The Phonological Restructuring of Verb’s Form II and III Agentive Nouns in Almarj Dialect: A Stratal Optimality Theory

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to provide a comprehensible theoretical explanation of the derivation of the agentive nouns in Almarj dialect of Cyrenican Libyan Arabic (CLA). The main focus will be on Form II and Form III verbs. In Modern Standard Arabic, Form II and Form III verbs’ agentive nouns are formed by simply adding the prefix /mu-/ to the verb base, and result in constructing an agentive noun such as mukassir (smasher). However, Almarj dialect derives agentive nouns in different systematic process, where the vowel /u/ in /mu/ prefix is deleted, and this deletion results in forming an initial consonant cluster (e.g., mkassir). This type of clusters is not licensed in Almarj dialect; therefore, this form is repaired by adding shwa /ə/ at initial position to construct [əmkassir]. This deriving mechanism employed by Almarj dialect is known as Duke-of-York derivation, however, it defies Optimality Theory principles. Therefore, this article tries to solve the derivational opacity when deriving agentive nouns in Almarj dialect by using Stratal Optimality Theory. Applying Stratal Optimality Theory, this article addresses the opacity challenges by dividing the ranking constraints into three levels: Stem level that maintains morphological structure, Word Level that encourages vowel’s deletion, and Post-lexical Level that repairs the cluster by forcing the insertion of the vowel. This study may provide a better understanding of the process of the derivational opacity encountered when driving agentive nouns in Almarj dialect. In addition, shedding light on the importance of the syllable weight in the dialect.