Once again, my book is a success. Another distant cousin has found me by finding my book online. This distant cousin descends from the Yazigi/Yeager family of Syrian origin. She provided me with interesting details that would only be passed down through family lore, but the most interesting tidbit was the name represented by the letter F.
Her father and his brothers all had the middle initial of F. I am not surprised the initial was the same, for it was customary for a boy's second name to be the same as his father's first name. Therefore, I knew if I ever figured out this middle name, I'd know the name of their father. My cousin knew it! The name is Fadilallah.
In spite of her Southern accent, she has such a beautiful pronunciation of the Arabic names in our family. Arabic vowell sounds are not quite like ours. The As in this name are pronounced somewhere in between an aahh sound and an uuhh sound. The first and fourth syllables are stressed. The I is practically silent. The sound goes from the D to the L without really hearing the I. All four syllables are pronounced as if two words--more like FU-dl UL-lah. I have not seen very many Arabic names among our family and their associates that begin with F and this is the first time I have ever seen this name. I love a mystery solved.
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