Pozdniakov K. Accentuation of Noun and Verb Word Forms in Old Persian

The dissertation deals with the complex research of accentuation processes in Old Persian noun and verb word forms. The study was performed by using a quantitative-distributive analysis for the first time in Ukrainian accentology. The theoretical concept of the investigation is based on the presence of a phonological component in the prosodic system of the language, sufficient for the research of accentuation without the involvement of experimental material with an acoustic constituent. The analysis of theoretical sources enabled to establish that systemic phonological and morphonological changes of language units considered in diachrony can be used as such a component. The author made a detailed analysis of theoretical approaches to the accentuation studies and related phonological and morphological processes. According to the analysed theoretical approaches it was determined that accentuation is the process of highlighting a stressed syllable within a word form using a prosodic complex of qualitative and quantitative phonological means. It was also formed a definition of a word form as a word used in a certain grammatical form and phonetic representation, expressing a specific lexical meaning. The material of research is the register of Old Persian word forms, which included 202 nouns and 242 verb word forms. The register was formed by using the method of mechanical selection of lexicon from a number of glossaries and dictionaries of the Old Persian language. Considering the fact that every language is an organized hierarchical system, the author decided to conduct a step-by-step study for detailed and relevant analysis of the accentuation of Old Persian noun and verb word forms. Each stage of the research involved a quantitative-distributive analysis of phonological and morphonological structures, which together made it possible to conduct a detailed description of the accent system of the Old Persian language. Etymological analysis was applied to each registered Old Persian word form to obtain relevant research results and avoid cases of entering the register of non-Indo-European word forms.