Phonetic Representations of the Explicit Object Marker in the Kermani Dialect Using Autosegmental Phonology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Tourism, Bam Higher Education Complex, Iran

2 English Language Teaching Department, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This study examines the various phonological representations of the explicit object marker in Kermani dialect using auto-segmental phonology. To this end, the object marker was analyzed in different phonological environments. It is noteworthy that the explicit object marker in Persian and, consequently, in Kermani dialect is a remnant of the strong case system in Old Persian. Kermani is a dialect spoken in the southeastern region of Iran, particularly in the city of Kerman. This research is descriptive-analytical in nature. Data were collected through purposefully designed sentences, which were asked to be repeated by native speakers. The study's sample was randomly selected from male and female Kermani dialect speakers with various educational backgrounds. The data were collected, transcribed, and analyzed. The results show that in Kermani dialect, the object marker appears in three different phonological forms. Interestingly, these various phonological representations depend solely on the final phoneme of the object and are not influenced by the initial consonant of the word following the object. Finally, the results and phonological processes involved in achieving these results, like consonant epenthesis, vowel deletion and compensatory lengthening were analyzed using auto-segmental phonology. The analysis revealed that auto-segmental phonology effectively accounts for the various phonological representations and phonological processes used in changing the underlying form to surface representations of the object marker in Kermani dialect.

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References

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Journal of Linguistics & Iranian Languages
Volume 10, Issue 3
February 2026
Pages 69-92

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 06 January 2026
  • Accept Date: 27 January 2026

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