Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
1019470690
Author
Erfani, Parisa.
Title
Azeri Morphosyntax : the Influence of Persian on a Turkic Language.
Degree
M.A. -- Simon Fraser University, 2012
Publisher
Ottawa : Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2014.
Description
microfiches
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
<?Pub Inc> Azeri, the second largest language in Iran, is a Turkic language, but its lexicon is heavily influenced by Persian, an Indo-European language. This thesis examines the effect of Persian on Azeri morphosyntax. Turkic languages are head-final: in noun phrases, modifiers appear before head nouns. In contrast, Persian is head-initial: modifiers follow head nouns. Azeri allows both head-final and head-initial structures. A field study conducted with ten Azeri speakers in Tabriz, Iran, revealed that in two domains--relative clauses and noun compounds--the two types of structures are used almost equally. However, older, monolingual speakers prefer head-final structures, while younger, educated, bilingual speakers prefer head-initial structures. This shows that Azeri is becoming persified, as predicted in such situations of language contact involving a politically-dominant language. However, all speakers accept head-final structures, showing the persistence of Turkic morphosyntax despite a millennium of intense social and cultural contact with Persian.
ISBN
9780499229083
0499229088