The copular clause in Jewish Zakho Neo-Aramaic

This is a description of the complex behaviour and interrelationships of the copular system in Zakho. Substantival and adverbial rhemes, compound tenses (perfect and progressive), as well as presentatives, are all part of this system. In addition the compound tenses are opposed to other verbal forms. The component order is highly relevant in differentiating between the different patterns and allo-patterns of the copular system. Included in the description is a treatment of the copular presentative which poses various problems in this language. The description is texteme-sensitive: there are marked differences in both distribution and function of the different copular expressions (even between different persons of the same copula) depending on supra-clausal conditions, that is, narrative or dialogue. In addition, a particular sub-genre, the personal experience narrative (PEN), has all sorts of peculiarities which are accounted for separately.