unrelated plurals in Arabic

Fri Feb 9 16:44:02 UTC 2001

Here is a partially unrelated plural in Classical Arabic; but it is a unique
instance; besides the term is only found in poetry.

sg.: @andali:b "nightingale" [I couldn't find it in Hans WEHR.]
pl.: @ana:dil "nightingales" [sounds like a broken plural on the singular
minus the ending -i:b]

[@ = the voiced phagyngeal fricative; IPA # 145; UCS # 0295; AFII: E2EC]

It replaces the common term:

sg.: bulbul "nightingale"
pl.: bala:bil "nightingales" [regular broken plural]

Jean-Paul G. POTET. B. P. 46.  92114 CLICHY CEDEX. FRANCE.