Phonological Function-based Speech compression system: A Case Study of Movies Before and After the Islamic Revolution

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Authors
R. Kashefi Khishan 1
M. Iraji 2
1 PhD in Linguistics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 sistant Professor in Linguistics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran
10.52547/LRR.13.2.15
Abstract
Frequency of compression process in Bybee Approach plays a pivotal role between different characters in dialogues of Persian films. In various historical periods, considering her social status, “woman” less likely has used non-standard Persian language compared to “man”. The main issue of this study is about the frequency of compression process in Bybee approach between two male and female sexes in Persian Movies. Which one of Persian language’s elements has been shown more in studied movies in opinion of Bybee? How the language can challenge the system of feminine and masculine relationships in performances? What is the cultural function of identity in this field? This study was conducted to analyze the phonology of phonetic changes caused by compression in Persian language within two different cultural and social fields. Such differentiation is well revealed in dialogues of movies associated with abovementioned historical periods. In fact, this study indicates that compression has a cultural origin as a social issue and such cultural origin that indicates itself in linguistic or discursive styles of individuals with different social classes. Moreover, analyzing the compressed forms is not just limited to making decision about summarization so that the differences between compressed forms are not just structurally a morphological phenomenon; sometimes, it depends on some functional and social considerations such as gender type.



The best way to deal with questions related to the interaction between phonetic processes and grammatical and lexical categories is diachronic (historical) approach. Phonological changes have a one-way path, and different mechanisms of phonological changes are applied in different stages. These changes start for reasons such as phonetic conditions and gradually are customized as part of sound pattern-meaning correspondence through processes that are more and more related to the words and phrases. There is ample evidence that phonetics change or the change processes can affect words gradually and at different speeds, and one of the important determinants of this speed is the frequency of word usage.

Given that the cognitive approach of phonology is rarely taken into account, this question is raised that, in connecting phonology and cognitive sciences, to what extent can the obtained data be discussed with cognitive phonology and what results are obtained from this perspective?

In this study, the main questions are, “how is the frequency of the compression process between male and female in Persian language films through Bybee’s approach?”, “From Bybee’s point of view, compression of which elements of Persian language have become more prominent in the discourse of the studied films?”, “How can language challenge the system of male-female relationships through performance?” and “What is the cultural function of identity in this regard?”

Along with Bybee’s phonological approach, the aim of the present study is phonological analysis of phonetic changes resulting from the compression process in Persian films in two culturally and socially distinct historical contexts. Therefore, the main hypothesis of the present study is defined as "the compression process in Persian-language films has been increasing from old to new ones, and the frequency of the compression process is higher in men than women."

The corpus and data of this research are adapted from the text of conversations between the main characters in pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary Iranian films: Ganj-e Qarun (Siamak Yasemi, 1965), Qaisar (Masoud Kimiaei, 1969), Lottery (Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, 2018) and Life and a Day (Saeed Roustaei, 2016). The reason for choosing these films as sources of the present study is that the dialogues were most consistent with the actual data. In fact, regarding the nature of these data, it can be claimed that part of the difference in compression observed in two samples belonging to the pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary historical periods, can be the result of the character and the context in which the man or woman is placed.

The corpus of this research is taken from the dialogues of the main male and female characters in old and new movies (old: Qaisar and Ganj-e Qarun; new: Lottery and Life and a Day). To this end, the researcher, while watching these films, wrote down the main and important dialogues and then transcribed them based on the International Transliteration Alphabet (IPA), and identified and analyzed the omission and integration processes that, in this study, are called compression. The research process is such that the compression process in selected old films and then in selected new films has been studied and analyzed and finally a comparison has been made between them. In addition, in order to prove the research hypothesis and collect the required data, the compression process in the selected pre-revolutionary films has been studied and analyzed from a cognitive point of view. Then this process has been repeated for the selected post-revolutionary films and finally a comparison has been made between them.

The results of this study can be interpreted in light of the findings of research in gender linguistics that began in early 1970s. In this regard, concerning formation of social gender-oriented identity, especially in the cultural context that limits the relationship between genders, the formation of different compression norms is completely natural. In addition, given the freedom of men in observing cultural norms in comparison with women, higher frequency of compression, which is a deviation from the standard language, is also justifiable.

The results of this study are consistent with Modarresi (1989) regarding the linguistic differences between men and women and believing more in the social differences between these two groups. He argues that as either gender is more active than the other in some areas of activity, the terms related to that area are considered masculine or feminine. Modarressi also refers to the gender-specific language patterns and believes that if men and women in any society do not follow these patterns, they will lose their special social status or at least be ridiculed. Therefore, it can be said that the degree of compression is in fact a function or indicator of the social status to which the speaker, whether male or female, belongs and indicates its semiotics (Paknahad Jabarouti, 2002). In addition, the use of higher compression in men could be justified according to Lakoff (1973 who believes that social base of women is more unstable and shakier than men. He seeks the reflection of these social bases in language, which is manifested in women relying more on standard and uncompressed forms.

Finally, concerning the main purpose of the present study, the compression in the obtained data confirms the function of Bybee’s cognitive perspective in this regard. In addition, it was found that compression application has been increasing overtime. Therefore, it can be claimed that Persian speakers more frequently use the compression process in their speech over time which is done to accelerate the speech. Finally, it was found that in terms of social cognitive application and due to the greater commitment of women to meet their language standards in conversation, they were more inclined than men to use instances of compression

Keywords

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Language Related Research
Volume 13, Issue 2 - Serial Number 68
May and June 2022
Pages 469-496