The Origin of the Voiced Labial-Palatal Glide Consonant [ɥ] in Southern Kurdish

This paper aims to determine the origin of the glide consonant [ɥ] in Southern Kurdish (the Sonqor-u-Koljɑee dialect). For this purpose, 63 selected sample words common to the Sonqor-u-Koljɑee Kurdish dialect, which contain the glide /ɥ/, were investigated from their Middle Western Iranian forms to the modern era. The data were collected using two methods: written sources and interviews with 20 literate and illiterate native informants, both male and female, ranging in age from 30 to 70 years. The author is also a native speaker of this Kurdish dialect. According to this research, the origin of the glide [ɥ] can be attributed to high-vowel glide formation and to changes in sequences consisting of glides followed by high vowels, resulting in the formation of the glide [ɥ]. The results show that the origin of the glide [ɥ] in the phonological system of this Kurdish dialect is related to glide formation as a strategy for resolving vowel hiatus, as well as to changes in sequences of glide consonants followed by high vowels. More specifically, the high front rounded vowel /y/ changes into the glide [ɥ] in the syllabic structure CV₁ [+high]V₂ … in the selected sample words. In addition, sequences involving the glides /w/ and /j/ followed by high vowels, namely /ju/, /wy/, and /wi/ after a vowel, undergo changes that result in the formation of the glide [ɥ].
Introduction
The glides /w/ and /j/ have been recognized as independent phonemes in the reconstructed phonological system of Proto-Indo-European (Bomhard, 2018: 93). According to Ladefoged and Maddieson (1996: 322), approximately 85 percent of the world’s languages have the approximant /j/, while 76 percent have /w/. In contrast, other approximants, including the labial-palatal /ɥ/ and the soft-palatal /ɰ/, occur in less than 2 percent of the world’s languages. The production of glides involves a rapid movement from a high-vowel position toward a lower vowel, creating a transitional sound between adjacent vowels (Ladefoged & Maddieson, 1996: 322). The production of these sounds is accompanied by the raising of the body and back of the tongue to create a constriction for the articulation of the palatal /j/, labial-velar /w/, and labial-palatal /ɥ/ (Hon Hunt, 2009: 13).
The voiced labial-palatal glide [ɥ] is one of the phonological features found in Southern Kurdish. McCarus (2009: 597) has mentioned the existence of this consonant in Kurdish. Fattahi (2011), Kord Zafaranlu Kambuziya, Sobati and Aghagolzade (2015), Fattahi, Anonby and Gheitasi (2016), and Pallizban (2020) have also reported its occurrence in Kalhori and Ilam Kurdish. A well-known example of the labial-palatal glide /ɥ/ can be found in French words such as /mɥɛt/ ‘mute’, /lɥi/ ‘him’, and /ɥit/ ‘eight’ (Ladefoged & Johnson, 2015: 243–244). The occurrence of this relatively uncommon glide in Kurdish dialects raises important questions concerning its historical origin and the phonological processes responsible for its development.
Several previous studies have examined glide formation and vowel hiatus resolution in Kurdish dialects. Fattahi (2014) investigated glide formation in Kalhori Kurdish as a strategy for resolving vowel hiatus within Harmonic Serialism in Optimality Theory. The study proposed the constraint ranking *VV, MAX LEX, DEP >> MAX [+low] >> AGREE (GLIDE) >> IDENT. Badakhshan and Zamani (2015) also examined glide formation in Kalhori Kurdish within Optimality Theory. Their findings showed that glide formation can apply not only to high vowels but also to non-high vowels such as /e/. Therefore, vowel raising is not necessarily a fundamental condition for glide formation in Kalhori.
Sadeghi and Sadeghi (2017) investigated vowel hiatus correction in Surani Kurdish within Optimality Theory. Their results indicate that Surani Kurdish employs three strategies for resolving vowel hiatus: epenthesis, deletion, and glide formation. Among these, the insertion of the glides /j/ and /w/ is the most common strategy. Similarly, Ahmadi, Zahedi, and Gholami (2019) examined vowel hiatus and its resolution in Central Kurdish through a descriptive-analytical approach within Optimality Theory. Their findings showed that Central Kurdish speakers generally prefer glide formation to vowel deletion as a strategy for resolving hiatus.
Previous studies have also addressed the formation and phonemic status of [ɥ] in Kurdish. MacKenzie (1961a) referred to the formation of [ɥ] in sequences involving /w/ followed by a front vowel in Kurdish. Kamandâr Fattah (2000: 110) noted that this consonant occurs only in dialects that possess the front rounded vowel /y/ and does not occur word-initially. Fattahi, Anonby, and Gheitasi (2016), examining the phonemic characteristics of [ɥ] in Southern Kurdish, rejected the analysis of [ɥ] as an allophone of /y/ or another phoneme. Focusing on Kalhori varieties spoken in northern Ilam, southern Kermanshah, and areas extending toward Khanaqin in Iraq, they argued that the labial-palatal approximant [ɥ] should be considered an independent phoneme.
Despite these studies, the historical origin of [ɥ] in the Sonqor-u-Koljɑee dialect has not been sufficiently investigated. The present study therefore asks: Based on historical linguistics and documented diachronic changes, what is the origin of the glide consonant /ɥ/ in the phonological system of Sonqor-u-Koljɑee Kurdish, and what processes have contributed to its formation? To answer this question, the study examines selected words from the dialect by tracing their development from Middle Western Iranian forms to their modern forms.
Methods
In this research, 63 words containing the glide /ɥ/ and occurring in the Sonqor-u-Koljɑee Kurdish dialect were selected for analysis. The sample includes nouns, adjectives, verbs and verb stems, infinitives, and adverbs. The origin and development of [ɥ] were investigated through diachronic analysis extending from Middle Western Iranian forms to the Modern period. Historical data were collected from written sources, while dialectal data were obtained from written documents and interviews with native speakers. The author is also a native speaker of the dialect. The sample words were selected primarily from Mardukh Ruhani (2015) and Khanjari (2018).
Results
The results indicate that the glide [ɥ] in the phonological system of Sonqor-u-Koljɑee Kurdish has developed through two principal processes. First, [ɥ] results from glide formation as a strategy for resolving vowel hiatus, particularly when the high front rounded vowel /y/ occurs as the first vowel of a vowel sequence. Second, [ɥ] develops through historical changes in sequences containing a glide consonant followed by a high vowel. In particular, sequences involving /w/ and /j/, such as /ju/, /wy/, and /wi/ in post-vocalic contexts, undergo changes resulting in the emergence of [ɥ].
Conclusion
The findings demonstrate that, unlike /j/ and /w/, the glide /ɥ/ does not occur word-initially in the Sonqor-u-Koljɑee dialect. Based on the data analyzed, the historical development of [ɥ] can be attributed primarily to two processes. First, it results from glide formation for resolving vowel hiatus in the sequence C + V₁[+high] + V₂, particularly when V₁ is the high front rounded vowel /y/. Second, it develops through changes affecting the sequence V₁CV₂, where V₁ is a low vowel, C is one of the glide consonants /j/ or /w/, and V₂ is a high vowel:
V₁ [+low] + C [glide: j/w] + V₂ [+high] → [ɥ]
These findings suggest that the labial-palatal glide [ɥ] in Sonqor-u-Koljɑee Kurdish is the result of both historical sound change and phonological adaptation, reflecting the interaction between the historical evolution of lexical forms and the tendency to avoid vowel hiatus and facilitate transitions between adjacent vowels and glides.
Ethical Considerations
Not applicable
Funding
Not applicable
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest
Acknowledgements
I express my sincere gratitude to the native speakers who generously dedicated their valuable time to the author in answering questions and their linguistic data have been used in this article.