Zahra Sadat Khazaeifar - Linguistics Department, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Raheleh Gandomkar - Linguistics Department, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

This article analyzes complex words, morphologically and semantically, within the Perceptual approach introduced by Safavi (۲۰۲۰). The authors aim to examine the possibilities of word formation of complex words in Persian as their first objective. To achieve this goal, they examined ۲۸۵۰ complex words selected randomly from the Sokhan Dictionary (Anvari, ۲۰۰۴). Following the mentioned approach, word-formation patterns are determined based on whether the morphemes belong to closed or open classes. According to a predetermined agreement, A stands for closed class units and B stands for open class units. This study reveals ۵۷ patterns of word formation, with ‘B + B’ appearing to be the most common among all the patterns examined. Next, the authors investigated how much closed-class units help Persian speakers interpret the semantic head of complex words examined. To reach this aim, ۲۰ Persian speakers not having any knowledge of linguistics were given a questionnaire of ۱۲۰ words made up of eight affixes selected by the authors and questioned about interpreting each word. Finally, data analysis related to the questionnaire revealed that the meaning interpretation of the words appeared to be significantly impacted by the morphemes belonging to the closed class.

word-formation, open & closed classes, Persian complex word, perceptual approach, meaning interpretation