Language Research - Articles List

Research Paper

The Syntax of coercion: Aspect and Aspect shifting in Persian Based on the Role and Reference Grammar

Faeze Asadi; Rahman Veisi Hasar

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.398701.666928

Abstract

This study investigates the phenomena of aspect and coercion in Persian through the lens of Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & Foley, 1980; 1984) and Cortes-Rodriguez’s ... Read More This study investigates the phenomena of aspect and coercion in Persian through the lens of Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & Foley, 1980; 1984) and Cortes-Rodriguez’s (2014) approach, focusing on the predicate level and the syntactic layers of nucleus, core, and clause. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data are collected through fieldwork from daily conversations, magazines, newspapers, and interviews with native Persian speakers. The study aims to identify aspectual categories of the verbs, determine the operators influencing coercion and aspectual shift, and present a hierarchy of these operators in shaping the final aspectual interpretation of the sentence based on the chosen theoretical framework. Findings demonstrate that coercion can occur at any level—nucleus, core, or clause—leading to changes in the verb class. First, the paper introduces examples of Persian verbs corresponding to various aspectual classes (states, activities, accomplishments, achievements, and semelfactives at the nucleus layer, and activity-accomplishment classes at the core layer). It then explicates the properties of each class using syntactic-semantic tests, such as the application of different grammatical operators and adverbial modifiers within sentences. The tests are employed to illustrate the aspectual nature of the verbs. Subsequently, the study examines the roles of various operators like perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect, perfect operator, directional prepositions, the referential nature of internal arguments, and different types of adverbs (durative, completive, frequency, delimitative, speed, and dynamic) in aspectual coercion. Next, we try to explain and identity the structural position of each operator within sentence layers. Lastly, the paper represents types of aspectual shifts resulting from the interaction of aspectual classes with sentence elements and operators through formalized formulas, determining the placement of each element within the nucleus, core, and clause layers. To structure and sequence elements across these layers, the paper proposes a linear hierarchy and syntactic projection model.

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Research Paper

Investigation of Inconsistent Phonological Disorder in Persian-Speaking Children Aged 5 to 7: A Neural and Cognitive Linguistics Perspective

sadegh eftekhary far; Azam estaji; Sayed farid Khalifeh loo

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2025.390884.666911

Abstract

Abstract Employing a Cognitive Linguistics framework—specifically Langacker's Cognitive Grammar, Rosch's Prototype Theory, and Hickok and Poeppel's dual-streams model—this ... Read More Abstract Employing a Cognitive Linguistics framework—specifically Langacker's Cognitive Grammar, Rosch's Prototype Theory, and Hickok and Poeppel's dual-streams model—this research explores Inconsistent Phonological Disorder (IPD) in Persian-speaking children aged 5-7 years. Speech data from seven children with IPD (Inconsistent Phonological Disorder ) were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods, revealing the following results:First, 73% of phoneme production errors showed a relationship between instability ( e.g., /k/ to /t/ substitutions) and a deficit in phonological encoding at the formulation stage of the Levelt model.Second, syllabic simplification in the form of CVC to CV structures was the dominant strategy for reducing cognitive load in children with IPD ( Inconsistent Phonological Disorder ) (mean of CV syllables = 0.68). Third, dysfunction in the dorsal stream, especially in the parietal-premotor connections, was identified as a neural factor in the instability of phoneme production. Cross-linguistic comparisons showed that in Persian, IPD errors mainly involve phoneme substitution, while in languages with complex phoneme clusters, such as English, the reduction of these clusters predominates. This study suggests that efficient IPD treatment should focus on strengthening phoneme cues and improving the function of dorsal stream neural circuits. In addition to enriching the neurocognitive literature on IPD, the findings of this study provide guidelines for the developing integrated treatment protocols. Therefore, IPD is considered a multifaceted deficit resulting from the dysfunctional interaction of cognitive, linguistic, and neural systems. Its treatment requires a comprehensive approach targeting both mental representations of phonemes and the associated neural circuits. It is suggested that therapeutic exercises be designed based on Rosch's theory, focusing on strengthening the representation of exemplars through frequent words. Also, neuromodulation methods such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may prove useful and effective in improving premotor cortex function and the transfer of phonological schemas in these children .

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Research Paper

Discontinuous Negation in Persian Coordinate Structures: A Minimalist Approach

Mazdak Anushe

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.411384.666956

Abstract

Clausal negation and post-syntactic ellipsis have been extensively investigated within the Generative framework, and Persian linguists have offered detailed analyses of both phenomena. ... Read More Clausal negation and post-syntactic ellipsis have been extensively investigated within the Generative framework, and Persian linguists have offered detailed analyses of both phenomena. The present study, however, examines a specific type of negation that has thus far remained largely unaddressed in the syntactic literature on Persian. Rather than employing the verbal negative prefix, this construction makes use of an independent negative particle to reverse the truth value of a proposition. This syntactic configuration, called discontinuous negation, is realized by the bipartite marker na … na (‘neither … nor’) and licenses the ellipsis of parallel constituents and heads in coordinate structures. Focusing on this construction and drawing a principled distinction between sentential negation and constituent negation, I first demonstrate that the head of Negation Phrase (NegP) in Persian, merged above TP, hosts the verbal negative prefix. I then argue, following Hedde Zeijlstra (2015, 2022), that the negative particle na is phrasal in nature: it constitutes an independent syntactic element realized in the specifier of NegP and is capable of negating a clause either on its own or in combination with its counterpart. Building on these assumptions, I analyze coordinate structures with a shared subject that occur in discontinuous negation contexts and exhibit deletion of part of the first or second conjunct. I identify four distinct syntactic patterns—distinct from canonical gapping constructions—in which the verb or its dependents are deleted from either conjunct. I show that in cases where the verb lacks the negative prefix, the derivation involves either TP-ellipsis or VP-ellipsis. By contrast, in constructions where the verb bears negation in the presence of the discontinuous na … na marker, the relevant phenomenon is best analyzed as constituent negation rather than clausal negation. Moreover, drawing on both empirical evidence and theoretical considerations, I argue that in the constructions under discussion, an Across-the-Board (ATB) movement mechanism forces identical subjects to raise to a single structural position. This movement leaves behind a gap in the structure that, at the level of surface representation, gives the appearance of identity-based ellipsis.

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Research Paper

Predicting the Recall of Narrative and Expository Texts through an Experimental-Computational Approach: Testing Two Cognitive Models and the Effectiveness of a Revised Model

Hamed Zakeri; Sahar Bahrami-Khorshid; Maryam Danaye Tous; Masoud Ghayoomi

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.403361.666943

Abstract

Text comprehension and recall are among the most fundamental cognitive processes, and explaining their mechanisms can be effective both in the development of cognitive science theories ... Read More Text comprehension and recall are among the most fundamental cognitive processes, and explaining their mechanisms can be effective both in the development of cognitive science theories and in the design of intelligent computational systems. Written texts generally fall into two main categories - narrative and expository - each activating different patterns of mental processing: narratives, relying on temporality, causality, and character-centeredness, are closely related to episodic memory, while expository texts, with their logical and conceptual organization, are more dependent on semantic memory. The present study, with the aim of examining these two text types simultaneously, empirically tested two well-known models of text understanding - the Landscape model and the Event-Indexing model - and, alongside them, evaluated the effectiveness of a revised model designed on the basis of integrating conceptual activation, event structuring, and positional weighting. For this purpose, three Persian texts with different structures were selected. Fifty-one ninth-grade students, after reading the texts, participated in a free recall task, and their memory outputs were recorded and coded sentence by sentence. The three cognitive models were then implemented, and their normalized outputs (0–1) were compared with the actual data of the participants. Statistical analyses included accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, along with Pearson correlation and paired t-tests. The findings showed that the Landscape model was more effective in representing key concepts and semantic relations, whereas the Event-Indexing model better captured the temporal and causal coherence of narrative texts. However, neither model alone was sufficient to cover the full pattern of human recall. In contrast, the revised model, by integrating the three cognitive mechanisms and incorporating the serial position effect, provided the highest level of correlation with behavioral data and demonstrated a significant advantage over the two classical models in terms of the F1 measure. These results indicate that employing multilayered cognitive mechanisms can offer a more accurate and realistic prediction of textual memory. Beyond its theoretical importance, this outcome also opens new perspectives for designing adaptive educational tools, cognitive rehabilitation programs, and natural language processing systems grounded in human memory patterns.

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Research Paper

Examining the discourse of verbal tyranny in the work of \"Dr. Mossadegh and his historical speeches\" based on the functional approach

Mohammad reza Pahlavannezhad; Atousa Babak

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2025.380810.666894

Abstract

In this article, an attempt has been made to provide a functional analysis based on Halliday's interpersonal metafunction from Dr. Mossadegh's historical speeches in the fifth and sixth ... Read More

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Research Paper

The Hierarchy of Perceptual Verbs in Persian: A Typological Approach

Vali Rezai; Tahereh Samenian

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.403152.666942

Abstract

In linguistic research, the typology of perception verbs has been investigated across numerous languages from a variety of perspectives. As fundamental components of language, verbs ... Read More In linguistic research, the typology of perception verbs has been investigated across numerous languages from a variety of perspectives. As fundamental components of language, verbs play a pivotal role in semantic interpretation. perception verbs, in particular, exhibit diverse meanings across linguistic contexts and serve as important indicators of polysemy. Consequently, exploring their semantic relationships in a cross-linguistic framework has attracted considerable scholarly interest.This study examines the verbs of perception in Persian language within a typological framework. Its primary objective is to determine the position of Persian perception verbs in Viberg’s (1983) hierarchy. Additional aims include conducting a semantic and syntactic analysis. In the initial phase of the study, the core perception verbs of Persian were systematically identified and catalogued. These comprised did-an (“to see”), shenid-an (“to hear”), chashid-an (“to taste”), buyid-an (“to smell”), and lams kardan (“to touch”). Upon establishing the set of target verbs, a comprehensive corpus search was undertaken. This process was conducted primarily through the native search functionalities of the corpora, supplemented, where necessary, by the application of regular expressions. The resulting data were extracted in text-file format and subsequently imported into statistical and qualitative analysis environments, specifically Excel and SPSS.The corpus-based analysis of perception vocabulary was used to test two hypothesized universals: (1) vision is the dominant sensory modality, and (2) the relative ranking of the senses is cross-culturally consistent. The results confirm that visual references are markedly more frequent than those to other senses, suggesting a universal attentional bias toward visual phenomena. Nevertheless, the relative frequencies of the other senses varied cross-linguistically. These findings indicate that both universal constraints and culture-specific factors contribute to shaping linguistic representations of perception. While the visual-dominance hypothesis was strongly supported, the study did not identify a single universal sensory hierarchy. The remaining modalities displayed greater variation in frequency and referential scope.Although hearing frequently ranked second after vision in many languages, this pattern was not universal. Thus, the predominance of hearing over touch, taste, and smell may be regarded as a probable—but not absolute—universal tendency. We argue that the observed global bias toward hearing is also linked to communicative salience, as visual verbs across languages tend to exhibit a higher degree of markedness compared to non-visual sensory verbs.

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Research Paper

The modal markers "dabe" and "dabɑ" in Mukriyani Kurdish

Zanko Radnia; Gholamhossein Karimi Doostan

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.407488.666948

Abstract

Modality is a semantic category which allows the speakers of a language to express their viewpoints on linguistic propositions and talk about the possibility and necessity of potential ... Read More Modality is a semantic category which allows the speakers of a language to express their viewpoints on linguistic propositions and talk about the possibility and necessity of potential events. The present article attempts to investigate the interaction between tense and modality in Mukriyani Kurdish. Mukriyani is a subdialect of Sorani Kurdish which is spoken in some of the Kurdish-speaking cities in Iran such as Mahabad, Bukan, Sardasht, Piranshahr, Naqadeh, Oshnavieh, Miandoab, and Shahin Dezh. In Mukriyani, two words which are frequently employed by speakers as a means of expressing modality are “dabe” and “dabɑ”. They belong to the verbal category and are the equivalents of “bɑjad” and “bɑjesti” in Persian. These modal verbs convey strong necessity (in terms of modal force) and thus are used to express deontic and epistemic modal flavors. The current research indicates that the difference between these two modal verbs lies in the grammatical category of tense, such that “dabe” is marked for the present and “dabɑ” for the past. The results of this paper point to the fact that tense plays an integral role and exercises an important influence on the modules of syntax and semantics. In the domain of syntax, the tense of the modal verb determines the tense of the main verb. Otherwise phrased, the [present] feature of “dabe” dictates the main verb to appear in the present tense as well. In the same fashion, the [past] feature of “dabɑ” causes the main verb to appear in the past tense. In the semantic domain, grammatical tense is instrumental in rendering the modal interpretation of these verbs. More specifically, our findings indicate that “dabɑ” can only be used in order to express deontic modality in the past, whereas “dabe” can be utilized in order to express deontic modality in the present or future as well as epistemic modality. In this context, grammatical aspect is the underlying element which lends us support in distinguishing between the deontic and epistemic interpretations. If “dabe” is accompanied by the perfect aspect, the interpretation is going to be epistemic, but if aspect is lacking in the sentence, the interpretation is going to be deontic.

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Research Paper

Intertextual-Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Naghsh-e Jahan Square as a Text: based on Visual Interactional Meaning Dimension

Habib Shahabi; maryamsadat ghiasian; Shirin Pourebrahim

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.388128.666907

Abstract

Visual analysis in cultural and semiotic studies, especially in the analysis of ‘City as Text’, being a part of the more general concept of ‘Language of City’, ... Read More Visual analysis in cultural and semiotic studies, especially in the analysis of ‘City as Text’, being a part of the more general concept of ‘Language of City’, has been repeatedly considered in urban design and architectural theory and has been cited as a basis that plays a central role in representing history, culture, and social relations, as well as in examining the communicative potential of inter-texts in urban spaces. As case studies of this concept, public squares have specifically played an important role in facilitating social interactions and promoting urban sustainability. Domestic research in this area indicates the lack of a comprehensive tool for prominent urban landmarks, representing layers of history and culture in a city. Resorting to the assumption that urban discourse is formed through a combination of elements of discursive categories, in which intertextual aspects are considered as a ‘combination of potentials’, and based on the visual grammar of Kress and van Leeuwen - which is based on Halliday’s functional systematic linguistics and can be applied feasibly in the analysis of the multimodal- intertextual discourse of urban built environments, this study explores the interactive meaning in the multimodal-intertextual discourse of a prominent urban built environment, namely Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan, and provides evidence in favor of this hypothesis. Based on the nature of the applied models, the research is fundamental in orientation (type), inferential in approach, qualitative-analytical in strategy, cross-sectional in time horizon, field in data collection, and aims to describe and deeply understand the phenomenon of the City as Text, carried out to discover the role of language and visual elements in the creation, distribution and interpretation of the visual interactive meaning of this prominent urban building. Findings show that the interactive designing elements used in the new formulation of this Square have been able to have profound impacts on users’ behavior, from increasing interaction and perception to influencing their emotional and cognitive responses.

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Research Paper

Phonological Opacity in the Relict of Progressive Prefix in Kalhori Kurdish: An Optimality theoretic Account

Mehdi Fattahi; Tahereh Jafari

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.399423.666931

Abstract

The progressive prefix has no phonetic realization in most the Kalhori Kurdish verbs and appears as a zero morpheme. However, Fattahi (2022), in a comparative study, provided evidence ... Read More The progressive prefix has no phonetic realization in most the Kalhori Kurdish verbs and appears as a zero morpheme. However, Fattahi (2022), in a comparative study, provided evidence for the existence of remnants of this prefix in certain verbs, where it has undergone phonological change at morpheme boundaries. In a subsequent study, Fattahi and Jafari (2025), confirmed the existence of this remnant as well as reporting a case of free variation in verbs which contain it in Kalhori Kurdish of Gilan e gharb. This prefix seems to have changed in a way resulting in phonological Opacity; In the /tjæ-em/  [ʧæm] (‘I am coming’) mapping, the consonant remnant [t] assimilates to [ʧ] before the glide [j], while there is no sign of this glide in the surface form. This study aims to investigate counter bleeding interaction between the processes responsible for this type of opacity. The data were analyzed within Harmonic Serialism and Optimality Candidate Chains, as two frameworks of Serial Optimality, to see which one accounts for the Opacity observed in the case of Kalhori Kurdish. Data were collected through a 12-hour corpus of interviews with 15 native speakers of Kalhori Kurdish from Gilan e Gharb. After being transcribed, and syllabically and morphologically segmented, the alternating forms were derived and analyzed within the frameworks. Given the importance of process ordering in opacity, the results showed that the sequential application of the processes is not enough for Harmonic Serialism to explain opacity, and this theory needs to be equipped with a mechanism which is capable of determining the correct order between processes. Therefore, the framework of Optimality Candidate Chains was revealed to be able to explain opacity, due to order related constraints, commonly known as PREC (A,B), and representation of candidates in the form of chains. PREC(IDENT [ant] MAXGLIDE) was eventually concluded to be dominating *COMPLEX SYLLABLE, and mandate the preference of assimilation over deletion in during the derivation of [ʧæm].

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Research Paper

Distributed Morphology, Derivational Modularity and the Problem of Circularity

Abbas Nasri

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2026.401945.666937

Abstract

This article aims to defend the Parallel Morphology Hypothesis as the theoretical foundation of the Optimal Distributed Morphology (ODM) framework. Unlike the standard rule-based model ... Read More This article aims to defend the Parallel Morphology Hypothesis as the theoretical foundation of the Optimal Distributed Morphology (ODM) framework. Unlike the standard rule-based model of Distributed Morphology (DM), which assumes a rigid, feed-forward derivational architecture comprising sequential morphosyntactic modules, the parallel hypothesis posits that all post-syntactic operations occur simultaneously within a constraint-based evaluative system. Building upon insights from Trommer (2001a, 2001b) and Foley (2017), the article argues that adherence to the Derivational Architecture Principle (DAP) in classical DM leads to a form of circular reasoning when analyzing irregular inflectional forms. Specifically, decisions regarding operations such as feature bundle fusion or fission often presuppose knowledge of which Vocabulary Items will be inserted. A knowledge that, in a strictly sequential model, should not yet be accessible.Using representative data from languages such as English and Basque, the article demonstrates that attempts to resolve this paradox within a strictly modular, rule-based DM architecture require extensive stipulations and ad hoc rules. These additions not only undermine theoretical elegance but also compromise the model’s psychological and computational plausibility. In contrast, adopting a constraint-based approach grounded in Optimality Theory (OT), as formalized in the ODM framework, allows for a more economical and predictive analysis. Here, the derivational output is determined through the competition of candidate structures evaluated by violable constraints, rather than deterministic rule application.A constraint-based analysis of irregular plural formation (e.g., mice vs. mouses) is provided, incorporating three key constraints: *UNDERSPEC, *STRUCT, and CRSP-D. These constraints regulate under-specification, structural economy, and faithfulness to input feature bundles, respectively. Through a formal ranking procedure (Recursive Constraint Demotion), the paper shows how ODM naturally accounts for both regular and irregular morphology without recourse to excessive derivational opacity or lexical idiosyncrasies.The article concludes that the Parallel Morphology Hypothesis not only offers a more descriptively adequate account of inflectional irregularities but also aligns more closely with broader cognitive and psycholinguistic principles of linguistic architecture.

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Research Paper

An Analysis of the Embodiment of Meaning in Persian Economic and Sports News Discourse: An Application of MacWhinney’s Model

Mahmood Naghizadeh; Elkhas Veysi; Maryam Pouyanifar

Volume 16, Issue 2 , March 2026, Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2025.400397.666933

Abstract

Meaning embodiment is a central construct in cognitive linguistics which, by rejecting the traditional mind–body dualism, posits that perception, meaning, and language are fundamentally ... Read More Meaning embodiment is a central construct in cognitive linguistics which, by rejecting the traditional mind–body dualism, posits that perception, meaning, and language are fundamentally grounded in lived bodily experience. In this view, linguistic structures are not merely abstract symbolic systems, but are deeply connected to sensorimotor processes and physical interactions with the environment. The present study investigates the manifestation of embodied meaning in Persian news discourse across two distinct domains—economics and sports. Drawing on MacWhinney’s (1999) model, the study examines the role of perspective-taking elements, including affordances, spatial–temporal reference frames, causal chains, and social roles, in meaning construction. Adopting a qualitative design, data were collected from major Persian news outlets and analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that metaphorical expressions such as درو کردن طلا (“harvesting gold”) and تانک بختیاری (“Bakhtiari tank”), functioning as conceptual affordances, map abstract notions onto concrete sensorimotor experiences through cognitive simulation. Spatial–temporal reference frames such as پاریس (Paris), تا آخر هفته (by the end of the week), and امروز (today) facilitate semantic organization by activating motion- and location-based schemata. Causal chains—manifested in more intricate forms within economic discourse and in more straightforward forms in sports discourse—are represented through force and motion metaphors embedded in causal and conditional grammatical structures. These elements collectively sustain narrative coherence, mentally situate the reader within the described events, and enhance comprehension. Furthermore, the analysis shows that social roles and identities such as مربی (coach), باشگاه (club), and فدراسیون (federation) construct social perspectives, enabling readers to interpret power relations, responsibilities, and the positionality of actors in discourse. The study reaffirms that human cognitive systems, even when processing highly abstract concepts, operate fundamentally on the basis of bodily experience and physical interaction. By situating its findings within the broader framework of embodied meaning, this research contributes to expanding the scope of cognitive linguistic inquiry in the Persian linguistic and cultural context.

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Volume & Issue: Volume 16, Issue 2 - Serial Number 31, March 2026, Pages 1-300

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