۹. Coordination and Copulative Composition

Contents

a. Coordination

Coordination is a type of phrase syntax which links together two or more constituents (normally using conjunctions). These constituents, called conjuncts, retain their independence. This feature even differentiates the coordinations from the genitive phrases.

In this chapter we discuss the simple forms of coordination; the coordination of inflectional phrases are discussed in Chapter 17..

a•a. Copulative Coordination

(Siehe 17•a.)

If a statement is valid for all conjuncts, they appear in the form of a copulative coordination. The copulative coordination can be used in Persian with the conjunction /o/ و.

The copulative coordination has the same phrase type as its conjuncts:

/irɒn o ʧin/ ایران و چین [NP[NP/irɒn/ ایران] [Conconjunction /o/ و] [NP/ʧin/ چین]]

/xoʃk o xonæk/ خشک و خنک [AP[AP/xoʃk/ خشک] [Conconjunction /o/ و] [AP/xonæk/ خنک]]

a•b. Disjunctive Coordination

(Siehe 17•b.)

Disjunctive coordination is used if a statement is valid for one or more conjuncts. It appears in Persian with the conjunction /jɒ/ یا:

/kɒrmænd jɒ kɒrgær/ کارمند یا کارگر [NP[NP/kɒrmænd/ کارمند] [Conconjunction /jɒ/ یا] [NP/kɒrgær/ کارگر]]

/zibɒ jɒ dɒnɒ/ زیبا یا دانا [AP[AP/zibɒ/ زیبا] [Conconjunction /jɒ/ یا] [AP/dɒnɒ/ دانا]]

It appears that the disjunctive coordination in Persian is basically a derivate of the copulative coordination. This is supported by the fact that the disjunctive coordination can also appear with the conjunction /o/ و:

برادر یا خواهر. ⇆ برادر و یا خواهر.

This suggests that the conjunction /jɒ/ یا is generated by means of grammaticalization of the disjunctive adverbials /jɒ/ یا, /æjɒ/ ایا and /ɒjɒ/ آیا, which also express doubt and ambiguousness in polarity interrogatives (see 15•۴•s.).

One can find disjunctive coordinations in archaic idioms, which are generated not by using the conjunction /jɒ/ یا, but rather the conjunction /ægær/ اگر (as well as [gær] گر and [ær] ار owing to metrical confirmation):

به جایی که رفتی برون با سپاه

به رزم ار به بزم ار به نخجیرگاه

Asadi Tusi (11th Century AD)

ماییم و دو شیشگک میِ روشن و خوش

با قلیگکی و نانکی پنج ار شش

Anvari (12th Century AD)

هر چند از آن شراب و اگر آب فرو کردندی، هیچ کم نیامدی.

From the book “Modjmal Ottavarikh va alghesas” (۱۲th Century AD)

As the example above displays, this construction often appears in the form of a copulative coordination with the conjunction /o/ و. It is possible that the conjunction /ægær/ اگر is generated by means of grammaticalization of the disjunctive adverbial /ægær/ اگر (see 15•۴•s.).

a•c. Syntax of Coordination

If a coordination has more than two conjuncts, all conjunctions except the last one can be deleted and replaced by commas. In this way, the connection between the conjuncts is asyndetical and only on the last connection (which has still a conjunction) syndetical:

این بیماری را می‌توان به یاریِ دارو، جرّاحی و یا ر‌وان‌شناسی بهبود بخشید.

در شهرِ نشابور بس کس نمانده بود، که همه به خدمت، استقبال یا نظاره آمده بودند.

Abolfazl Beyhaqi (10th and 11th Century AD)

If all connections between the conjuncts keep the conjunctions, one is confronted with the occurrence of polysyndeton:

حـالِ ما و فرقتِ جانان و آزارِ رقیب

جملـه می‌داند خدایِ حـال‌گردان، غم مخور!

Hafez (14th Century AD)

ابر و باد و مه و خورشید و فلک در کارند

تا تو نانی به کف آری و به غفلت نخوری

Saadi (12th and 13th Century AD)

b. Copulative Composition

Copulative composition (in the Sanskrit grammar dvandva द्वन्द्व = “two and two”) appears in some Indo-European languages. It is a composition of two or more disjuncts which have a tantamount relationship, and no constituent is subordinated to the other. It often implicates a temporal sequence, or indicates the components of an entity.

Unlike coordinations, copulative compounds are lemmas. This feature can be used to differentiate them from asyndetical coordinations.

In Persian, one notes copulative compounds consisting of noun or determinative phrases and (very rarely) adjectival phrases.

  • From noun phrases:
    1. The conjuncts can be components of the entity that the copulative composition refers to (see 6•۱•۱•a.): /ɒb-duɣ-xiɒr/ آب‌دوغ‌خیار, /ɒb-guʃt/ آب‌گوشت, /ʃotor-gɒv-pælæng/ شترگاوپلنگ, /ɣormæ-sæbzi/ قورمه‌سبزی

      Also cardinal numerals like /ʧæhɒr-dæh/ چهارده as well as decimal fraction numerals are counted among this group: /hæʃt momajjez sefr se/ هشت ممّیز صفر سه

    2. In onomatopoetics: /ʤering-ʤering/ جرینگ‌جرینگ, /xeʃ-xeʃ/ خش‌خش, /bæʔ-bæʔ/ بع‌بع
    3. In the generation of nomina actionis from nominalized non-finite verb forms (see 3•d•a•a.):
      • The copulative composition of an affirmative past participle with its affirmative present participle: /ʃost-ʃu/ شست‌شو, /ʤost-ʤu/ جست‌جو, /goft-gu/ گفت‌گو
      • The copulative composition of an affirmative past participle with its negative form: /ɒmæd-næjɒmæd/ آمدنیامد, /ʃɒjest-næʃɒjest/ شایست‌نشایست
      • The copulative composition of an affirmative present participle (normally emphasized with the prefix /be-/) with itself: /bezæn-bezæn/ بزن‌بزن, /boxor-boxor/ بخوربخور, /bokoʃ-bokoʃ/ بکش‌بکش
      • The copulative composition of an affirmative present participle (normally emphasized with the prefix /be-/) with its negative form: /keʃ-mækeʃ/ کش‌مکش, /begu-mægu/ بگومگو
      • The copulative composition of an affirmative present participle (normally emphasized with the prefix /be-/) with another one: /beriz-bepɒʃ/ بریزبپاش, /begir-bebænd/ بگیرببند
    4. In distributive numerals: /færd-færd/ فردفرد, /do tɒ – do tɒ/ دو تا – دو تا
  • From Numerals as a sign of estimation:
    1. Counting numerals:

      دوسه کیلو /do-se kilu/

      هفت‌هشت‌ده نفر /ʃæft-hæʃt-dæh næfær/

      سه‌چارلا /se-ʧɒr-lɒ/ (exocentric qualitative composition)

      ساعتِ دو – دو و نیم /sɒæt-e do – do vo nim/

      دو کیلو و نیم – سه کیلو /do kilu o nim – se kilu/

      گر چه مست‌م، سه‌چار جامِ دگر

      تا به کلّی شوم خراب بیار!

      Hafez (14th Century AD)

      از سی‌چهل سال پیش یک عدّه قلندر پیدا شده بودند.

      Jalal Al-e Ahmad (20th Century AD)

      این یک‌دو دم که دولتِ دیدار ممکن‌ست

      در یاب کارِ ما! که نه پیداست کارِ عمر

      Hafez (14th Century AD)

      چه شود گر من و تو یک‌دو قدح باده خوریم؟!

      باده از خونِ رزان‌ست، نه از خونِ شماست

      Hafez (14th Century AD)

      I modern idioms, the copulative compound /jek-i-do/ یکی‌دو is normally used rather than /jek-do/یک‌دو (see 6•۱•d.):یکی‌دو نفر, یکی‌دو روز

    2. Ordinal numerals: /ruz-e pænʤom-ʃeʃom/ روزِ پنجم‌ششم
  • The copulative composition of an adjectival phrase with itself, normally as a modal adverbial: /kæm-kæm/ کم‌کم, /jævɒʃ-jævɒʃ/ یواش‌یواش

    ملائکه دوان‌دوان /dævɒn-dævɒn/ خود را به مکانِ مقرّر رساندند.

    Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh (19th and 20th Century AD)

    If the conjuncts end with the suffix /-ɒn/ (see 20•d.), this can be deleted from the first adjectival phrase: /læng-længɒn/ لنگ‌لنگان

    گر نمودی عیبِ آن کار او تو را

    کس نبردی کش‌کشان /kæʃ-kæʃɒn/ آن سو تو را

    Rumi (13th Century AD)

    پرس‌پرسان /pors-porsɒn/ می‌کشیدش تا به صدر

    گفت: «گنجی یافتم آخر به صبر»

    Rumi (13th Century AD)

    کمان را به زه کرد زود اشکبوس

    تنی لرزلرزان /lærz-lærzɒn/ و رخ سندروس

    Ferdowsi (10th and 11th Century AD)

  • The copulative composition of noun or adjectival phrases with their reduplicates:

    جوراب‌موراب /ʤurɒb-murɒb/

    شلوغ‌پلوغ /ʃoluɣ-poluɣ/

  • The copulative composition of noun phrases with adpositional phrases:

    سر به سر /sær be sær/

    جور وا جور /ʤur vɒ ʤur/

    سر تا پا /sær tɒ pɒ/

b•a. Copulative Composition Using the Interfix /-ɒ-/

/-ɒ-/ is the allomorph of the conjunction /o/ و in some Persian Idioms. In many other idioms (particularly in the standard language of Iran), it is grammaticalized to an interfix. The function difference is that phrases containing this interfix are lemmas can count therefore as copulative compounds, rather than coordinations:

  • As an indicator of togetherness: /ʃab-ɒ-ruz/ شباروز, /zæn-ɒ-ʃui/ زناشویی
  • In the generation of nomina actionis from nominalized non-finite verb forms (see 3•d•a•a.): /kæʃ-ɒ-kæʃ/ کشاکش, /tæk-ɒ-pu/ تکاپو
  • As an indicator of connectivity: /dæm-ɒ-dæm/ دمادم, /duʃ-ɒ-duʃ/ دوشادوش
  • As an indicator of plurality: /ræng-ɒ-ræng/ رنگارنگ, /jur-ɒ-jur/ جوراجور
  • As an indicator of homogeneity: /sær-ɒ-pɒ/ سراپا
  • To indicate the direction: /sær-ɒ-zir/ سرازیر
  • To indicate the position: /piʃ-ɒ-piʃ/ پیشاپیش, /dur-ɒ-dur/ دورادور
  • As an indicator of confrontation: /ruj-ɒ-ruj/ رویاروی
  • In the syntax of dimensional numerals (see 6•۶.): /mil-ɒ-mil/ میلامیل
  • In the syntax of proportional numerals (see 6•۷.): /nim-ɒ-nim/ نیمانیم

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