Phonology
Homa Asadi
Abstract
This study acoustically examines voice quality parameters in two groups of Persian-speaking men and women. It aimed 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. It aimed 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 sought 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.
Dialectology
Mohammad Amin Naseh; Soraya Razavi
Abstract
The Birjandi dialect is among the Persian dialects prevalent in the eastern border of Iran, which has undergone less transformation compared to other dialects of Khorasan due to its desert location. Relyin on a library resources and method, this study examines the phonetic, grammatical, and lexical changes ...
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The Birjandi dialect is among the Persian dialects prevalent in the eastern border of Iran, which has undergone less transformation compared to other dialects of Khorasan due to its desert location. Relyin on a library resources and method, this study examines the phonetic, grammatical, and lexical changes in the Birjandi dialect as found in Nesab-e Sabuhi (early 13th century AH), Ivanov's research (about a century ago), and the Divan of Hakim Nezari (7th century AH), as well as related older sources, including some Fahlaviyats. The dialectal words contained in these sources were also transcribed based on the IPA pattern to enable their correct pronunciation. In addition, to ensure the accuracy of the pronunciation and meaning of selected words, the dialectal information of 10 native, low-literacy speakers over 60 years of age, of both genders, was considered. In this regard, Zomorodian’s (2007) Guideline for Collecting and Describing Dialects and Persian Language and Literature Academy’s (2020) Guide for Collecting Iranian Dialects were taken into account. Additionally, the linguistic intuition of the researchers was also considered in some pronunciation observations. The results showed some phonetic developments in decline, neglected suffixes, obsolete grammatical structures, and verb aspects in the Birjandi dialect. Moreover, in recent centuries, this dialect has noticeably become depleted in terms of vocabulary, becoming closer to standard Persian.
Word construction
Sara Abbasian; Bahram Modarresi; Mahnaz Karbalaie Sadegh
Abstract
Distributed morphology was first introduced in 1993. According this morphology, there is no distinction between word and sentence structures. Syntax creates a system of structures composed of morphemes and produces constituents that connect sound and meaning. Independent computations are applied to the ...
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Distributed morphology was first introduced in 1993. According this morphology, there is no distinction between word and sentence structures. Syntax creates a system of structures composed of morphemes and produces constituents that connect sound and meaning. Independent computations are applied to the syntactic output after representation at the phonological and logical relation levels, yielding phonological and semantic representations. The aim of this paper was to gain a deeper understanding of the reduplication process and more broadly the structure of Persian language within the framework of Distributed Morphology theory. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this research examined aspect in types of non-affixed total reduplication according to Shaghaghi's (2000) and Rezayati Kishe-Khale et al.’s (2015) classification. Accordingly, from each category of complete non-affixed total reduplicated words, cases carrying lexical aspect were extracted and examined within the distributed morphology framework. The examined samples showed that in forming non-affixed total reduplicated forms, first the roots forming the reduplicated form, after merging with their reduplicated part and moving to the aspect phrase specifier position, check the aspect head features containing continuity and action repetition features through the C-command relationship between the specifier and aspect head. This means that lexical elements combine with each other at the syntax level and create more complex structures, revealing aspect in lexical form which mainly appears as continuous aspect showing the continuity and repetition of action.
Dialectology
Hassan Bashirnezhad
Abstract
Social, economic, political and cultural changes, along with the development of technology and communications in recent years in Iran have led to the tendency of speakers of local and minority languages to speack Persian, and this trend is considered a threat to the survival of minority languages. ...
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Social, economic, political and cultural changes, along with the development of technology and communications in recent years in Iran have led to the tendency of speakers of local and minority languages to speack Persian, and this trend is considered a threat to the survival of minority languages. The linguistic attitude of speakers toward their mother language is one of the effective and determining factors in the fate of these languages. This study examined speakers’ linguistic attitudes toward Mazandarani and Persian in Mazandaran Province, as well as the impact of some social factors such as age, gender and urbanization on these attitudes. The sample includes 1200 Mazandarani speakers from three age groups, in five cities and twelve rural areas, and from two gender groups: men and women. The findings indicated that many Mazandarani speakers do not believe in the potential and importance of this language. They hold, in general, negative attitudes toward Mazandarani predominate. The analyses also showed that overall, lower age groups have a greater tendency towards Persian, and women are more interested in Persian than men, and urban dwellers are more interested in Persian than rural dwellers. Considering the expansion of urbanization on the one hand, and the role of the younger generation especially girls as future mothers in transmitting their native language to the next generation, it can be predicted that Mazandarani is in danger of extinction.
Linguistics
Talieh Mansouri Jozani; Reza Morad Sahraee
Abstract
Grammar instruction presents a significant challenge in second language education. This challenge is particularly evident in teaching Persian grammar to non-native speakers. A crucial issue in the field of second language acquisition is understanding the developmental stages that learners go through ...
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Grammar instruction presents a significant challenge in second language education. This challenge is particularly evident in teaching Persian grammar to non-native speakers. A crucial issue in the field of second language acquisition is understanding the developmental stages that learners go through and the underlying reasons. Processability Theory, a prominent framework, posits that second language acquisition follows a developmental hierarchy: Learners acquire content words, function words, phrases, sentences, and subordinate clauses in a specific order. Given the complexity of Persian grammar, particularly conditional structures, this study aimed to investigate the acquisition sequence of these structures among non-native Persian learners from a processability perspective. By analysing interviews with 120 learners at varying proficiency levels, we determined the order in which learners acquired different conditional constructions. The findings revealed a specific acquisition order: Learners typically mastered simpler conditional forms before progressing to more complex ones. Accordingly, a pedagogical model for teaching conditional structures was proposed, tailored to the specific challenges and developmental stages of non-native Persian learners. This model is grounded in the Processability Theory, ensuring a systematic and effective approach to instruction.
Discourse analysis
Sedighesadat Meghdari; Shirin Saghi
Abstract
Today, the importance and necessity of translation in improving the intellectual, cultural, scientific, and social lives of humans is evident. Therefore, this research aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the translation of grammatical metaphors in two translations of the novel Wuthering ...
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Today, the importance and necessity of translation in improving the intellectual, cultural, scientific, and social lives of humans is evident. Therefore, this research aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the translation of grammatical metaphors in two translations of the novel Wuthering Heights as one of the most notestanding and widely studied novels in a large number of languages written by Emily Bronte and two translations of it by Reza Rezaei and Noushin Ebrahimi. Halliday and Matthiesen's (2004) Functional-Systematic Grammar was used as the theoretical framework. Grammatical metaphor was studied in the original novel and its two translations. The results showed that in the translations of Ebrahimi and Rezaei, less grammatical metaphor is used than the original text of the novel. The comparison of translations also showed that more grammatical metaphors are used in Ebrahimi's translation than in Reza'i's translation.
