Document Type : Original Article
Authors
English Department, College of Languages, Sulaimani University, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Abstract
Th general assumption about the world languages is that group themselves into constituents known as syllables. Whereas the existence of syllable is a principle in the world’s languages, its structure and the way the phonemes are grouped is subject to parametric variation. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, the theories of syllable are not applied on data from Kalhouri Spoken in Khanaqin[1] (KSK henceforth). Therefore, this paper embarks on applying the principles of syllable structure and (re)syllabification on KSK data to see whether the syllable as a phonological unit is universal and thus it can be attested in new data. Since English language is intensively studied, it is used as a reference for the KSK data to see how it fares compared to the English Language. It is concluded that the syllable is a phonological unit in KSK and its structure, unlike English, is simple as it does not allow consonant cluster. Further, onsetless syllables are not permitted. Re-syllabification is enforced through the insertion of an epenthetic vowel in which the principles of maximality, directionality, prosodic licensing and extrametricality is followed.
[1] Khanaqin is a Kurdish populated district which administratively belongs to Diyala province, Iraq. Located 8 km from the Iranian border while it is located in northeast of Baghdad by 189 km,
Khanaqin is among the disputed areas between Kurdistan Region and Iraqi central government. According to a census conducted by the district council of Khanaqin in 2015-2016, the total population of the district including its sub-districts which are Saadiya and Jalawla is estimated at 250, 000 while the central district of Khanaqin is estimated at 150,000.
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