Arabic-L:LING:wallaahi request clarification

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 29 Jan  2004
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:wallaahi request clarification

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1)
Date: 29 Jan 2004
From:AyoubyK at Dearborn.k12.mi.us
Subject:wallaahi request clarification

Greetings all,

1) To Waheed:

Original Question by Kenneth: "Pardon my ignorance, but I am curious to
know why "wa-Allah" is being considered a particle, and not a phrase"

Waheed said: Wallaahi consists of "wa", and "allah". Wa is called waaw
al qasam, and has the effect of making the case of the following noun
genetive. Wallaahi is equivalent to "by God", and it means
really/honest/I swear.

Kenneth answers: Hello Waheed. Exactly my point. Doesn't that make it a
prepositional phrase? Why is a prepositional phrase being considered a
particle?

2) To June:

June's remarks: I've heard the phrase used by bi-lingual children youths
of arabic origin in Denmark. It's used exactly as one of its usages in
arabic, that is, to confirm the veracity of an utterance or an
allegation:
'It was him I saw yesterday...wallaahi'. 'wallah, they were talking
about you'

Kenneth: Hi June. Yes, exact same usage among Arab American youths in
the Detroit/Dearborn area.

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End of Arabic-L:  29 Jan  2004