افعال مرکب ترکیبی در بلوچی ساحلی چابهار

This study investigates combinational compound verbs in Coastal Baluchi, spoken in southern Baluchistan, Iran, focusing on their structure and formation processes. To this end, the target data- compound verbs in Coastal Baluchi - were initially extracted from the first volume of the BaluchiـPersian Dictionary (Jahandideh, 2017) using the linguistic intuition of one of the authors, a native speaker of Coastal Baluchi. The extracted verbs were then alphabetically arranged. Subsequently, 30 native speakers of Coastal Baluchi were selected as research participants through purposive sampling. The collected data were verified through interviews by the researcher, during which the native speakers confirmed whether the extracted verbs belonged to the Coastal Baluchi dialect. The compound verbs identified as Coastal Baluchi were analyzed within the study's theoretical framework and classified based on the lexical category of the nonverbal element. The findings revealed that in Coastal Baluchi, the process of combining nonverbal elements such as nouns, adjectives, past participles, adverbs, and prepositional phrases with certain simple verbs leads to the formation of compound verbs. The most prevalent pattern of compound verb formation involves the combination of nouns with simple verbs.
 
Extended Abstract
1.Introduction
Baluchi is classified within the Northwestern branch of Iranian languages and is spoken across a wide geographical area in Iran, Pakistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. One of its most prominent varieties is Coastal Baluchi, widely spoken along the Makoran coast and particularly in Chabahar. As in other Iranian languages, complex predicates play a central role in expanding the verbal system and enabling the expression of abstract and nuanced meanings. Despite some preliminary studies on verbal elements of compound verbs in Baluchi, there has been no comprehensive investigation of non-verbal elements in compound verbs of the Coastal variety. To address this gap, the present study examines and describes combinational compound verbs in Coastal Baluchi, focusing on their structural components and processes of formation. The study seeks to answer two key questions: (1) What types of combinational compound verbs exist in Coastal Baluchi? (2) Which structural pattern is most productive in the formation of these verbs, particularly with regard to the grammatical category of the non-verbal element?
2.Theoretical Framework
The analysis is grounded in Dabirmoghadam’s (1997) theoretical perspective on complex predicates in Persian. Dabirmoghadam defines a compound verb as a structure formed by the combination of a non-verbal element - such as a noun, adjective, past participle, adverb, or prepositional phrase - with a simple verb. This process constitutes a type of morphological compounding within the lexicon and is highly productive in Persian as well as in other Northwestern Iranian languages. Light verbs, such as kardan (to do), zadan (to hit), dādan (to give), and gereftan (to take), are especially common in the formation of compound verbs. Since Baluchi belongs to the same branch of Iranian languages, Dabirmoghadam’s framework provides a suitable foundation for analyzing compound verb structures in Coastal Baluchi and for comparing them with those of Persian and related languages.
3.Methodology
This research employed a mixed-method and data-driven approach. The dataset was extracted from the first volume of the Baluchi-Persian Dictionary compiled by Jahandideh (2017). Using the linguistic intuition of one of the researchers, a native speaker of Coastal Baluchi, an initial list of compound verbs was compiled and arranged alphabetically. To ensure reliability, thirty native speakers of Coastal Baluchi were selected through purposive sampling. In interviews, they verified whether the extracted items truly belonged to the Coastal dialect. The verified data were then analyzed within Dabirmoghadam’s theoretical framework and categorized based on the grammatical class of the non-verbal element. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out, and the results were further compared with findings from similar studies in other Iranian languages.
4.Results and Discussion
The findings indicate that out of 2,562 verbal combinations initially extracted, 711 were identified as belonging to Coastal Baluchi. These compound verbs fall into four major categories: (1) adjective + verb (192 items), (2) noun + verb (440 items), (3) prepositional phrase + verb (12 items), and (4) past participle + auxiliary verb (67 items). Quantitatively, the noun + verb pattern is the most productive, accounting for approximately 62% of all compound verbs in the dataset. Within this group, light verbs such as kanag (“to do”), dajag (“to give”), dʒanag (“to hit”), gerag (“to take”), and bajag (“to become”) occur most frequently. Examples include passo dajag (“to answer”), tʃietk dʒanag (“to scream”), and bon gerag (“to catch fire”), which demonstrate the wide semantic range generated by this pattern.
In the adjective + verb category, the light verbs kanag (to do) and bajag (to become) are predominant. Constructions such as andiem bajag (“to become hidden”) and dilmānag kanag (“to encourage, to instill hope”) show how adjectives are incorporated into verbal structures, often expressing psychological states or qualitative conditions.
The prepositional phrase + verb category, while relatively rare, illustrates the syntactic flexibility of the language. Examples include pa sār kanag (“to bring to consciousness”) and pa kār bajag (“to be required”), both of which highlight the ability of Baluchi to incorporate prepositional groups into verbal constructions, albeit less productively than in Persian.
The fourth category involves past participle + auxiliary verb combinations, where bajag (to become) functions as a passive auxiliary. Verbs such as eʃkonag bajag (“to be heard”) and batʃtʃienag bajag (“to be rescued”) exemplify this group and reflect the role of compound verbs in forming passive structures in Coastal Baluchi.
From a semantic perspective, many Coastal Baluchi compound verbs lack simple, non-compound counterparts. Their meanings emerge only through the combinational process, and in numerous cases the result is metaphorical or idiomatic. For instance, puek bajag (“to become foolish”) and palmal bandag (“to make excuses”) illustrate the opaque and figurative character of many compounds. Such features underscore the productivity and dynamic nature of the verbal system.
Comparative analysis revealed strong similarities between Coastal Baluchi and other Northwestern Iranian languages, including Hawrami Kurdish, Mazandarani, and Gilaki. In all these languages, the noun + verb pattern is dominant. However, a notable difference is the very limited role of adverbs in Baluchi compound verb formation, whereas in Persian and some neighboring dialects adverbs serve as common non-verbal elements. This distinction suggests that while Baluchi shares overarching typological tendencies with related languages, it also demonstrates an independent evolutionary trajectory.
5.Conclusions and Suggestions
This study demonstrates that combinational compound verbs in Coastal Baluchi are highly productive, with noun + verb combinations serving as the dominant pattern. These structures, largely based on light verbs, form an extensive network of semantic expressions. The results confirm significant parallels with Persian and other Northwestern Iranian languages, thereby contributing to our understanding of historical and typological continuities across the Iranian language family.
Nevertheless, the study was limited to data from the first volume of the Baluchi–Persian Dictionary and to speakers of the Coastal variety in Chabahar. Further research should expand the dataset to include other sources and dialects of Baluchi. Comparative studies across additional Iranian languages could also shed light on the diachronic development of compound verb structures. Finally, considering the influence of Persian as the national standard language and the declining use of Baluchi in educational and media contexts, systematic documentation and analysis of Baluchi compound verbs and other grammatical structures is of critical importance for preserving this linguistic heritage.
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