Language Studies

The Nature of Epenthetic Vowel in English Loanwordes In Persian Based on Optimality Theory

Document Type : Methodoligies

Authors

Batool Alinezhad 1
Malihe Rahimi 2

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign languages, Isfahan University

2 M.A. in Linguistics, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign languages, Isfahan University

Abstract
The present paper studies breaking of initial consonant clusters of English loanwordes which results in changing of syllable structure in Persian. The research data were collected from three famous dictionaries -Anvari (1386), Moshiri (1371), Zomorrodian (1384). The theoritical framework of the present research is Optimality Theory, a constraint based approach, which was presented in Generative Grammar in 1993 by Prince and Smolensky . In this research, we are going to answer the question: How can Optimality Theory analyzes the changing of syllable structure of loanwords in Persian? The results show that Persian language follows a series of faithfulness and markedness constraints to obtain optimal outputs and by vowel epenthesis (initial and mediate), breakes the consonant clusters and changes the syllable structure.The main reason of vowel epenthesis in the present paper has been considered assimilation process.

Keywords

optimality theory
Loanword
epenthesis
markedness constraint
faithfulness constraint

  • Receive Date 16 April 2011
  • Revise Date 09 April 2012
  • Accept Date 08 July 2011

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