There are three main dialects but larger cities in Gilan have slight variations to the way they speak. These "sub-dialects" are Rashti, Rudbari, Some’e Sarai, Lahijani, Langerudi, Rudesari, Bandar Anzali, Fumani, Alamouti and Taleghani.[5]
Gilaki, which has two main dialect types, eastern and western, with the Safidrūd River as the general border, is a member of the Caspian subgroup. [17] There are many subdialects of Gilaki, and, progressing to the east, it gradually blends into Mazandarani. The intermediate dialects of the area between Tonokābon and Kalārdašt serve as a transition between Gilaki and Mazandarani. The differences in forms and vocabulary lead to a low mutual intelligibility with either Gilaki or Mazandarani, and so these dialects should probably be considered a third separate language group of the Caspian area.[18]In Mazandaran, Gilaki is spoken in the city of Ramsar and Tonekabon. Although the dialect is influenced by Mazandarani, it is still considered a Gilaki dialect.[19][20]
Apart from four Turkish-speaking villages higher up, the inhabitants of Alamut speak Gilaki and those of Rudbar Tati.[22] In Qazvin province, Gilaki is spoken in northern parts of the province, in Alamut.[23][24]
Grammar
Gilaki, is an inflected and genderless language. It is considered SVO, although in sentences employing certain tenses the order may be SOV.[25]
Dispersion
Gilaki is the language of the majority of people in Gilan province and also a native and well-known language in Mazandaran, Qazvin and Alborz provinces. Gilaki is spoken in different regions with different dialects and accents.[26][27][28][29][30][12][13][11][31] The number of Gilaki speakers is estimated at 3 to 4 million.[32][33][34] Ethnologue reports that the use of Gilaki is decreasing as the speaker population is decreasing.[35]
Phonology
Gilaki has the same consonants as Persian, but different vowels. Here is a table of correspondences for the Western Gilaki of Rasht, which will be the variety used in the remainder of the article:
Gilaki
Persian
Example (Gilaki)
i
e
ki.tab
e(ː)
iː, eː/ei
seb
ɛ(œ)
e
iɛrɛ
ə
æ, e
mən
a
aː
lag
ä
æ
zäy
ɒ (perhaps allophonic)
aː
lɒ.nə
o
uː, oː/ɔ
d͡ʒoɾ
u
o/uː
ɡul
ü
u
tüm
There are nine vowel phonemes in the Gilaki language:
Front
Central
Back
Close
iiː
uuː
Mid
e
ə
o
Open
a
ɒ
The consonants are:
Gilaki Consonants
labial
alveolar
post-alveolar
velar
uvular
glottal
voiceless stops
p
t
t͡ʃ
k
ʔ
voiced stops
b
d
d͡ʒ
ɡ
voiceless fricatives
f
s
ʃ
x~χ
h
voiced fricatives
v
z
ʒ
ɣ~ʁ
nasals
m
n
ŋ
liquids
l, ɾ~r
glides
j
Verb system
The verb system of Gilaki is very similar to that of Persian. All infinitives end in -tən/-dən, or in -V:n, where V: is a long vowel (from contraction of an original *-Vdən). The present stem is usually related to the infinitive, and the past stem is just the infinitive without -ən or -n (in the case of vowel stems).
Present tenses
From the infinitive dín, "to see", we get present stem din-.
Present indicative
The present indicative is formed by adding the personal endings to this stem:
Singular
Plural
dinəm
diním(i)
diní
diníd(i)
diné
diníd(i)
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is formed with the prefix bí-, bú-, or bə- (depending on the vowel in the stem) added to the indicative forms. Final /e/ neutralizes to /ə/ in the 3rd singular and the plural invariably lacks final /i/.
Singular
Plural
bídinəm
bídinim
bídini
bídinid
bídinə
bídinid
The negative of both the indicative and the subjunctive is formed in the same way, with n- instead of the b- of the subjunctive.
Past tenses
Preterite
From xurdən, "to eat", we get the perfect stem xurd. To this are added unaccented personal endings and the unaccented b- prefix (or accented n- for the negative):
Singular
Plural
buxúrdəm
buxúrdim(i)
buxúrdi
buxúrdid(i)
buxúrdə
buxúrdid(i)
Imperfect
The imperfect is formed with what was originally a suffix -i:
xúrdim
xúrdim(i)
xúrdi
xúrdid(i)
xúrdi
xúrdid(i)
Pluperfect
The pluperfect is paraphrastically formed with the verb bon, "to be", and the past participle, which is in turn formed with the perfect stem+ə (which can assimilate to become i or u). The accent can fall on the last syllable of the participle or on the stem itself:
Singular
Plural
buxurdə bum
buxurdə bim
buxurdə bi
buxurdə bid
buxurdə bu
buxurdə bid
Past subjunctive
A curious innovation of Western Gilaki is the past subjunctive, which is formed with the (artificial) imperfect of bon+past participle:
Singular
Plural
bidé bim
bidé bim
bidé bi
bidé bid
bidé be/bi
bidé bid
This form is often found in the protasis and apodosis of unreal conditions, e.g., mən agə Əkbəra bidé bim, xušhal bubosti bim, "If I were to see/saw/had seen Akbar, I would be happy".
Progressive
There are two very common paraphrastic constructions for the present and past progressives. From the infinitive šon, "to go", we get:
Present progressive
Singular
Plural
šón darəm
šón darim
šón dari
šón darid
šón darə
šón darid
Past progressive
Singular
Plural
šón də/du bum
šón də/di bim
šón də/di bi
šón də/di bid
šón də/du bu
šón də/di bid
Compound verbs
There are many compound verbs in Gilaki, whose forms differ slightly from simple verbs. Most notably, bV- is never prefixed onto the stem, and the negative prefixnV- can act like an infix-n-, coming between the prefix and the stem. So from fagiftən, "to get", we get present indicativefagirəm, but present subjunctivefágirəm, and the negative of both, faángirəm or fanígirəm. The same applies to the negative of the past tenses: fángiftəm or fanígiftəm.
Nouns, cases and postpositions
Gilaki employs a combination of quasi-case endings and postpositions to do the work of many particles and prepositions in English and Persian.
Cases
There are essentially three "cases" in Gilaki, the nominative (or, better, unmarked, as it can serve other grammatical functions), the genitive, and the (definite) accusative. The accusative form is often used to express the simple indirect object in addition to the direct object. A noun in the genitive comes before the word it modifies. These "cases" are in origin actually just particles, similar to Persian ra.
Nouns
For the word "per", father, we have:
Singular
Plural
Nom
per
perán
Acc
pera
perána
Gen
perə
peránə
The genitive can change to -i, especially before some postpositions.
Pronouns
The 1st and 2nd person pronouns have special forms:
Singular
Plural
Nom
mən
amán
Acc
məra
amána
Gen
mi
amí
Singular
Plural
Nom
tu
šumán
Acc
təra
šumána
Gen
ti
šimí
The 3rd person (demonstrative) pronouns are regular: /un/, /u.ˈʃan/, /i.ˈʃan/
Postpositions
With the genitive can be combined many postpositions. Examples:
Gilaki
English
re
for
həmra/əmra
with
ĵa
from, than (in comparisons)
mian
in
ĵor
above
ĵir
under
ru
on top of
The personal pronouns have special forms with "-re": mere, tere, etc.
Adjectives
Gilaki adjectives come before the noun they modify, and may have the genitive "case ending" -ə/-i. They do not agree with the nouns they modify.
Example for adjectival modification: Western Gilaki: pilla-yi zakan (big children), Surx gul (red flower). Eastern Gilaki: Sərd ow (cold water) (ɑb-e særd in Persian), kul čaqu (dull knife) (čaqu-ye kond in Persian).
Possessive constructions
Examples for possessive constructions of nouns in Western Gilaki: məhine zakan (Mæhin's children) (Bæče-ha-ye Mæhin in Persian), Baγi gulan (garden flowers) (Gol-ha-ye Baγ in Persian). In Eastern Gilaki: Xirsi Kuti (bear cub) (Bæč-e Xers in Persian).
Vocabulary
Gilaki
Mazandarani
Zazaki
Kurmanji
English
Persian
Persian transcription
Tat
Baluchi
dim
dim/ru
ruy/rı
dêm
face
روی/چهره
ruy/čehreh
ru
dim/deym
zäy/zäk
vače
pıte/doman
dergûş / zarok
baby/kid
کودک/بچه
kudak/bačeh
əyəl
zag
pile pɛr
gate piyer
Kalîke
kal
grandfather
پدربزرگ
pedar bozorg
kələpiyər
pirok
zəmat
peyom
peyam
peyam
message
پیام
payām
mərdə per
ši piyer
Pîye zama/viştewru
xezûr
father of the husband
پدرشوهر
pedar šohar
xüsürmərd
kerk/murgh/kerat
kerg/kerk
kerg
mirîşk
hen
مرغ خانگی
morgh xānegi
kərg
morg
gow/gāb
guw
gâ
gaw/gab
cow
گاو
gāv
mərəgou
gowk
buĵor/cuer/jor
jur/jār
cor
jor
up
بالا
bālā
zəvər
borz
kiĵi/sitarə
rojā/esāre
astare
stêrk
star
ستاره
setāreh
astara
estar
kor/kilkā/lāku/deter
kijā/deter
kêna/çêna
keç
girl
دختر
doxtar
duxtər/ kilə
jinek/ dohtar/ jinen zag
rey/rike/väče
rikā/peser
Laj/biko
law
boy
پسر
pesar
gədə
bachek/ marden zag
putāl/pitar
melije
morcele
morî
ant
مورچه
murčeh
mujnə
morink
siftāl/garzak
kangeli
zerqet
moz
bee
زنبور
zanbur
əng
gowder
piča
bāmeši
psing
pisîk
cat/pussy cat
گربه/پیشی
gorbeh/piši
pişik
peshik
nesä
nesum/sāyne
siya
reş
shadow
سایه
sāyeh
sayə
sāyag
vargadån/urgadån
āvizun hākerden
Vardan
êxistin
to hang
آویزان کردن/آویختن
āvixtan/āvizān kardan
vəzərən
pillə/pilla
gat
pîl/giran
gir
great
بزرگ
bozorg
kələ
tuh/ mazan
zäk/zäy
vače
doman,qîj,leyr
zarok
child
بچه
bačeh
əyəl
zag
pɛr
piyer
pîye,baw
bav
father
پدر
pedar
piyər
pet/ pes
kåråš=kereš/fakeshen
bakešiyen
keresdan
kişandin
to draw on the ground
کشیدن به دنبال
kešidan
kəşirən
fuduštån/uduštån
bučefessen
levnayış
mijîn
to suck
مکیدن
makidan
çumustən
vastån
vene/meyl
waşten
vîn
appetite or desire
اشتها و میل
eštehā o meyl
šondån/fukudån
bašendiyen
şodan/şıdan
rijandin / pê de berdan
pouring of liquids
ریختن مایعات
rixtan-e māyeāt
lisk
lis/sor
reser-lic
sîsk / runik
lubricious
ليز / سور
liz/sor
kərč
tarne
kırç
brittle
ترد و شکننده
tord o šekanandeh
där
dār
dâr
dar
tree
دار/درخت
dār/deraxt
dar
dāar/ drachk/ mach(date tree)
malĵå/čičini
mičkā
miliçik
tîvil / qilîç
sparrow
گنجشک
gonješk
mərgiçə
jenjeshk
bušu
bur/bašo
buşu
biçe / here
go
برو
boro
bura/bara
bera/ shoten
fegir/fagir
bair/bayr
fekir
bigre
take it in your hand
بگیر
begir
gir
ger
fangir/fanigir
nair/nayr
megir
megire / negire
don't take in your hand
نگیر
nagir
məgir
mager
purd
perd/pel
pırd
pir
bridge
پل
pol
kürpi
si
gar/si/se
koy u kerra
çiya û kevir
mountain and stone
کوه و سنگ
kuh o sang
kenes
barxerd
temas
temas
touch
تماس
tamās
morghanə
merqāne
hâk
hêk
egg
تخم مرغ
toxm-e morgh
xakərg
āmorg/ hek
lanti/milom
mar
mar
mar
snake
مار
mār
mar
mār
kəlač
kelaj
qela
qela
crow
کلاغ
kalāgh
qəlağ
gərmalət
golmetare
isot, ferfer
îsot
pepper
فلفل
felfel
istout
pelpel
pamadur
goje
firang
firing
tomato
گوجه فرنگی
gojeh-ye farangi
pamadur
vatərkəssən/vatərkəstən
baterkessen
terqnaiden
teqîn / peqîn
explode
ترکیدن
terkidan
šimi šin
šeme vesse
seba/semed şıma
ji bo te
for you
برای شما
barāye šomā
bey işmu/ bəri işmu
par shoma/ par ta/ shome ent/ ti ent
mi šin
me vesse
seba/semede mı
ji bo min
for me
برای من
barāye man
bey mən/ bəri mən
par man/ mani ent
kiškazay
čindekā
kerge
mirişk
chicken
جوجه
jujeh
cücə
vərza
junekā
gâ
gaw / ganêr
male cow
گاو نر
gāv-e nar
nərəgou
leše
telem/telemkā
mungâ
mange
bull
گاو ماده
gāv-e māddeh
gou
jir/bijir
jir/jer
ceir/cér
jêr
down
پائین
pā'in
zir
jahl/ cher
luchan
qorpe/češ degārdiyen
çemard
roll of the eyes
چشم غره
češm ghoreh
bəjar/bijar
binjār/bijār/šālizār
berzer
zeviya rizê
rice farm
مزرعه برنج
mazra'e-ye berenj
vachukastan
jurburden
vecyayen
helkiştin
climb
بالا رفتن
bālā raftan
dürmarən
borz buten
Comparison of Gilaki, Mazandarani, Kurmanci, Zazaki and Balochi
English
Gilaki
Mazandarani
Kurmanci
Zazaki
Balochi
baby/kid
zay/zak/kūte
vače/kote
zarok
doman/qîj
Zag
up
ĵor
jur/jār
jor/jûr
cor
Borz
girl
kor/kilka
kijā/deter
keç
kêna/çêna
jinek/janek
tree
daar
dār
dar
dar
dāar
go
bušu
bur/bašo
biçe
so/şo
boro
bridge
purd
perd/pel
pir
pird
puhl
groom
zama
zomā
zava
zama
salonk
fell
kaft
daket
ket
kewt
kapt
Notes
Further reading
Christensen, Arthur Emanuel (1930). "Dialect Guiläkī de Recht" [The Gilaki dialect of Rasht]. Contributions à la dialectologie iranienne(PDF). Kgl. danske videnskabernes selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser. Vol. 17. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 January 2024. (translated into Persian 1995)
Purriyahi, Masud (1971). Barresi-ye dastur-e guyesh-e Gilaki-ye Rasht [A Grammatical Study of the Gilaki dialect of Rasht] (Dissertation). Tehran University.
Sartippur, Jahangir (1990). Vižegihā-ye Dasturi va Farhang-e vāžehā-ye Gilaki [Grammatical Characteristics and Glossary of Gilaki]. Rasht: Nashr-e Gilakan.
Rastorgueva, V. S.; Kerimova, A. A.; Mamedzade, A. K.; Pireiko, L. A.; Edel’man, D. I. (2012). The Gilaki Language. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Vol. 19. Translated by Lockwood, Ronald M. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet. ISBN978-91-554-8419-4.