Communicative Function of Phonetic Changes in Two-Part Loanwords in Esfidani Turkish

Language is a system whose various levels interrelate with each other. Thus, one of the most logical types of linguistic searching is to investigate the link between different linguistic phenomena at different levels. The study aimed to analyze the phonetic processes occurring in two-part loan first names in one of the Turkish varieties, to identify the patterns of phonetic changes, and to examine the communicative and functional role of the language along with phonetic changes occurred. Altogether, they would contribute to the recognition of the close relationship between form and meaning and their trace in one another.

Among the research conducted on names, two related ones can be referred to. One is Nadim (2005) which has examined informal names in Qeshm Island. He has dealt with names whose pronunciation has been distanced from the standard. For example, he points out that the name Ibrâhim is pronounced Berohimou, Berohimek and Berohim. In addition to specifying the type of change (morphological: Ibrâhim: Brohimek; shortening: Ibrâhim: Berohim; labeling: Abdullah: Abdul, Gorva = cat), he mentions two types of social function as well: surface function (foreground or limited), including the creation of joy, intimacy, contempt and ridicule; and the main or collective function of lifestyle (food, clothing, customs, music, etc.). From the phonetic perspective, the researcher solely states the three types of change mentioned above and does not exactly inspect the phonetic structure of the names. On the other hand, changes discussed lie within the scope of Persian language and differ from the aim of the current study which focuses on interlingual changes. In addition to the above study, Izanloo (in press) has also explored first names. He has studied 140 single-part loan first names in Esfidani Turkish and extracted their phonetic localization patterns. Moreover, the pragmatic functions such as humiliation, endearment and the use of names with regard to politeness relations have been noted. The above study has only considered single-part names and pragmatic aspects have been the researcher’s focus. The present study, probing both two-part loan first names and the relationship between phonetic level and communicative and discursive functions, differs from the above research.

Ninety three two-part loan first names were analyzed in Esfidani Turkish. Names were collected through field observation, consultation with the villagers and making use of the list available to the village council. A Persian monolingual with standard accent and an elderly resident of the village were then asked to pronounce each and every single one of the names. After comparing the differences between Persian and Turkish, phonetic processes were extracted and categorized.

Based on the types of name components, phonetic processes are analyzed in the following. Qoli second part: Sa’âdatqoli, Emâmqoli, Rezâqoli, Mortezâqoli In all the names of this category, the second part is accompanied by the raised first and last vowel. Sa’âdatqoli is pronounced as [sɒt.ɢu.le] by removing two syllables. Emâmqoli becomes [Ɂi.mɒm.ɢu.le] with raising the first vowel of the first part and [Ɂi.mo] with reduction, respectively. In Rezâqoli [rɒ.zɒʁ.le], the first vowel of the first part assimilates and the first vowel of the second part is deleted along with the conversion of the four-syllable structure [CV.CV.CV.CV] into the three-syllable structure [CV.CVC.CV]. Mortezâqoli turns to [mur.sɒʁ.le] by raising the first vowel of the first part, the removal of the [te] chain, the fortition of the consonant [z], and the semi-raising of the final vowel of the second part, converting the five-syllable structure [CVC.CV. CV.CV.CV] in Persian into three syllables [CVC.CVC.CV]. It is worth noting that, in general, shorter forms are used to express and establish a position of power. This is done through the use of short form(s) of a name to identify the type of power relationship (superordinate, subordinate or equal in intimate or formal relationships). More precisely, when a name is deformed in a variety of forms, the longer forms are unmarked, while the shorter forms are marked and have adopted discursive functions. This finding is also in line with everyday observations where a long chain of labels is commonly used to address important individuals. Therefore, there is a kind of an iconic relationship between the shortage of a name and its subordination. This means that in names that have changed in a number of ways, the shorter the form, the more subordinately it is used. In the tradition of iconicity studies, the iconic relationship between form and meaning is analyzed in terms of three principles of cohesion, adjacency and sequential order (Willems & De Cuypere, 2008). It can now be claimed that in a language system, the length of a chain (formal properties) is also closely related to its meaning or function. Given the fact that the longer the chain, the more energy is needed to produce it, and since language system logic is based on parsimony and energy efficiency (Calabrese, 2005), when encountering a long chain, it should be borne in mind that there is a strong incentive behind it which leads the language to the opposite direction of parsimony. The current research shows that longer forms of a name are used for more polite situations. This finding suggests that interpersonal communication engineering is of utmost importance in linguistic communication. By this token, spending more energy by extending the phonetic chain in order to secure and consolidate the interpersonal relationship by being more polite (Ogiermann, 2009) is completely justified.

The present research was an attempt to study the phonetic changes of two-part loan names in Esfidani Turkish. Data showed higher frequencies in the processes of lenition, semi-raising, lowering and umlaut. In addition, the data suggests that this variety highly tends to shorten the names lexically by removing a phone, or a phonetic chain. As discussed in the discussion section, these changes have been aimed at optimizing the communicative function of the language by increasing the expression of each of the names.