Abstract
This paper discusses the role of metathesis and vowel epenthesis in Arabic loanword adaptation in Sabzevari, a Persian vernacular spoken in the Sabzevar area of Northeast Iran. This role is accounted for using the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the extent to which metathesis and vowel epenthesis, as repair strategies, are used for adapting Arabic loanwords in Sabzevari in the light of OT. This study mainly relies on data taken from extant literature including books, articles and theses. In addition, some videos on YouTube peculiar to this dialect and its speakers are taken into consideration for verifying data already harvested from the literature. The conclusion of the paper is that metathesis and vowel epenthesis are motivated by word-final clusters in Arabic loanwords that constitute Reversal Sonority, as a manifestation of Sonority Sequencing Violation. Metathesis targets word-final clusters in Arabic loanwords of the forms /plosive+fricative/ and /fricative+lateral/ while word-final clusters in Arabic loanwords of the forms /fricative+ rhotic/, /stop+nasal/, /stop+ liquid/, /nasal+ rhotic/, /stop+ nasal/, and /fricative + nasal/ are not immune to vowel epenthesis. OT is shown in this study to be a framework which is capable of analysing metathesis and vowel epenthesis with regard to Arabic loanwords in Sabzevari.
Highlights
Adaptation of loanwords is a phonological phenomenon found in many languages around the world
Vowel epenthesis is permitted in languages where there are restrictions on syllable structures when dealing with the adaptation of loanwords from other languages (Uffmann [19, 20])
This paper aims to illuminate the extent to which metathesis and vowel epenthesis play a role or not in Linguistics and Literature Studies 6(4): 188-195, 2018
Summary
Adaptation of loanwords is a phonological phenomenon found in many languages around the world. Arabic loanword adaptation in Sabzevari Persian with reference to OT as an analytical framework To achieve this aim, two questions are addressed. The first is to question the extent to which extant metathesis and vowel epenthesis play a role in Arabic loanword adaptation in Sabzevari. Following that is a section looking into the role of metathesis in Arabic loanword adaptation in Sabzevari. The fifth is devoted to analysing metathesis and vowel epenthesis in Arabic loanwords in Sabzevari using OT through a unified set of OT constraints. This is followed by a conclusion, which gives a summary of the paper and its findings
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