Phonotactic Principles in Azerbaijani Turkish Language Ardabil Dialect

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Roshan Babaalipour ¹
• Seyed Mohammad Razinezhad ²
• Mohammad Reza Oroji ³

¹ Department of Humanity science. Islamic Azad University of Zanjan Branch . Zanjan. Iran

² English language teaching group. Faculty of Literature and Humanities , University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

³ department of linguistics, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

10.22067/jlkd.2024.89796.1273

Abstract

This article presents the phonotactic principles dominant in Azerbaijani Turkish language Ardabil dialect in Optimality Theory. Phonotactics refers to the constraints on the co-occurrence of sounds within a language. Based on these constraints, one can determine which consonants can appear together in clusters and if hiatus is permissible in this language, that is, is it acceptable the vowels occur adjacent or not. Based on the phonological constraints of this language, it is determined what syllable structures are permissible. The phonotactic principles governing Ardabil dialect include four key principles: the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP), the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP), the Syllable Contact Law, and the Maximal Onset Principle. The analysis of data in Ardabil dialect within Optimality Theory reveals that all four principles are active and dominant in this dialect. If these principles are violated in certain cases, phonological processes such as insertion and deletion are applied to prevent the occurrence of impermissible structures.

Keywords

• phonotactic principle
• Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP)
• the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP)
• the Syllable Contact Law
• and the Maximal Onset Principle

Main Subjects

• Phonology