An Optimality Theory Analysis of Hypocoristic Formation in the Standard Persian

In the present paper، we have studied phonological properties of hypocoristic formation in the Standard Persian within the framework of Optimality Theory but have not confined ourselves to this analytical level and tried، through combining phonological and socio-pragmatic analyses، to apply Optimality Theory to the interface of phonology، sociolinguistics، and pragmatics. In contrast to the general idea adopted by the standard version of Optimality Theory wherein the derivation of only one optimal candidate in the output of a process is predicted، the findings of this research emphasize on the possibility of the emergence of more than one candidate in the output. This observation، by any means، cannot be analyzed within the framework of the mainstream Optimality Theory، and for that reason، we have tried to define specific socio-pragmatic constraints، which either limit the use of hypocoristic forms to appropriate styles of Persian، or relate the overall performance of hypocoristic formation to appropriate Persian politeness strategies. As a result، the topic in question has been directed towards the significance of context of situation and، accordingly، the scope of optimality analysis has been extended to areas far beyond pure phonology.