Magin_Edward-thesis

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instance, the r went from being the coda on the second syllable to being its onset. In
(146) the imperfective affix di- is added to the word vêt. This word is preceded by the
pronoun me, 1O, giving us me divêt. In this instance, the i vowel is in the affix, not the
word stem. Following the rule, the i elides. However, this time the orphan consonant,
which had functioned as an onset, is join phonologically to the open syllable me to
function as its coda.
(144) (C) V C i {C} + {C} V (C) (C) V C {C} + {C} V (C)
(145) b e . f i r + ê b e f . r + ê
(146) m e d i . v ê t m e͡ d . + v ê t
Example (147) illustrates that the rule in (144) applies even when the i vowel is
not in an aspect affix. The i in the preposition ji elides and the j becomes the coda for the
syllable rêj. However, in (148) the desired 16-syllable count can only be reached if the b
in bi does not syllabify with the diphthong in buî. Perhaps, though, the presence of the
diphthong does not provide the environment required by the rule above for elision and
syllabification. A thorough exploration of this subject is beyond the scope of this study. It
requires an emic view from the poets and recorded texts for comparing with written texts.
(147) wekî tîrê ji merra bûrî (AN1:6)
we.kî tî.rê͡ j(i) me.rra bû.rî
(148) ji turî ra tu dergeh buî bi suzî xuş zêrevanî (BS7:15)
ji tu.rî ra tu der.geh bu͡ î bi su.zî xuş zê.re.va.nî
In BS7, there may be some evidence that a poet may actually have some liberty
insofar as applying the rule in (144). In the last line of the poem, the di aspect marker on
disujit must be counted to reach the syllable count of 16, even though lewra, a word
ending in a vowel, precedes it. In this line there is no other way to reach 16 syllables
except to consider di a syllable by itself.
(149) gelê lewra disujit dil ku cih kew evro valaye (BS7:24)
ge.lê lew.ra di.su.jit dil ku cih kew ev.ro va.la.ye
Lastly, one other potential environment for the elision of the i vowel is the
syllabification of two consonants. In line 10 of Bîrewerîa Barzanî Yê Nemir, ‘Memories