Note 420 — KAMAR AL-ZAMAN AND THE JEWELLER’S WIFE.[375]

Arab. “Tanwín al-Izáfah ma’zúl” = the nunnation in construction cast out. “Tanwín” (nunnation) is pronouncing the vowels of the case-endings of a noun with n—un for u (nominative)—in for i (genitive) and—an for a (accusative). This nunnation expresses indefiniteness, e.g. “Malikun” = a king, any king. When the noun is made definite by the Ma’rifah or article (al), the Tanwín must be dropped, e.g. Al-Maliku = the King; Al-Malikun being a grammatical absurdity. In construction or regimen (izáfah) the nunnation must also disappear, as Maliku ’l-Hindi = the King of Hind (a King of Hind would be Malikun min Mulúki ’l-Hindi = a King from amongst the Kings of Hind). Thus whilst the wife and the lover were conjoined as much as might be, the hocussed and sleeping husband was dismissed (ma’zúl = degraded) like a nunnation dropped in construction. I may add that the terminal syllables are invariably dropped in popular parlance and none but Mr. G. Palgrave (who afterwards ignored his own assertion) ever found an Arab tribe actually using them in conversation although they are always pronounced when reading the Koran and poetry.