Spirantization and Phonological Derivations in Sabzevari Persian: Parallelism or Stratalism in Optimality Theory
This study discusses the relationship between spirantization and phonological derivations in Sabzevari dialect, which is spoken in the Sabzevar area of Northeast Iran. This relationship is accounted for using Parallelism and Stratalism in Optimality Theory (OT) in order to determine which OT model can best address the phonological derivations found in spirantization in that dialect. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to illuminate whether Parallel OT is capable of the analysis of phonological derivations or alternatively whether Stratal OT can be used. The data of this study were taken from extant literature including books, theses, and articles. The data were undergone analysis using Optimality Theory, as a framework. Also, I referred to some videos on YouTube peculiar to this dialect and its speakers in order to verify the data that have been already gained from extant literature. This paper concludes that spirantization in Sabzevari dialect targets voiced uvular stop /G/ adjacent to voiceless obstruents; the spirantization of /G/ is accomplished by two phonological rules, devoicing and spirantization where the first rule, devoicing, is feeding the second rule, spirantization, i.e. feeding order. Another aspect of spirantization in this dialect includes the change of a voiced alveopalatal affricate /ʤ/ to a voiced alveopalatal fricative [ʒ] through two phonological rules, voicing and spirantization, where the second rule, spirantization, counterfeeds the first rule, voicing, i.e. counterfeeding order. While Parallel OT can effortlessly account for the feeding order shown in the spirantization of a voiced uvular stop /G/, this model fails to account for the counterfeeding order shown in the spirantization of a voiced alveopalatal affricate /ʤ/, since counterfeeding order requires reference to intermediate steps between the input and output. Therefore, Stratal OT is demonstrated as an ad hoc solution to the opacity problem in Sabzevari, i.e. counterfeeding.
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