LINGUIST List 22.2335 Thu Jun 02 2011 Diss: Phonology: Khalilzadeh: 'Vowel Harmony in the Dialects of ...' Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfonlinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.     Amir Khalilzadeh , Vowel Harmony in the Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iran Message 1: Vowel Harmony in the Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iran Date: 31-May-2011 From: Amir Khalilzadeh < amirkhl42gmail.com">amirkhl42yahoo.com, amirkhl42gmail.com> Subject: Vowel Harmony in the Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iran E-mail this message to a friend Institution: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Program: Institute of Linguistics named after Nasimi Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2010 Author: Amir Khalilzadeh Dissertation Title: Vowel Harmony in the Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iran Linguistic Field(s): Phonology Subject Language(s): Azerbaijani, South (azb) Dissertation Director(s): Ağamusa Axundov Dissertation Abstract: The present dissertation, consisting of an introduction, two chapters, conclusion, and a bibliography, deals with a phonological process called vowel harmony, which is a kind of assimilation. This phonological rule is known as one of the main characteristics of the Turkic languages. Azerbaijani, among other Turkic languages utilizes vowel harmony quite a lot, to the extent that that if we remove it from this language, it may be impossible to speak in it. The main purpose of this study is to find a reliable answer to the question 'is vowel harmony applied in the speech of the Azerbaijanis in Iran?' In the first chapter, the harmony between the vowels has been dealt with. Here, the researcher has investigated this matter in two sections: a. The harmony observed in the roots. b. The harmony observed between the roots and the suffixes. Vowel harmony in Azerbaijani is applied based on two phonetic features, i.e. [round] and [back], so the harmony in the roots and also the harmony between the roots and the suffixes have been studied according to these features in major parts of speech (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs). The results of the study show that except some violations (mainly in the loanwords), there is an innate harmony in the roots of the words and regarding the harmony between roots and suffixes, we observe a strong and stable harmony, i.e. if we add a suffix to a root, the vowel of the suffix will certainly harmonize with that of the root. In the second part of the first chapter, the researcher has investigated the violations (irregularities) of the general rule in the above-mentioned dialects. Most of the words which don't obey the general rule are loanwords. In the second chapter, the assimilation between vowels and consonants and also the assimilation between some consonants have been studied. For example the phoneme /x/ in most of the words collocates with back vowels. The consonants produced in the front part of the oral cavity co-occur with each other and those produced in the back part do so. Finally, the conclusions of the study have been presented and it has been demonstrated that vowel harmony as one of the most famous and prominent phonological rules of Azerbaijani is applied to a high degree in the speech of the Azerbaijanis in Iran, though some violations exist. At the end of the dissertation the list of the used bibliography has been presented. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 02-Jun-2011       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.