The Process of Morph-movement due to Morpho-phonological Reasons: The Analysis of a Case in Kalhori Kurdish

In the classification of morpho-phonological processes of different languages proposed by Jensen (1990)، the least frequent process is perhaps the one related to morph-movement due to morpho-phonological reasons، which leads to changes in the canonical order of morphs in the word form. This article aimed to introduce a case of this rare process in Kalhori Kurdish. This process takes place in the suffixed verbs in which the third person singular enclitic pronoun is used. To study this phenomenon، 30 suffixed verbs were analyzed among which 14 are mentioned in this article. After investigating the behavior of the third person singular enclitic pronoun /-ɪ: / in suffixed verbs، it was revealed that، this enclitic leaves its canonical place، which is before the verbal suffix /-ow/ and follows it whenever the verb stem in the past tense ends in /I/ and the verbal ending (subject) is that of the third person singular، which is zero. The cause seems to be high vowels confrontation and the phonological lightness of the third person singular enclitic pronoun. After the introduction of this new order of morphs، other suffixed verbs which use the third person singular enclitic pronoun seem to have taken the new order analogically.