Mazanderani language

The name Mazanderani (and variants of it) derives from the name of the province of Mazandaran (Mazerun in Mazanderani), which was part of the historical region of Tapuria. People traditionally call their language Tabari, as the Tabari themselves do.{{rp|289–291}}

The name Tapuri / Tabari (which was the name of an ancient language spoken somewhere in former Tapuria) is now used in preference to the name Mazandarani by the young.

However, both Gilan and Mazanderan formed part of the region known as Tapuria.

The earliest references to the language of Mazandaran, called Tabari, are to be found in the works of the early Muslim geographers. Al-Muqaddasī (or Moqaisi, 10th century), for example, notes: "The languages of Komish and Gurgan are similar, they use hā, as in hā-dih and hāk-un, and they are sweet [to the ear], related to them is the language of Tabaristan, [similar] save for its speediness."{{rp|291}}

Among the living Iranian languages, Mazanderani has one of the longest written traditions, from the tenth to the fifteenth century. This status was achieved during the long reign of the independent and semi-independent rulers of Mazandaran in the centuries after the Arab invasion.Windfuhr, G. L. 1989. New Iranian languages: Overview. In Rüdiger Schmitt, ed., Compendium linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. pp. 246–249.

The rich literature of this language includes books such as Marzban Nameh (later translated into Persian) and the poetry of Amir Pazevari. Use of Mazanderani, however, has been in decline for some time. Its literary and administrative prominence had begun to diminish in favor of Persian by the time of the integration of Mazandaran into the national administration in the early seventeenth century.Borjian, Maryam. 2005. [http://www.tc.columbia.edu/students/sie/LCEjr05/pdfs/Borjian.pdf Bilingualism in Mazandaran: Peaceful Coexistence With Persian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060921001601/http://www.tc.columbia.edu/students/sie/LCEjr05/pdfs/Borjian.pdf |date=September 21, 2006 }}. Language, Communities and Education. Languages, Communities & Education: A Volume of Graduate Student Research. New York: [http://www.tc.edu/students/sie/LCEjr05/home.htm Society for International Education] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727230834/http://www.tc.edu/students/sie/LCEjr05/home.htm |date=2011-07-27 }}, Teachers College, Columbia University. pp. 65–73.

The Mazanderani language is closely related to Gilaki and the two languages have similar vocabularies. In 1993, according to Ethnologue, there were three million native Mazanderani speakers.{{e18|mzn}}

The dialects of Mazanderani are Saravi, Amoli, Baboli, Ghaemshahri, Chaloosi, Nuri, Shahsavari, Ghasrani, Shahmirzadi, Damavandi, Firoozkoohi, Astarabadi and Katouli.

The native people of Aliabad-e Katul, Gorgan, Kordkuy and Bandar-e Gaz in Golestan province are Mazandarani and speak the mazandarani language.

The native people of Shemiranat, Damavand and Firuzkuh in Tehran province are Mazandarani and speak the mazandarani language.

The native people of north of Karaj and Taleqan in Alborz province are Mazandarani and speak the mazandarani language.

The people of east of Alamut in Qazvin province are Mazandarani and speak the mazandarani language.

The native of people of Aradan, Garmsar, Shahmirzad and north of Damghan in Semnan province are Mazandarani and speak the mazandarani language.

The native people of Galugah, Behshahr, Neka, Sari, Shahi, Babol, Amol, Nowshahr, Chalus, Kelardasht, Abbasabad and Tonekabon in Mazandaran province are Mazanderani people and speak the Mazanderani language.{{cite web |title=Spoken L1 Language: Mazanderani |website=Glottolog 4.6 |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/maza1291}}{{cite book |author=Windfuhr, G. L. |year=1989 |chapter=New Iranian languages: Overview |editor=Rüdiger Schmitt |title=Compendium linguarum Iranicarum |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=L. Reichert |page=490}}

file:Map of Mazandarani-inhabited provinces of Iran , according to a poll in 2010.png

File:Map of Caspian Language.png

File:Linguistic Map of Mazandaran Province.jpg

Mazanderani is an inflected and genderless language.Fakhr-Rohani, Muhammad-Reza. 2004. She means only her 'husband': politeness strategies amongst Mazanderani-speaking rural women. (Conference abstract) CLPG Conference, University of Helsinki, Finland, [http://www.nord.helsinki.fi/clpg/CLPG/Muhammed-Reza%20Fakhr-Rohani.pdf PDF] It is SOV, but in some tenses it may be SVO, depending on the particular dialect involved.Johanson, Lars. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YB1UWaDMCKcC&dq=mazanderani&pg=PA310 Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas Historical and Linguistic Aspects.] Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2006.Csató, Éva Ágnes, Bo Isaksson, and Carina Jahani. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OjWoG6XDKNIC&q=verb&pg=PT41 Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic.] London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005.

Just as in other modern Iranian languages, there is no distinction between the dative and accusative cases, and the nominative in the sentence takes almost no indicators but may be inferred from word order (depending on dialect it may end in a/o/e). Since Mazanderani lacks articles, there is no inflection for nouns in the sentence (no modifications for nouns).

For definition, nouns take the suffix e (me dətere meaning The daughter of mine while me dəter means my daughter). The indefinite article for single nouns is a-tā with tā for determination of number (a-tā kijā meaning a girl).

There exist some remnants of old Mazanderani indicating that, in the nominative case, female nouns used to end in a, while male nouns ended in e (as in jənā meaning the woman and mərdē meaning the man). Grammatical gender is still present in certain modern languages closely related to Mazandarani such as Semnani, Sangesari and Zazaki.

In the Mazandarani language, independent personal pronouns have three cases: active, passive and possessive.{{cite journal |title=

The Mazandarani Dialect of Kalijān Rostāq |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2019 |volume=52 |issue=3–4 |url= https://www.academia.edu/38367668 |pages=555 |doi= 10.1080/00210862.2019.1611371|access-date= |language=en |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib }}

Conjugation (hākārden) "to work" in Mazandarani language (Sari dialect).{{cite journal |title=

The Mazandarani Dialect of Kalijān Rostāq |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2019 |volume=52 |issue=3–4 |url= https://www.academia.edu/38367668 |pages=561 |doi= 10.1080/00210862.2019.1611371|access-date= |language=en |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib }}

Adpositions in Mazanderani are after words, while most of other languages including English and Persian have preposition systems in general. The only common postpositions that sometimes become preposition are Še and tā. Frequently used postpositions are:

The list below is a sample list obtained from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20070518152850/http://www.tabarestan.ir/ Online Mazanderani-Persian dictionary].

/{{IPA|a}}/ may also range to near-open [{{IPA|æ}}] or a more back [{{IPA|ʌ}}]. Allophones of /{{IPA|e, u, o, ɑ}}/ are heard as [{{IPA|ɪ, ʊ, ɒ}}]. /{{IPA|ə}}/ can also be heard as [{{IPA|ɛ}}] or [{{IPA|ɐ}}].

/{{IPA|w}}/ appears as an allophone of /{{IPA|v}}/ in word-final position. /{{IPA|ɾ}}/ may appear as a voiceless trill in word-final position [{{IPA|r̥}}]. An occasional glottal stop /{{IPA|ʔ}}/ or voiceless uvular fricative /{{IPA|ʁ}}/ or voiced plosive /{{IPA|ɢ}}/ may also be heard, depending on the dialect.Yoshie, Satoko. 1996. Sārī Dialect. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. Series: Iranian Studies; 10.{{Cite book|title=When Tradition Meets Modernity: Five Life Stories from the Galesh Community in Ziarat, Golestan, Iran|last1=Shokri |first1=Guiti |last2=Jahani |first2=Carina |last3=Barani |first3=Hossein |publisher=Uppsala Universitet|year=2013}}{{Cite book |last=Borjian |first=Habib |title=The Mazandarani Dialect of Kalijān Rostāq |publisher=Iranian Studies |year=2019}}

Mazanderani is commonly written in the Perso-Arabic script.{{cite web|url=http://www.language-keyboard.com/resource/indo-euro/mazanderani.htm|title=language-keyboard.com - language-keyboard Resources and Information.|website=www.language-keyboard.com}} However, some use the Roman alphabet, for example in SMS messages.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

Spoken in a territory sheltered by the high Alborz mountains, Mazanderani preserves many ancient Indo-European words no longer in common use in modern Iranian languages such as Persian. Listed below are a few common Mazanderani words of archaic, Indo-European provenance with Vedic cognates.

Mazandarani is rich in synonyms, some such nouns also retaining the gender they possessed in Indo-European times: for instance the words {{lang|mzn-Latn|miš}}, {{lang|mzn-Latn|gal}}, {{lang|mzn-Latn|gerz}} all have the meaning of mouse, although they are not all of the same gender. While many Indo-Iranian languages use a masculine noun taking such related forms as {{lang|mzn-Latn|muš}} or {{lang|mzn-Latn|muska}} or {{lang|mzn-Latn|mušk}}, in Mazandarani the most commonly used name for the mouse is the feminine noun {{lang|mzn-Latn|gal}}.{{vague|date=May 2015}}

Another example relates to the cow, the most important animal in the symbolism of Indo-European culture: in Mazanderani there are more than 1000 recognized words used for different types of cow. The table below lists some specimens of this rich vocabulary. In Mazandaran there are even contests held to determine those with the greatest knowledge of this bovine nomenclature.

In Iran, there are some popular companies and products, like Rika (boy) or Kija (girl), which take their name from Mazanderani words.{{cite web|url=http://www.behshahr.ir|title=شهرداری بهشهر|first=شهرداری|last=بهشهر|website=www.behshahr.ir}}

There are some Mazanderani loanwords in the Turkmen language.Nasri-Ashrafi, Jahangir-e (ed.). Farhang-e vāžegān-e Tabarī [A Dictionary of Tabari]. v. 5, p. 5, Tehran: Eḥyā’-ketāb”: 2002/1381 A.P. A comparative glossary containing lexical units from almost all major urban and rural centers of the region of the three provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. Reviewed in Iran and the Caucasus, 2006, 10(2). Volume 4 contains a Persian-Mazanderani index of approximately 190 pp. Volume 5 includes a grammar of the Mazanderani language.

The following verses are in an eastern Mazandarani dialect spoken in the Caspian littoral in northern Iran. They were transcribed and translated by Maryam Borjian and Habib Borjian.{{cite journal |first1=Habib |last1=Borjian |first2=Maryam |last2=Borjian |title=Mysterious Memories of a Woman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |volume=11 |issue=2 |date=2007 |pages=226–254 |url=https://www.academia.edu/17787724 |doi=10.1163/157338407X265469}}

{{Verse translation|lang=mzn|bεlεndi níš^tεmε vεlεnd-e nεfār-ε

bεlbεl xavεr biārdε nо̄bεhār ε

dār-e čel-ču-rε bā^ur ánde nέnāle

batεrkessέ dεl dā́rmo qam-e yār-ε|I was sitting [on] the heights, on the lofty nefār;

The nightingale brought the news that it is early spring.

Tell the tree branches not to lament so much,

I have a blasted heart for the care of the beloved.}}

{{Verse translation|lang=mzn|bεlεnd-e bālxεnε, bεlεnd-e lamε

vέne sar ništ bío Āl-e Mohammεd

har ki mεn o tέrε bázunε tomεt

vεšúnnε bákuše Darviš Mohammεd|The lofty balcony, the long mat;

On its top had sat the Dynasty of Muhammad.

Whoever lay the blame on you and me,

May Dervish Muhammad kill him (lit. 'them')!}}

In dates given below, A.P. denotes the Iranian calendar, the solar calendar (365 days per year) which is official in Iran and Afghanistan.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal | last1 = Borjian | first1 = Habib | year = 2006 | title = The Oldest Known Texts in New Tabari: The Collection of Aleksander Chodzko | journal = Archiv Orientální | volume = 74 | issue = 2| pages = 153–171 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |year=2006 |title=A Mazanderani account of the Babi Incident at Shaikh Tabarsi |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=381–400|doi=10.1080/00210860600808227 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |year=2006 |title=Textual sources for the study of Tabari language. I. Old documents |journal=Guyesh-shenâsi |volume=4}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |year=2008 |title=Tabarica II: Some Mazanderani Verbs |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=73–82|doi=10.1163/157338408X326217 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |title=Two Mazanderani Texts from the Nineteenth Century |journal=Studia Iranica |date=2008 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=7–50|doi=10.2143/SI.37.1.2032296 }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Borjian | first1 = Habib | last2 = Borjian | first2 = Maryam | year = 2007 | title = Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran: Mysterious Memories of a Woman | journal = Iran and the Caucasus | volume = 11 | issue = 2| pages = 226–254 | doi = 10.1163/157338407X265469 }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Borjian | first1 = Habib | last2 = Borjian | first2 = Maryam | year = 2008 | title = The Last Galesh Herdsman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from South Caspian Rainforests | journal = Iranian Studies | volume = 41 | issue = 3| pages = 365–402 | doi=10.1080/00210860801981336| s2cid = 162393586 }}
• {{cite book |last=Le Coq |first=P. |year=1989 |chapter=Les dialects Caspiens et les dialects du nord-ouest de l'Iran |editor-first=Rüdiger |editor-last=Schmitt |title=Compendium linguarum Iranicarum |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=L. Reichert |pages=296–312}}
• {{cite book |last=Nawata |first=Tetsuo |year=1984 |title=Māzandarāni |location=Tokyo |publisher=Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa |series=Asian and African Grammatical Manual |volume=17}}
• {{cite journal |last=Shokri |first=Giti |year=1990 |title=Verb Structure in Sāri dialect |journal=Farhang |volume=6 |pages=217–231 |location=Tehran |publisher=Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies}}
• {{cite book |last=Shokri |first=Giti |year=1995 |title=Sārī Dialect |location=Tehran |publisher=Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies}}
• {{cite book |last=Shokri |first=Giti |year=2006 |title=Ramsarī Dialect |location=Tehran |publisher=Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies}}
• {{cite book |last=Yoshie |first=Satoko |year=1996 |title=Sārī Dialect |location=Tokyo |publisher=Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa |series=Iranian Studies |volume=10}}

{{InterWiki|code=mzn}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090323041456/http://www.iranianlinguistics.org/index.cgi Society for Iranian Linguistics]. Among other services, archives PDFs of articles from linguistics journals, including those written in Persian.
• [http://www.ihcs.ac.ir/ Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies], Tehran.
• [http://globalrecordings.net/program/C08101 Audio recordings available for Mazanderani]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070518152850/http://www.tabarestan.ir/ Dictionary of Mazanderani, with translations into Saravi, Baboli, and Amoli dialects]

{{Languages of Iran}}

{{Iranian languages}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Northwestern Iranian languages

Category:Subject–verb–object languages

Category:Verb–subject–object languages

Category:Languages of Iran

Category:Mazandaran province

Category:Caspian languages

Category:Mazanderani language