Glide Formation in Kalhori Dialect

In this paper, the aim is to analyze and describe the process of glide formation in Kurdish (Kalhori dialect) using optimality theory of concurrency approach. It will be shown in this paper that, contrary to many languages such as the languages of Niger-Congo in which the [REL-const] constraint is high-ranking in the order of constraints, this constraint is of a low rank in the Kalhori dialect. It will be also shown that glide formation in Kurdish can be applied to non-high vowels such as /e/, as well as high vowels. Therefore, the raising of V1 for glide formation in the Kalhori dialect, contrary to many world languages, is not a fundamental and determining condition. It will also be shown that the condition of raising for the output of the phonological device is not rigid, that is the output from the phonological device of this dialect can be, in its own specific condition and position, raised, such as /y/, or non-high, such as /Y/.