Functional Morpheme Under-realization and Compensatory Lengthening in Taizi Yemeni Arabic: A Stratal Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to provide a formal account of phonological opacity involving the feminine morpheme in Taizi Yemeni Arabic (TY Arabic), utilizing Stratal Optimality Theory (Stratal OT). The sample consisted of 60 native Taizi speakers, aged 15 to 65, who have lived in Taiz city since birth. Data were collected via two methods: linguistic observation and guided recording. The first relied on direct observation of the participants to observe the pronunciation of the feminine marker during spontaneous speech in social gatherings, while the second involved seven participants who recorded their personal experiences for at least 10 minutes in a quiet setting. Findings show that Compensatory Lengthening (CL) is not a singular process but a two-stage structural reconfiguration driven by moraic conservation. At the morphological level, the Weight-by-Position (WBYP) principle assigns a mora (µ) to the feminine coda stop, creating a bimoraic syllable. At the phonological level, the markedness constraint *t-CODA triggers the deletion of the word-final feminine suffix. Crucially, the timing slot survives because the constraint MAX-µ is top-ranked. The resulting orphan mora is filled by the preceding vowel to maintain prosodic weight. Accordingly, the study proves that surface long vowels function as a prosodic memory of the deleted marker, prioritizing rhythmic invariance over segmental faithfulness.