Namaeh Farhangistan

Namaeh Farhangistan

From Glottal Stop to Palatal Glide: Perceptual Mechanisms in Filling Empty Onsets in Persian based on Optimality Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Batool Alinezhad
Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
10.22034/nf.2026.533677.1424
Abstract
This paper analyses the contrastive role of the glottal stop and its perceptual function within the framework of Optimality Theory. The glottal stop plays a dual and complex role in the phonological and perceptual system of Persian. At the production level, it often surfaces as a marker for the onset of words that begin with a vowel, particularly in formal or emphatic contexts. From a perceptual standpoint, Persian listeners implicitly perceive the presence of the glottal stop, even in the absence of clear physical articulation, and interpret it as a cue for syllable boundary or word onset. This phenomenon indicates that the glottal stop holds a salient perceptual function in Persian. Within the framework of Optimality Theory, the insertion of a glottal stop, being the least sonorous consonant in the sonority hierarchy, creates the greatest perceptual contrast with a word-initial vowel and thus serves as a clear boundary marker for syllables or lexical items. In contrast, when an empty onset occurs between two vowels, a palatal glide /j/ is often inserted. As the most sonorous of the consonants, /j/ facilitates the smoothing of the sonority contour within the word. Ultimately, the findings of this study highlight that the interaction between production, perception, and syllable structure in Persian not only supports the integrity of the phonological system but also enhances fluent and accurate speech processing for the listener.
Keywords
glottal stop
palatal glide
perceptual role
repair function
stratal optimality
syllable onset filler
Subjects
References
Sources are in Persian unless otherwise specified.
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Namaeh Farhangistan
Volume 25, Issue 3 - Serial Number 103
Nameh Farhangestan (Phonetics and phonology of Iranian languages ​​2)
July and August 2026
Pages 47-66

  • Receive Date 18 July 2025
  • Revise Date 26 July 2025
  • Accept Date 08 December 2025