Documenting Linguistic Diversity: An Analysis of Compound Word Formation in the Goris Armenian Dialect

This study investigates the structural, semantic, and phonetic peculiarities of genuine compound words in the Goris dialect, a vital component of the rich Armenian dialectal system. In an era of globalization where dialects face the risk of extinction due to the strong influence of literary languages, their documentation and scientific description acquire significant cultural and historical value. Employing descriptive, comparative-contrastive, and structural analysis methods, the research meticulously examines Goris dialectal phenomena by contrasting them with Literary Eastern Armenian and the closely related Artsakh dialect, and drawing upon established theories of Armenian word formation. Genuine compound words in the Goris dialect, being synthetic-type formations, on the one hand, follow the general word-formational regularities of Modern Armenian. The findings reveal that Goris compound words, while adhering to general Armenian word-formational principles (e.g., noun+noun, adjective+noun, noun/adjective+verbal root models, with and without connecting vowels), exhibit distinctive phonetic characteristics. A prominent feature is the consistent transformation of the connecting vowel 'a' to 'ĕ' (ə) in unstressed positions, imparting a unique phonetic fingerprint to the dialect. The study also identifies exceptional formations, including compounds derived from idiomatic structures. A comparative analysis with the Artsakh dialect highlights shared lexical and structural foundations, underscoring their genetic proximity. These findings underscore the dynamic and independent nature of dialects, contributing to a deeper understanding of Armenian linguistic history and the broader field of dialectology and language preservation.