The Arabic Dialect of Tillo in the Region of Siirt
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ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Studia Semitica Upsaliensia 26 The Arabic Dialect of Tillo in the Region of Siirt (South-eastern Turkey) By Ablahad Lahdo Department of African and Asian Languages 2009 Dissertation previously presented and publicly examined at Uppsala University, November 22, 2003 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Abstract Lahdo, A. 2009. The Arabic Dialect of Tillo in the Region of Siirt: (South-eastern Turkey). Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Semitica Upsaliensia 26. 283 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-554-7385-3 This study places special emphasis on socio-linguistic and language-contact phenomena. It concerns, however, a relatively unfamiliar example of involuntary cultural assimilation and probable extinction, which is not without relevance to current politics among great powers. Chapter 4 treats parts of syntax that are not common in dialectal studies, for example fore- ground and background of the narrative discourse, topicality hierarchy etc. The Arabic dialect of Tillo, in the region of Siirt in south-eastern Turkey, is spoken by a small isolated group of Arabs living mainly among Kurds but also among Turks. The latter represent the state of Turkey in the form of civil servants, police officers, army officers and other authorities. The official language is Turkish which is also the only language taught in schools. All television and radio programs are broadcast in Turkish, just as all newspapers are published in that language. Since Kurds constitute the vast majority in the region, north Kurd- ish (Kurmandji) is needed for daily conversation. Arabic has thus come to a standstill stage of development and at the same time lost status for the benefit primarily of Turkish but also of Kurdish. The Arabs are leaving Tillo and immigrating to the big cities in the western parts of the country. This migration is occurring so rapidly that the Arabs of Tillo are distressed that soon no Arabs will remain in the village. In the big cities, for instance Istanbul, the Arabs avoid speaking Arabic in order not to attract attention; they are afraid of being classified as tarrōr “terrorists”. The consequence of this socio-linguistic situation is that Tillo Arabic goes on losing its importance and becoming kaba “vulgar”, and since its development has already been arrested it seems destined to die out. Turkish impact on Tillo Arabic is immense. In accordance with Turkish phonology, the voiced consonants are pronounced voiceless in final position and in contact position before voiceless consonants. An epenthetic or prosthetic vowel is used to avoid a two-consonant cluster. Turkish particles such as the superlative particle en and the adverb hem “also, too” are often used in everyday life. Constructions similar to Turkish ones, such as compound nouns or possessive compounds, are used. The lexicon includes many borrowings and second bor- rowings. The latter means that a word was first borrowed into Turkish and from Turkish back into Tillo Arabic. Keywords: Arabic language, qəltu-dialects, intermarriage, linguistic dominance, cultural influence, devoicing, pausal position, spontaneous imāla, copula, hāl-sentence, second bor- rowing, arabiska Ablahad Lahdo, Dep. of linguistics and philology, Section of Asian and African languages and cultures, Semitic languages, PO Box 635, Uppsala University, SE-751 26 Uppsala © Ablahad Lahdo 2009 ISSN 0585-5535 ISBN 978-91-554-7385-3 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-103880 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-103880) Printed in Sweden by Edita Västra Aros, 2009. Distributor: Uppsala University Library, Box 510, SE-751 20 Uppsala www.uu.se, [email protected] To my parents: Malke Laúdo and î¿na Chamoun Masso Contents Preface .......................................................................................................... 15 Abbreviations and Symbols.......................................................................... 18 Abbreviations........................................................................................... 18 Symbols.................................................................................................... 19 Transcription signs........................................................................................ 20 Consonants............................................................................................... 20 Semi-vowles............................................................................................. 21 Vowels ..................................................................................................... 21 Vowels in borrowings .............................................................................. 22 Diphthongs............................................................................................... 22 1. Introduction............................................................................................... 23 1.1. Aim and scope................................................................................... 25 1.2. The material ...................................................................................... 25 1.3. The informants .................................................................................. 26 1.4. Geography and economic background.............................................. 27 1.5. A short historical background of the region...................................... 29 1.6. The situation in Tillo today according to the informants.................. 31 1.7. Socio-linguistic observations ............................................................ 37 1.7.1. The Arabs .................................................................................. 37 1.7.2. The Arabs and the Kurds........................................................... 40 1.7.3. The Arabs and the Turks ........................................................... 42 2. Phonology................................................................................................. 45 2.1. The consonant system ....................................................................... 45 2.1.1. Consonants ................................................................................ 45 2.1.2. The voiced bilabial plosive /b/ .................................................. 46 2.1.3. The voiceless bilabial plosive /p/ as a separate phoneme ......... 47 2.1.4. The voiceless dental plosive /t/ ................................................. 47 2.1.5. The voiceless velarized dental plosive /t…/.................................. 48 2.1.6. The voiced dental plosive /d/..................................................... 49 2.1.7. The voiced velarized dental plosive /d…/..................................... 49 2.1.8. The voiceless velar plosive /k/................................................... 50 2.1.9. The voiced velar plosive /g/ ...................................................... 50 2.1.10. The voiceless uvular plosive /q/ .............................................. 50 2.1.11. The voiceless glottal plosive /</ ............................................... 52 2.1.12. The voiceless palato-alveolar affricate //............................... 52 2.1.13. The voiced palato-alveolar affricate /Ò/................................... 53 2.1.14. The voiceless labio-dental fricative /f/ .................................... 53 2.1.15. The voiced velarized labio-dental /v/ ...................................... 53 2.1.16. The OA interdentals /¨/, /Ä/, /d_/................................................ 54 2.1.17. The voiceless velar fricative /x/............................................... 54 2.1.18. The voiced velar fricative /\/................................................... 55 2.1.19. The voiceless laryngeal fricative /h…/........................................ 55 2.1.20. The voiced laryngeal fricative />/............................................. 56 2.1.21. The voiceless glottal fricative /h/ ............................................ 56 2.1.22. The voiceless dental sibilant /s/............................................... 56 2.1.23. The voiceless velarized dental sibilant /s…/ ............................... 56 2.1.24. The voiced dental sibilant /z/................................................... 57 2.1.25. The voiced velarized dental sibilant /z…/ ................................... 57 2.1.26. The voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant /’/................................. 57 3.1.27. The voiced dental lateral /l/ ..................................................... 57 2.1.28. The voiced velarized dental trill /r/ ......................................... 57 2.1.29. The voiced velarized bilabial nasal /m/ ................................... 58 2.1.30. The voiced velarized dental nasal /n/ ...................................... 58 2.2. Semi-vowels...................................................................................... 58 2.2.1. The voiced labio-velar /w/......................................................... 58 2.2.2. The voiced palatal /y/ ................................................................ 59 2.3. Metathesis ......................................................................................... 59 2.4. Vowels .............................................................................................. 59 2.4.1. The vowel system...................................................................... 59 2.4.2. Short vowels .............................................................................. 60 2.4.2.1. The OA short front unrounded /i/ and the short back rounded