/ʁ/Consonant Elision Process in Azerbaijani Turkish Language within Optimality Theory Framework

This article investigates the phonetic process of consonant elision of /ʁ/ (Tabriz dialect) in different phonemic environments within optimality theory (OT). The purpose of this study is to determine the phonemic circumstances in which this consonant is deleted. Also, determining deletions governing this process by examining the interaction between global violable constraints and ranking them is another purpose of this article. The research is conducted based on descriptive-analytic and field methods. Data are collected and classified according to the position where this process has taken place. Data analyses show that consonant /ʁ/ is always deleted on the boundary between two syllables: 1. at the coda position of the first syllable. 2. at the onset position of second syllables. But it should be noted that this consonant has never had a phonetic appearance in the beginning part of the first syllable of words and also never been deleted from the coda position of words. In syllable boundary, i.e. in both positions markedness constraint MAX-ʁ≠ and *ʁ is active and located in a higher ranking position than faithfulness constraint MAX-IO (segment). The results show that both above cases happen following the deletion process of consonant /ʁ/, compensatory lengthening, deletion, and changing in syllable structure. Findings also show that constraints with fixed ranking can easily explain the deletion of this consonant in these two positions and not deleting it from the coda position of the word.