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Re: [westasianconlangs] Re: FI: Muslim Place Names



habarakhe4 eskriviw:

> So would one use qut.r for 'independent state'?
> For the record, I don't yet know how the Islamic portion of al-
> Wiraniyya is divided politically. I think al-Fid.d.a is important,
> though.

I think yes. My dictionary mentions _al-qut.ru 's-suuriyyu_ "Syria".
Farsi dictionary also contains this word _qotr_, and one of its
meanings is "country" (though marked as obsolete; in 1930-70s Farsi
underwent serious disArabization).

> I'm using two semi-competent dictionaries. One seems to give
> Egyptian pronunciation. The other - I don't know what dialect that
> is.
>  (FI is an entire world - I can't afford to buy all the necessary
> reference materials).

The best way is to consult a Modern Standard Arabic material.
Looking for Arabic borrowings in Farsi, Turkic et sim. helps me too.

> The mnemonics are in part to help me remember where is where (the
> curse of the inventive conlanger/conculturer). The calques also
> allow others such as you to critique it!

Ah! Entiendo. Or, in Ajami, _fahmo_.

> > > Rio Grand do Sul Nahr al-Kibir al-Kibli
> >
> > nahr ul-kabi:r (wa:di l-kabi:r) uj-janu:bi:
> > qibla merely mean "direction to Mecca", which is *not* south
here.
>
> Blast those cultural distinctions. Janubi is what I had before. I
> suppose that baha:ri: is north only in Egyptian Arabic, then?

janu:b is a MnStAr name for "south"
I didn't find the word _baHa:ri:_ in my dic (9,400 entries, alas!)
As _baHr_ indeed means "sea", I would expect this to be an Egyptism
too. MnStAr for "north" is _s^ama:l_ or _s^ima:l_, the latter
attested in Farsi: _shemâl_.

That's all for now, I'm glad we can help each other,
once again I beg your pardon for misnaming you,

tale bueno,
-- Yitzik