BINOMIAL FORMATION IN BADINI KURDISH WITH REFERNCE TO ENGLISH: A CONTRASTIVE STUDY

Abstract

The phraseological phenomenon of binomial pairing is a research topic that has captured the attention of many linguists. Recent research on binomials (e.g. Benor & Levy, 2006) convincingly argues that studies on binomial pairing can generally be divided into two main types: studies on binomial order and studies on binomial formation. To the best of our knowledge, the latter type of studies dealing with binomial pairing in Badini Kurdish does not exist. Therefore, the present research is a pioneering attempt to fill in this research gap because it addresses the issue of binomial formation in Badini Kurdish binomials. It aims at achieving a detailed description of binomial formation and also at comparing and contrasting this topic in both Kurdish and English binomials. To fulfill these aims, the current study analyses a large number of Badini Kurdish binomials (302 pairs). The findings indicate that binomial formation in Badini Kurdish is a systematic process which is not very different from binomial formation in other languages as it shares the basic regulations required for forming a binomial, viz.: having two words which must be syntactically symmetrical and mostly connected  by some sort of a lexical link. Although these regulations are very similar among both Badini Kurdish and English binomials, certain minor differences are also pointed out. Therefore, the study concludes by listing these similarities and differences in the binomial formation between Badini Kurdish and English binomials.