TEXT DISCOURSE FEATURES IN SOUTHERN ZAZAKI (ÇERMIK/SIVEREK DIALECT) – A Glance at some Folktales –Eberhard Werner (SIL International)

Zazaki, as a North-Western Iranian language, reveals textual discourse features some of which are unique, others follow in line with related Iranian languages. This text focuses on the textual discourse features of folktales. They offer both anthropologic and cognitive-linguistic insights. Following the principle of linguistic relativity (a weak version of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) both provide further clarity on the worldview of this people group. The investigation of these discourse features follows the pragmatic model of Dooley and Levinson (2000). Of specific interest are the information structures and the flow of information in sentence articulation (Lambrecht 1998). In order to identify the features which build up a story line the relevance theory approach in textual discourse is used.

Abstract or Introduction

Zazaki is split in three main dialects: Northern Zazaki: • Ovaçık, Tunceli, Varto, Elazığ, Pulemoriye, Erzincan and Harput. Follow Alevism.Eastern Zazaki• : Bingöl (Çewlig; Çabaxçur), Palu (Palo), Hani (Heni), Lice, and Ergani. Smaller Zaza (exclaves in Muş and Kulp). Follow the Hanafi and Shafi’i rite (Islamic school) and small groups of Alevism followers.Southern Zazaki• : Çüngüş, Çermik, Siverek (Sewreg) area. Follow the Islamic school of the Hanafi rite.

Is Zazaki part of a “Caspian Sea language belt”? Some evidence is based on text discourse. Folktales are a means of oral language and culture preservation.Text discourse features reveal the inner- and intra-textual cohesion of texts. Text discourse demonstrates the close relationship of language, social and cultural contexts in which it is used.

Objectives

Narrative Structure Conclusion

References

Methods

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Northern and Southern Zazaki are closely related in using the •same text discourse features, the Eastern dialect needs more research.Southern Zazaki, Gilaki and Farsi have a lot of text discourse •features in common, at the same time there are distinctions too. Relative clause structure is more complex in Gilaki and Farsi. Folktales in SZ demonstrate high influence by orality, due to •lack of literacy. Zazaki is in the very beginning to develop genre, linguistic styles and become literate. On the level of narrative structure pre- and post-posing, dislocation to the left and right, as well as restrictive relative clauses are used to disrupt the main event line to attract the hearer’s/reader’s attention. On the level of information structure background insertion, the use of PoD’s as attention getters (temporal, spatial, referential and echo), tail-head linkage, foreground information and backgrounding “de-automize” the progress on the story line. This is done to add new, to emphasize given or to correct still available information. Recently, written material is highly influenced by Western, •Turkish or Kurmanji literature. Due to translation, folktales, poems, poetry and narratives reveal influence by Latin or Turkish Grammar. Text discourse helps to understand indigenous genre, linguistic styles and features of orality that need to be addressed and covered in literature. Relevance Theory and functional translation theory reveal •the communicative processes of genre stimulation, of the transformation of speech acts into written variety and the erection of attention in the cognitive perception of narrative information.

Information StructureInformation structure asks about information which is added to the given one. In discourse analysis the pragmatic structure of where information is added and how it relates to what is already there. The flow of information is interrupted. Sentence Articulation:

Topic-Comment (Theme Rheme division) pattern follows: the • topic-comment (predicate focus); identificational-comment (argument focus), and thetic comment (sentence focus). In Zazaki topic always precedes the comment. •

A comment can be • background insertion (also Gilaki). Identificational articulation asserts one concept, rest of information is presupposed: herunda xodı biyo wısk. ‘… and suddenly his corpse become stiff.’Thetic comment (also Gilaki) in folktale starting formulae: • Cakê beno cake nêbeno, zew mêrdekê beno, ‘Somewhere lived a certain man,’.

Point of departure: preposed adverbial elements,anchor new into established information. SZ: temporal, referential, echo and spatial PoDs (also in Gilaki and Farsi). wextdê veri zi; dewrdê veri zi ‘in former times’ (temporal PoD); wıja / wuja / uza dı ‘there; suddenly’ is (a) a spatial and b) a temporal PoD); E.g. Wextdê veri zi, dewrdê veri zi zewê axa biyayê, ‘In former times, long ago there was an agha.’; rozê ‘one day’ (temporal PoD); a wıni ‘thus’ (~temporal PoD); ya ‘hey’ (referential PoD).Tail-Head Linkage: repetition of the last verb or noun. Nalek cırê bırrnenê; bırrnenê, … ‘They slaughter the calf for them;’ also şıno; şıno, ‘he goes’.Foreground information and backgrounding: “de-automized” unusual linguistic form (alliteration, onomatopoeia, puns, assonance, wordplays). Foreground information moves events of a story forward (event line), background information is non-event supportive material, which does not itself narrate the main events. SZ folktales are told in the imperfective aspect (“historical present”) e.g. o şıno keye lit. ‘he goes home’. Instead imperfective progressive is used in oral conversation of daily affairs, e.g. oyo şıno keye ‘he is going home’. Flashback: Wextê veri zi, dewrdê veri zi, ekı zewê axa biyayê, ew cı dıma sazbendê cı biyê. ‘In earlier times, if someone was an agha, he usually had his musicians with him.’ (also in Gilaki).Highlighting in SZ: emphasis by word order, word class usage and speech articulation.Relevance Theory: At information structure level the audience is addressed first by the topic, which is then commented. Implicit information can be concluded by the use of discoursive tools and the inner-cultural mutual knowledge.

A linguistical comparative study on text discourse by structural similarities of Zazaki narratives and folktales with Gilaki (dialect of Rasht).The used Text Discourse Analysis is following Dooley/Levinsohn 2000; Lambrecht 1998; Givón 1990. Following discoursive features fall under consideration:

Narrative structure: Marked constituent order in clause; •Dislocated constituents (extra-positioning; topicalization; afterthought topicalization); Relative clause. Information structure : Sentence articulation; Points of •Departure (PoD); Tail-Head Linkage; Foreground Information and Backgrounding; Highlighting.

Disruptions of main event line leads to the hearer’s/reader’s attention. The unmarked sentence constituent order is a starting point. Marked order the text discoursive feature. The narrative consists of inner- and intertextual cohesion.Starting point: Unmarked sentence constituent order

S-O-V (transitive); S-V (intransitive); S-O-V-Goal or S-IO-O-V •(ditransitive) in contrast to Gilaki and Farsi that follow a S-O-IO-V pattern.

Marked orderPre-posing: • axa ez-a werdê ê kutıka zi es’teyê. ‘The agha, surely am I. Food for dog are (indeed) bones.’Post-posing (rare in the folktales): • ê çı kutıkiyê, zerre dı. ‘They, inside the house, are just dogs [the two men].’Interrupting information flow by marked word order • ma na naleka xo cırê bıbırrnım. ‘We will slaughter for them our (beloved) calf.’Dislocation (similar in Gilaki): topicalization by left-dislocation and •afterthought topicalization (right-dislocation).

Right-dislocation in Northern Zazaki: … o bese ken-o wuza de bıman-o o ostor. ‘… he can remain there, that horse.’Left-dislocation in Southern Zazaki: o no çiyo kı tiyê kenê, no kırtleme niyo. ‘The stuff which you are doing, this isn’t kirtleme at all.’

Relative clause (restrictive and non-restrictive RC) in Zazaki only restrictive (identifying) in Gilaki and Farsi both); introduced by particle kı (Gilaki ki ; Farsi ke ); Left-dislocation in RC: iniyo kı kesi keno kavır, ‘The fountain, which transforms you into a lamb, ...’.Relevance Theory: Inter-textual coherence leads to “effective vertical intertextuality”. Focused on clarity of intention (text matter), governance of mode (genre) and a commitment to the cause. Narrative Structure guides audience along the main event line. Marking raises the audiences attraction by allowing conclusions along the speakers intention.