Phonology
Homa Asadi
Abstract
This study acoustically examines voice quality parameters in two groups of Persian-speaking men and women. The study aims to assess the ability of voice quality parameters to differentiate Persian speakers and to evaluate the extent to which these parameters capture speaker-specific information. Additionally, ...
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This study acoustically examines voice quality parameters in two groups of Persian-speaking men and women. The study aims to assess the ability of voice quality parameters to differentiate Persian speakers and to evaluate the extent to which these parameters capture speaker-specific information. Additionally, this research seeks to expand existing knowledge in the field of voice quality and address the limited scope of previous studies on Persian. Acoustic data were collected from 20 female and 20 male speakers in a laboratory setting. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze inter-speaker differences, and the Random Forest algorithm was employed to assess feature importance. Six voice quality parameters were selected for analysis: jitter (frequency perturbation), shimmer (amplitude perturbation), harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), the ratio of the amplitudes of the first and second harmonics (H1-H2), cepstral peak prominence (CPP), and fundamental frequency (F0). The results demonstrated significant acoustic differences among Persian speakers based on voice quality features, though the discriminative power of these features was not uniform. For male speakers, CPP, HNR, and H1-H2 were identified as the most discriminative features, respectively. For female speakers, F0, CPP, and HNR emerged as the key features for speaker identification. The findings highlight the significant role of voice quality parameters in identifying Persian speakers. However, achieving higher accuracy in speaker recognition systems requires considering gender differences and the relative importance of various variables. Moreover, the limited number of participants may affect the generalizability of the results. Thus, future studies are recommended to include larger and more diverse speaker samples.
Phonology
Roshan Babaalipour; Seyed Mohammad Razinezhad; Mohammad Reza Oroji
Abstract
This study presented the phonotactic principles dominant on syllable coda in Ardabil Dialect of Azerbaijani Turkish Language using Optimality Theory. The objective was to determine the permissible syllable structure, based on the phonological constraints of this language, and to find out whether vowel ...
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This study presented the phonotactic principles dominant on syllable coda in Ardabil Dialect of Azerbaijani Turkish Language using Optimality Theory. The objective was to determine the permissible syllable structure, based on the phonological constraints of this language, and to find out whether vowel hiatus is allowed in Ardabil dialect or not. This study used descriptive- analytical approach. The data were collected using interviews with 20 elderly native speakers of Ardabil dialect, without considering gender as a variable. The four major phonotactic principles (the Sonority Sequencing Principle, the Obligatory Contour Principle, the Syllable Contact Law, and the Maximal Onset Principle) were examined in Optimality Theory in Ardabil Dialect. The analysis of data revealed that all four principles are active and dominant in this language, and the Sonority Sequencing Principle holds the highest priority. The Obligatory Contour Principle is also active in Ardabil Dialect, and vowel hiatus resulting from affixation is prevented by inserting a consonant between the vowels. Additionally, the Syllable Contact Law governs Ardabil dialect, and the coda of the preceding syllable should be more sonorous than the onset of the following syllable. Considering the syllable structure of Ardabil dialect, which is CV(C)(C), onset is obligatory, so Maximal Onset Principle is satisfied in affixation and syllabification, ensuring that a consonant always occupies the onset position. In cases where these principles are violated, such as in loanwords, phonological processes like insertion and deletion prevent the occurrence of forbidden structures.
Phonology
Sharareh Sadat Sarsarabi; Abolfazl Mazinani
Abstract
Vowel reduction has been significantly investigated and classified in previous studies, especially by Crosswhite (2000), Harris (2005) and Anderson (1996). The present study was conducted aiming to describe the vowel reduction of /a/ to /e/ after affixation, which is observed in Mazinani Persian Dialect ...
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Vowel reduction has been significantly investigated and classified in previous studies, especially by Crosswhite (2000), Harris (2005) and Anderson (1996). The present study was conducted aiming to describe the vowel reduction of /a/ to /e/ after affixation, which is observed in Mazinani Persian Dialect (Sabzvar-Khorasan Razavi) in the framework of Optimality Theory. Then, its compatibility to the aforementioned classifications was tested to explain the reduction. According to generalization obtained from the Optimality analysis, the vowel change /a/ to /e/ occurs in syllables the stress of which is lost after affixation and coumpounding. However, if there is a glottal consonant such as /h/ or /Ɂ/ adjucent to /a/, the reduction will not take place. In addition, the compatibility analysis showed that Crosswhite's classification can be used to justify the happening reduction. In other words, the described reduction was classified as a sonority-driven change. On the other hand, the analysis based on the [AIU] model showed that the /a/ to /e/ reduction implies the process of headedness-reversal. According to Crosswhite, the category [A] can not be the head of the vowel which is located in the nucleus of an unstressed syllable; of course, an opposite example was observed in the reduction of /α/ to /o/ in Mazinani Dialect. The comparison between the dialect's data and their equivalent in Standard Persian showed that these two varriant of Persian behave opposite to each other.
Phonology
Masoud Moshayedi; Batool Ainezhad
Abstract
In the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) proposed by Prince and Smolensky (2004) and by citing some evidence of Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) in Persian, this study aims to investigate conspiracy in this language. SSP is a universal tendency in the order of components within a syllable, whereby ...
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In the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) proposed by Prince and Smolensky (2004) and by citing some evidence of Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) in Persian, this study aims to investigate conspiracy in this language. SSP is a universal tendency in the order of components within a syllable, whereby the sonority scale in the sequence of components in onset is ascending but in coda it is descending. In some cases, to achieve this principle, some different phonological processes conspire. In OT, conspiracy indicates the functional unity of several different phonological processes that pursue the same structural goal. In this descriptive-analytic study which is based on both library and field research, 204 CVCC words violating SSP have been studied. The analysis of the data firstly illustrates that derivative rules cannot show the functional unity of different phonological processes, then in the framework of OT and by depicting optimality tableaus, it is shown how some different phonological processes in Persian (such as deletion, insertion and metathesis), although leading to different outcomes, conspire to achieve one common goal i.e. SSP. Moreover, it is confirmed that SSP is not solely limited to syllables containing long vowels, but it applies to many syllables including short vowels as well.
Phonology
Saeede Shoja Razavi
Abstract
چکیده:بررسی ساخت هجا در شناخت واجی یک گویش از اهمیت به سزایی برخوردار است. پژوهش حاضر در قالب طرحی میدانی به بررسی ساخت هجایی گویش مشهدی پرداخته و بر اساس نظریهی همخوان- ...
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چکیده:بررسی ساخت هجا در شناخت واجی یک گویش از اهمیت به سزایی برخوردار است. پژوهش حاضر در قالب طرحی میدانی به بررسی ساخت هجایی گویش مشهدی پرداخته و بر اساس نظریهی همخوان- واکه به شیوهی واج آرایی همخوانها و همچنین تاثیر واکهی هستهی هجا در انتخاب خوشههای همخوانی میپردازد. دادههای زبانی این پژوهش حاصل مصاحبه با ده گویشور مشهدی شامل زن و مرد بین سنین 60 تا 80 سال و کم سواد است. پژوهش حاضر در نظر دارد ضمن ارایهی تفاوتهای آوایی و ساخت واژی به این مهم بپردازد که گونه ی مورد بررسی گویش است نه لهجه. یافتههای پژوهش نشانگر آن است که عنصر هجایی در گویش مشهدی هسته است که قبل از آن حداکثر دو همخوان و بعد از آن نیز حداکثر دو همخوان میتوانند قرار گیرند. طی این بررسی مشاهده شد که تمایل گویش مشهدی بیشتر بر هجاهای کوتاه است به صورتی که در اغلب موارد در مقایسه با فارسی معیار درج واکه یا فرایند واج افزایی را شاهد میباشیم. واژههایی مانند: بزرگ//، ترش/ toro/، سطل// نشانگر این فرایند میباشد. فرایند واج افزایی در این گویش به چهار دسته تقسیم میشود که در این پژوهش به تفصیل به آن پرداخته شد.
