جَاءَنِي زَيْدٌ أَوْ عَمْرٌو
Zayd or ʿAmr came to me.
«Aw» can express the speaker's own doubt when the identity is not known. It may also be used to produce deliberate uncertainty in the listener even when the speaker knows more.
The wording can look identical, but the rhetorical situation differs: one reports genuine uncertainty; the other withholds determination to shape the hearer's response.
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ʿAṭf al-Bayān, Badal and Coordination: Clarifying, Reinforcing and Specifying the Subject
جَاءَنِي زَيْدٌ أَوْ عَمْرٌو
Zayd or ʿAmr came to me.
«Aw» can express the speaker's own doubt when the identity is not known. It may also be used to produce deliberate uncertainty in the listener even when the speaker knows more.
The wording can look identical, but the rhetorical situation differs: one reports genuine uncertainty; the other withholds determination to shape the hearer's response.