مطالعات زبان و گویش های غرب ایران

In this article, the plural marker in the Mahshahri dialect is examined. Mahshahri is the native language of the people of Bandar-e Mahshahr. This dialect has close similarities with other Iranian language varieties spoken in southern Iran, particularly those of other southern cities of Khuzestan Province, and Iranian language varieties of Bushehr, Fars and Kohkiluye and Boyr-Ahmad provinces. From a methodological point of view, this research is descriptive and analytical. The research data were mainly obtained through a questionnaire and by examining the text of a twenty-minute continuous speech from the Mahshahri dialect. The investigations carried out in this article show that the plural marker of Mahshahri is /-æl/, which, based on the phonetic environment of the base to which it is added, can have other allomorphic manifestations as well. The conducted studies also indicate that there are variations in the use of the plural marker in the Mahshahri dialect. These variations, in many cases, align with the replacement of the marker with its standard Persian counterparts. Therefore, the variations that can be seen in the use of the plural marker of Mahshahri can be considered in line with other current changes that are underway in the direction of leveling the dialect with standard Persian in Iran. 

Kurmanji uses two morphological forms of pronouns and R-expressions: direct and oblique. The direct form of first and second pronouns (local pronouns) is fully specified for person and number. In contrast, direct third-person pronouns and R-expressions are unmarked; however, these arguments still exhibit person and number agreement with verbs and number and gender agreement with Ezafe heads. There are two approaches to deal with direct unmarked arguments. In the asymmetric approach, these arguments are assumed to be fully specified for relevant φ-features, which are deleted at PF (Phonological Form) after agreement, whereas in the symmetric approach, they are merged as underspecified for relevant features and acquire their interpretation via agreement. Given the prevalence of unmarked arguments in Kurmanji, the symmetric approach is more economical and minimalistic, requiring fewer theoretical tools and computations. The present study shows that the key distinction between local pronouns and unmarked arguments lies in the specification of relevant φ-features. Direct unmarked arguments enter the derivation underspecified for these features, establishing a relation of ‘subset control’ in agreement and acquiring their interpretation by spreading features from the agreeing head at the LF (Logical Form) interface. This study also reveals that agreement in Ezafe constructions and pro-drop sentences also involve subset control and agreement is the only possible way to license φ-features, such as gender in inanimate arguments and person in R-expressions.

The present study aims to explore negation patterns in Ardalani, a variety of central Kurdish (Sorani) spoken mainly in Sanandaj, within the typological framework proposed by Miestamo (2005). This framework explains the main negation patterns found in the languages of the world as symmetric, asymmetric, and symmetric-asymmetric. Although Miestamo applied this stypological framework to analyze a wide range of languages, none of the Kurdish dialects are represented in his study. The data used in the present study comprises 263 negative sentences with their affirmative counterparts, which were obtained from the spoken Sorani material broadcast on Kurdistan Radio and Television. The results indicate that Ardalani follows a symmetric-asymmetric pattern. It reveals a symmetric pattern in the past tense with perfective and imperfective habitual aspect but displays an asymmetric pattern in the imperfective continuous aspect and modal structures. For the sentences in the imperfective continuous aspect, the speakers apply either A/Fin/Neg-LV or A/Cat/ATM. In the former, the verb loses finiteness and the features move to the available copula in the structure. In the latter, the aspect changes from continuous to habitual, a more common strategy. Modal structures also follow A/Cat/ATM, in which the modal marker is removed and replaced with the negation marker. However, the modal content remains semantically the same as its affirmative counterpart. 

Previous studies have focused mostly on the syntactic features of the linking particle (Ezafe) in simple noun phrases with little attention paid to its semantic representations and functions specifically within the context of deverbal noun phrases. The present study aims to analyze semantic functions of the linking particle as it appears between a deverbal noun and its various modifiers, and compare them with their corresponding elements in sentences in a Distributed Morphology framework (DM) in Hawrami. This study shows this ancient linker's trace in most Kurdish dialects exhibits agentive semantic functions in addition to expressing possession and modification. Furthermore, the subject of unaccusative verbs at the sentential level is realized as the patient/possessor or as the theme/possessor of their corresponding deverbal noun phrases. However, the subject of unergative verbs assumes the agentive/possessor role in their corresponding noun phrases. Moreover, the object of transitive and ditransitive verbs is represented as a patient or theme, and also as a possessed entity before the subject is realized as the possessor in the corresponding deverbal noun phrases. Results indicate that the representation of both sentences and their corresponding deverbal noun phrases within DM framework provides stronger support for a syntactic movement account of deverbal noun phrases, their semantic functions, and properties in Hawrami.

Different linguistic constructions, including comparative, superlative, similative, and equative constructions, are employed to convey the concept of comparison. Equative and similative constructions exhibit the highest semantic and structural resemblance out of all the specified constructions. In such constructions, two entities -referred to as the comparee and the standard- are compared based on a specific characteristic or quality. In equative constructions the comparison is based on a gradable property, where one of the referents has the property to a higher degree, while similative constructions compare the similarity in manner. This study explored the equative constructions in the Laki language by primarily relying on classification put forth by Haspelmath (2017). The data for the present study consists of 123 equative sentences taken from spoken interviews with twelve individuals residing in Noorabad city. The findings indicate that speakers mainly use seven strategies to convey the concept of equality in Laki. Furthermore, the data show that in numerous equative constructions in Laki, there is a preference for omitting the standard marker while retaining the degree marker

The phonological status of word-initial glottal stops in Persian has been a subject of controversy. Particularly, researchers hold divergent views on whether the glottal stop functions as a phoneme in word-initial positions. These perspectives can be categorized into three main positions: (1) glottal stops are phonemes in all occurrences (Samareh, 1985; Windfuhr, 1979); (2) word-initial glottal stops are phonemes only in loanwords, especially from Arabic (Bijankhan, 2018; Haghshenas, 1991; Jam, 2019; Kord-Zaferanloo-Kambozia, 2003); and (3) word-initial glottal stops are not phonemes in Persian (Jahani, 2005; Majidi & Ternes, 1999; Sepanta, 1973). In this paper, a critical review of previous findings is provided along with new insights and neglected evidence relevant to the underlying representations of words with glottal stops. Based on these considerations, the paper leans towards the position that glottal stops function as phonemes in all positions regardless of occurrence in loanwords or native words. It also calls for a revision of previous research, emphasizing the importance of non-acoustic aspects in exploring the phonological functions of word-initial glottal stops.