The History and Functions of the Persian Suffix - i; A Diachronic Investigation

This paper is an attempt at a descriptive، qualitative study of Persian suffix –i considering both its history and its current functions. To attain this goal، we first present a linguistic description of the suffix. The article then deals with the origins of the Persian suffix –i as one of the most generative and frequent Persian suffixes. It is indicated that the suffix originates in ancient times and can be traced in Old Persian and Western Middle Iranian languages. Then it goes through the functions of –i in current New Persian and investigates it under three categories، namely nominal، adjectival and adverbial structures while relevant examples are provided. The study shows that the suffix i- is unique in terms of the number and variety of the derivations it makes. The generation and dynamism of the suffix have increased dramatically over time. We conclude that the suffix –i has been so active that it has penetrated to the domain of some other Persian suffixes and has marginalized them.