Ebrahim Kanani
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 1-20
Abstract
Extended Abstract Introduction In this research, the functions of light in Sepehri’s poem were studied and analyzed based on the semiotics-semantics view. The main purpose of the present research is to study the discursive state and transformation of light in Sohrab Sepehri's poetry, based on ...
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Extended Abstract Introduction In this research, the functions of light in Sepehri’s poem were studied and analyzed based on the semiotics-semantics view. The main purpose of the present research is to study the discursive state and transformation of light in Sohrab Sepehri's poetry, based on his four poem books entitled "East of Sorrow", "Traveler", "The Water’s Footfall" and "Green Volume". Our main questions are what status the light gains, how it comes to operate and spread, how light can create meaning, and what meanings and values it develops as well. Also, what semiotics-semantics systems such as tension, perceptual-sensory, feeling, aesthetics are related to light and light-correlated concepts? And is it possible to introduce a pattern for the light system in Sepehri’s poem? Our hypothesis is that the light operates as a semantic-made word and it creates meaning through the chained relation of senses and with interaction of different senses such as visual, sensual, tactile, olfactory and sensory-kinetics. In fact, the incident lighting system prepares the underlying light to form a sensory chain system. As a result, the subject and object interact in this system and in the perceptual-sensory relationship. The result of such a process is the presence of the subject from transcendental presence. The present study, by analyzing the optical discourse system, has been able to present a model of how to transform and transcend discourse from the perspective of light into Sepehri poetry. Theoretical Framework One of the methods for analyzing the contents of Persian literary texts is the use of new literary ideas. Using these ideas in the field of poetry and Persian prose can be found in a precise and scientific way for interpretation and analysis of Persian literary texts. Semiotics, as one of the literary theories, can open new horizons to contemporary Persian poetry with the help of different knowledge domains such as philosophy, linguistics, phenomenology, and discourse analysis. In this study, the light function in Sohrab Sepehri's poetry has been studied and analyzed based on the semiotic point of view. This approach provides a suitable ground for explaining the discursive state of light in Sohrab Sepehri's poetry. Since in Sohrab Sepehri's poetry, light creates an emotional spatial role, the light system of this poem is related to semiotic systems. The element of light containing various functions in his poem interacts with different senses. This function places light in tensions that fluctuate from surface to depth. This indicates a state atmosphere in discourse, and the semiotic approach also examines the same situation in relation to light. Methodology In the foregoing article, to analyze the data, one of the new methods of critique and one of the critically acclaimed theories of discursive semantics have been used. This study is a library research using an analytical-descriptive research method. This theory analyzes the optical system in Sepehri's poetry by studying the human perceptual-sensory conditions and its role in the process of meaning and creation, and the use of various types of inspirational systems and the study of emotional, sensory-perceptual and aesthetic systems. Results and Discussion Semiotics in a paradigmatic turning point tends to a phenomenological approach. His approach introduces state and tension discourse systems. In state system, without any plans or goals, he will be aware of the moment he is present in relation to the position in which he is located and with the help of it, makes himself available to himself and to the other. This links the state system with the phenomenological discussion of presence. Based on this, the present study, by analyzing the optical discourse system from this perspective, has been able to explain the pattern of how to transcend discourse from the perspective of light in Sepehri poetry. Also in the present discourse, light is reflected in various forms including explosive, focused, transparent, and multiplied. In this discourse, various aesthetic, eventful, perceptual-sensory, emotional-state and transcendental systems play a role, and these systems have the characteristics and functions of tension, state, intensity and extensity. Conclusion and Suggestions In Sohrab Sepehri's poetry, the light appears as a mediator in the form of an eventful and tension-state system of discourse.The incident and state light system lays the ground for interaction among different senses and thus triggers a perceptual-sensory interaction between subjects and discursive factors. As a result of this process, presence is located in the path of transcendence. In addition, an interaction is formed between the intensity and extensity in continuous discourse. This interaction puts the light in a fluid state, which results in a transformation from an evolving state to a transcendental one. Using the proposed model in this study, we can accurately map the light discourse and the formation of meaning in discursive systems.
Esmaeil Safaei Asl; Reza Morad Sahraei
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 21-53
Abstract
Extended abstract Introduction In generalizing/partial typology, which has been the dominant approach in typology since the early 1960s, achieving language universals was the main concern. It is noteworthy that in this approach, achieving language generalizations is based on interlanguage comparison ...
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Extended abstract Introduction In generalizing/partial typology, which has been the dominant approach in typology since the early 1960s, achieving language universals was the main concern. It is noteworthy that in this approach, achieving language generalizations is based on interlanguage comparison of specific structures such as causativization, passivization, and possession. Following the generalizing/partial typology approach within the systemic functional grammar, Matthiessen (2004) has sought to achieve language generalizations. In fact, having examined the ideational (logical and experiential), interpersonal, and textual systems of the ‘clause grammar’ of different and various languages, Matthiessen (2004) has achieved a series of typological generalizations/universals in the framework of systemic functional typology. It should be noted that these generalizationsrefer both to divergences (differences) and convergences (similarities) of language systems. In terms of his proposed typological generalizations, Matthiessen (2004) has argued that they can be applied in the description of any language and in the attempt to expand the typological explanations in the framework of systemic functional grammar as well. However, he has immediately stated that “It is not yet possible to propose a generalized map; but we have to move in that direction.” In line with Matthiessen’s claim mentioned above, the present paper has attempted to describe the THEME system of Persian language on the one hand and to compare it with the THEME system of English as the dominant foreign language in the area of education in Iran, on the other hand. Theoretical Framework This study has been conducted in the framework of systemic functional typology and specifically Matthiessen (2004)’s typological generalizations in terms of the THEME system[1]. Matthiessen (2004) has identified the following areas as the principal parameters of typological variation in the THEME system of languages: (1) The treatment of unmarked and marked THEME, (2) The relationship between THEME and INFORMATION, (3) The relationship between THEME and MOOD, (4) The relationship between experiential (topical) THEME and interpersonal and textual THEME, and (5) The relationship between THEME and VOICE. In this research, in order to limit its scope, only three of the above domains have been selected as typological parametersfor describing the THEME system of Persian language and comparing it with the THEME system of English: (1) The treatment of unmarked and marked THEME (related to the subsystem of THEME MARKEDNESS), (2) The relationship between THEME and MOOD (related to the subsystem of THEME SELECTION), and (3) The relationship between experiential (topical) THEME and interpersonal and textual THEME (related to the subsystems of THEME TYPE, INTERPERSONAL THEME, and TEXTUAL THEME). Methodology This research is a ‘theoretical fundamental’ type in terms of aim and is a ‘pure descriptive’ type in terms of nature and method. Persian examples of this study have been obtained from various documents such as novel, research papers, and grammar books. However, some of the Persian examples have been made by the authors of this paper. English examples have been mainly taken from Halliday (2005) and Halliday and Matthiessen (2014). It is necessary to note that this research has described the THEME system only within the limits of the simple clause and has avoided dealing withclause complexes. Results and Discussion Studying typological behaviors of the Persian THEME system in the framework of Matthiessen (2004)’s typological generalizations and comparing those behaviors with the typological behaviors of the English THEME system showed that the two Persian and English languages (1) have similar thematic structures; Theme occurs in the initial position of the clause without any Theme marker, (2) treat both unmarked and marked Themes similarly; both marked and unmarked Themes occur in the initial position of the clause with the sequence ‘unmarked Theme + marked Theme’, (3) mark absolute Themes segmentally; Persian absolute Themes are marked by the postposition »ra« and English absolute Themes are marked by prepositions like »as to, as for, regarding«, (4) have both simple and multiple types of Themes; Theme can contain textual and interpersonal elements beside experiential one, and (5) treat the elements of a multiple Theme similarly; the elements making up a multiple Theme have all the same realizations, that is they are realized by the initial position of the clause. Another finding was that unlike English language whose THEME system is MOOD-bound, Persian language possesses a MOOD-free THEME system; in Persian language, unlike English, Subject (whetherpresent or dropped) is the unmarked Theme in all clause types except imperative clause. Conclusion and Suggestions The results of this study indicated that the two languages of Persian and English behave similarly in terms of three typological parameters out of four ones related to the THEME system. The finding number (3) as mentioned above, showed that Matthiessen (2004)’s convergence generalization in terms of THEME system, i.e. the possibility of marking Theme segmentally, is also true of Persian language. In the end, it is suggested that the typological behaviors of the THEME system of other languages spoken in Iran should be identified and introduced in the aforementioned framework. [1] The grammatical system of ‘THEME’, as one of the resources of textual metafunction, construes the clause in the guise of a ‘message’ and is represented by Theme-Rheme structure. As such, the clause in the guise of a message is made up of Theme + Rheme.
Mahboobeh Rosrami; Mahmoud Reza Ghorban Sabbagh; Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 55-78
Abstract
Extended abstract Introduction Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is one of the great American playwrights whose plays directly reflect the sociopolitical issues of his day. Being affected by two World Wars and postwar American society, Miller’s characters search their identities in a society which, according ...
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Extended abstract Introduction Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is one of the great American playwrights whose plays directly reflect the sociopolitical issues of his day. Being affected by two World Wars and postwar American society, Miller’s characters search their identities in a society which, according to the writer, offers nothing to them. The landmark of Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1949) depicts the life of a typical American family including a father, Willy Loman, his wife, Linda, and their two sons, Happy and Biff. In Death of a Salesman (1949), the power relation can be found among different characters. In fact, each character represents a discourse of his/her society. Due to the importance of this dramatic work, it has been studied by many researchers since the day of its publication. Though works done to date include a vast majority, none of them is completely devoted to the objective analysis of the play based on the stylistic approaches. Thus conducting this research seems to be necessary and significant. Theoretical Framework Conversation analysis (CA) mostly concerns the language usage in a conversation. The key point in CA is the concept of turn in a turn-taking system in which participants have their rights to speak. This paper is organized based on the CA principles, mostly turn-taking and cooperative principles. In turn-taking, this study uses the model introduced by Mick Short (1996) with his sets of questions leading to the identification of power relation in dramatic dialogues. In cooperative principle, this study would take advantage of Grice’s model regarding maxims introduced by him. He formulates a set of four maxims known as quality, quantity, relation, and manner (Grice, 1975). In each conversation these maxims are required to be observed but there are many reasons for which these maxims are violated. These violated maxims lead to new implications of meaning in conversation exchanges. Grice categorizes the failure in cooperative principle as flouting, violating, infringing the maxims and opting out. Methodology This study aimed to manifest the power relation among characters of Death of a Salesman (1949). This has been conducted through focusing on a key passage of the play. The selected passage is an ideologically significant extract in which Willy and Howard, two characters from two different social classes, the employee and the employer, are talking. Employing CA, this study follows a systematic reinterpretation of the text to give a new insight into the power relationship between the interlocutors. Two subcategories of CA have been chosen. In the realm of discourse analysis, the focus of this study has been on turn-taking mechanism; an important subject in the realm of pragmatics; the focus is on cooperative principles. Since the study of the conversation between the two interlocutors has been done through counting the turns, the numbers of words used by each character, the number of the long and short turns, the number of violations of the maxims, the analyses of this part have been done quantitatively. In the other section, since the contextual factors and their influence and reflection on the conversations between characters have been addressed, the analyses have been done qualitatively and the results have been presented. Findings and Discussion In this excerpt Howard talks 10.4 words per turn and Willy talks 8.8 words per turn. Howard dominates Willy with his 406 words over Willy’s 257 words. Of all turns, 61.7 per cent is devoted to wire recorder. In the first 40 turns, Willy speaks only 95 words while Howard speaks far more, 290 words. Despite their master-servant relationship, Willy never addresses Howard with words which indicate their social distance. He just addresses Howard by his first name. From turn 42 to 68 Willy dominates Howard with his 162 words over Howard’s 116 words. In the selected extract, violated maxims are very significant. From the beginning of this extract interlocutors do not follow the maxims many times for different reasons. The analysis of the dialogues indicates that most of Howard’s failures to observe the maxims is unintentional but most Willy’s failures are intentional for his aim of talking indirectly. Conclusion and Suggestions In this paper we have employed Conversation Analysis to examine the power relations embedded in the context which directly affected the linguistic behaviors of the interlocutors. Results indicated that although power is a social structure that may be under the influence of social status (employee/employer) and economic situation of characters, they are not the only determining factors. Power is influenced by other factors as well. In the excerpt, one of these factors was their close relationships, they have known each other for many years. Studies proved that in some parts of the play the conversation between Howard and Willy was directly influenced by the economic situation and it affected the power relations between them while in the other parts because of the close family relation and their intimacy, the power relations were not highlighted. This is the reason that the tragic ending of Willy Loman might be unpredictable for the readers.
Reza Soltani; Mohammad Amouzadeh
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 79-100
Abstract
Extended abstract 1. Introduction Light verb constructions (LVCs) are so pervasive in Persian that a heavy verb may act in various constructions as a light verb (LV). This makes the heavy verb lose some parts of its main meaning in such constructions and get away from its prototype meaning. However, ...
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Extended abstract 1. Introduction Light verb constructions (LVCs) are so pervasive in Persian that a heavy verb may act in various constructions as a light verb (LV). This makes the heavy verb lose some parts of its main meaning in such constructions and get away from its prototype meaning. However, this does not imply that no systematic relationship can be found between the heavy verb and its light counterpart. The purpose of this paper is to explore these relationships among the heavy verb, dâdӕn (to give), and the resulting LVCs. 2. Theoretical Framework The framework adopted in this study is cognitive semantics in general and cognitive lexical semantics and force-dynamics in particular. Cognitive lexical semantics consists of various theories including prototype categorization, image schemas, conceptual metaphor and foregrounding. According to this approach, different meanings of a word form a semantic category whose semantic similarities and commonalities are greater in more central meanings than in more peripheral ones. Moreover, the relationships among these meanings may be explained in terms of conceptual metaphor, image schemas and foregrounding. LVs also form a network of related meanings that could be explained in this way. Another concept is force-dynamics which deals with interaction of entities in relation to force. Regarding the LVCs, it is assumed that the characteristics of the interactions of the forces of heavy verbs would be preserved in LVCs. These may include the source of energy, its direction and the recipient of the energy. For example, if a heavy verb denotes a self-oriented action, light uses also refer to a self-oriented event. 3. Methodology This paper is a descriptive-analytical study. The data included LVCs using the verb dâdӕn and were collected from various library resources and previous studies. To analyze the data, first the semantic structure of the heavy verb, dâdӕn, was examined based on the Newman (1996)’s model and various aspects of this structure was identified. Then, drawing on the principles of cognitive lexical semantics, the light uses of dâdӕn and their relations to the components of the semantic structure of the heavy verb were established. Furthermore, the force-dynamics of the heavy verb dâdӕn and its traces in the light uses were examined. As a result, the ways dâdӕn could be lightened were discussed and characterized in different categories. 4. Results and Discussion LVCs maintain one or more semantic aspects of the heavy verb dâdӕn. The concept of “interpersonal communication” can be accounted for by the metaphoric mapping between elements of communication and the conduit metaphor. “Causality” is directly related to literal transfer of objects into the receiver’s control domain and the control aspect is associated with the concepts of “permission” or “strength” in LVCs. Moreover, control domain may be related to the concepts such as “emergence” of a phenomenon. Concerning the force-dynamic properties, light uses of dâdӕn mostly tend to keep these properties as other-oriented outward actions. 5. Conclusion and Suggestions At first it seems that the heavy verb, dâdӕn, has a simple structure and its main parts consist of a sender, an object, and a receiver. However, there are more to this structure such as control domain, force-dynamics, and transfer. The light uses of dâdӕn are systematically related to various aspects of the semantic structure of the heavy dâdӕn. In other words, these literal aspects are mapped onto more metaphorical concepts such as causality which is one of the most common concepts expressed by the light dâdӕn. This means that the light dâdӕn has turned into a causal verb in the process of losing the meaning of its prototype as a heavy verb. This may be directly a function of the force-dynamics of heavy dâdӕn which similar to a causative verb, expresses actions towards other entities. In other words, transfer or imposition of a state on an entity is perceived as transfer of an object to a receiver.
Mazdak Anoushe
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 101-123
Abstract
Extended abstract Introduction The omission of linguistic objects from derivation, generally called ellipsis, has long attracted the attention of linguists. Ellipsis comes in different forms, though it is usually possible when some types of antecedents are available; in the form of either linguistic ...
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Extended abstract Introduction The omission of linguistic objects from derivation, generally called ellipsis, has long attracted the attention of linguists. Ellipsis comes in different forms, though it is usually possible when some types of antecedents are available; in the form of either linguistic expressions or non-linguistic expressions. Gapping in which a verb (with or without its dependents) is removed in some series of coordinations has long been proved to be problematic in syntactic theories because of its unique properties. Despite their many tempting similarities, gapping and pseudogapping are distinct constructions in English. Johnson (2009) showed that pseudogapping is a special instance of VP-ellipsis, while gapping is a special instance of across-the-board movement. Contrary to what Johnson (2009) proposed for gapping in English, the present study argues that gapping in Persian is a kind of sluicing, in which TP is deleted from the second conjunction preceded by scrambling of the remnant constituents to the specifiers of some functional projections (such as TopP or FocP). According to this line of analysis, Persian is a language in which there is no elision of pseudogapping and main verb in VP-deletion due to obligatory V-raising out of the VP. Theoretical Framework The Minimalist approach is a research method that attempts to define an optimal design for human language by postulating only those assumptions which are minimally required on conceptual grounds. These assumptions include a grammar that generates Logical Form (LF) and Phonetic Form (PF) pairs for all sentences. These pairs are compiled from the features of lexical items by an optimal computational system and must have the morphosyntactic features of all lexical elements which have been checked at the interfaces for appropriate interpretability. The features which relate sound and meaning come in binary divisions; they can be interpretable or uninterpretable, and weak or strong. The property of interpretability, generally used as a driving force behind the establishment of syntactic dependency in the minimalist system, is supposed to play a central role in the syntactic computation to drive the transition into the interpretive LF component. The idea is that uninterpretable forces feature matching and any uninterpretable feature which has been matched will be deleted. To put it more concretely, unlike interpretable features which have an effect on semantic interpretation and can participate in more than one checking operations, the uninterpretable ones must be eliminated before they reach LF; otherwise, Full Interpretation will be violated. In addition to having the property of interpretability, features have a second property, known as strength. Strong features must be checked before the grammar splits; indeed, if any strong feature is left unchecked before spelling out, the derivation fails at PF. To sum up, the feature strength is used to ensure locality between two features (that is, to trigger movement). Within this framework, I examine two kinds of famous deletions in Persian: gapping and sluicing. We need the feature, checking mechanism, for the verb movement in this language which affects the omission of internal and external arguments from derivation. Methodology In line with the feature, checking, which has been introduced in the previous section, we examine the properties of gapping and sluicing within the Minimalist framework. Generally speaking, gapping is an ellipsis in which a verb is removed in one, or more series of coordinations, while pseudogapping is simply elision of the main verb by VP ellipsis leaving the auxiliary in situ. Despite many speculations about their similarities, gapping and pseudogapping are distinct constructions. Pseudogapping is a special instance of VP-ellipsis, while gapping, as Johnson (2009) argues, is a special instance of across-the-board movement. Condensing gapping into the across-the-board movement has its own discomforts, however, as Johnson (2009) suggests, it can be remedied by retailoring the syntax to include string-based output constraints. On the other hand, sluicing is a term used for a type of ellipsis in which the interrogative item is interpreted as a complete question, the omitted material which has been retrieved from the previous discourse. The deletion leaves a WH-phrase, as in somebody just left, Guess who. However, it should be emphasized that some languages such as English allow non-wh-sluicing, but only in matrix contexts. Based on these theoretical assumptions, especially V-to-T movement theory, this paper examines the properties of gapping and sluicing in Persian. Results and Discussion Persian is a null-subject, verb final language that exhibits a SOV order in the unmarked order, except clausal arguments that occur post verbally. In ordinary sentences, many phrases can be omitted producing different kinds of ellipsis. As I mentioned before, Johnson (2009) showed that pseudogapping is a special instance of VP-ellipsis, while gapping is a special instance of across-the-board movement. Contrary to what Johnson (2009) proposed for gapping in English, the present study argues that gapping in Persian is a kind of sluicing, in which TP is deleted from the second conjunction preceded by scrambling of the remnant constituents to the specifiers of some functional projections (such as TopP or FocP). According to this line of analysis, Persian is a language which doesn’t allow pseudogapping and main verb should not be omitted in VP-deletion due to obligatory V-raising out of the VP. Conclusion and Suggestions In this paper I suggested that gapping in Persian is a kind of Clausal ellipsis. Clausal ellipsis can be defined as a subspecies of ellipsis whereby an entire clause is missing, including the canonical subject position and the agreement domain, but often to the exclusion of one or more clause-internal constituents. As we have shown in this paper, those constituents are usually argued that have been moved to the left part of the clause prior to deletion.
Zohre Zarshenas; musa mahmudzehi; Behjat Ghasemzadeh
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 125-149
Abstract
Extended abstract Introduction Baluchi language,one of the oldest Iranian languages, is a new northwestlanguage, and its speakers are often dispersed in Sistan-Baluchistan province, and different provinces of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the coastal cities of the Oman Sea. From the point of view of ...
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Extended abstract Introduction Baluchi language,one of the oldest Iranian languages, is a new northwestlanguage, and its speakers are often dispersed in Sistan-Baluchistan province, and different provinces of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the coastal cities of the Oman Sea. From the point of view of historical linguistics, some similarities can be found among this language and the Avestan and the Parthian languages, but it has also some elements of the ancient Persian language and Middle Persian language. The Bampuri dialect, one of the southern dialects of the Baluchi language, is the common dialect in Bampur, where is located in the central part of Iranshahr, and the dialects of Dalgani, Lashari and Roudbari are itslinguistic neighbors. One of the issues that is important in the classification of languages and dialects is the phonological study and the purpose of the present study is to investigate some Iranian ancient phonemes in the Bampuri dialect (a diachronic study), and to compare those phonemes in neighboring dialects (a synchronic study). Theoretical Framework According to the most accepted categorization, Iranian languages are historically divided into three periods of ancient, middle, and new, and the Baluchi language, which belongs to the northwest Iranian languages, should be similar to Avestan and Parthian languages, while the language has similarities with the southwest languages. In this study, the old phonemes, are the phonemes (vowels, consonants, and consonant clusters) that have been mentioned in historical grammars and historical phonology, related to the evolution of those phonemes up to New Persian period. The criteria for recording any phoneme, is its apparent differences or significant similarities with Ancient or Middle period. In order to emphasize on the antiquity of the phonemes, the order of examining phonemes is from the ancient period to the new period, and then the common phonemes in this dialect is compared with their equivalents in adjoining dialects. Methodology This study is a field-library research, in which data werecollectedby interviews, questionnaires, and note-taking. The participants in this study were mostly elderly or low-educated people who were randomly selected. The data were analyzed descriptively andalso the comparison method (comparison with languages of different periods / comparison with neighboring dialects) was used in this research. Results and Discussion In the Bampuri dialect, the compound vowels / iǝ / and / uǝ / ,arethe remnant of compound vowels of Ancient Iranians, which have become passive vowels in the Middle Persian. In this dialect, there are traces of the process of the ancient Persian vowel gradation, which appeared in the southern dialects of the Baluchi language, such as Lashari, and disappeared in the Dalgani dialect. In this dialect, there is also anumlaut process, according to which the words with /ū/ ancient are pronounced with /ī/, and creates two kinds of pronunciation for a word. In the Bampuri dialect /v/ Ancient Persian origin is usually converted to /g/ or /gw/, and this feature is also found in Rudbari language and Pazand texts. In this dialect, as in many Baluchi dialects, fricative consonants /f/ and /x/ of ancient Iranian dialects are converted to stop consonants /p/ and /k/ or fricative consonant /h/. The stop consonants of /p/, /t/ and /k/ in ancient Persian, which have become voiced after a vowel, have remained unchanged in this dialect, and this is one of the remarkable features of this dialect which is not with such breadth in the Roudbari language. Other common developments in this dialect include the remaining of mid /g/ and /č/ and the conversion of / hv / ancient Iranian origins to / w / or / h /. Conclusion and Suggestions According to the findings, it can be said that the ancient Iranian phonemes in the Bampuri dialect have been found in two ways: 1- This dialect retains some of the Persian phonemes of the ancient period, which have undergone a different evolution in the Middle and New Persian, for example, the mid phonemes of /p/, /t/, /d/, /g/, /k/ and /č/. 2- The evolution of some Persian phonemes in this dialectis different from the phonemes of the ancient, middle, and new periods, for example, the compound vowels /ai /, /au/, or/f/, /x/, /v/ and /hw/.
Shahla Sharifi; Narjes Sabouri
Volume 10, Issue 18 , August 2018, Pages 151-169
Abstract
Extended abstract Introduction This study is an attempt to overview the focus marker in some Persian dialects of Khorasan (including the three Khorasan provinces). As it is known, there are different ways of focalization in various languages including syntactical, morphological, and phonetic strategies. ...
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Extended abstract Introduction This study is an attempt to overview the focus marker in some Persian dialects of Khorasan (including the three Khorasan provinces). As it is known, there are different ways of focalization in various languages including syntactical, morphological, and phonetic strategies. One of the morphological tools that is used in Persian language is /ke/ that appears after the constituent under emphasis. In modern Persian, /ke/ can make any constituent focalized. This study intends to discover whether there is any similar focus tool in Persian dialects of Khorasan. In case the answer would be positive, the research will investigate whether there are any other functions along with the focus markers or not. Theoretical Framework “Focus” has been either considered as an instrument to signify or emphasize something or used as an informative focus being assumed as the equivalent of "rheme" and it is defined as “a part of a theorem that cannot be assumed at the time of speech .The focus is that portion of a proposition which cannot be taken for granted at the time of speech. It is the unpredictable or pragmatically non-recoverable element in an utterance” (Lambrecht, 1994, p. 207). Jackendoff (1972, p. 16) believed that “focus is the information in the sentence that is assumed by the speaker not to be the same for him and the hearer". Various categories of focus have been offered. For instance, argument focus, predicate focus and sentence focus are some categories that have been offered in the scope of focalization. The first one indicates that each argument in a sentence including subject, object, or oblique can be under focus, in the second one, the predicate is under focus and this type is claimed to be a universally unmarked type of focus correlating with the topic-comment structure as the unmarked pragmatic articulation (Lambrecht, 1994( while in the latter, the whole clause is emphasized. Contrastive and informative focuses are presented in terms of communication. The first one is marked, has a particular nature, and is not necessarily present in each sentence while the second one contains new information. By new, it does not mean that it has not been indicated before, but the speaker present it in a way that is not retrievable out of the context or situation (Halliday, 1967, p. 204). Methodology The study investigated the Persian dialects of Khorasan within descriptive-analytic methodology, also the history of Persian language was sought to find out the etymology of these markers. In order to check the similarity of the Persian dialects of Khorasan with other Iranian dialects, the data drawn from the Khorasani dialects were compared with other Iranian dialects. The data gathering process was carried out via the students’ theses investigating these dialects and the speakers of these dialects who were the university students studying linguistics. Results and Discussion In this part, the data were collected from these dialects including Raghei, Geziki, Birjandi, Bejestani, Gonabadi, Sabzevari, Adkani, Tabasi, Taibadi, Sedeh, Kakhki, and Khafi and then they were analyzed. The dialects of Sabzevari, Taibadi, Adkani, and Khafi showed that only one marker is used in all these functions that is /ke/ even though the focus /ke/ in khafi is different from the non-focus /ke/ in terms of phonology. These are the first category of dialects. Research on Raghei, Kakhki, Tabasi, Bejestani, Geziki, and Sedeh showed that there are two different markers for focus and non-focus functions. The focus marker is derived from “xwad” (self) while /ke/ is used in relative and complementary pronouns. These are the second category of dialects. Comparing these data with the other ones collected from the other Iranian dialects such as Hawrami, Laki, Ilami Kurdish, Kalhuri, Lori Salas, Lori Khoram Abad showed that there are focus and non-focus marker differences in the same way as the second type of Khorasani dialects. Although in some of these dialects, there is no marker for non-focus functions, such as relative pronoun and complementizer, but the absence of these markers is again a sign of distinction if to be compared with the presence of it. The Ilami Kurdish dialect was the only one different from others. Although it has two focus markers of /ke/ and /xu/ but in some focus positions, both of them were legible to be used and in non-focus functions, only /ke/ can be used. Conclusion By studying the Iranian dialects, we can come to this conclusion that these dialects such as the second category of Khorasani dialects employ /xwad/ “self” (that used to be the focus pronoun and adverb of middle age) as a focus marker after undergoing grammaticalization and /ke/ preserved its function of middle age. On the other hand, the dialects of first category like standard Persian probably under the influence of colloquial Persian use /ke/ in all different functions. That is, the function of /ke/ has been extended and turned into a focus marker. There are some samples in Sedeh that shows the intermediate stage of these changes because /xo/ was used both as focus pronoun and focus marker (instead of /ke/). Also, Ilami Kurdish could be an indication of the middle stage because /ke/ and /xu/ were both used as a focus marker in most cases and /xu/ were used just in a few parts; there were also no focus marker as /ke/. In addition, as relative pronoun and other functions, just /ke/ is used. It seems that the situations observed in sedeh and Ilami Kurdish confirms the assumption of historical change. This also proves the assumption of the effect of the standard language on Khorsani dialects that /xo/x/ were put aside as focus markers and /ke/ was used like the standard Persian. In terms of geography, the second category of dialects was seen in south Khorsan as well as the cities or the suburbs of Tabas, Gonabad, Bejestan, Birjand, Ghayen, and Ferdows. Thus, the distribution is meaningful in terms of geography.
