a-practical-kurdish-grammar

26 A PRACTICAL KURDISH GRAMMAR
>", . (esta) 'now), is pronounced (eesta).
SÖj (ishk) 'dry', is pronounced (iishk).
Note. Many of these vowel changes, and especially the 'substitution',
and the 'prolonged pronunciation', are due to dialectic differences. The
more educated class will not use them as much as the more ignorant,
and some will not recognize them at all, but they nevertheless really
exist.
DIPHTHONGS
51. The Kurdish diphthongs are five in number. Two of
these are sometimes formed by vowel letters, and sometimes
by a vowel letter and a vowel mark, and sometimes htey are
long and sometimes short, according as to what position they
occupy in a word, and we may classify them as 'Simple',
'Combination', and 'Long Diphthongs'. The other three, which
are very little used, are formed by vowel letters only, and are
always 'simple' or short,
52. Simple Diphthongs: The simple diphthongs are
formed by two vowel letters. These are: (1) (j,\ (ai), which
is an interjection; (2) j\ (aû), which is sometimes a
Demonstrative, and sometimes a Personal Pronoun; (3.) (Jj
(oi) ; (4) ^_ (ei) ; and (5) y. (eii).
53. The two first simple diphthongs may stand alone as
an interjection or as a pronoun, and occasionally constitute
the first syllable in a compound word. Examples :jy ^ (J>t ci'
(ai chî dakai) 'O, what are you doing?' jl (aû
piawa chak-a) 'This or that man is good' ; ^i \j j] (aû wa
dalle) 'He, she, or it says so'; ^jSiiUjU jl (au jar chak
dabc) 'Then it will be good' ; and the compound words : jjj\
(aû-rö) 'to-day'; p._jl (aû-shaû) 'to-night' ; o^y) (ai-wan)