Phonological Opacity in Kermanshahi Persian: An Account Based on Optimality Theory-Candidate Chains

The aim of this study is to analyze the role of phonological opacity in the phonetic representation of the prefix of progressive aspect in Kermanshahi Persian. In this dialect, when the progressive prefix /mi-/ is added to the verb stem, it changes in form in certain cases, depending on the nature of the first vowel of the verb. In Kermanshahi Persian, the progressive prefix is added to the left side of verbal root - which is, in turn, followed by verbal ending. This research is based on the Optimality Theory-Candidate Chains (McCarthy, 2007) - a version of Serial Optimality Theory. The data of this research have been collected through the conversations with the speakers of Kermanshahi Persian dialect in two age groups of over fifty- and under twenty-year-olds, relying – as well - on researchers' language intuition. The results of this study indicate that what causes the opacity in the phonetic representation of the vowel of progressive prefix in Kermanshahi Persian dialect is the occurrence of counter-bleeding interaction. The Serial Optimality Theory, is more successful in explaining this phenomenon than Parallel Optimality Theory.