Mazanderani language

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Mazandarani (Mazanderani: مازِرونی, Mazeruni; also spelled Mazani (مازنی) or Tabari (تبری); also called Geleki[5])[1] is an Iranian language of the Northwestern branch spoken by the Mazandarani people. As of 2021, there were 1.36 million native speakers. The language appears to be decreasing, as it is threatened, and due to the majority of it's speakers shifting to Iranian Persian.[1] As a member of the Northwestern branch (the northern branch of Western Iranian), etymologically speaking, it is rather closely related to Gilaki and also related to Persian, which belongs to the Southwestern branch. Though the Persian language has influenced Mazandarani to a great extent, Mazandarani still survives as an independent language with a northwestern Iranian origin.[6][7]

Mazandarani
مازِرونی‎ (Mazeruni)[1]
تَبَری (Tabari)[1]
Mazanderani (Mazeruni) written in Nastaliq script. (مازِرونی)
Native toIran (Province of Mazandaran and parts of the provinces of Alborz, Tehran, Qazvin,[2][3][4] Semnan and Golestan)
RegionSouth coast of the Caspian Sea
Ethnicity4.6 million Mazanderani (2021)[1]
Native speakers
1.36 million (2021)[1]
Dialects
  • Gorgani-Mazandarani (East)
  • Katuli-Mazandarani (East)
  • Tabari-Mazandarani (Center)
  • Kojuri-Mazandarani (West)
  • Kelarestaqi-Mazandarani (West)
  • Gilaki-Mazandarani (West)
  • Galeshi-Mazandarani (South)
  • Taleqani-Mazandarani (South)
  • Shahmirzadi (South)
  • Ilikaei (South)
  • Qasrani (South)
Persian alphabet
Official status
Regulated byNone. However, the Linguistic faculty of Mazandaran University officially gathers materials and resources about the language.[citation needed]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
mzn – Mazandarani
srz – Shahmirzadi
Glottologmaza1305  Mazanderani–Shahmirzadi
ELPShahmirzadi
Areas where Mazandarani is spoken as the mother tongue
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Mazandarani is closely related to Gilaki, and the two languages have similar vocabularies.[8] The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages)[9] share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically the non-Indo-European South Caucasian languages),[9][10][11] reflecting the history, ethnic identity, and close relatedness to the Caucasus region and Caucasian peoples of Mazandaranis and Gilak people.[12][13]: 295 

Etymology

The name Mazanderani (and variants of it) derives from the name of the historical region of Mazandaran (Mazerun in Mazanderani), which was part of former Kingdom of Tapuria. People traditionally call their language Tabari, as the Tabari themselves do.[13]: 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 state 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 , 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."[13]: 291 

History

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.[14]

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.[15]

Classification

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.[16]

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

The native people of Sari, Shahi, Babol, Amol, Nowshahr, Chalus, and Tonekabon are Mazanderani people and speak the Mazanderani language.[17][18]

Mazandaranis in Iran
Map depicting areas where the various dialects of Mazandarani are spoken

Grammar

Linguistic Map of Mazandaran Province

Mazanderani is an inflected and genderless language.[19] It is SOV, but in some tenses it may be SVO, depending on the particular dialect involved.[20][21]

Typology

Morphology

Like 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 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.

Usage

Function cases

CasePositionMeaning
Sere -(a/o/e)NominativeThe Home
Sere reAccusative(Action) the Home
Sere -(o/e)VocativeHome!
Sere şeGenitiveHome's
Sere reDativeTo the Home
Sere ye jäAblative/InstrumentalBy the Home

Adjectives

AdjectivePositionMeaning
And-e SereApplicative 
Gat e SereComparativeGreat Home
untä SereDeterminativeThat Home

Notable postpositions

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 . Frequently used postpositions are:

postpositionmeaning
dəlein
reof / to
jefrom / by
vəsefor
to
həmrā / jāwith
sərion / above
bəneunder / below
pəlinear / about
vāri/ tarālike
derūamong / inside

Suffixes

The list below is a sample list obtained from the Online Mazanderani-Persian dictionary.

Locatives

SuffixExampleMeaning
KashKharkashGood place
KelTutkelMulberry limit[clarification needed]
IjYoshijYoshian
BunChenarbonAt the plantain[clarification needed]
JaSəre JaRelating to home
SarBənesarUnderneath

Subjectives

SuffixExampleMeaning
ChafAu ChafWater-sucker
RushHalikrushBerry-seller
SuVərgsuWolf-hunter
KafUkafOne who performs actions in water
VejGalvejMouse-finder
YelvəngyelBandmaster

Phonology

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Closeiu
Mideəo
Openaɑ

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

Consonants

LabialDental/
Alveolar
(Palato-)
alveolar
VelarUvularGlottal
Nasalmn
Stop/
Affricate
voicelessptt͡ʃkq(ʔ)
voicedbdd͡ʒɡ(ɢ)
Fricativevoicelessfsʃxh
voicedv~(w)zʒʁ
Approximantlj
Tap/Flapɾ

/w/ appears as an allophone of /v/ in word-final position. /ɾ/ may appear as a voiceless trill in word-final position []. An occasional glottal stop /ʔ/ or voiceless uvular fricative /ʁ/ or voiced plosive /ɢ/ may also be heard, depending on the dialect.[22][23][24]

Orthography

Mazanderani is commonly written in the Perso-Arabic script.[25] However, some use the Roman alphabet, for example in SMS messages.[citation needed]

Vocabulary

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.

EnglishMazanderaniPersianVedicProto-Indo-EuropeanExample of
newneono / nownávas*néwosadjective
greatgatbozorg, gozorg, gonde, gotadjective
betterbetterbehtaradverb
beenbinebudehauxiliary verb
beingbienbudanbhū-*bʰuH-infinitive of verb
fatherpiarpedarnoun
mothermârmâdarnoun
brotherberarbarâdarnoun
daughterdeterdokhtardúhitā*dʰugh₂tḗrnoun
grandpagatepapedar bozorg / pedar gozorgnoun
moonmoong / mongmâhmā́s*mḗh₁n̥snoun
cowgo / gu / guwgâvgáuṣ*gʷṓwsnoun
wolfverggorgnoun
myme / mi (before the noun)am (after the noun), ommáma*méneverb
gabgabgapverb
rightrastrâstadjective
damagedamejâsibnoun

Mazandarani is rich in synonyms, some such nouns also retaining the gender they possessed in Indo-European times: for instance the words miš, gal, 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 muš or muska or mušk, in Mazandarani the most commonly used name for the mouse is the feminine noun gal.[vague]

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.

Mazanderani nameMeaningMazanderani nameMeaning
ahlBull subdued[clarification needed]nū dūşYoung plough bull used for the first time
āhyBlack-eyed cowpaei varzāSingle bull used for ploughing
alaştMiner's tool, ending in two wooden arcsparūCattle for ploughing
baKhte bāriBullock and tracesrajiA cow that is ready to mate
bārengReddish-brown cowraş goCrimson cow with black spots
batkoniyeCastrated male bovine cattle to eliminate it from washing down[clarification needed]raş jūnkāYoung bull with red and black streaks
būr geleYellow / red cowraş kamerBrown-and-white cow
būr şāxSharp, red points of a cow's hornssārūBull with a white forehead
būrekLight yellow bullsārūBull with a white forehead
būrengBlonde cowşelāb beze gozūrThe new wide calf rain caused a sharp volley crumbled[clarification needed]
būrmangoFawn cowselnāzCow streaked with white from nose to tail
das karePlace where bull fights heldsembe bandOx bearing a wooden yoke
de jetRust-coloured cow killed by two bullsserxe selRed cow with a white stripe from neck to tail
demes mārCow with a two-year-old calfsetāreBlack-and-white-spotted cow
demis mārTwo-year-old bull calfseyā bareBlack cow with a white forehead.
dūşt hākerdenProvoke a bull to attackseyā kachalBlack cow with black spots on the tail end of the frontal[clarification needed]
elā elā şāğCow with horns growing in opposite directionsseyā selBlack cow with a white line running along its spine to its tail
elā kalCow with large open hornsseyelWhite-bellied cow
elā şiroCow with spreading hornsşir vejGelded calf or bull
elāşāxA bull that has large open hornsşirūA cow with a white head and tail
emūjOx that once trained for ploughingşūkāPale yellow cow
eştePair of cows for worktā şūMiner's cow, only to be closed[clarification needed]
ezāliCow that is bred to ploughtağr inPair of four-year-old cows inseminated naturally
falCow ready for matingtal goA cow that is ready for ploughing
faresOx that has not been taught to portagetāle mārCow with bells hung around his neck
ğalferBovine of a yellowish colourtariseCow whose first calf is female and has reached two years of age
jandekBull bison that used for matingtersekāTwo-and-a-half-year-old cow that is ready to mate
jānekāStrong, young bull left ungelded for the purposes of breeding or combatteş kūleA young bull
jinekāYoung bullteşkYoung bull that is not yet ready for ploughing
jonde kā sarePlace where young bulls and breeding cattle are raisedteşkelSmall bull
jone kā koleBullock less than two years old that has done no worktitāppeli mangoBlack and white cow
jūndekāBullock more than two years old that has done no worktolomYoung cow - heifer
jūnekkāYoung bullstūz kelbull
jūnekkā jangQuarrel between young bullsvarzāBullock
KhāmodOx ploughxāl dārBovine with bicoloured coat
lāch kalCow with open hornsxes xesi goA cow that lies down on the ground while working
lachchiOpen cow horns that grow in opposite directionsxetūrAlarmed cow
lase sar gūCow that goes to everyonexik chafA cow that refuses to give milk to calves or its owner
lūş beniBridegroom's gift cowzām bordeCow missed after giving birth
māgūA cowzanā gūCow fighting with its horns
mangoRelating to lactating cowszar xālBlack cow with yellow spots
mārşanYoung cowzargeleYellow cow
mārūCow with a white foreheadzemessūni karCow that leans due to food shortages in the winter
meremLovely young cowzingālBlack cow with white legs

Influences exerted by Mazanderani

Modern-day of Iran

In Iran, there are some popular companies and products, like Rika (boy) or Kija (girl), which take their name from Mazanderani words.[26]

In non-Iranian languages

There are some Mazanderani loanwords in the Turkmen language.[27]

Examples

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.[28]

References

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

Further reading

  • Borjian, Habib (2006). "The Oldest Known Texts in New Tabari: The Collection of Aleksander Chodzko". Archiv Orientální. 74 (2): 153–171.
  • Borjian, Habib (2006). "A Mazanderani account of the Babi Incident at Shaikh Tabarsi". Iranian Studies. 39 (3): 381–400. doi:10.1080/00210860600808227.
  • Borjian, Habib (2006). "Textual sources for the study of Tabari language. I. Old documents". Guyesh-shenâsi. 4.
  • Borjian, Habib (2008). "Tabarica II: Some Mazanderani Verbs". Iran and the Caucasus. 12 (1): 73–82. doi:10.1163/157338408X326217.
  • Borjian, Habib (2008). "Two Mazanderani Texts from the Nineteenth Century". Studia Iranica. 37 (1): 7–50. doi:10.2143/SI.37.1.2032296.
  • Borjian, Habib; Borjian, Maryam (2007). "Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran: Mysterious Memories of a Woman". Iran and the Caucasus. 11 (2): 226–254. doi:10.1163/157338407X265469.
  • Borjian, Habib; Borjian, Maryam (2008). "The Last Galesh Herdsman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from South Caspian Rainforests". Iranian Studies. 41 (3): 365–402. doi:10.1080/00210860801981336. S2CID 162393586.
  • Le Coq, P. (1989). "Les dialects Caspiens et les dialects du nord-ouest de l'Iran". In Schmitt, Rüdiger (ed.). Compendium linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. pp. 296–312.
  • Nawata, Tetsuo (1984). Māzandarāni. Asian and African Grammatical Manual. Vol. 17. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.
  • Shokri, Giti (1990). "Verb Structure in Sāri dialect". Farhang. 6. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies: 217–231.
  • Shokri, Giti (1995). Sārī Dialect. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
  • Shokri, Giti (2006). Ramsarī Dialect. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
  • Yoshie, Satoko (1996). Sārī Dialect. Iranian Studies. Vol. 10. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.

External links