere, 9 na(h), 10 das, 20 vist, 100 say/sey. Other numerals are practically identical with those of Persian. The numbered remains singular33 as in Persian; the following sole example, however, shows the contrary: mage Äon ruj a, do vaÄahon tow kennen âthere are only two days (since) [my] two children have had feverâ.
§2.4. Adverbs. (1) Place: jori âupâ, low âupâ, tai âdownâ, jir âdownâ, sarjor âuphillâ, sarjir âdownhillâ, darin âin(side)â, bi âout(side)â, paron âahead, frontâ, har-jigÄ âeverywhereâ. Examples: bur darin/jir! âcome in/down!â, baĆĄe bi(ÄĆĄ)/low! âgo out/up!â, Ännen paron âthey come aheadâ, paron-paron ĆĄonne âhe walks in the frontâ, an ÄeÄi a jori ĆĄonne vÄz denne, tai Änne gÄz ginne? âWhat is the one that when it goes up, it twists, and when it comes down, it bites?â34 â (2) Time: adi âagainâ, haley âyetâ, hamiĆĄek âalwaysâ, ham-esÄ âright nowâ, xeyli-ton âlong sinceâ, Äru âtodayâ, yezze âyesterdayâ, herÄn âtomorrowâ, herÄn-ĆĄow âtomorrow nightâ, para âthe day after tomorrowâ. Examples: haley nÄmoa âhe has not come yetâ, adi boru! âcome again!â, xeyli-ton e xoji beboĆĄti âit is long since I have become wellâ â (3) Demonstrative Adverbs include innon, anjigÄ âhereâ, vajigÄ âthereâ, vajigÄhon (Pers. ÄnjÄhÄ) âsomewhere there, whereaboutsâ, haminnon âright hereâ, anvÄri âsuch, this way, like thisâ, e.g. anvari nake! (Pers. intowr makon!) âdonât do this!â, ham-anvÄri xoji a âit is ok this wayâ â (4) Note also: eyni jek beyta âhe took another wifeâ, heÄin (Pers. digar): heÄin nanni âI wonât come any moreâ, heÄin heÄkin nazonnen ânobody else knowsâ.
§2.5. Conjunctions include o âandâ and tÄ âorâ:35 ven behtar e tÄ an? âis that better or this?â, niÄ kennen xoji a tÄ zoe âthey look (at it to see whether) it is good or badâ, espi a tÄ siÄ a tÄ zard âit is white or black or yellowâ, ĆĄir tÄ xat kennen âthey flip acoin (lit. they do heads or tails)â.
§2.6. Interrogatives and Relative Pronouns: Äe âwhatâ, Äera âwhyâ, Äon(n) (Pers. Äand) âhow much; someâ, Äoteyni âwhatâ, ki âwhoâ, ki-de âwhomâ, kay âwhenâ, konim (Pers. kodÄm) âwhichâ, i konim âone of whomâ, koja âwhereâ, hej/heÄ (Pers. hiÄ), heÄkin ânobody?â, haÄkin/heÄkin âwhoeverâ. Examples: an Äonn a? âhow much is this?â, anon ÄiÄi a? âwhat is this?â, haÄkin bon viĆĄter a, jun var viĆĄter a âwhoever has a vaster roof, his (lit. their) snow is moreâ (proverb).
§2.7. Postpositions normally follow the noun or pronoun without a connective.
§2.7.1. -de is the only postposition that marks the direct object. (For the locative function of de, â §2.7.2). Examples:
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The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 279
hem ta-de vinennim âwe see youâvenon-de vey baĆĄe! âtake that (and) go!ânadÄr-de xodÄ naine âGod doesnât take the poor (into account)â vÄnnen, ki genne ĆĄir-de, ki genne xat-te?36 âthey say: who wants the head (lit. âlionâ), who wants the tails (lit. âscriptâ)?âkalÄte-de qÄbel-e darvÄze nie âthe old fortification deserves no portalâ
§2.7.1.1. Indefinite Direct Object. (1) When the direct object is not definite, -de becomes optional:
i huz ginnen âthey take a walnutâi kÄqe mon ra vesi ke! âsend a letter to me!âi jiki-de bediam âI saw a womanâan ÄiÄihon-de zonne (Pers. in Äe ÄizhÄ midÄnad!) âhow informed he is!â
(2) Indefiniteness is implied when -de is removed from the direct object:
pur jek bebartoĆĄ âthe boy married (lit. âthe boy carried a wife/womanâ)â37
asm-de hÄdÄa, xar howta âhe gave (up) the horse [and] bought a donkeyâ
§2.7.1.2. The accusative morpheme -de follows any other postposition which may be present:
ju-dele-de niÄ kennen âthey look at inside of itâ.
§2.7.2. Other postpositions are as follows.
(1) de âtoâ (someone) ta de vÄnni âI say (it) to youâ varg de vÄtaĆĄon, ta kord kerim âthey said to the wolf: we should make you a
shepherdâ jun hejvaxt hem de doru navÄnnen âthey never say lies to usâ ĆĄÄl de gow butum bespÄrdaĆĄon âthey entrusted a cowâs stomach to a jackalâ o an kie-de ta de baxĆĄenne âhe gives this house to youâ ta asm-de ki de berutat? âwhom did you sell your horse to?â hoj mon de tÄrof nakerin! âdo not give me complements!â
(2a) ra âtoâ (someone), alternates freely with de (see above)hoj ra vÄnni âI will tell youâvajigÄ per i kÄqe mon ra vesi ke! âsend a letter to me from there!âhoj payqom-de jun ra vÄnni âI will convey your message to themâ vinenna i kÄqe diger innon per ju ra vesi keri âmaybe I send another letter to him from hereâeqder ju ra xue najen! âdo not laugh at him so much!â
(2b) ra âatâ (place) har-koja ra mirde-de bediot, an ĆĄay-de ju de! âwherever you saw that man, give him this shirt!â
(2c) ra âforâ Äera anonhÄ-de hoĆĄton-ra nerinennin? âwhy donât you buy these for yourself?â ta[:]rif-e doxter-38de ju mÄ hÄkere, ju hÄle ra xoji a âshould a daughter be praised by her mother, (then) it is good for her auntâ donyÄ nah dong a; i hoĆĄton ra bo, haĆĄt martum ra âthe world is (divided into) nine portions; be one for yourself [and] eight for the peopleâ eyni Äu diger39 Äapin das ginnen ÄakÄaku ra âthey grab the other stick [with] the left hand for ÄakÄakuâ
(3) dim âtoâasm leng-de ÄiÄi dim devonenna? âwhat do you tie the horseâs leg to?ârasong sar-de ÄiÄi dim devastat? âwhat did you tie the end of the rope to?â
(4) gal âfrom, toâboru mon gal! (Pers. biÄ pahlu-ye man!) âcome to/near me!âju asm-de ju gal/per hayi vey boru âfetch his horse from himâ an-de ta denni, heÄin ta gal/per naini âI give this to you [and] will not get (it back) from youâ harÄi hem gal/per qarz kenne, heÄin hem peĆĄ nadenne âwhatever he borrows from us, he will never return (it) to usâ
(5) per âfrom, ofâa jun per qarz nayni âI do not borrow from themâmon per paronter bemoa (Pers. jelowtar az man Ämad) âhe came ahead of meâÄteĆĄ per kelim amel Änne âash is produced from fireâ (proverb)tah-e del per harf senne âhe talks from bottom of (his) heartâboru homra innon per beĆĄim âletâs go together from hereâo hoj per joz xojigeri heÄÄi nadia âhe has seen nothing but decency from youâ mager hem per ÄiÄi bediat ke hem per beromÄĆĄtat? âwhat (misconduct) have you seen in us that you have turned away from us?â
(6) mon âwith, fromâguĆĄt-de ÄiÄi mon xurd kennen? âwhat is the meat chopped with?â tok-e leng mon rÄh ĆĄonne (Pers. bÄ tok-e pÄ rÄh miravad) âhe is walking on (his) toesâ daboa mon mon harf misseta, to bemoĆĄtat âhe was talking with me (when) you arrivedâ hem pie ham haminnon hem mon zennegi kenne âour father is also living with us right hereâ
280 âą HABIB BORJIAN
ki mon xaber ginna? âwhom do you ask?âgadÄ gadÄ mon bad dÄnne âa beggar despises (another) beggarâ
(7) homrÄ âwith, togetherâboru mon homra baĆĄim âletâs go with meâhoj homra Änni âI will come with youâ
(8) pay âby, atâlam-lame pay guz denne âit farts at the bushesâ40
(9) palu âby, at, nearâtavile palu eĆĄtenne41 vÄĆĄ bu gena42 âthe fodder placed by the stable smellsâ
(10) paron âin front ofâ tow ju paron henna, marg rÄzi hÄbu âoffer him the fever (lit. âplace the fever in his frontâ), he will be happy with deathâ (proverb)
(11) jir âunderâju jir pol a âunder it is the bridgeâÄu jir pol vÄri bonne âthe stick beneath [it] becomes like a bridgeâ
(12) low âup onto?âbeĆĄa dÄr-e low âhe went up the treeâ, cf. baĆĄe low! âgo up!â
(13) sar âon, above, atâ43
miz sar hiennÄ âhe placed (it) on the tableâdÄr-e sar morqone kenne âit lays eggs on the treeâi Äu ju sar duennennen âthey place a stick on itâ
(14) darin âinside, intoâ marqoje ĆĄow hoĆĄton kulu darin xosenne âthe sparrow sleeps inside its nest at nightâraz darin kat âit fell into (a) gardenâ howz darin maĆĄt-maĆĄt, morq-e darin mast-mast, howz-e darin nesme bebo, morq-e darin koĆĄte bebo44 âinside the pool â brimful; the bird inside â frivolous; [the water] in the pool dropped to half; the bird inside was killedâ45
(15) dele âinside, in, intoâmon das dele heÄÄi denaboa âthere is nothing in my handâmosterÄb dele kata âhe has fallen into the toiletâi dowri dele huz maĆĄt kennen âthey make a plate full of walnutsâ sizze jur xoreĆĄ dukennen pelÄ dela âthey put/pour thirteen ingredients into the pilaf stewâ
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(16) bedommÄl âafterâ (time)mon bedommÄl bemoa âhe has come later than meâ korÄemÄ bedommÄl haremÄ bonne âfollowing Taurus is (lit. becomes) Geminiâ
(17) vÄri âlikeâan vaÄe pie vÄri a âthis child resembles [his] fatherâ anon vanon vÄri a âthis is like thatâ or (if vÄri is not taken as a proposition) âthis and that are (lit. is) alikeâ (see also §2.9.1), cf. an o ven iqowde hen âthis and that are equalâ
(18) ton/tun âthan, formâ, the comparative postposition (â §2.2.1), also used in xeyli-ton âlong sinceâ (â §2.4.2)
(19) Äi, possessive suffix (â §2.9.5).
§2.7.3. Postpositions may occur after a relative clause which modifies a noun:
va teraf-i (ind. obj.) ke gal tÄjenenne[n] de, vÄnnen âgaledeâ; va teraf-i (ind. obj.) ke tajennen de, vÄnnen âgalexÄrâ âthe team that is being chased (lit. âthat they chase themâ) is called galede; the team that is running, is called galexÄrâ46
ĆĄonne va-i ke kowk-de migÄha gal âhe goes to that one who wanted the partridgeâ (Note that the personal pronoun is direct)
§2.7.4. A nominal phrase is the object of the postposition gal in the following sentence.
har konim kÄrd-de giÄ, ĆĄonne kÄrd-de giÄha Ädem gal âanyone wanted the knifeâ he would go to the-person-who-wanted-the-knifeâ
§2.7.5. Postpositions are occasionally left unexpressed:
ju non ruhun kata âhis bread has fallen into gheeâ (a proverb signifying prosperity)dass kamer naine âhe does not free [his] hands from [his] waistâva mivehon-de hÄde an mirde! âgive those fruits to this man!âxar-de ju jÄ davon! âtie the donkey to its place!â
§2.8. Prepositions are comparatively rare and generally of borrowed origin, appearing mainly in affected speech such as proverbs.§2.8.1. Prepositions without a postposition substitute include:47 (1) paĆĄt-e âback, behindâ: ju paĆĄt-e ÄaĆĄ vÄ dÄnne âthe back of his eye has puffed upâ â (2) peĆĄ-e âin front of, behindâ:48 Ärus naboĆĄti, peĆĄ-e parde nerÄ boĆĄti âI was not a bride (but) I
282 âą HABIB BORJIAN
was sitting behind the curtainâ (proverb), ĆĄonne tÄ i nafer peĆĄ-e bar49 âthey go up to the front of someoneâs [houseâs] doorâ.
§2.8.2. Other prepositions include: jir âunderâ (otherwise a postposition: §2.7.2.11): jir-e dÄr bexote âhe is sleeping under the treeâ â bÄlÄ-ye âaboveâ:50 qÄĆĄoq-de bÄlÄ-ye ÄbĆĄele dunenna âdonât put the spoon above the soupâ (proverb) â tok âtipâ (also âmouthâ): tok-e leng âtoes (lit. footâs tip)â, but also a postposition: kasin Äu tok âthe tip of the small stick â tah âbottomâ: tah-e del âbottom of the hearthâ â az âfrom, ofâ:51 az jun (= jun per) hoj-de Äe badi berasÄa? âwhat wrongdoing have they done to you?â, vinenna i kÄqe diger az anjigÄ (= innon per) ju-ra vesi keri âmaybe I send another letter to him from hereâ, xodÄyÄ az yakkei bemardi âLord! I am dying of lonelinessâ, az sarmÄi yax bekardeĆĄti âI froze of the coldâ â por az âfull ofâ: kau ÄÄssure por az pine âthe blue wrapping sheet (Pers. ÄÄdor-ĆĄab) full of patchesâ.52
§2.9. Pronouns
§2.9a. Demonstrative Adjectives/Pronouns53 are as follows.
en, an, anon âthisâva, ven, venon âthatâ54
anonhÄ, an(h)Ä âtheseâvanonhÄ âthoseâanon-ham (Pers. hamin) âthis very (same)âhamva, hamme âthat very (same)
Demonstrative pronouns are also used for third-person pronouns (â §§2.9.1-2).
§2.9b. Personal Pronouns are two sets: direct and oblique, as listed in Table 1. The two sets merge in the plural:
harjÄ hoj baĆĄin, hoj-homra Änni âwherever you go, Iâll come with youâ. jun hoj-de vajigÄ paydÄ kennen âthey will find you thereâ ~ a jun-de hoj homra vesi kenni âI will send them together with youâ
§2.9.1. No distinct inanimate forms occur for the 3rd person singular other than those of demonstrative pronouns (â §2.9a), i.e. Aftari lacks a word for âitâ. However, the oblique personal pronoun ju âhis, him, herâ is used optionally for inanimates in object positions (â §2.9.4), e.g. ju eĆĄkenennen âthey break itâ. Alternatively, the demonstratives may occur as direct objects (an-de ta denni âI give this to youâ, venon-de vey baĆĄe! âtake that (and) go!â) or indirect objects (anon venon-mon farx dÄnne âthis is different than thatâ, anon vanon-vÄri a âthis is like thatâ).55
§2.9.1.1. As to the genetival case (â §§2.9.4.1, 2.9.5), ju appears to be the only option even for inanimates: ju kiahon âits houses (i.e. the houses of the village)â, ju
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 283
sar/jir âon/under itâ. The sole example that shows the contrary, sar-e va âon that/itâ, appear to be mere Persianism with the ezÄfa syntax.
Table 1Personal Pronouns56
direct obliqueSg. 1 a mon
2 to ta3 o
ju3 â near va/venon3 + near an (?)
Pl. 1 hem2 hoj3 jun3 â near venon(h)Ä3 + near anon(h)Ä/anÄ
§2.9.2. In addition to the personal pronouns shown in boldface in Table 1, demonstrative pronouns (â §2.9a) play this role for the 3rd person animate.
1. Remote demonstrative pronouns va, ven, venon âhe, she, itâ (otherwise âthatâ) and venÄ, venonhÄ âtheyâ (otherwise âthoseâ):
venon xow dara âhe is asleepâvenonhÄ hame bemoĆĄten âthey all cameâ
2. Proximate demonstrative pronouns an âthisâ, anon(h)Ä, an(h)Ä âtheseâ. At least the plural forms are used for animates:
anonhÄ ki en? âwho are these?âanÄ Äe vaÄehiÄ-yy-en! âwhat kind of children are these!â
§2.9.2.3. Remote pronouns normally occur as the subject (â §2.9.2.1) or indirect object (?), whereas the proximate pronouns may occur in both subject (â §2.9.2.2) and non-subject positions:
va-yi (subj.) ke esm-e ju57 (possess.) kuter boha âthat one (person) whose name was pigeonâ
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ven dasse vÄzi kennen tÄ anonÄ (dir. obj.) yÄ jun (dir. obj.) basuzenen, yÄ jun (dir. obj.) bakoĆĄen âthat team plays the game until they beat these or those/
them, or they âkillâ themâĆĄonne va-i (ind. obj.) ke kowk-de migÄha gal âhe goes to that one who wanted
the partridgeâ
§2.9.3. The Direct forms occur in subject cases:
a o o hamkÄr im âI and he are co-workersâto bemoĆĄtat âyou cameâager va Äu o song-de begenÄ âif it/that seized (i.e. it hit) the stick and stoneâjun hoj-de vajigÄ paydÄ kennen âthey will find you thereâ
§2.9.4. The Oblique forms occur in the following positions.
§2.9.4.1. Possessive: mon kare âmy throatâ, ta vaÄon âyour childrenâ, ju tok âhis mouthâ, hoj pie âyour fatherâ.
§2.9.4.2. Direct Object, (1) with or (2) without the accusative suffix -de (â §2.7.1):
(1) hem ta-de vinennim âwe see youâ a ju-de dust dÄnni âI like herâ monne (â mon-de?) virÄssenenne âthey wake me upâ
(2) ta kord kerim âwe should make you a shepherdâ harvaxt ta bavini, ta de vÄnni âwhenever I see you, I will say (it) to youâ ju eĆĄkenennen âthey break itâ ju tarjebe (sic!) kennen âthey interpret itâ anonÄ yÄ jun basuzenen â(if ) they defeat these (individulas) or those/themâ
§2.9.4.3. Indirect Object, (1) with58 or (2) without a postposition:
(1) ta de vÄnni âI will say (it) to youâ a jun-de hoj homra vesi kenni âI will send them together with youâ
(2) a ta denni âI give (it) to youâ59 an-de ta denni â(I) give this to youâ an ĆĄay-de ju de! âgive this shirt to him!â ki an xaber-de hoj dÄa? âwho has given you this news?â mon bevÄtaĆĄon âthey told meâ haÄkin xabar bayren, jun *vÄnnim60 âwhoever makes inquiries, we will tell him
(lit. them)â
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 285
mon ta:rif hÄkard (Pers. az man taârif kard) âhe said good words about meâ to kay an kÄqe-de ju rÄsenenna? âwhen will you bring this letter over to
him?â haley mon hÄli naboa âI did not understand/have not understood yet (lit. for me
it is not justified)â
§2.9.4.4. The compared, with the postposition ton âthanâ (â §2.2.1).
§2.9.5. Possessive Pronouns are mon âmyâ, ta âyourâ, ju âhis, her, itsâ, hem âourâ, hoj âyourâ, jun âthierâ (â §2.9.4.1). Suffixing -Äi to these results in Possessives: an hem Äi a âthis is oursâ,61 Ă€n kiÄ mun ci a âthis house is mineâ, ven kiÄ tĂĄ Äi a âthat house is thineâ.62 hoĆĄton functions as a possessive for all persons (â §2.10.3). For inanimates, â §2.9.1.1.
§2.10. Reflexives are the invariable (h)oƥton and hoƥtara for all persons. The latter appears to be strictly used as an emphatic.63 Their functions are as follows.
§2.10.1. Emphatic:
a hoĆĄtara Änni (for Pers. xĂłdam miÄyam) âI come (by?) myselfâhoĆĄtara jÄ kat (for Pers. xĂłdaĆĄ jÄ oftÄd) âit was adjusted (by) itselfâ
§2.10.2. Direct Object:
a hoĆĄton-de an kÄr Ämoxte kardam âI have surrendered myself to this taskâ
§2.10.3. Possessive:
hoj pie herÄ-ĆĄow hem-de da:vat karda hoĆĄton kie âyour father has invited us to his house [for] tomorrow nightâ
marqoje ĆĄow hoĆĄton kulu darin xosenne â(a) sparrow sleeps inside its nest at nightâĆĄel-e xar hoĆĄton ture-de essar kie pettÄ vonenne âthe lame ass throws its sack
(into) the muleâs houseâ (proverb)har jiki ke tamiz a, hoĆĄton ĆĄu gal aziz a âany woman who is neat, she is dear to
her husbadâhoĆĄton sÄye per rom kenne âhe escapes from his (own) shadowâ
§2.10.4. With Postpositions:
Äera anonhÄ-de hoĆĄton ra nerinennin? âwhy donât you buy these for yourself?âhoĆĄton ra bo! âbe for yourself!âi darzon hoĆĄton de basse, i gÄlduj martum de âstrike a needle to yourself and a
big one to (other) peopleâ (proverb)
286 âą HABIB BORJIAN
hoj-de hoĆĄton homra benni âI will take you with meâÄera hem per porsenna? hoĆĄton per xaber bayi! âwhy are you asking us? ask
yourself!â
§3. VERB PHRASE
The tenses and moods include those formed from the present stem (the imperative, present indicative, present subjunctive) and those from the past stem (the preterit, perfect, imperfect, pluperfect). Duration is marked differently in the present and the past. The transitivity in the past tenses (remnant of Middle Iranian ergativity) is signified not only by the lack of the affix -ĆĄt specific to intransitives but also bya distinct set of personal endings (jun-de vi-enn-a âyou see himâ ~ jun-de be-di-ot âyou saw himâ). Compound verbs play a significant syntactic role relevant to objectmaking. The progressive present and past are conjugated with the existential verb as auxiliary. The modal âmust, want toâ has a distinct conjugation. The future has no special formation and is expressed by the indicative present.
§3.1. Stem
§3.1.1. Binary present-past system. The correspondence between the present and past stems varies for the irregular verbs. In the list that follows, the present and past stems are placed in the first and second columns, respectably.
§3.1.1.1. Present stems ending in a vowel
ÄÄ- ÄÄ- catch coldde- dÄ-64 giveÄ- (Ä)mo- comeeĆĄnu- eĆĄnu- hear
gi- gaĆĄt- bite (with de-)ko- kat- fallse- set- hitzÄ- zÄd- bear
§3.1.1.2. Past stem = Pres. stem + d/t
(1) Present stems in r 65
ber- bard/t- carrydar- dard- have66
espÄr- espÄrd- hand overker- kard- do (with hÄ-)kÄr- kÄrd-67 sow (with da-)
mer- mard- die (out)ĆĄur- ĆĄurd- washuer- uerd- bringxor- xord- eat
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 287
(2) Present stems in n 68
Äin- Äind- pluckerin- erind- buyjun- junt- chewpiÄen- piÄint-69 twistkon- kont- digowjin- owjint- clean70
rvin-71 rvind/t- cut off
rÄn- rÄnt- driverun- runt- sweepsun- sund/t- wear (away),
rasp von- vont- spread (hi-)vun- vunt-72 tie, close (da-)xon- xond/t- read
(3) Present stems in f
eĆĄkÄf- eĆĄkÄft- unstitcheĆĄkof- eĆĄkoft- split saf- saft- taste, suck
(4) Present stems in ĆĄ
duĆĄ- duĆĄt- milkkoĆĄ- koĆĄt- kill; extinguishtÄĆĄ- tÄĆĄt/d- scrap
§3.1.1.3. Past stem in ƥt ~ pres. stem in s, z or j
lis- liĆĄt- lick miz- miĆĄt- defecate (-de)nevis- neviĆĄt- write xiz- xiĆĄt- crawlris- riĆĄt- spin rvij- rviĆĄt- roast
§3.1.1.4. Past stem in t ~ pres. stem in j, z, s, or ƥ
anj- ant- draw, pull73
duj- dut- sewpaj- pat- cookrij- rit- pour74
taj- *tat- run uej- uet- take offvÄj- vÄt- sayvij- vit- sift (with hi-)
sÄz- sÄt- makesuz- sut- burnxos- xot- sleepruĆĄ- rut- sell
§3.1.1.5. Other correspondences
gir- git- seizevin- di- seeĆĄ(o)- ĆĄo- go
288 âą HABIB BORJIAN
§3.1.2. Secondary Formation. Aftari has regularized the verbs of lower frequency by making the past stem derivable from the present stem through adding the formant -Ä. For some verbs, the old forms of the past stem have survived alongside the secondary ones. These âregularâ past stems include:
damÄ- âblowâdurÄqnÄ-, durÄqont- âstuffâennÄ- âputâ (with du-, h-)eĆĄnÄsÄ- ârecognizeâeĆĄtÄ- âstandâgenÄ- âseize, hitâgerdÄ- âsearchâjenÄ- âhitâ (aux.)junÄ-, junt- âchewâkolÄ- âboilâkutenÄ- âpoundâpiÄenÄ-, piÄint- âtwistâ
§3.1.3. Some verbs with secondary past stems have present stems ending in -i. These verbs are intransitive with the possible exception of lissiÄun âto lickâ.76 It is possible that the -i is a remnant of a passive maker no more productive in the language.77 Following is a list.
Present Stem Past StemÄokki- ÄokkiÄ- dripeĆĄkÄfi- eĆĄkÄfiÄ-/eĆĄkoft- split, cf. trans. eĆĄkÄf-/eĆĄkÄft- unstitchgan[i]- ganniÄ- rot, spoillis-/*lissi- lissÄ-/lissiÄ-/liĆĄt- lickmÄs-/*mÄsi- mÄssiÄ- stickmonni- mondiÄ-78 stayowsi- owsiÄ-/owset- rupture ~ ows-en-Ä- (causative)qarsi- qarsiÄ- litrvij-/*rvijji- rvijjiÄ- roast ~ bervij-en-Ä- (causative)terki- terkiÄ burstvarĆĄi- varĆĄiÄ- shed light, burnxoĆĄki- xoĆĄkiÄ- dry
§3.1.4. The present stem for âto sayâ has various forms: vÄ-nn-a âyou sayâ, b-aj-a âthat you sayâ, b-Äj-a âsay!â
§3.1.5. Pres./past stem Ä-/(Ä)mo- âcomeâ has the irregular forms b-ue âthat he comesâ and the imperative boru/buru/bur.79 The past stem shows variation as well: mi-Ämo-ĆĄti âI would comeâ, be-mo-ĆĄti (or b-emo-ĆĄti) âI cameâ. See also §3.5.2.4.
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 289
rakkÄ- âgrateâ (Pers. randidan)rÄnÄ-, rÄnt- âdriveâromÄ- âshy awayâsafÄ-, saft- âtaste; suckâtÄjenÄ- âmake runâtÄĆĄĆĄÄ-, tÄĆĄt- âscrapâvÄrÄ- âprecipitateâvarĆĄenÄ- âburnâvilinÄ- âsqueezeâ (with hi-)virÄssÄ- âstand upâvonÄ, vont- âspreadâ (with hi-)zonÄ- âknow;75 be able to?â
§3.1.6. The past stem ĆĄu-, ĆĄo-80 âgoâ corresponds to the present stem in the forms ĆĄ-, ĆĄo-, or ĆĄu-.81
§3.1.7. The forms dar-/dard-, dÄr-/dÄrd- âhaveâ (also âweighâ when suffixed by var-) are used in free alternation. The second set appears to be influenced by Persian.
§3.1.8. gen-/genÄ- occurs in one text only:82 bagene âthat it seizes/hitsâ, ager va Äu o song-de begenÄ âif it (= the ball) seized/hit the stick and stoneâ, etc. The frequency of occurrence is insufficient to determine whether it is an independent stem or acausative (§3.9) form of gir-/git- âgetâ, i.e. gen- â *gir-en-.
§3.1.9. (g)ir- âgetâ + the durative marker -(e)nn-83 â eyn-/ayn-, i.e. the durative marker is reduced to n (in addition to other phonological processes; â §§1.6-7). Examples: veynen (â *ve-(g)ir-enn-en) âthey pick upâ, deyne âit gets startedâ, qarz nayni (â *na-ir-enn-i) âI donât borrowâ, naini (â *na-ir-nn-i) âI donât getâ.
§3.1.10. It is not clear whether uej-/uet- and vij-/vit- are varieties of the same stem that changes form according to the sound environment: buej- âtake off (clothing)â, duej- âput onâ, hivij- âsiftâ.
§3.1.11. The present stem von-/vun- and past stem vont-/vunt- appear in various combinations with preverbs and within compounds, without a clear pattern; e.g. pettÄ von-/vunt- âthrowâ ~ da-vun-/vunt- âtieâ ~ hi-von-/vont- âspreadâ.84
§3.2. Preverbs. The preverbs hi-, hÄ-,85 de-/da-/di-, du-, ve-/var/vÄ-, bi(a)- further specify and expand a stem: h- usually implies direction while others often signify location. Examples:
bo- âbeâ ~ da-bo- âbe in, existâ (§3.11)Ä- âcomeâ ~ var-Ä- â*come upâ (in kare varÄ- âbelchâ) Äin- âpluckâ ~ du-Äin- âput together, pileâdar-/dard- âhaveâ ~ var-dar- âweighâenn-: h(i)-enn- âplaceâ ~ du-enn- âput/place down; put (name on), etc.âgerd- âsearch forâ ~ var-gerd- â(re)turnâ(g)ir-/(g)it- âcatch, grabâ ~ ve-(g)ir- (Pers. bardÄĆĄtan) âtake, pick (up), liftâ ~ de-(g)ir- âstart (raining)â86 ~ ha-(g)ir- (in hayi vey boru87 âfetch!â) ~ howta (*ho-yt-a?) âhe boughtâkaĆĄ- âdrawâ ~ hÄ-kaĆĄ- âexhaleâ ~ vÄ-kaĆĄ- âinhaleâ88
ker-/kard (in compounds), hÄ-ker- âdoâ, *du-ker- âput intoâ89
per- âflyâ ~ de-pper âsnatchârij-/rit-: pettÄ rij- âpour, spillâ ~ du-rij- âscatterâĆĄ(u)-/ĆĄu- âgoâ ~ bia-ĆĄ- âfleeâuej-/uet- âtake off (clothing)â ~ d-uej- âput onâ ~ hi-vij-/vit- âsiftâ
290 âą HABIB BORJIAN
uer-/-uerd- âbringâ ~ bi-uer- (Pers. dar-Ävardan) âtake/pull outâvun-/vunt-: da-vun-/vunt- âtie, closeâ ~ hi-von-/vont- âspread (carpets)â ~ dast ti-vun-/vunt- (â di-vun-?) âfingerâ90 ~ pettÄ von-/vunt- âthrowâ ~ jÄ vunt- (Pers. jÄ andÄxtan).
§3.2.1. Other verbs with preverb include: hÄ-d-/dÄ- âgiveâ â hi-vilin- âsqueezeâ, hi-laken- âshake downâ â de-gi-/gaĆĄt- âbite, stingâ, de-fisen- âsoakâ, de-miz-/miĆĄt âdefecateâ, da-kÄr-/kÄĆĄt âsowâ, di-mmÄss- âstickâ â du-rij-/rit âscatterâ, du-piÄ- âscrew, twist inâ, and perhaps durÄqnÄun (Pers. dar-sopuxtan) âstuffâ91 â var-ĆĄi-/ĆĄiÄ- âburn, shed lightâ.
§3.2.2. The preverb bi(a)- implies âoutâ and occurs only in bia-ĆĄ- âfleeâ and bi-uer- âtake/pull outâ; its status is yet to be established when sufficient data become available.
§3.2.3 Besides lexical significance, preverbs serve the grammatical function ofmodal prefixes ba- and be- (â §3.3.1). In this respect, Aftari preverbs can be divided into two types:92 (1) ve-/var-, de-, du-, bia- and (2) hÄ- and hi-. Type 1 may be classified as strong, in the sense that it is an integral part of the verb and henceforthis retained in all tenses, including the durative tenses which otherwise disallow modal prefixes: dekÄrenne âhe sowsâ, duejenne âhe puts onâ, durijenne âhe scattersâ, kare varÄnne âhe belchesâ, bia-ĆĄonne âhe fleesâ. On the contrary, Type 2 preverbs vanish in certain tenses and in the negative as if the verb lacked a preverb: hÄdÄhon âto giveâ, denni âI giveâ. (For coexistence with negative marker, see §3.3.4.1).
§3.3. Modal Affixes
§3.3.1. The modal prefixes are (1) the subjunctive marker bĂĄ- (also be-, b-), used to form the subjunctive present and the imperative, and (2) the perfective bĂ©- (also ba-, b-), marking the preterit, perfect, past participle (p. p.), and infinitive. Examples:baxos âsleep!â, baxosi âI sleepâ, bexoteĆĄti âI sleptâ, bexotey âI have sleptâ, bexot (p. p.), bexoton âto sleepâ. â The preverb (when one exists) acts as the modal prefix(§3.2.3). â Certain verbs93 take no prefix: âwant to, mustâ: giet âthat you want toâ, âhaveâ: dard âhe hadâ, âsitâ (only in the perfect):94 nerÄĆĄti95 âI have been sittingâ.
§3.3.2. Duration is expressed by (1) mi- for the preterit, e.g. mi-xot-eĆĄt-i âI would sleep, I used to sleepâ and (2) -(e)nn- for the present indicative: xos-enn-i âI sleep, I am sleepingâ, Ä-nn-en âthey comeâ, ĆĄo-nn-a âyou goâ, de-nn-e/de-nd-e âhe givesâ.96 In the negative, -nn- is reduced to n occasionally: nay-nn-i âyou take notâ, nai-nn-e âhe gets notâ, naĆĄu-nn-e âit goes notâ.
§3.3.3. Past-tense formant -(e)ĆĄt- is added to intransitive past stems for all persons except the 3rd singular: be-xot-eĆĄt-i âI sleptâ, mi-xot-eĆĄt-i âI would sleepâ, be-xot âhe sleptâ, mi-xot-a âhe would sleepâ.
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 291
§3.3.4. The negative marker nĂĄ- precludes the modal prefixes ba- and be- but coexists with the durative markers, e.g. ba-ner-i âthat I sitâ ~ na-ner-i âthat I sit notâ, be-ĆĄton âstand!â ~ ne-ĆĄton âstand not!â, n-Ännin âyou come notâ, n-Ämoa âhe has not comeâ, na-mi-xoteĆĄti âI used to sleep notâ, namizonat âyou knew notâ. Specificforms of the negative marker include: -i âamâ ~ nihi âam notâ.
§3.3.4.1. Regarding the preverbs, the negative marker (1) precludes hÄ-: hÄke ~ nake âdo not!â, (2) but coexists the âstrongâ preverbs (â §3.2.3): var-na-gardeĆĄti âI have not returnedâ, var-na-dard-e (Per. nakaĆĄida) ânot weighedâ, duenna âplaceâ ~ du-n-enna âput notâ, dara â(it) is thereâ ~ denia âexists notâ. â In the compounds, the negative comes before the stem: harf nassena âyou do not talkâ
§3.3.5. The possibility of coexistence among verb prefixes is summarized below.
hÄ- da-, du-, ve-/var- be-, ba- mi-
be-, ba- â âmi- â ? âna- â + â +
§3.4. Person Endings. Aftari has two sets of personal endings as listed in Table 2. Set II is used for the past tenses of transitive verbs97 and Set I for all other forms. The verb âmust, wantâ uses Set II in all tenses (â §3.12).
Table 2 Personal Endings
I (pres., intr. past) II (trans. past)98
292 âą HABIB BORJIAN
-om-ot-(oĆĄ) (pret.), -a/Ăž (impf.)-omon-oton-oĆĄon
Sg. 1 -i 2 -a (pres.), -at (past) 3 -e (pres.), -a/Ăž (past)Pl. 1 -im 2 -in
3 -en
§3.5. Simple tenses are formed as follows.
Prefix Stem Infix EndingPres. Ind. = Pres. + -(e)nn- + IPres. Subj. = ba- + Pres. + IImperative = ba- + Pres. + I 99
Preterit (Intr.) = be- + Past + -(e)ĆĄt-* + IImperf. (Intr.) = mi- + Past + -(e)ĆĄt-* + IPerfect (Intr.) = be- + Past + -(e)ĆĄt-*/-a- + I
Preterit (Tr.) = be- + Past + IIImperf. (Tr.) = mi- + Past + IIPerfect (Tr.) = be- + Past + -a- + II
*Except for the 3rd sg.
§3.5.1. Tenses built on the Present Stem
§3.5.1.1. The Imperative and the Present Subjunctive often yield similar forms in the 2nd person plural, e.g. ba-xos-in âsleep!; that you sleepâ, but note bÄjin âsay!â ~ bajin âthat you sayâ. As for the 2nd person singular, the merge is observed in some cases: hÄ-de âgive!; that you giveâ, ba-ĆĄ-e âgo!; that you goâ (cf. irregular baĆĄu âthat it goesâ), and the irregular forms bur/boru/buru âcome!; that you comeâ (cf. boe âthat he comesâ), beĆĄton âstand!; that you standâ (cf. the fully realized plural be-ĆĄt-in âstand ye!â).
§3.5.1.2. The imperative ending varies for the singular: be-rakk-a âscratch!â, barvij-a âroast!â, baris-a âspin!â â hivij-Ăž âsift!â, duej-Ăž âput on!â, baxos-Ăž âsleep!â, vargarden-Ăž âcause to turn around!â, se âhit!â, paron ko-Ăž âfall ahead!â. There is a tendency for the loss of the final consonant in the stems ending in r; thus vey, veyra (â *ve-ir-a) âtake, lift!â, bai, bair, baira âget!â and ke, ker, kera âdo!â show a virtually free distribution. Note also dÄr âhave!, hold?â, ba-ni âsit!â (â ner-).
bexoton âto sleepâ
Pres. Ind. Pres. Subj. ImperativeSg. 1 xos-enn-i be-xos-i
2 xos-enn-a be-xos-a ba-xos-Ăž!3 xos-enn-e be-xos-e
Pl. 1 xos-enn-im be-xos-im2 xos-enn-in be-xos-in ba-xos-in!3 xos-enn-en be-xos-en
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 293
§3.5.2. Intransitive Past Tenses
§3.5.2.1. The intransitive preterit and imperfect are marked by -ĆĄt-, save for the 3rd person singular. In the latter the ending is sometimes dropped, as shown in the table below for âto sleepâ.
§3.5.2.2. For the stems ending in iÄ- (i.e. those of the secondary construction, §3.1.2) the ending is usually zero for the 3rd person singular preterit and imperfect: di-mÄssÄ-Ăž-Ăž âit stuckâ, var-gerdÄ-Ăž-Ăž âhe returnedâ, mi-nerÄ-Ăž-Ăž âhe would sitâ; cf. perfect berasÄ-Ăž-a âit has comeâ.
§3.5.2.3. The 2nd person singular employ Type II ending -at (instead of -a of Type I, the category used for other persons in the intransitive past): be-mo-ĆĄt-at âyou cameâ, be-ĆĄtÄ-ĆĄt-at âyou stoodâ.
§3.5.2.4. The preterit and the imperfect share form in the affirmative except forthe prefix, be- in the preterit and mi- in the imperfect: bexoteĆĄten âthey sleptâ, mixoteĆĄten âthey would sleep, they were sleepingâ. Nonetheless, the stem (Ä)mo- âcomeâ shows variation: be-mo-ĆĄt-i âI cameâ, mi-Ämo-ĆĄt-i âI would comeâ, be-mo-Ăž(-a) âit cameâ,100 mi-Ämo-Ăž-a âit would comeâ (see also §3.1.5).
§3.5.2.5. The Perfect yields no single formula. Its most common form is identical to that of the preterit; it is possible that stress patterns distinguish the two tenses, but this remains to be verified through extra fieldwork. Examples: beĆĄoĆĄten âthey have goneâ,101 bemuĆĄti âI have comeâ, and beromÄĆĄtat âyou have shied awayâ, all of which are understood as the preterit as well.
§3.5.2.5.1. Different strategies are used to contrast the perfect. (1) nerÄ-ĆĄt-i âI have been sittingâ differs from be-nerÄ-ĆĄt-i102 âI satâ in the modal prefix. (2) The perfectis formed from the past stem plus -e (-a for the 3rd sg.?), i.e. the past participle, and Type I endings (same as the present indicative of the copula verb), as the full paradigm listed below illustrates âto sleepâ. However, for the 3rd singular, the perfect seems to merge with the preterit: bemua âhe has comeâ ~ bemo(a) âhe cameâ. â Insufficient data prohibits us to draw any further conclusions in this regard. Asthe formation of the perfect in transitive verbs (see below) is also problematic, one may raise the suspicion that the perfect is not authentic to Aftari, as is the case for the neighboring Tabari dialects which generally lack this tense.
294 âą HABIB BORJIAN
bexoton âto sleepâPreterit Imperfect Perfect
Sg. 1 be-xot-eĆĄt-i mi-xot-eĆĄt-i be-xot-e-y2 be-xot-eĆĄt-at mi-xot-eĆĄt-at be-xot-e-ya3 be-xot-Ăž mi-xot-Ăž-a be-xot-e/a-Ăž
Pl. 1 be-xot-eĆĄt-im mi-xot-eĆĄt-im be-xot-e-him2 be-xot-eĆĄt-in mi-xot-eĆĄt-in be-xot-e-hin3 be-xot-eĆĄt-en mi-xot-eĆĄt-en be-xot-e-hen
§3.5.3. Transitive Past Tenses
§3.5.3.1. The preterit, imperfect, and perfect are specified by Endings II. Theylack the past-tense formant -ĆĄt- specific to intransitive verbs. The imperfect isdistinguished by the durative prefix mi-. A full paradigm for âto doâ appears in the table below.
§3.5.3.2. The endings are attached to the past stem employing an epenthesis (o, a, zero, etc.) which may vary across various persons and for different stems with no clear pattern, e.g. vardard-am âI weighedâ, bevÄt-ot âyou saidâ, beĆĄnu-at âyou heardâ,103 bevÄt-aton âyou saidâ, be-koĆĄt-Þƥon âthey killedâ. The form seems to change freely in hÄkard-ot ~ hÄkard-at âyou didâ.
§3.5.3.3. The 3rd singular ending -oĆĄ seems to be specific to the preterit, but evenhere it disappears occasionally, probably because the influencing Persian languagehas a zero morpheme in this position. Examples: veytoĆĄ âhe tookâ vontoĆĄ âhe threwâ, nadardoĆĄ âhe had notâ, bevÄt(oĆĄ) âhe saidâ, hÄkard(oĆĄ) âhe didâ, devast-Ăž âhe closedâ, and the secondary stem hiennÄ-Ăž âhe placedâ
§3.5.3.4. The Perfect employs the infix -a- succeeding the past stem, resulting in the past participle. The 3rd singular has no personal ending: vÄreĆĄ deyta âIt has begun to rainâ, hÄdÄa âhas givenâ, besseta âhas hitâ, contrasting with the preterit (with examples in the preceding paragraph). What is not as clear is how the perfect is distinguished from the preterit for other persons. The two tenses actually merge in the plural: bevÄtaĆĄon âthey (have) saidâ (see also the conjugation for âdoâ below). To determine whether the relation between the sets -om, -ot, -oĆĄ and -am, -at, -aĆĄ is allophonic calls for more linguistic materials.§3.5.3.5. The verb âto understandâ is conjugated as if it were intransitive, e.g. nafamoĆĄti âI did not understand, I have not understoodâ.104
§3.5.3.6. The 3rd person singular. Reduction of the endings coupled with the absence of the past-tense marker -ƥt-, makes most forms insensitive to transitivity.
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 295
hÄkardon âto doâPreterit Imperfect Perfect
Sg. 1 hÄ-kard-om mi-kard-am hÄ-kard-a-m2 hÄ-kard-ot mi-kard-at hÄ-kard-a-t3 hÄ-kard-(oĆĄ) mi-kard-a hÄ-kard-a-Ăž
Pl. 1 hÄ-kard-amon mi-kard-amon hÄ-kard-a-mon2 hÄ-kard-aton mi-kard-aton hÄ-kard-a-ton3 hÄ-kard-aĆĄon mi-kard-aĆĄon hÄ-kard-a-ĆĄon
§3.6. Compound Verbs. As in other New Iranian languages, Aftari is replete with compound verbs, i.e. those consisting of an invariant nonverbal element and a verbal element that conjugates. The preverb or the perfective prefix b- may or may not be dropped. Examples: vÄ ker âopen!â ~ ferÄr hÄ-ker âflee!â ~ vesi keri âthat I send offâ ~ kark morqone kenne âa hen lays eggsâ, burme mi-jenÄ-Ăž âhe was weepingâ, baĆĄim ow xosim âletâs go swimmingâ, essÄre su-su senne âthe star is blinkingâ, eqder harf nasse! âdonât talk much!â, peĆĄ nadenne âhe does not returnâ.105
§3.6.1. The transitivity of the compound is independent of the transitivity of the verbal element, e.g. the transitive verb âto doâ conjugates as an intransitive auxiliary in yax be-kard-eĆĄt-i âI froze, I did freezeâ (cf. trans. hÄ-kard-om âI didâ), espa kote bekarda âthe dog gave birthâ (cf. trans. hÄkardoĆĄ âhe didâ). Note vÄzi hÄkard-Ăž-at âyou played a gameâ,106 with transitive structure, cf. *vÄzi-de hÄkardat âyou played the gameâ, *vÄzi kardeĆĄtat âyou played gameâ.
§3.6.2. Some compound verbs have a rather loose structure that may break into a simple verb and a nominal without semantic justifications. Consider
ÄftÄb zel beyta âthere is a solar eclipseâ,mÄ-de zel beyta âthe moon is eclipsedâ.
In the first sentence ÄftÄb âthe sunâ is the subject of the compound verb zel beyton âto be eclipsedâ, whereas, in the second sentence, mÄ âthe moonâ is the direct object of the subject zel âshadowâ and the verb is beyton âto seizeâ. §3.6.3. As many 3rd singular forms are insensitive of transitivity (â §3.5.3.6), it is difficult to investigate the structure of some compound verbs; e.g. i ĆĄÄp besseta âhe has taken a leap (forward)â, daboa mon mon harf misseta âhe was talking with (mon) me (mon)â, mon-de tumet besseta âhe accused meâ, ruhun-de yax bessete107 âthe cooking oil is frozenâ.
296 âą HABIB BORJIAN
§3.7. Progressive Tenses. Aftari makes use of the locative verb âto be inâ as the auxiliary (§3.11.2). The auxiliary and main verb agree in tense, e.g. daren nerennen âthey are sittingâ and daboĆĄten minerÄĆĄten âthey were sittingâ. Examples:
dara vÄreĆĄ deyne âIt is about to rainâdo mirde daren108 Ännen âtwo men are comingâ daboa mon mon harf misseta, to bemoĆĄtat âhe was talking with me (when) you arrivedâ
§3.8. The Pluperfect is formed by the past participle (§3.14.2) followed by the preterit of âto beâ (intrans. boĆĄti, boĆĄtat, boa, etc.; trans. boam, boat, boa, etc.; see §3.11.1). Examples: bemua buĆĄti âI had comeâ, hÄkard boam âI had doneâ, bexot boĆĄti/boa âI/he was sleepingâ, hÄdÄ boam/boa âI/he had givenâ.
a beĆĄo boĆĄti bi, ki bemoa? â[while] I had gone out (bi), who came [here]?âxar-de bebard boaĆĄon lÄlejÄr âthey had taken the donkey to the flowerbedâvinenna sarmÄ bexord buĆĄun âmaybe they had caught coldâ
§3.8.1. No past subjunctive or pluperfect subjunctive occurs in the material available to me.
Table 3Summary of Verb Forms
to sit (intransitive)109 to say (transitive)110
1st pers. sg. 3rd pers. sg. 1st pers. sg. 3rd pers. sg. Pres. Indic. ner-enn-i ner-enn-e 111 vÄ-nn-i vÄ-nn-eProg. Pres. dar-i nerenni dar-a nerenne dar-i vÄnni dar-a vÄnnePres. Subj. ba-ner-i ba-ner-e b-aj-i b-aj-ePreterit be-nerÄ-ĆĄt-i be-nerÄ-a/Ăž be-vÄt-om be-vÄt(-oĆĄ)Imperfect mi-nerÄ-ĆĄt-i mi-nerÄ-a mi-vÄt-am mi-vÄt-aProg. Past daboĆĄti minerÄĆĄti daboa minerÄ daboĆĄti mivÄtam daboa mivÄtaPerfect112 nerÄ-ĆĄt-i nerÄ-a be-vÄt-a-m be-vÄt-a-ĂžPluperfect nerÄ boĆĄti nerÄ boa be-vÄt boam be-vÄt boaImperative ba-ni (sg.),113 ba-ner-in (pl.) b-Äj-a (sg.), b-Äj-in (pl.)Infinitive be-nerÄ-h-on be-vÄt-on
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 297
§3.9. The Causative is the transitive form of an intransitive verb and is expressed by a secondary formation. The present stem of the causative is formed by adding the causative morpheme -(e)n- to the present stem of an intransitive verb. Adding -Ä to the causative present stem will yield the causative past stem. Example of formation:
Intransitiveâ
preterit 3rd sg. be-kolÄ-Ăž âit boiledâpast stem kolÄ-pres. stem kol-
âTransitive
pres. stem kol-en-past stem kol-en-Ä-preterit 3rd sg. be-kolenÄ-Ăž âhe boiled (it)â
§3.9.1. In taj- ârunâ, tÄjen- âmake runâ, this secondary formation of causative has been imposed on the old umlaut form *tÄj- âcause to runâ.
§3.10. The Passive is constructed with the auxiliary âbecomeâ (â §3.11.3) added to adjectives and adverbs:
ÄĆĄu beboa âit has become pollutedâhavÄ xeyli zohe beboa âthe weather has turned uglyâmon dass ĆĄÄx-ĆĄÄx beboa âmy hand is laceratedâ Äe xoji beboa hem ma:le dokkon vÄ beboa (for Pers. Äe xub ĆĄod dar deh-e mÄ
dokÄn bÄz ĆĄoda) âhow wonderful (a) store(s) is/are opened in our village quarterâxeyli-ton e xoji beboĆĄti âit is long since I have become wellâ
§3.10.1. Other such auxiliary verbs include âgetâ and âeatâ:
divÄr laĆĄ veyta âthe wall has cracked (?)âmÄ-de zel beyta âthe moon is eclipsedâ (â §3.6.2)lorÄ bexorda (Pers. Äoruk xorda) âwrinkledâ
§3.10.2. For certain verbs the passive is formed by adding the 3rd person singular of âto beâ to the past participle, e.g. bar davasse-ya âthe door is shutâ, cf. devast âhe closedâ.
§3.11. Be and Become. There are two substantive verbs: the copula (h)-/bo- âbeâ and the existential dar-/dabo- âbe in, existâ. âTo becomeâ uses the stem bo- with the modal prefix ba-/be- for all tenses except the present indicative which is marked by the imperfective morpheme -nn-. The stems are summarized in the table below. Substantive verbs adhere to the rules of transitivity and are used as auxiliary: the Copula (past only) in the pluperfect and the transitive perfect, and the Existential verb in progressive tenses. To Become helps build the passive.
416 âą HABIB BORJIAN
be be in becomePresent (h)- dar- bo-nn-Subjunctive bo- ? babo-Past Intransitive bo-ĆĄt- dabo-ĆĄt- babo-ĆĄt-Past transitive boa- bebo-
§3.11.1. The Copula. Paradigms are given below followed by example sentences which show variations in forms. The Imperative is identical with the present subjunctive. No perfect or pluperfect is attested. There is only one example of the imperfect (3rd sg. miba).
Present Indic. Pres. Subj. Past Intrans. Past Trans.Affirm. Neg.
Sg. 1 -i nihi bi boĆĄti bo(h)am2 -a nia bo boĆĄtat boat3 -a/-e nia/nie boa/boe/bu boa/boha boa
Pl. 1 (h)im nihim bohim boĆĄtim boamon2 (h)in nihin bohin boĆĄtin boaton3 (h)en nien bohen/buen boĆĄten boaĆĄon/buĆĄun
§3.11.1.1. Present Indicative: a tĂĄ-tun master i âI am older than youâ,114 bar vÄ a âthe door is openâ, mon rafiq xeyli mehrevon a âmy friend is very affectionateâ, an ow tul a âthis water is muddyâ, an mon jek e âshe is my wifeâ, kasin Äu tok â ke gulu aya âthe tip of the small stick, which is [called] the guluâ, i dÄr aya (dÄrĂĄ-y-a?) ke havde ĆĄÄxe dÄnne âit is the tree that has seventeen branchesâ, Äx-Äx, Äe duss-e bevafÄh-i ayya âoh, what a disloyal friend he is!â, a o o hamkÄr im âI and he are co-workersâ, an o ven iqowde hen âthis and that are equalâ, te jek o vaÄahon xoji en? Are your wife and children good?
§3.11.1.2. Imperative and Subjunctive: zud bo âhurry up!â, hoĆĄton-ra bo! âbe for yourself!â, ta xiÄl rÄhat bu! âdo not worry!â, genne ju herdow-de balad bo âyou must know its waysâ,115 harÄi viĆĄter buen (Pers. bÄĆĄand) âthe more they are, ...â
§3.11.1.3. Preterit: se mÄh ÄzegÄr nÄxoĆĄ boĆĄti âI was ill for a good three monthsâ, ager a miboĆĄti âif I were ...â, mon das ban boa âI was busy (lit. my hand was tied)â, va-yi ke esm-e ju kuter boha âthat one whose name was pigeonâ
§3.11.1.4. Imperfect: kur ager ÄÄreger miba, hoĆĄton ÄaĆĄ-de xÄrÄ mikarda âif the blind were a curer, he would cure his own eyesâ (proverb)
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 417
§3.11.2. The Existential Verb is attested only in the present and preterit tenses. Other possible forms such as the imperative, subjunctive, imperfect, perfect, or periphrastic tenses are absent in the limited collection of the late Prof. KiÄ. The existential verb is intrasitive if not used as an auxiliary in progressive tenses (§3.7). The available paradigms and representative examples follow.
Present: dar-i, -a, -a, -m, -in, -en âI am in, etc.â dara â(it) is there, there isâ ~ de(y)nia/e âexists notâ.Preterit: da-boĆĄt-i, daboĆĄt-at, dabo(a), daboĆĄt-im, daboĆĄt-in, daboĆĄt-en âI was in, etc.â denaboa âit was notâ.
venon xow dara âhe is asleepâ (lit. âhe is in sleepâ)hem kie heÄkin deynie âthere is nobody in our houseâan ÄaĆĄ ven ÄaĆĄ-de su hÄdie, mion vini deynia â(if) this eye saw that eye, there
would not be (the) nose in betweenâ (proverb)hame daboĆĄten mage to âeveryone was there but youâ
§3.11.2.1. Note the role the existential verb may play in the definition of a noun: ju jir pol a âthe bridge is under itâ ~ *ju jir pol dara âthere is a bridge under itâ.
§3.11.3. Become. Unfortunately, the available material is too scanty to establish full paradigms for this important verb. Following are extracted from the texts. See also §3.10, Passive.116
Pres. Ind.: bo-nn- + Set I Endings, e.g. (na-)bonne âit becomes (not)â, bonnen âthey becomeâPres. Subj.: nabi âthat I become notâ, babo/babu âthat you becomeâImperative: babo/babu âbecome!â, babÄ âid.âPast: be-/ba-boĆĄti âI became, I have becomeâ, bebo/babo âit becameâ, beboa âit became, it has becomeâ, naboa âit has not becomeâ
gom babÄ! âget lost!ârÄzi hÄbu (Pers. beĆĄavad) âthat he becomes satisfiedâhar Äi beriĆĄtamon, lukke beboa âwhatever we spun became cotton (again)â
(proverb) MÄzderon engur maij nabonne (3rd pl.) âMazandaranâs grape do not become raisinâ
§3.12. Want, Must, Like. Functioning as a main verb or a modal, this verb conjugates without modal prefix and uses Set II Endings in all tenses; the 3rd person singular ending is zero. The conjugations and examples follow.
418 âą HABIB BORJIAN
Pres. Ind. ge-nn-e/o/a-m,117 -t, - Ăž, -mon, -ton, -ĆĄon âI want, etc.â, nagennem âI want notâPres. Subj. gi-e-m, -t, - Ăž, -mon, -ton, -ĆĄon âthat I want, etc.âPreterit giÄ-? giÄ âhe wantedâ, giÄha âhe wanted, would have wanted?â118
Imperfect mi-gÄ-ha-m, -t, -Ăž, -mon, -ton, -ĆĄon âI wanted, etc.âPluperfect giÄ boam, boat, boa, etc.Prog. Plup. mi-giÄ boam, etc. (?)
kowk-de gennom âI want the partridgeâ, lit. âthe partridge is necessary for meâ.119
heÄin aslÄ hoj-gal heÄÄi nagennem âI will ask nothing from you any moreâkomin-de behter gennet?120 âwhich one do you like more?âÄelÄ-i ke kie genne âthe light that the house needs (i.e. that is needed in the
house)âharÄi ju-per giet, ta denne âwhatever you may want from him, he will give (it)
to youâhar konim kÄrd-de giÄ, ĆĄonne kÄrd-de giÄha Ädem gal âanyone wanted the knife,
he would go to the person who wanted the knifeâ
§3.12.1. As a Modal, âmust, wishâ precedes the subordinate subjunctive: genne baĆĄu âhe wants to goâ, migÄha baĆĄu âhe wanted to goâ.
gennem para ju-mon innon-per baĆĄi âI must leave here with him the day after tomorrowâ
ki-mon gennet ĆĄarik babo? âwhom do you wish to become partner with?âkordi sad-o-si fann a, genne ju herdow-de balad bo âit takes 130 techniques to be
a shepherd; you must know its conductsâhoj am gennaton121 hem homra bÄyin âdo you wish to come with us too?âgunnen (sic!) gulu-de teraf-e sar-e makkol bassien (Pers. bÄyad dolak-rÄ betaraf-
e sangÄin bezanand)a migÄham tÄze ju-mon harf bassi, ke to bemoĆĄtat âI was about to open a
conversation with him when you arrivedâ
§3.13. Other âModalsâ encountered in the available Aftari data include naĆĄenne âit is not possibleâ122 and vinenna âmaybeâ,123 both used impersonally in the following sentences.
naĆĄenne an kÄr-de hÄkard (Pers. namiĆĄavad in kÄr-rÄ kard) âit is not possible to do this, one should not do itâ
asm-e EmÄm Hosen-de naĆĄenne124 turt kard?125 âis it no possible to [...?] the horse of Imam Hoseyn?â (proverb)
vinenna sarmÄ bexord buĆĄun âmaybe they had caught coldâvinenna i kÄqe diger innon-per ju-ra vesi keri âmaybe I (should) send another
letter to him from hereâ
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 419
§3.14. Verbal Nouns
§3.14.1. Infinitive is formed from a prefix and the past stem suffixed by -on/-un, e.g. besafton âto suckâ, berasÄun âto reachâ, nadardon âto have notâ.
§3.14.2. Past Participle (p. p.) consists of a prefix and past stem with the optionalsuffix -a or -e, e.g. bakutenÄ-Ăž guĆĄt âpounded meatâ, var-na-dard-e (Per. nakaĆĄida) ânot weighedâ, ow-git-e Ärt (lit. water-absorbed flour) âdoughâ, naxont-e-mollÄ-beboa âhaving-not-studied-has-become-learnedâ. â The verbs without prefix: giÄ(-ha) âwantedâ, nerÄ-Ăž âsittingâ. Example: kÄrd-de-giÄha-Ädem âthe-person-who-wanted-the-knifeâ â When the p. p. is used in a compound, the prefix is optionallyomitted: be-mu-a buĆĄti âI had comeâ, hom Ämo-a âcome togetherâ, hÄdÄ-Ăž boam âI had givenâ, xodÄ-dÄ-a âgivenâ, duennÄ-Äu (lit. âthrown-stickâ, a stick thrown in the tipcat game.126
§3.14.3. Present Participle is formed from the present stem, (1) with or without the suffix -en/-an, e.g. doru-bÄj-an âliarâ, butumen âbelly potâ, fissen (coll. Pers. fis(s)u) âbragger, show-offâ, vini-suz-en (lit. ânose-burnerâ, Pers. tar(a)tizak, ĆĄÄhi, a hot vegetable), gÄl-duj (Pers. javÄl-duz) âlarge needleâ, bakeli-paj âone who cooks lima beansâ, azong-vÄj âcaller to the prayerâ, tosxÄr (lit. empty/plain-eater?) âstingyâ, xÄre-ĆĄu (for Pers. xÄrkan) âfuel gathererâ, lit. âthorn-bush-go-erâ (with the present stem ĆĄ(u)-) â (2) with the suffix -ĆĄ: kueĆĄ âitch(ing)â, nemÄreĆĄ âappear(ing)â,127 vÄreĆĄ ârainâ.
§3.14.4. Other possible verbal nouns (?) are: ĆĄow-niĆĄt ânightly gatheringâ (cf. Tabari ĆĄĆ-niĆĄtÉn), possibly a âshortâ infinitive â past stem suffixed by -ak/-ek: git-ak in gitak beytĆĄon âthey seized the flying ballâ, sut-ek in sutek-e bu (Pers. bu-ye suxtan/suxtagi) âthe smell of burningâ â zehi (Pers. zÄyida), be-zÄ-jik-u (Pers. zÄâu) âgiving-birth (woman)â.
Notes1 KiÄ 1992.2 See the Aftari text in KiÄ 1992: 89.3 Hourcade 1978. Morgenstierne (1960: 100) names Arghuna as the upland summer camp of
the Aftaris.4 Indeed, Aftar is arranged administratively within the district of Firuzkuh and not that of
SemnÄn, 30 km east of Aftar.5 The area has experienced profound demographic change since the Qajars resettled various
nomadic groups from throughout Persia into the area east of the capital city of Tehran to keep them under the royal control. See Perry 1975; Hourcade 1978.
6 SÄdeq KiÄ gives a list of the settlements between Aftar and Firuzkuh without mentioning their dialects. These are Espigur (formerly Polelow), VezzÄ, Sarin KolÄrkhon, Tain KolÄrkhon, MireshkÄr, SarenzÄ, Komand, SiÄdeh, and Amiriya (KiÄ 1992: 1). For the Tabari dialect of Firuzkuh, see Voskanian 1998; Sotuda 1963.
420 âą HABIB BORJIAN
7 Zhukovskij 1922: 3-9 (texts on SemnÄni, ShahmirzÄdi, and Sangesari); Christensen 1935; Morgenstierne 1960; Azami and Windfuhr 1977; Sotuda 1977; Lecoq 1989: 309-310. Relevant materials are found also in Gernot L. Windfuhr 1989; idem 1975.
8 I will mention the discrepancies in footnotes.9 Cf. Stilo 2007b.10 But Äa:re-ris âspinnerâ (KiÄ 1992: 85), with a long vowel, which may have substituted the loss of x.11 Alternatively, from the same root via Pers. joft; see D. Stilo, âMÄzandarÄni,â to be published
in Encyclopedia Iranica. (I thank Dr. Stilo for sending me his article prior to publication.) See also §8.4.
12 The etymology of this word is unknown to me. Cf. jot âyokeâ in §§D4, D8.3.13 Morgenstierne 1960: 103; Windfuhr 1985; Azami and Windfuhr: 37.14 In Ärt âflourâ (< *ÄrΞra-).15 erint- in Morgenstrierne (1960: 106).16 Morgestierne, 100, n. 6.17 E.g. mun âmeâ and nu:n âbreadâ âseemed to be distinguished by quantityâ (Morgenstierne
1960: 102).18 See Azami and Windfuhr 1972.19 For vowel length, â §D14.1.20 As in ow âwaterâ, gow âcawâ, ĆĄow ânightâ, xow âsleepâ, sowz âgreenâ, lowĆĄe âlower lipâ, for
which Morgenstierne (1960: 102) records ö:u, gö:u, ƥö:u, xöu, souz, lauĆĄĂ©, respectively.21 xĆ«e in Morgenstierne 1960: 107.22 However, Morgenstierne (1960: 103) has pur-ĆŸĂ©k âsonâs wifeâ vs. jek âwifeâ.23 Cf. Sangesari daelae.24 For more examples with postpositions, â §2.7.2.25 For Personal Pronouns, â §2.9.26 See also §2.2.27 This designation is coined by Donald Stilo.28 See also §2.1.2.2.29 Cf. jori âupâ, tai âdownâ30 Cf. low âupâ, -low âon?â (â §2.7.2.12).31 Cf. the postposition mon in anon venon-mon farx dÄnne âthis is different than thatâ
(â §2.7.2).32 These sentences are taken from Morgenstierne 1960: 102.33 E.g. ven do jiki (sg.) mon bevÄtaĆĄon âthose two women told meâ.34 Puzzle with the answer tuer âaxâ.35 Pers. yÄ âorâ is used as well.36 For devoicing of the dental, â §1.9.2.37 Since be-bart-oĆĄ âhe carriedâ has transitive conjugation (â §3.5.3) jek âwoman, wifeâ should
be its direct object. Thus it is unlikely that jek bebarton is perceived by the speaker as the single verb âto marryâ. See also §3.6 on Compound Verbs.
38 Persianism for Aftari dot âdaughter, girlâ.39 diger is superfluous and is influenced by Persian.40 Puzzle whose clue is tufeng ârifleâ.41 For the expected form eĆĄte âplacedâ.42 This word is obscure.43 See also the exmple in §2.7.2.3 above.44 Note howz(-e) darin appears with and without the connective -e.45 A puzzle with the answer ÄelÄ âlampâ.
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 421
46 galede âupâ, galexÄr âdownâ.47 The ezÄfe marker succeeding the prepositions suggests (recent) borrowing from Persian. On
the contrary, the forms paĆĄt and peĆĄ look old and different than those of the Persian spoken in the western half of Iranian Plateau.
48 Cf. the compound verb peĆĄ dÄon âto return (something)â; â §3.6.49 The order of the words makes no sense.50 Cf. postpositions low âonâ, sar âon, above, atâ.51 Occurs in free alternation with the postposition per.52 Puzzle with the answer Äsemon âskyâ.53 Note: Demonstrative Pronouns have no distinct oblique forms when used as the object, e.g.
anonhÄ-de berin! âbuy these!â54 Cf. Ă€n âthisâ, ven âthatâ in Morgenstierne 1960: 103.55 See also §2.7.2.17.56 Alternate forms are 2nd sg. dir. tu, 3rd sg. dir. u, 1st pl. hemÄ, 2nd. pl. huj, 1st sg. obl. mu(n).57 Persianism for the authentic form ju esm.58 For more examples with postpositions, â §2.7.2.59 The sentence is from Morgenstierne 1960: 102.60 For vÄnnin (KiÄ 1992: 67).61 Glossed as âmineâ (KiÄ 1992: 72).62 Morgenstierne 1960: 102.63 Position of the stress on hoĆĄtara is unknown. It appears, however, that the word consists of
hoĆĄtan and the postposition ra.64 The past stem is do- in Morgenstierne (1960: 107): (hÄ)-do-am âI have givenâ, hÄdoa âhe has
givenâ.65 See also §1.9.66 Also âweighâ (with the preverb var-).67 Also kÄĆĄt-.68 See also §D8.2.2.69 Note vowel change in the past stem.70 E.g. the rice.71 also rbin-.72 Also vast-/vass-.73 Auxiliary in derÄz/za:mat bianton ârecline/toilâ, Äh-e sard biantoĆĄ (Pers. kaĆĄid), xejÄlet
bihantam âI was embarrassedâ.74 Also âscatterâ (with du-).75 It appears that the verb zon- âknowâ (see §2.4.4 for the sole paradigm in KiÄâs material) is
largely replaced by balad + âto beâ in Aftari, as it is the case in Sedehi, a Central Dialect. However, Morgenstierne (1960: 106) offers the following paradigms: zĂșnni âI knowâ, bezunuam (for Pers. dÄnestam) âI came to knowâ.
76 For se-/set- âhitâ, this form is also attested: bassien âthat they strikeâ.77 Cf. middle-voice formative i/e in Sangesari: sawz- âbuildâ, soz-i- âbeing builtâ (Azami and
Windfuhr: 115, 131).78 For the dissimilation, â §1.9.1.79 Perhaps from yet a third root comparable to Av. avar.80 <*ĆĄud- < OIr. *ĆĄu-ta-.81 < *ĆĄaw- < OIr. ĆĄaw-a-.82 KiÄ 1992: 91-93.83 â §3.3.2.
422 âą HABIB BORJIAN
84 Cf. vunn- âshutâ in a bar-de vunnĂ©nni âI shut behind the doorâ (Morgenstierne 1960: 102, 107). See also §3.2.
85 Also ha- was seen once.86 As in dara vÄreĆĄ deyne âIt is about to rainâ.87 Short forms for ha(g)ir, ve(g)ir, boru! (Pers. begir bardÄr biÄr!).88 Apparently archaic forms in hÄkaĆĄ o vÄkaĆĄ ânoseâ, used in a puzzle (Kia 1992: 76).89 Inferred from: sizze jur xoreĆĄ dukennen pelÄ dela âthey put/pour thirteen ingredients into the
pilaf stewâ (KiÄ 1992: 90). Cf. konnen âthey doâ (aux.). The stem may alternatively be ko-/kat- âfallâ; but this is unlikely since the latter verb is intransitive. Cf. Maz. hÄ-kΔrdΔn âdoâ, da-kΔrdΔn âpoor in; put into; put onâ, Sangesari haw-kaer- âmakeâ, dae-kaer- âput intoâ, duo-kaer- âput completely into; pour in containerâ.
90 For Pers. angulak kardan.91 E.g. guĆĄ-de durÄqonnen âthey block [their] ears (by squeezing their fingers into them)â. Cf.
Sangesari duorawqaen- âstuffâ (Azami and Windfuhr: 131).92 Similar to the model Donald Stilo (2007a) proposed for the Jewish dialect of Isfahan.93 Windfuhr (1985) states that lack of the modal prefix occurs in stative/resultative forms such
as nerÄ buĆĄti âI was sittingâ.94 The verb âto sitâ may include a frozen preverb, as some other NWIr. dialects show this trait.95 See also §3.5.2.5.1.96 For the dissimilation nn > nd, â §1.9.1.97 According to Windfuhr (1985), Set II are âpersonal suffixesâ used as (1) the subject/agent in
the transitive past and (2) the affectee with modals such as gÄ- âwant, mustâ.98 The epenthesis shown as o varies in form: o/u, a, e.99 -Ăž/-a (sg.), -in (pl.).100 bemuÄ in Morgenstierne 1960: 105.101 In mon berÄ-xÄkeron beĆĄoĆĄten ĆĄa:r âmy siblings have gone to the townâ.102 But benerÄĆĄti is recorded as past perfect in Morgenstierne 1960: 105103 In this case a contrasts with the ending vowel of the stem.104 This verb is treated as intransitive in some Central Dialects, e.g. Sedehi (personal notes).105 Cf. preposition peĆĄ-e, â §2.8.1.2.106 Glossed âyou would play gameâ in the text.107 For Pers. rowÎłan yax zade ast and not rowÎłan yax baste ast. 108 Corrected for dÄren (KiÄ 1992: 67).109 The past stem has secondary formation in -Ä- (â §3.1.2).110 For the present stem, â §3.1.4.111 Or ner-end-e.112 âTo sitâ is irregular in terms of having no modal prefix be- in the perfect and pluperfect.113 Irregular.114 From Morgenstierne 1960: 102.115 balad bo âthat you knowâ.116 Morgenstierne (1960: 105) has the same forms for âgoâ and âbecomeâ: ĆĄunni âI go/becomeâ,
beĆĄuĆĄti âI went/becameâ, beĆĄu buĆĄi âI had gone/becomeâ, a virÄ ĆĄuĆĄti (for Pers. bidÄr ĆĄodam) âI woke upâ, vem mirde beĆĄu/beĆĄua âthat man went/has goneâ.
117 genĂ€m in Morgenstierne 1960: 106, 107.118 See the example sentence below.119 Cf. Classical Pers. bÄyadam, marÄ bÄyad âit is necessary for meâ (Windfuhr 1985).120 Corrected for gennel.121 Note the epenthesis -a- instead of -e-.
The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar âą 423
122 na-ĆĄe-nn-e (pres. indic. 3rd sg.), with the pres. stem ĆĄe-; cf. Pers. ĆĄÄy- (naĆĄÄyad âit is not appropriate/possibleâ), GorgÄni ĆĄi- (naĆĄie âit is not possibleâ), Sangesari ĆĄ- âit comes, the time comes toâ (Azami and Windfuhr: 118), etc.
123 Cf. Tabari vene, vesse âmustâ.124 Corrected for nasenne.125 Pers. translation: asb-e EH-rÄ namitavÄn turd kard?126 du-enn-Ä may rather be constructed on the present stem and the participle formant -Ä,
conveying the meaning âcapable of being thrownâ, corresponding to similar construction in Persian (e.g. porsÄ âquestioning, one who questionsâ).
127 nemÄreĆĄ âappear(ing)â (with unspecified stress pattern) in homsoe kark qÄz nemÄreĆĄ Änne âthe neighborâs hen appears like a gooseâ.
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424 âą HABIB BORJIAN