VOWEL LENGTH AS AN ORDERING CONSTRAINT IN BADINI KURDISH BINOMIALS: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Major studies on binomial order (Cooper and Ross, 1975; Wright et al. 2005; Benor and Levy, 2006; Lohmann 2011; Mollin, 2012; Saaed, 2013) commonly agree that vowel length has a key role in the linear ordering of words in binomial phrases. Therefore, vowel length has been regarded as one of the basic phonological constraints of binomial order. The current study examines the role of vowel length as an ordering constraint in binomial phrases in Badini Kurdish. It proposes the hypothesis that there is a preference in Badini Kurdish binomials to place the word containing the shorter vowel in the first position and the word containing the longer vowel in the second position. To confirm the productive existence of this pattern in Badini Kurdish binomials, the study employs a quantitative analysis approach which is generally regarded as the most up-to-date research methodology used in the relevant literature. After applying the quantitative analysis to a big number of Badini Kurdish binomials (263 pairs), the study has come up with the finding that there is an outstanding preference for the ordering pattern hypothesized in this study. It has also been found that this ordering preference is statistically highly significant. Thus, the study concludes that this finding proves that vowel length can be considered an ordering constraint in Badini Kurdish binomials where the preference is frequently given for placing the words with the shorter vowels in the first position. Finally, it has to be pointed out that this finding is compatible with similar studies on binomials in other languages.