Description and Analysis of Deletion in Kalhori Kurdish

The present article deals with the description and analysis of structural deletion in Kalhori Kurdish. Optimality theory with a synchronic approach is adopted as the theoretical framework of this research article. The analysis of deletion process in this research paper consists of two sections. The first section deals with a mechanism by which deletion takes place and the second part is based on the analysis of the criteria of vowel selection for the application of deletion process. It is shown that Kurdish language should be included among languages which use both v1 and v2 deletion processes when applying hiatus, where a prefix and a lexical root coincide. It is also shown that deletion process, where two vowels meet, is not an optimal choice and that other processes such as glide formation can be more suitable here. It will also be argued that the deletion occurs only when a glide formation from v1 is not possible due to [Gh(GLIDEHOOD)] conditions.