<HTML>1) Whether there is or is not a "vav" is less an issue of textual
variants and manuscripts than it is a question of the context, the flow
of the Amoraic material and the use of the Amoraic material by the
Ba'alei HaGemara. I suggest that, especially in the case of Rav Papa -
considering his unique role in the sugyahs - that the issue of his place
in any given sugyah be the first test.
2) As far as "bar" and "brei" are concerned, you will find both by
Tannaim, since Aramaic was just as much a spoken language in the days of
the Tannaim as the Amoraim, and the selection of Hebrew as a literary
language was strategic. Nevertheless, as is known by any serious pupil,
the Hebrew of the Tannaim was seriously influenced by Aramaic usage.</HTML>
