Vowel Deletion and Metathesis in the Verb System of the Tâti of Gifan

This article studies two specific characteristics of the verb system of one of the Tâti dialects spoken in Gifan, which is located in the northwest of Khorasan and north of Bojnurd. The verb system was found to include some phonological processes that occur when the verbs are conjugated. Two of these processes are vowel deletion and metathesis that are morphologically conditioned in this dialect. Although the general phonological conditions for these processes to occur may be considered universal, the morphological conditions that are necessary to their systematic occurrence are language specific. Syncope in this dialect targets the vowels in the verb stem and the indicative modal prefix regarding the prefixation of modal and negative morphemes to the verb stem and the modal prefixes respectively. The process of vowel deletion in the stem is restricted by some phonetic features and the number of syllables occurring after the prefix. This rule feeds the application of metathesis in some verbs by juxtaposing the obstruents /g/ and /f/ with a liquid.