Reduplication in Shushtari Dialect: Optimality Theory

Word-formation is vital issue in morphology and reduplication has been one of the productive sub-branches in word-formation domain. Since reduplication is found in most human languages, it has been analyzed and explained from different theories and perspectives. Optimality Theory is one of these theories that seeks to explore the commonalities of different languages and dialects. The present study also analyzes and describes reduplication process in Shushtari dialect, one of the sub-branches of Bakhtiari dialect belonging to the New Iranian southwestern languages, within the Optimal Correspondence Theory framework. The research methodology was descriptive-analytical and linguistic data were gathered from Shushtari Dialect texts, dictionaries as well as daily conversations of the NORM speakers of Shushtar. In data analysis, one of the authors who was a native speaker of this dialect also used her own knowledge. The data analysis indicated in Shushtari, reduplication was divided into different kinds of total and partial reduplication and total reduplication itself was divided into two types, middle and final. Partial reduplication process was also seen in both prefix and suffix forms in Shushtari dialect. Then, the limitations related to each of the processes were identified and according to the structural patterns, the related constraints of each process were identified and ranked in in the optimality tables. The findings of the present paper showed the efficiency of Optimality Theory in the analysis of various kinds of reduplication. Based on the findings, it was also found how in formation of various types of reduplication in Shushtari dialect, the specific markedness and faithfulness constraints were followed by a special hierarchy in this process.