مطالعات زبان و گویش های غرب ایران

Because of their objective measurement and unambiguous correspondences, syntactic parameters are used as comparanda for deep comparison and relatedness of language varieties. The Parametric Comparison Method (Longobardi & Guardiano, 2009) is based on the hypothesis that syntactic parameters are appropriate traits to use as comparanda for contrastive analysis and distance measurement of language pairs and then to provide language taxonomy. This article addresses the syntactic distance and genealogical taxonomy of language varieties that are closely related genealogically, geographically, and culturally. To analyze relatedness and genealogical issues of Kurdish language varieties and the Persian language, abstract grammatical rules, modeled as syntactic parameters which are applied in the domain of determiner phrase (DP), are used as comparanda. The results show that Laki and Lori are at a close distance from Sorani, and on the other hand, Kurmanji and Kɪrdki are also close syntactically. According to the tree achieved from the syntactic distances, Kurmanji is at one end of the spectrum and Persian is at the other end. Thus, it can be concluded that some preliminary deductions regarding the phylogenetic taxonomy of the Iranian languages and dialects, with a focus on Kurdish language varieties and other related dialects, can be proposed.

Two of the models in the Serial Optimality Theory in which derivational paths compete and are evaluated by Prec(a, b) family of constraints are Optimality Theory- Candidate Chains (OT-CC) and Optimal Interleaving (OI). The former operates exclusively at the level of phonology, while the latter postulates the interplay between morphology and phonology. This article presents a case study of vowel harmony in Kalhori Kurdish that necessitates a level where phonological and morphological processes alternate to account for both the application and lack of application of a phonological process. In Kalhori Kurdish, the features of [o] are spread regressively all the way to the leftmost edge of the verb; however, this is not the case when the coordinating conjunction clitic [=o] is added to the verb. The analysis of the data collected from 15 Kalhori Kurdish speakers revealed that OT-CC cannot simultaneously explain the root-prefix vowel harmony and the absence of this process between the clitic and the verbal ending, unless the morphological information is duplicated at this level. However, benefiting from the possibility of morphological processes alternating with the phonological ones, the OI model successfully explains both the presence and the absence of the vowel harmony

Modality is a linguistic device used to express concepts such as necessity, obligation, probability, commitment, and assumption in language. To fully describe events, situations, or people's attitudes, the use of verbs or noun phrases alone is not sufficient. Modality serves as an essential tool in all human languages for accurately conveying meaning. This study provides a theoretical analysis of modality in Laki, focusing on the modal functions of the element [maw] within Palmer’s (2001) framework. In addition to its role in forming compound verbs in Laki, [maw] also has a modal function. The analysis demonstrates that this element conveys the modal meanings of possibility and permission. It is a commuting term that takes on different meanings in various contexts. It also appears once in a sentence before the lexical verb and is not inflected. Based on these four criteria, [maw] can be considered a modal auxiliary verb. This element represents event modality of permissive deontic in the Laki language. 

This study employs a descriptive framework to explore the evolution of several suffixes in contemporary Persian. The primary focus is to determine whether these suffixes were recognized as such in ancient Iranian languages or if they functioned as independent morphemes that gradually evolved into grammatical elements. Grammaticalization is examined as the process through which lexical components acquire grammatical roles, or how elements with existing grammatical features become increasingly grammaticalized. A critical question arises regarding independent morphemes that have transitioned into suffixes: Have they entirely lost their original meanings and become purely grammatical tools for word formation, or do they retain independent functions in certain contexts? An analysis of the suffixes -(e)stān , -bār , -bān , -dān , -pād , -zār , -gār/-ger , -kade , and -gāh , along with their meanings and usages in contemporary Persian, indicates that these suffixes were once free morphemes in the ancient Iranian period. Over time, due to linguistic changes, they have diminished in lexical independence and are now primarily used as adjectival or locative suffixes in modern Persian. The necessity to generate new vocabulary for various phenomena has significantly influenced the grammaticalization of many independent morphemes.

The present study aims to investigate address terms in Hawrami, a Kurdish dialect spoken mainly in the Paveh region of western Iran. It explores how speakers of Hawrami use a variety of linguistic resources—such as kinship terms, pronouns, occupational titles, and religious titles—to indicate social roles, relationships, and values. Drawing on sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic frameworks, in particular the work of Brown and Gilman (1960), the present paper examines how the social variables such as age, gender, power, solidarity, and religious ideology shape address practices. Data were collected through ethnographic observation and interviews in Paveh. Given the lack of written documentation and the deeply contextual nature of address practices, a qualitative method based on direct observation and community-based immersion was considered the most appropriate choice. The ethnographic method is especially suitable for studying linguistic behavior in small, localized speech communities, where language usage is closely tied to cultural norms, relationships, and everyday social practices. The findings show that address forms in Hawrami do more than merely serve communicative functions; they embody cultural values and reflect broader ideological shifts, particularly those following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. This study contributes to the documentation of an understudied minority dialect and provides insight into the intricate relationship between language, identity, and power in multilingual and multiethnic societies.

This article investigates how native Persian speakers process and comprehend affirmative and negative discoursal causal assertions. To examine this, an eye-tracking experiment was conducted with 10 male and 20 female Persian-speaking participants. The main experiment involved 32 Persian vignettes, each containing three sentences: an opening sentence, a target sentence (affirmative or negative discoursal causal), and a concluding sentence. The polarity of the target and concluding sentences was varied (affirmative vs. negative) within participants. When participants heard an affirmative discoursal causal assertion (e.g., Because my skin was dry, I applied moisturizer ), they primarily fixated on the factual phrase ("applying moisturizer"), with a fixation probability of 63%, whereas the conjectural phrase received little attention, attracting only 12% of fixation probability. A similar pattern was observed for negative assertions (e.g., Because my skin was not dry, I did not apply moisturizer ), where participants focused on the factual phrase ("not applying moisturizer"), attracting only 63% of fixations, largely ignoring the conjecture, with a fixation probability of only %19. Fixation data confirmed that factual phrases consistently received more attention than conjectural ones during early processing stages. In the final analysis, the effect of specificity on fixation patterns was tested. Results showed that specificity did not significantly influence either early attention or increased attention to factual content across polarity conditions. Overall, the findings align with Mental Model Theory, emphasizing the cognitive priority given to factual representations

Jam (2020) attempts to provide an Optimality-Theoretic analysis of Persian vowel harmony. As to cases where backness harmony does not appear to occur, his explanation appeals to Lexically Specific Constraint Theory, treating these instances as exceptional rather than systematic. In this reply, I argue that such an appeal to exceptionality is unnecessary, and I propose an alternative analysis in which regressive vowel harmony in Persian can be accounted for in a principled, unified manner without recourse to lexically indexed constraints. By introducing an appropriately formulated markedness constraint, it becomes possible to capture the full range of observed patterns while maintaining the parsimony and explanatory elegance expected of an Optimality-Theoretic framework. In addition to this central point, I identify several further weaknesses in Jam’s analysis. These include a conflation of rule ordering with constraint ranking, which obscures the theoretical distinction between derivational and constraint-based approaches, the problematic assumption that the phonological representation of loanwords should mirror their source-language forms, and the omission of critical information in both the representations and tableaux.