Phonological Processes of “Fortition” in Ilami Kurdish Variants

Abstract

This article aims at analyzing the phonological processes of “Fortition” in Ilami Kurdish variants including Arkavazi, Khezeli (Kheirvand), Malekshahi, and Feyli on the basis of “generative theory”. In fortition process, phonetic change occurs in the axis of approximant to fricative and then to stop. The data has been collected by interviewing 100 literate and illiterate male and female informants aged between 30 and 85. Both researchers are native informants of Ilami Kurdish variant (Feyli) and they are also familiar with the other Ilami Kurdish variants. The collected data were transcribed according to IPA alphabet. Research method is descriptive-analytic. Some of the most important results of this research are as follow: 1- In Ilami Kurdish variants, epenthesis has the highest frequency with respect to other phonological processes. 2- in borrowed words with a final consonant cluster where the second sound in the cluster is /r/ or /l/, the syllable is broken and the vowel /ə/ is inserted before the mentioned consonants to maintain sonority sequence principle. 3- In Ilami Kurdish variants the glottal fricative consonant /h/ turns to the anterior and coronal consonant [s] in the initial position of a syllable.

Keywords

• fortition
• generative phonology
• ilami kurdish variants
• phonological processes
• insertion