Zazaki Transcriptions 24.942 Topics in the Grammar of a Less-Familiar Language
Stress is represented where it was transcribed. Because this was the first session, some
segments are probably allophonic and there is most likely some inaccuracy. All Zazaki
words are in an SIL Doulos IPA font.
table
ma@sa
ma@sık7E$*1
xo@nj&a
xonj&ı@k7E$
book
kıta@b
kıta@v
one table
zu masa zu masıkE
zu xonj&a
zu xonj&ıkE
one book
zu ktab
zu ktav
zu kıtab
zu kıtav
two tables
dı masi
dı masıki
dı xonj&i
dı xonj&ıki
two books
dı ktabi
dı ktavi
girl
the girl
c&EnE@k
c&EnE@kE
Nickname for ‘Fatima’
fatıkE / fatı
Ali (proper name)
ali@ / alık
1
(stress on ı ?)
*kıtavık (E )
-i = plural?
The diacritic X7 is being used to represent that X is very far back.
1
girls
girl (informal)
the girls
c&Eni
c&E@nE
c&EnEki
horse
asto@r
osto@r
one horse
two horses
z&u asto@r
dı asto@ri
mare
asto@rE
two mares; two horses
two mares (fem. emph.)
dı asto@ri
dı asto@rE ma@yi
big table
masa gırsE
masıka gırsE
xonj&a gırsE
xo@nj&ıka gırsE
big book
k(ı)tabo gırs
k(ı)tavo gırs
big male horse
asto@ro gırs
big female horse
asto@ro gırsE
big girl
c&inEka pi@lE
c&inEka gırsE
tall girl
c&inEka dErgE
boy
big boy
layIk
layIko pHil
(‘r’ is probably actually [R])
(vowel diff. is dialectal)
(‘-o’ = masculine)
(we are using [y] for IPA [j])
big horses (male or female) asto@re gırsi
big boys
the boy is big
this boy is big
these boys are big
(mayi is used to describe
female animals (not people))
(*astorE )
layıke pHili
layık pHilo
no layık pHilo
ne layiki pHile
2
this big boy
no layiko pHil
this girl is big
these girls are big
this big girl
na c&inEko* pHila
ne c&EnEki pHile
na c&EnEka pHilE
red book
big red book
k(ı)ta@bo sur8
k(ı)ta@bo su@ro gırs
big red book
k(ı)ta@bo gırso sur8
this big red book
no k(ı )ta@bo su@ro gırs
no k(ı )ta@bo gırso sur
pencil
qElEmE
pen
du_kElmEz qElEmE
big pencil
big red pencil
qElEma gırsE
qElEma sura gırsE
snake
mar8 / mor8
(we’re trying to find a minimal
pair of rhotics, but had no success
finding the one in gırsE .)
forest
bıR
(same flap as in astor)
full
pHır8
woman (alternate word)
j&enıkE
this woman is intelligent.
brain
na j&ınıkE bak(ı)la
akıl
this girl is intelligent.
na c&EnEkE bakıla
I broke the ball.
I broke the bowl.
Break the bowl! (imp. sg.)
Break the bowl! (imp. pl.)
mı to@pE tE
mı tasE s&ıkıtE
tasE bıs&kınE
tasE bıs&kıne
3
(*not sure about ‘o’)
(picks a red book out of lots of big
books)
(picks a big book out of lots of red books)
(the ‘r’ in gırsE doesn’t sound like a flap – maybe a [®]? We’re conflating two rhotics…)
(this is the root for ‘intelligent’)
(this word may be bıs&kınEi
--
Ei is the normal plural marker.)
cow
cows
maNga
maNgi
my book
your book
his book
her book
our book
your (pl.) book
their book
k(ı)ta@be mı
k(ı)ta@be to
k(ı)ta@be e
k(ı)ta@be da@E
k(ı)ta@be ma
k(ı)ta@be s&ıma@
k(ı)ta@be dina@
the boys’ book
the boys’ books
the boy’s book
the boy’s books
k(ı)ta@be layıka@
k(ı)ta@bei layıka@
k(ı)ta@be layı@ki$
k(ı)ta@bei layı@ki$
the girl’s book
the girl’s books
the girls’ books
the girls’ book
kta@be c&EnE@kE
kta@bei c&EnE@kE
kta@bei c&E$nEka@
kta@be c&E$nEka@
the boy’s pencil
the boy’s pencils
qElE@ma la@yiki
qElE@mei la@yiki
the girl’s pencil
qElE@ma c&EnEka
the boy’s red pencil
the boys’ red pencils
qElE@ma la@yikia su@rE
qElE@mei layika@e suri
? qElE@mei layika@ne suri
the boy’s red book
ktabe la@yikio sur
the big boys’ pencils
qElE@mei layikae pHila@
qElE@mei layikane pHila@
the red pencils are the boys’ qElE@me suri layıka@ne
qElE@me suri e layıka@ne
4
(this is almost like saying
‘the red boys’ pencils – not
fully grammatical?)
(fully grammatical)
(*layıkae )
(*layıkae ) (‘e’ means ‘they’)
[this boy’s] red pencil
qElEma ne layikia sure
this red pencil of the boy’s
na qElEma layikia sure
these boys’ pencils are red
qElEmei nei layikia sure
this boy’s book (is red)
this boy's red book
ktabe ne layiki (suro )
kabe ne layikio sur
I am reading a book.
Ez k(ı)ab wanen-o
Ez k(ı)av wanen-o
I book read-PROG
(why is this form of ‘ne’
used?)
(maybe some velarization
on the ‘w’)
I am reading/studying
Ez waneno
You are reading a book
He is reading a book
She is reading a book
We are reading a book
Y’all are reading a book
They are reading a book
tı ktab wa$nE@na
(‘ktab’~‘ktav’ in all these)
o ktab wa$nE@na
a ktab wa$nE@na
ma ktab wa$ne@nJmE / wa$ne@nimE
s&ıma ktab wa$nE@ne
e ktab wa$nE@ne
I am reading a newspaper
Ez qEzEta@ wa$nE@na
Ez qEzEta@ wanE@no
I read newspaper (habit.)
Ez qEzEta@ wanE@n
I read (past) a book
I read/studied (past)
mı ktab wEnt
mı wEnd
You read (past)
He read (past) a book
She read (past) a book
We read (past) a book
Y’all read (past) a book
They read (past) a book
to wEnd
e ktav wEnd
aE ktav wEnd
ma ktav wEnd
s&ıma ktav wEnd
ina ktav wEnd
I read (past) books
mı ktavi wEndi
5
(not sure how the two
progressives differ)
(maybe some final
devoicing)
(agreement w/ object
gender and number)
I read (past) newspaper
I read (past) newspapers
mı qEzEta@ wEndE
mı qEzEti@ wE@ndi
I am reading books
Ez kıtaba@ wanEna
(no obj. agreement in
present; ending on ‘kitab’
is same as ending for
possessors)
I am running
Ez va$zdE@na
(all of these declaratives
can also be yes/no questions
with rising intonation)
You are running
He is running
She is running
We are running
tı va$zdE@na
o va$zdE@no
a va$zdE@na
ma va$zdE@nJmE
Y’all are running
s&ıma vazdEne
I ran
You ran
He ran
She ran
We ran
Y’all ran
They ran
Ez vazda@
tı vazda@
o vazda@
a vazda@
ma vazdi@mE
s&ıma vazde@
e vazde@
Let’s go running!
Run! (imp. pl.)
Run! (imp. sg.)
ma va@zdimE
(s&ıma ) va@zdimE / va@zdei
va@zdE
Go run! (imp. sg.)
Go run! (imp. pl.)
s&o va@zdE
s&o@rE va@zdei
Thank you!
heq razi bo
(‘v’ in ‘vazden’ sometimes
sounds like ‘w’)
(note stress shift)
A note:
Since this is a split-ergative system, we switch to an ergative system in the past – so
intransitive verbs’ subjects do not change in the past, but transitive verbs’ subjects do.
6
A table showing the morphology we know so far:
context
masculine feminine plural
on N; before Adj.
-o
-a
-e
on Adj.
Ø
-E
-i
on bare N
Ø
-E
-i
demonstrative before Adj.
-o
-a
-e
predicate Adj.
-o
-a
-e
possessed N. and demonstrative Adj.
-e
?
-ei
citation form of N.
Ø
-E
-i
genitive N. (gender is gender of possessor)
-i
-E
-a
7