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Habib Borjian

Columbia University, Center for Iranian Studies, Faculty Member +1Columbia University, Center for Iranian Studies, Faculty MemberColumbia University, CIS, Faculty Member

Afghanistan +10

Address: New York, New York, United States

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Papers

“Köroğlu. Tajik Gurugli”

Enc. iranica, 2022

The folk-epic story of Köroğlu, eminent among various Turkic peoples, is also widespread among th... more The folk-epic story of Köroğlu, eminent among various Turkic peoples, is also widespread among the Tajiks of the upper Oxus valleys. The Tajik versions, known as Guruḡli, were derived from Turkic sometime in modern history, yet they have been transformed both in form and content via adaptation to Tajik culture and history. Guruḡli performance remained popular well into the second half of the 20th century among rural Tajiks of central and southern Tajikistan (Ḡarm and Kulāb), as well as in adjoining Badaḵšān (q.v.) in northern Afghanistan. Tajik Guruḡli (Gū̆rūḡlī in Tajik orthography), lit. “son of the grave” (from Persian gōr "tomb" and Turkic oğlu "son"), is more commonly known as Gurḡuli (Gūrḡūlī), comprising of gōr "grave" and ḡōl "giant".

The Extinct Language of Gorgan: Grammar, Typology, Diachrony

Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian , 2021

Known exclusively from historical documents of the 14th-15th centuries, Gorgāni is largely overlo... more Known exclusively from historical documents of the 14th-15th centuries, Gorgāni is largely overlooked in Iranian dialectology. This paper is organized in three parts: (I) grammar, (II) typology, (III) diachrony. The right-branching noun phrase places Gorgāni within the Caspian-Alborz Sprachbund. Such continuum does not hold in other typological features when Gorgāni is compared areally with Caspian and Komisenian. Morphological idiosyncrasies include: possessor with oblique marker -n; imperfective with hī-; future with kām-; irrealis with -nd-; 3sg pronoun <xw>. These characteristics substantiate that Gorgāni belongs to none of the recognized West Iranic language groups. Gorgāni shows exclusive isoglosses with its historical neighbor Balochi. Genealogically, Gorgāni displays a strong Northwest Iranian pedigree, as expected of a language that could once be in contact with Parthian.

"Zabān-e matruk-e Gorgān: dastur, rada, tabār (The Extinct Language of Gorgan: Grammar, Typology, Diachrony)," Pažuhešhā-ye zabāni-adabi-e Qafqāz o Kāspian / Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian 2/2, 2021, pp. 61-96.

Persian-Median Contacts in the Mārbin district of Isfahan

Sorushyār Memorial Volume, 2020

Mārbin is a historical district contiguous with the city of Isfahan on its west. The administrati... more Mārbin is a historical district contiguous with the city of Isfahan on its west. The administrative seat of the district used to be called Sedeh (renamed Khomeini Shahr after the Islamic Revolution), on the grounds that it consisted of the three villages of Varnusfāderān, Forushān, and Khuzān. There were however several other villages that constituted Mārbin, including Asfariz, Dastgerd, Bābukān, Andoān, Kartemān, Āderyān, Horestān, among others. These former villages now form a roughly contiguous urbanized aglomerate with a total population that reaches 300,000 individuals. Mārbin is well known for its conservative traditions.
Two languages are spoken in Mārbin: (1) Varnusfāderāni, a Central-Plateau type language of Median stock strongly associated with other “Provincial” dialects spoken around the city of Isfahan, notably Gazi and Judeo-Isfahani. There is enough evidence to believe that these Median dialects formed a continuum that included the city of Isfahan itself before Median was pushed out by Persian in the early modern period. Varnisfāderāni’s domain has been shrinking rapidly; its usage is now confined to the Bāvalgān neighborhood. (2) Persian is spoken in the rest of Mārbin, forming a linguistic continuum with Isfahan and environs. There is however a multitude of accents of Persian spoken in Mārbin—varieties remarkably enough distinctive that the provenance of the speaker is easily recognized. It should be added that these varieties are notably different from the Persian vernacular spoken in Isfahan but are intelligible to Persian speakers all over Iran.
In an attempt to understand the dialectal distribution of the district, we identified 17 varieties of Persian in Mārbin during a preliminary linguistic survey in 2016. To delineate the varieties, some 50 isoglosses were selected:
Grammatical isoglosses are features that deviate from common Persian: (1) the infinitive built on the present stem; (2) gerunds suffixed by -mun; (3) plural nouns in -un; (4) postposition -da. These features exist in their fullness in both Median and Persian spoken in Varnusfāderān, but the domain of usage gradually decrease with distance, as shown in Map 2. The radial distribution of the grammatical isoglosses suggests language borrowing from Varnusfāderāni Median as the source language. From another vantage point, one may assume that these features are vestiges of a substrate Median language common to Mārbin which is now overlaid by Persian radiating from Isfahan.
Phonological isoglosses include labial consonants, lenition of stops, fronting of open and mid-open vowels, existence of pharyngeal consonants, vowel coloration adjacent the original pharyngeals in Arabic loanwords, r > l, rt > t, among other sound shifts. The emerging patterns are not as clear-cut as those of morphology. A crisscross of isoglosses delineating labial shifts (f > p, p > f, v > b, b > f) shown on Map 3 proves a case in point.
Lexical isoglosses amount to a dozen items. These include false friends such as fahmidan vs. šanidan for ‘to listen’ ruftan vs. rundan for ‘to drive’ which bisect the varieties spoken in Mārbin. In addition, the word-formant suffixes -eki, -uli, -āli, and -undi are employed to demarcate language variation in the district.

Historical Evolution of Tabari تحولاتِ تاریخیِ زبانِ طبری

Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian, 2021

Tabari or Mazandarani has a history of documentation of nearly a millennium, that is a language s... more Tabari or Mazandarani has a history of documentation of nearly a millennium, that is a language second in age, among the living Iranian languages, only to New Persian. It is the only language of the same family besides Persian into which the Koran is translated in pre-modern times. A historical periodization of Tabari is proposed by this author in Motun-e Ṭabari / Tabari Texts (2009): Period I, 10-15 centuries, consisting of poems and individual verses, sentences, and words preserved in otherwise Persian works; Period II, interlinear translation of three manuscript of Koran's exegesis by the Zaydi sect, and of Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī, all sharig strong dialectal features once spoken in western Mazandaran and in early modern history; Period III, contemporary Mazandarani documented since the first half of the 19th century.

A comparative study of the proposed three periods is attempted in this article. After a brief discussion of the sources and the current distribution of Caspian varieties, I propose a historical-comparative analysis of phonology and morphosyntax among the periods and conclude with a brief lexical inquiry.

The Perside Language of Shiraz Jewry: A Historical-Comparative Phonology

Iranian Studies, 2020

This study concerns the native language of Shirazi Jews, most of whom are living in diasporic com... more This study concerns the native language of Shirazi Jews, most of whom are living in diasporic communities outside Iran. The language, Judeo-Shirazi, belongs to the Southwest Iranian group, as do most other native languages spoken in southern Iran. As such, Judeo-Shirazi shows general agreements with native rural varieties spoken in inland Fārs. There are however phonological features suggesting that Judeo-Shirazi is an insular survivor of the Medieval Shirazi language, from which sizable literature have survived up to the fifteenth century.

Contributions to Toponomastics of the Central Alborz

Studies in the Caspian and Caucasus Languages and Literatures, 2020

This article identifies toponymic patterns in the Central Alborz, a region bonded by the Caspian ... more This article identifies toponymic patterns in the Central Alborz, a region bonded by the Caspian Sea on the north and Tehran on the south. The patterns studied include the element sūl and suffixes -ūs and -ī̆j. The component sīâ in toponyms pertains to the pigment found in green plants rather than to pitch-black. The prefusion of the component dīv “demon” in onomastics of the Alborz testifies to a precarious stance among the Caspian people of the Zoroaster’s rejection of the daēuuas. Hypercorrections underlying some toponyms are also examined.

Traces of pharyngeal consonants in Isfahani Persian

Iranian Studies, 2021

The word-final /-a/ and the diphthong /ay/ of earlier New Persian shift respectively to /-e/ and ... more The word-final /-a/ and the diphthong /ay/ of earlier New Persian shift respectively to /-e/ and /ey/ in modern Persian. Isfahani Persian follows suit, e.g. dande "rib" and meydun "plaza." However, the earlier phonemes survive only in a finite set of words: Arabic loanwords in which the /a/ succeeds pharyngeal consonants, e.g. ȷ ̌omʾa (< ȷ ̌umʿa) "Friday," fâtaː (< fātiḥ a) "funeral," ayd (< ʿayd) "feast." Isfahani Persian shows other vocalic anomalies adjacent to original pharyngeals, including syllable-final iʿ > aː in qânaː (< qāniʿ) "content," maːmâr (< miʿmār) "architect." This article investigates these phonological irregularities and their geographic distribution and historical periodization.

The Language of the Kharg Island

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2019

Khargi is spoken on the island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. A member of the Southwest branch of ... more Khargi is spoken on the island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. A member of the Southwest branch of the Iranian languages, Khargi is related to the languages spoken in the province of Fārs and along the coastal line down to the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting extensive maritime contact, yet does not lend itself to any of the known subgroups of the family. As Khargi remains largely obscure, this article offers a morphosyntax and lexical analysis based on published texts and those collected by the author. It investigates the linguistic position of Khargi based on comparative-historical phonology as well as areal features, with a look at cross-linguistic influence in the situation of language contact. By contrasting linguistic findings with details of history and economy, an attempt is made to date the original and later human settlements on the island. 1

The Caspian Language of Šahmirzād

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2019

Located in the Semnān area (midway between Tehran and Khorasan), the town of Shahmirzād and its n... more Located in the Semnān area (midway between Tehran and Khorasan), the town of Shahmirzād and its neighboring villages are home to speakers of Shahmirzādi, a vernacular sharply differing from the other language types spoken in the Semnān area but closely related to the Mazandarani language spoken across the Alborz range to the north, along the Caspian coast. This article studies Shahmirzādi phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, with a look at cross-linguistic influence in the situation of language contact. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible status of Shahmirzādi as a separate language within the Caspian family.

The Caspian Dialect of Māhā

Studia Iranica, 2018

Le māhā’i, parlé dans le village de Māhā (Mahābād) au sud de Firuzkuh, sur les pentes de l... more Le māhā’i, parlé dans le village de Māhā (Mahābād) au sud de Firuzkuh, sur les pentes de l’Alborz, est l’un des dialectes les plus méridionaux du māzandarāni, langue qui compte de nombreuses variétés. Ce dialecte, en voie de disparition, était utilisé par seulement cinq familles en 2011. Cette étude tente d’éclairer certains aspects méconnus du māzandarāni, en esquissant une grammaire du dialecte māhā’i, avec un intérêt particulier pour ses caractéristiques typologiques.

Mazandarani: A typological Survey

Typology of Iranian Languages, 2019

The Dialect of Khur

Mélanges d’ethnographie et de dialectologie irano-aryennes à la mémoire de Charles-Martin Kieffer , 2018

Khuri is spoken in the township of Khur, in the district of Biābānak, on the southern border of D... more Khuri is spoken in the township of Khur, in the district of Biābānak, on the southern border of Dašt-e Kavir, the Great Desert in Central Iran. Khuri is closely related to the neighboring dialects of Farrokhi, Garma, and Irāj; they can therefore be classified together as a distinct language group, designated here as Biābānaki, within the West Iranian language family. As Khuri remains largely understudied, this article offers a sketch grammar of the dialect based on the texts collected by this author and by others. Moreover, the linguistic position of Khuri is investigated based on comparative-historical phonology.

Published in in Matteo De Chiara, Adriano V. Rossi, and Daniel Septfonds, eds., Mélanges d’ethnographie et de dialectologie irano-aryennes à la mémoire de Charles-Martin Kieffer (Studia Iranica. Cahier 61), Paris: Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes, 2018, pp. 77-98.

از پلورگان تا باغ وردان: پرسه ای در چمهای زاینده رود

Az Polvargan ta Baghvardan (Persian), 2015

toponymy and historical geography of the upper Zayanarud valley. H. Borjian, “Az Polvargân tâ Bâ... more

Languages of Alborz

"Zabānhā-ye Alborz", Language and Inscription / Zabān o katibe, no. 2, 2018, pp. 30-39., 2018

An overviw of geographical domain of the Mazandarani language and its outlying dialects

Kerman's Languages (1. Persian, 2. Garmsiri Language type)

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2017

This article defines the Garmsiri Language. It is a continuum of closely related dialects extendi... more This article defines the Garmsiri Language. It is a continuum of closely related dialects extending from the Halilrud river valley in the north down to the Strait of Hormuz in the south. It incorporates Jirofti, Kahnuji, Rudbāri, Manujāni, Minābi, Bandari, and Baškardi. Some of the dialects investigated here as Garmsiri had long been known as (outer) Baškardi, a designation Ilya Gershevitch gave to the vernaculars outside of Baškard proper (which he divided into North and South Baškardi). Since the same term, Garmsiri, has been in use for the related dialects spoken in Lārestān of Fārs, it would be possible to designate the entire band of the dialects stretching along an upward-facing crescent from Lārestān to Halilrud as the Garmsiri languages of Kerman and Fārs, in lieu of the verbose terminology used to this date.

A Persian View of Steppe Iranians

Anabasis, 2014

It gives a broad outline of the persistent presence of the Steppe Iranians in Persian history and... more It gives a broad outline of the persistent presence of the Steppe Iranians in Persian history and culture, by bringing together two fields that have often been treated independently. After an overview of the history of interactions between Persia and the Iranian-speaking Steppe nomads, we will extend our attention to the Iranian national history to offer some insights on the myths and legends of the Shahnama that are originated from or influenced by the mutual relations between the Steppe nomads and the dynasties who ruled on the Iranian Plateau.

Keywords: Eurasian Steppes, Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Persian Empire, Iranian national traditions, Avesta, Shahnama

“The Legend of Salm, Tur and Iraj: Motifs and Reconstruction” (in Persian)

Arjnâma-ye Safâ, 2011

The published in S.-A. Âl-e Dâvud, ed., Arjnâma-ye Safâ, Tehran, 2011.

Esbandi festival

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012

An elaborate festival held in central Iran on the eve of the month Esfand, February 14th. It has ... more

“Earthquake in Persian Beliefs and Legends” (in Persian)

Nâma-ye Farhangestân , 2007

Drawing on a broad range or sources, including folkloric, mythical, religious, literary, and scie... more Drawing on a broad range or sources, including folkloric, mythical, religious, literary, and scientific materials, the author investigates various beliefs and ideas about earthquake in the highly-seismic Iranian Plateau. The set of Persian beliefs that attributes the cause of earthquake to either subterranean creatures or divine will is compared to those among other nations. Interesting ideas about earthquake are found in the Zoroastrian apocalyptic literature, where, along with Ahriman, the demon Chashmag ‘well, spring’ is thought to be the shaker the earth. While it is hard to establish a lexical association between spring and seism, the former is indeed a natural cause of the latter, yet any further postulation should be supported by extra evidence.

When did Persian become the vernacular of Isfahan?

زبان گفتار شهر اصفهان كي و چگونه فارسي شد؟

“Köroğlu. Tajik Gurugli”

Enc. iranica, 2022

The folk-epic story of Köroğlu, eminent among various Turkic peoples, is also widespread among th... more The folk-epic story of Köroğlu, eminent among various Turkic peoples, is also widespread among the Tajiks of the upper Oxus valleys. The Tajik versions, known as Guruḡli, were derived from Turkic sometime in modern history, yet they have been transformed both in form and content via adaptation to Tajik culture and history. Guruḡli performance remained popular well into the second half of the 20th century among rural Tajiks of central and southern Tajikistan (Ḡarm and Kulāb), as well as in adjoining Badaḵšān (q.v.) in northern Afghanistan. Tajik Guruḡli (Gū̆rūḡlī in Tajik orthography), lit. “son of the grave” (from Persian gōr "tomb" and Turkic oğlu "son"), is more commonly known as Gurḡuli (Gūrḡūlī), comprising of gōr "grave" and ḡōl "giant".

The Extinct Language of Gorgan: Grammar, Typology, Diachrony

Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian , 2021

Known exclusively from historical documents of the 14th-15th centuries, Gorgāni is largely overlo... more Known exclusively from historical documents of the 14th-15th centuries, Gorgāni is largely overlooked in Iranian dialectology. This paper is organized in three parts: (I) grammar, (II) typology, (III) diachrony. The right-branching noun phrase places Gorgāni within the Caspian-Alborz Sprachbund. Such continuum does not hold in other typological features when Gorgāni is compared areally with Caspian and Komisenian. Morphological idiosyncrasies include: possessor with oblique marker -n; imperfective with hī-; future with kām-; irrealis with -nd-; 3sg pronoun <xw>. These characteristics substantiate that Gorgāni belongs to none of the recognized West Iranic language groups. Gorgāni shows exclusive isoglosses with its historical neighbor Balochi. Genealogically, Gorgāni displays a strong Northwest Iranian pedigree, as expected of a language that could once be in contact with Parthian.

"Zabān-e matruk-e Gorgān: dastur, rada, tabār (The Extinct Language of Gorgan: Grammar, Typology, Diachrony)," Pažuhešhā-ye zabāni-adabi-e Qafqāz o Kāspian / Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian 2/2, 2021, pp. 61-96.

Persian-Median Contacts in the Mārbin district of Isfahan

Sorushyār Memorial Volume, 2020

Mārbin is a historical district contiguous with the city of Isfahan on its west. The administrati... more Mārbin is a historical district contiguous with the city of Isfahan on its west. The administrative seat of the district used to be called Sedeh (renamed Khomeini Shahr after the Islamic Revolution), on the grounds that it consisted of the three villages of Varnusfāderān, Forushān, and Khuzān. There were however several other villages that constituted Mārbin, including Asfariz, Dastgerd, Bābukān, Andoān, Kartemān, Āderyān, Horestān, among others. These former villages now form a roughly contiguous urbanized aglomerate with a total population that reaches 300,000 individuals. Mārbin is well known for its conservative traditions.
Two languages are spoken in Mārbin: (1) Varnusfāderāni, a Central-Plateau type language of Median stock strongly associated with other “Provincial” dialects spoken around the city of Isfahan, notably Gazi and Judeo-Isfahani. There is enough evidence to believe that these Median dialects formed a continuum that included the city of Isfahan itself before Median was pushed out by Persian in the early modern period. Varnisfāderāni’s domain has been shrinking rapidly; its usage is now confined to the Bāvalgān neighborhood. (2) Persian is spoken in the rest of Mārbin, forming a linguistic continuum with Isfahan and environs. There is however a multitude of accents of Persian spoken in Mārbin—varieties remarkably enough distinctive that the provenance of the speaker is easily recognized. It should be added that these varieties are notably different from the Persian vernacular spoken in Isfahan but are intelligible to Persian speakers all over Iran.
In an attempt to understand the dialectal distribution of the district, we identified 17 varieties of Persian in Mārbin during a preliminary linguistic survey in 2016. To delineate the varieties, some 50 isoglosses were selected:
Grammatical isoglosses are features that deviate from common Persian: (1) the infinitive built on the present stem; (2) gerunds suffixed by -mun; (3) plural nouns in -un; (4) postposition -da. These features exist in their fullness in both Median and Persian spoken in Varnusfāderān, but the domain of usage gradually decrease with distance, as shown in Map 2. The radial distribution of the grammatical isoglosses suggests language borrowing from Varnusfāderāni Median as the source language. From another vantage point, one may assume that these features are vestiges of a substrate Median language common to Mārbin which is now overlaid by Persian radiating from Isfahan.
Phonological isoglosses include labial consonants, lenition of stops, fronting of open and mid-open vowels, existence of pharyngeal consonants, vowel coloration adjacent the original pharyngeals in Arabic loanwords, r > l, rt > t, among other sound shifts. The emerging patterns are not as clear-cut as those of morphology. A crisscross of isoglosses delineating labial shifts (f > p, p > f, v > b, b > f) shown on Map 3 proves a case in point.
Lexical isoglosses amount to a dozen items. These include false friends such as fahmidan vs. šanidan for ‘to listen’ ruftan vs. rundan for ‘to drive’ which bisect the varieties spoken in Mārbin. In addition, the word-formant suffixes -eki, -uli, -āli, and -undi are employed to demarcate language variation in the district.

Historical Evolution of Tabari تحولاتِ تاریخیِ زبانِ طبری

Literary and Linguistic Studies of the Caucasus and Caspian, 2021

Tabari or Mazandarani has a history of documentation of nearly a millennium, that is a language s... more Tabari or Mazandarani has a history of documentation of nearly a millennium, that is a language second in age, among the living Iranian languages, only to New Persian. It is the only language of the same family besides Persian into which the Koran is translated in pre-modern times. A historical periodization of Tabari is proposed by this author in Motun-e Ṭabari / Tabari Texts (2009): Period I, 10-15 centuries, consisting of poems and individual verses, sentences, and words preserved in otherwise Persian works; Period II, interlinear translation of three manuscript of Koran's exegesis by the Zaydi sect, and of Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī, all sharig strong dialectal features once spoken in western Mazandaran and in early modern history; Period III, contemporary Mazandarani documented since the first half of the 19th century.

A comparative study of the proposed three periods is attempted in this article. After a brief discussion of the sources and the current distribution of Caspian varieties, I propose a historical-comparative analysis of phonology and morphosyntax among the periods and conclude with a brief lexical inquiry.

The Perside Language of Shiraz Jewry: A Historical-Comparative Phonology

Iranian Studies, 2020

This study concerns the native language of Shirazi Jews, most of whom are living in diasporic com... more This study concerns the native language of Shirazi Jews, most of whom are living in diasporic communities outside Iran. The language, Judeo-Shirazi, belongs to the Southwest Iranian group, as do most other native languages spoken in southern Iran. As such, Judeo-Shirazi shows general agreements with native rural varieties spoken in inland Fārs. There are however phonological features suggesting that Judeo-Shirazi is an insular survivor of the Medieval Shirazi language, from which sizable literature have survived up to the fifteenth century.

Contributions to Toponomastics of the Central Alborz

Studies in the Caspian and Caucasus Languages and Literatures, 2020

This article identifies toponymic patterns in the Central Alborz, a region bonded by the Caspian ... more This article identifies toponymic patterns in the Central Alborz, a region bonded by the Caspian Sea on the north and Tehran on the south. The patterns studied include the element sūl and suffixes -ūs and -ī̆j. The component sīâ in toponyms pertains to the pigment found in green plants rather than to pitch-black. The prefusion of the component dīv “demon” in onomastics of the Alborz testifies to a precarious stance among the Caspian people of the Zoroaster’s rejection of the daēuuas. Hypercorrections underlying some toponyms are also examined.

Traces of pharyngeal consonants in Isfahani Persian

Iranian Studies, 2021

The word-final /-a/ and the diphthong /ay/ of earlier New Persian shift respectively to /-e/ and ... more The word-final /-a/ and the diphthong /ay/ of earlier New Persian shift respectively to /-e/ and /ey/ in modern Persian. Isfahani Persian follows suit, e.g. dande "rib" and meydun "plaza." However, the earlier phonemes survive only in a finite set of words: Arabic loanwords in which the /a/ succeeds pharyngeal consonants, e.g. ȷ ̌omʾa (< ȷ ̌umʿa) "Friday," fâtaː (< fātiḥ a) "funeral," ayd (< ʿayd) "feast." Isfahani Persian shows other vocalic anomalies adjacent to original pharyngeals, including syllable-final iʿ > aː in qânaː (< qāniʿ) "content," maːmâr (< miʿmār) "architect." This article investigates these phonological irregularities and their geographic distribution and historical periodization.

The Language of the Kharg Island

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2019

Khargi is spoken on the island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. A member of the Southwest branch of ... more Khargi is spoken on the island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. A member of the Southwest branch of the Iranian languages, Khargi is related to the languages spoken in the province of Fārs and along the coastal line down to the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting extensive maritime contact, yet does not lend itself to any of the known subgroups of the family. As Khargi remains largely obscure, this article offers a morphosyntax and lexical analysis based on published texts and those collected by the author. It investigates the linguistic position of Khargi based on comparative-historical phonology as well as areal features, with a look at cross-linguistic influence in the situation of language contact. By contrasting linguistic findings with details of history and economy, an attempt is made to date the original and later human settlements on the island. 1

The Caspian Language of Šahmirzād

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2019

Located in the Semnān area (midway between Tehran and Khorasan), the town of Shahmirzād and its n... more Located in the Semnān area (midway between Tehran and Khorasan), the town of Shahmirzād and its neighboring villages are home to speakers of Shahmirzādi, a vernacular sharply differing from the other language types spoken in the Semnān area but closely related to the Mazandarani language spoken across the Alborz range to the north, along the Caspian coast. This article studies Shahmirzādi phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, with a look at cross-linguistic influence in the situation of language contact. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible status of Shahmirzādi as a separate language within the Caspian family.

The Caspian Dialect of Māhā

Studia Iranica, 2018

Le māhā’i, parlé dans le village de Māhā (Mahābād) au sud de Firuzkuh, sur les pentes de l... more Le māhā’i, parlé dans le village de Māhā (Mahābād) au sud de Firuzkuh, sur les pentes de l’Alborz, est l’un des dialectes les plus méridionaux du māzandarāni, langue qui compte de nombreuses variétés. Ce dialecte, en voie de disparition, était utilisé par seulement cinq familles en 2011. Cette étude tente d’éclairer certains aspects méconnus du māzandarāni, en esquissant une grammaire du dialecte māhā’i, avec un intérêt particulier pour ses caractéristiques typologiques.

Mazandarani: A typological Survey

Typology of Iranian Languages, 2019

The Dialect of Khur

Mélanges d’ethnographie et de dialectologie irano-aryennes à la mémoire de Charles-Martin Kieffer , 2018

Khuri is spoken in the township of Khur, in the district of Biābānak, on the southern border of D... more Khuri is spoken in the township of Khur, in the district of Biābānak, on the southern border of Dašt-e Kavir, the Great Desert in Central Iran. Khuri is closely related to the neighboring dialects of Farrokhi, Garma, and Irāj; they can therefore be classified together as a distinct language group, designated here as Biābānaki, within the West Iranian language family. As Khuri remains largely understudied, this article offers a sketch grammar of the dialect based on the texts collected by this author and by others. Moreover, the linguistic position of Khuri is investigated based on comparative-historical phonology.

Published in in Matteo De Chiara, Adriano V. Rossi, and Daniel Septfonds, eds., Mélanges d’ethnographie et de dialectologie irano-aryennes à la mémoire de Charles-Martin Kieffer (Studia Iranica. Cahier 61), Paris: Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes, 2018, pp. 77-98.

از پلورگان تا باغ وردان: پرسه ای در چمهای زاینده رود

Az Polvargan ta Baghvardan (Persian), 2015

toponymy and historical geography of the upper Zayanarud valley. H. Borjian, “Az Polvargân tâ Bâ... more

Languages of Alborz

"Zabānhā-ye Alborz", Language and Inscription / Zabān o katibe, no. 2, 2018, pp. 30-39., 2018

An overviw of geographical domain of the Mazandarani language and its outlying dialects

Kerman's Languages (1. Persian, 2. Garmsiri Language type)

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2017

This article defines the Garmsiri Language. It is a continuum of closely related dialects extendi... more This article defines the Garmsiri Language. It is a continuum of closely related dialects extending from the Halilrud river valley in the north down to the Strait of Hormuz in the south. It incorporates Jirofti, Kahnuji, Rudbāri, Manujāni, Minābi, Bandari, and Baškardi. Some of the dialects investigated here as Garmsiri had long been known as (outer) Baškardi, a designation Ilya Gershevitch gave to the vernaculars outside of Baškard proper (which he divided into North and South Baškardi). Since the same term, Garmsiri, has been in use for the related dialects spoken in Lārestān of Fārs, it would be possible to designate the entire band of the dialects stretching along an upward-facing crescent from Lārestān to Halilrud as the Garmsiri languages of Kerman and Fārs, in lieu of the verbose terminology used to this date.

A Persian View of Steppe Iranians

Anabasis, 2014

It gives a broad outline of the persistent presence of the Steppe Iranians in Persian history and... more It gives a broad outline of the persistent presence of the Steppe Iranians in Persian history and culture, by bringing together two fields that have often been treated independently. After an overview of the history of interactions between Persia and the Iranian-speaking Steppe nomads, we will extend our attention to the Iranian national history to offer some insights on the myths and legends of the Shahnama that are originated from or influenced by the mutual relations between the Steppe nomads and the dynasties who ruled on the Iranian Plateau.

Keywords: Eurasian Steppes, Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Persian Empire, Iranian national traditions, Avesta, Shahnama

“The Legend of Salm, Tur and Iraj: Motifs and Reconstruction” (in Persian)

Arjnâma-ye Safâ, 2011

The published in S.-A. Âl-e Dâvud, ed., Arjnâma-ye Safâ, Tehran, 2011.

Esbandi festival

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012

An elaborate festival held in central Iran on the eve of the month Esfand, February 14th. It has ... more

“Earthquake in Persian Beliefs and Legends” (in Persian)

Nâma-ye Farhangestân , 2007

Drawing on a broad range or sources, including folkloric, mythical, religious, literary, and scie... more Drawing on a broad range or sources, including folkloric, mythical, religious, literary, and scientific materials, the author investigates various beliefs and ideas about earthquake in the highly-seismic Iranian Plateau. The set of Persian beliefs that attributes the cause of earthquake to either subterranean creatures or divine will is compared to those among other nations. Interesting ideas about earthquake are found in the Zoroastrian apocalyptic literature, where, along with Ahriman, the demon Chashmag ‘well, spring’ is thought to be the shaker the earth. While it is hard to establish a lexical association between spring and seism, the former is indeed a natural cause of the latter, yet any further postulation should be supported by extra evidence.

When did Persian become the vernacular of Isfahan?

زبان گفتار شهر اصفهان كي و چگونه فارسي شد؟

Silk and Spice Routs

Essays on Three Iranian Language Groups: Taleqani, Baiabanaki, Komisenian

American Oriental Society, 2021

This volume studies three West Iranian language groups that are either undefined or have been sca... more This volume studies three West Iranian language groups that are either undefined or have been scantly analyzed. The first chapter, "The Languages of Taleqan and Alamut," studies nineteen kindred language varieties spoken in the Sāhrud basin in central-western Alborz; the second, "Biābānaki Language Group," studies the vernaculars spoken in four villages in the historical district of Biābānak, located on the southern edge of the Great Desert in central Persia; while the third, "The Komisenian Sprachbund," treats seven languages spoken in and around Semnan, located halfway between Tehran and Khorasan. Each chapter addresses phonology, morphosyntax, and lexis, following the areal typological approach developed for West Iranian by Donald Stilo. This approach is complemented for the Biabanaki and Komisenian groups by the longstanding historical-comparative method. Special attention is given to ethnolinguistics and the language contact phenomenon, as well as the historical geography of each region.

Tabari Texts / متون طبری

Written Heritage, 2009

Collection of twelve articles in Persian: “The Written Heritage of Tabari” (pp. 9-26), “Six Quatr... more Collection of twelve articles in Persian: “The Written Heritage of Tabari” (pp. 9-26), “Six Quatrains in Old Tabari” (pp. 27-50), “Recovering Old Tabari from Extant Texts” (pp. 51-104), “A Zaydi Translation of the Koran in Tabari” (pp. 105-164), “The Oldest Known Texts in New Tabari: The Collection of Alexander Chodźko” (pp. 165-180), “A Translation from Tufān al-Bokā’: The Oldest Known Prose Text in New Tabari” (pp. 181-194), “A Tabari Account of the Babi Incident at Shaikh Tabarsi” (pp. 195-216), “Two Tabari Manuscript from the Qajar Period” (pp. 217-260), “Verb Phrase in the Mazandarani Dialect of Velātrū: From the Texts Published by A. K. S. Lambton” (pp. 261-282), “A Grammar of the Komisenian Dialect of Aftar” (pp. 283-294), “A Mazandarani Account of Rural Marriages in South Caspian Villages” (pp. 295-306), “Mazandarani: Language or Dialect?” (pp. 307-317). English summary (pp. 1-13).

Is there Continuity between Persian and Caspian? Linguistic Relationships in South-Central Alborz

American Oriental Society, 2013

ISouth-central Alborz is a language transition zone bounded by the Caspian, Persian, and Tatic la... more ISouth-central Alborz is a language transition zone bounded by the Caspian, Persian, and Tatic language groups. In the upper valleys of the Jajrud and Karaj rivers, separated from both Tehran and Mazandaran by mountains, rest dozens of villages with vanishing dialects that show various degrees of affinity with the neighboring languages. The dialectological position of this area in relation to the rest of West Iranian has not been identified, nor is the intra-dialectal relationships of the area explored. The objective of this study is to categorize the relationships among the dialects by making explicit the areal distribution of major linguistic differences in phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. The analysis is based on 48 isoglosses from 35 localities spread out throughout the region. Due attention is paid to historical, socio-economic, and migrational factors.

Keywords: Rudbar-e Qasran, Jajrud and Karaj rivers, Shemiran, Tabari (Mazandarani), Persian, Central Caspian dialects, typology, areal distribution, language convergence

The Raji Dialect of Jowshaqan

LINCOM Europa, 2013

Meyma’i: A Central Iranian Plateau Dialect

LINCOM Europa, 2012

کتابت زبانهای ایرانی

Sorush, 1999

Ganjina-ye guyešhâ-ye Irâni (Ostân-e Esfahân II)

Farhangestān, 2015

گنجینه گویشهای ایرانی Central Plateau languages spoken in and around Isfahan; a comparative docum... more

Ganjina-ye guyešhâ-ye Irâni (Ostân-e Esfahân 4)

Farhangestān, 2022

forthcoming volume containing nine vernaculars spoken in central Persia, Kashan province

Sources on the Alans

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2006

Rev. Источники по аланам

Nartamongæ, 2019

Источники по аланам: Важнейшее собрание. Автор Агусти Алемань. Справочник востоковедения, секция ... more

Grammaire juhuri

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2015

Topics in Iranian Linguistics

Journal of the American Oriental society, 2015

Rev.: Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2010

Recherches sur les dialectes kermaniens (Iran Central)

Studia Iranica , 2005

Review of Pierre Lecoq, Recherches sur les dialectes kermaniens (Iran Central): grammaire, textes... more

Historical problems of Persian language

Archiv Orientální, 2005

Review of ‛Ali-Ašraf Sâdeqi, Masâ’el-e târikhi-e zabân-e fârsi (Historical problems of Persian la... more

A review of Iranian dialect studies

Studia Iranica, 2005

Review of ‛Ali-Ašraf Sâdeqi, Negâh-i ba guyešnâmahâ-ye irâni (A review of Persian dialect studies... more

Essays on history of sciences in the Islamic era

کمال در تحقیق

Review of Hušnag A‛lam, Jostârhâ-yi dar târikh-e ‛olum-e dowra-ye eslâmi (Essays on history of sc... more

Northern Talysh

Iran and the Caucasus, 2004

Review of Wolfgang Schulz, Northern Talysh (Lincom Europa: Languages of the World/Materials, Muni... more

دو کتاب درباره ی طالش

Našr-e dâneš, 2002

“Two books on Talysh” (review of ‛Ali ‛Abdoli, Chahâr resâla dar zamina-ye târikh o joghrâfiâ-ye ... more

Book of Genesis—medieval Judo-Persian Pentateuch

Guyeš-šenâsi, 2004

Review of Gurgen Melikian, ed., Nâma-ye âfarineš (The Book of Genesis—medieval Judo-Persian diale... more

The Sands of Oxus: Boyhood Reminiscences of Sadriddin Aini

Irânšenâsi, 2001

Review of The Sands of Oxus: Boyhood Reminiscences of Sadriddin Aini (translated from the Tajik P... more

Iranian Studies, 2006

Review of Musul’mane Osetii: na perekrestke tsivilizatsiy (Muslim Ossetes: At the Crossroad of Ci... more

Studia Iranica et Alanica

Irânšenâsi 12/4, 2001, 2001

Review of Studia Iranica et Alanica. Festschrift for Prof. Vasilij Ivanovič Abaev on Occasion of ... more

Zoroastrians of Yazd

Irânšenâsi, 2003

Review of Fereydun Vahman and Garnik Asatrian, Notes on the Language and Ethnography of the Zoroa... more Review of Fereydun Vahman and Garnik Asatrian, Notes on the Language and Ethnography of the Zoroastrians of Yazd (Historik-filosofiske Meddelelser 85, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, 2002, 115 pp.), Irânšenâsi 15/1, 2003, pp. 181-184.

The Heritage of Central Asia: from Antiquity to the Turkish Expansion

Irânšenâsi, 2000

Review of Richard Frye, The Heritage of Central Asia: from Antiquity to the Turkish Expansion (Pr... more

Tafazzoli_Dāneshnāma-ye farhang-e Irān-e pish az Eslām

Našr-e dâneš, 2000

Review of Ahmad Tafazzoli, History of the Pre-Islamic Iranian Literature (in Persian, Tehran, 199... more

Guyeš-šenâsi, 2007

Review of ‛Abd-al-Nabi Salâmi, Ganjina-ye guyeš-šenâsi-e Fârs I (Dialects of Fârs province in sou... more

Vahman-Asatrian Yazdi Zoroastian dialect

Iranshenasi, 2003

review of: Fereydun Vahman and Garnik Asatrian, Notes on the Language and Ethnography of the Zoro... more review of:
Fereydun Vahman and Garnik Asatrian, Notes on the Language and Ethnography of the Zoroastrians of Yazd (Historik-filosofiske Meddelelser 85, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, 2002, 115 pp.), Irânšenâsi 15/1, 2003, pp. 181-184.

In Memoriam Jemshid Giunashvili

Enc. Iranica Online, 2017

Pierre Lecoq -- Homage

UNESCO, 2021

Nāma-ye Pārsi, 2002

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2005

Tajik journalist, photographer, and intellectual figure who was instrumental in strengthening cul... more

Asemi Osimī Асимов عاصمی

Tajik scholar and polymath. Chairman of Tajikistan Academy of Science

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012

Habib Borjian, “ʿAYNI, KAMĀL,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2012, available at http://ww... more

Plights of the Tajik language as retold by Kamal Ayni

Rahavard, 2011

خط و زبانِ تاجیكستان در سالهای سرکوب استالینی: خاطراتی از زنده‌یاد كمال عینی

«Erfān, Ḥasan» (Tajik writer)

Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. VIII, fasc. 5, 1998, p. 555.

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1999

Influential theorist of the Jadid movement in modern Central Asia

Hamadanian همدانیان

Enc. Iranica, 2011

H. Borjian. 2011. "HAMADĀNIĀN FACTORIES AND ENDOWMENTS ". Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, 2011, ath... more

«Ḥāšem, Raḥim» (Soviet Tajik writer)

Encyclopaedia Iranica , 2003

vol. XII, fasc. 1, 2003, pp. 47-48. Tajik essayist, literary critic, and translator, who is cons... more

«Ḥayrat» (Bukharan poet of the late 19th century)

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2003

vol. XII, fasc. 1, 2003, pp. 74-75.

Kazeruni Family خاندان کازرونی

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2013

Kazerunis, an entrepreneurial family based in Isfahan, best known for their role in the textile i... more Kazerunis, an entrepreneurial family based in Isfahan, best known for their role in the textile industry.
Kāzeruni’s fortune was made through his investments in the textile industry, which had long been a major industry in Isfahan but had lost ground to British and Russian cotton imports. Kāzeruni stood out among the nationalist merchants and landowners who launched new campaigns to revive Isfahan’s cotton production and textile industry.

Habib Borjian. 2013. "KĀZERUNI FAMILY". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XVI, Fasc. 2, New York, 2013, pp. 217-221.

Khodaydadzada -- Бобоюнус Худойдодзода

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2014

Tajik бард, folk poet and Köroğlu singer

Kia صادق کیا

Nima Yushij, the Tabari poet

Encyclopaedia Iranica , 2022

"Nima Yušij iii. The Tabari Poems" https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-... more

Habib BORJIAN & Evelin GRASSI, "Shukurov, Muhammadjon (1925-2012), Tajik scholar and literary critic," Encyclopaedia Iranica online, 2014.

by Evelin Grassi and Habib Borjian

Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, Feb 21, 2014

Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia, 2007

H. Borjian, “Esfahan,” in Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia, ... more

Flags of Afghanistan

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1999

Habib Borjian, "FLAGS ii. Of Afghanistan," Encyclopædia Iranica, X/1, pp. 27-32, available online... more

Earthquakes in Central Asia

Enc. Iranica, 1996

Koroští Balúčové a jejich jazyk

Kulturní studia, 2020

Rodnou zemí Balúčů, přinejmenším v moderní době, byl Balúčistán / Belúdžistán jako rozsáhlý úsek ... more Rodnou zemí Balúčů, přinejmenším v moderní době, byl Balúčistán / Belúdžistán jako rozsáhlý úsek hornaté a pouštní půdy zasahující přes státní hranice Pákistánu, Afghánistánu a Íránu. Cestou severně z Balúčistánu, paralelně s hranicí mezi Íránem a Afghánistánem, lze narazit na roztroušené skupiny balúčsky mluvících komunit v historických provinciích Kúhestán (Quhistān) a Chorásán a ještě severněji až v dnešním Turkmenistánu. Je nepravděpodobné, že by tyto balúčské / belúdžské komunity (v současnosti jsou od vlastního Balúčistánu oddělené státními hranicemi) měly původ z nedávných migrací. Struktura osídlení spíše naznačuje, že se jedná o zbytky historických migrací na jih[1] z hypotetického původního osídlení Balúčů / Belúdžů v oblasti poblíž Kaspického moře, což bylo odhaleno diachronním studiem jejich jazyka – balúčtiny / belúdžštiny. Kromě toho v dnešní době pracují balúčští migranti v arabsky mluvících zemích jižně od Perského zálivu.

Enc. Iranica, 2013

“Kuhpāya ii. The Dialect” (district east of Isfahan), 26 June 2013.

North Iranic Peoples in Enc. Iranica

Nartamongæ: The Journal of Alano-Ossetic Studies, 2019

This obituary of the late Ehsan Yarshater was written as per an invitation by Nartamongæ: The Jou... more

Tabari festivals (in Persian)

Nāma-ye Pārsi, 2005

Afghanistan History as narrated by its flags (in Persian)

Nāma-ye Pārsi, 2002

Steppe Bronze Aryans آریاییان عصر مفرغ

Târikh-e Jâmeʿ-e Irân, 2014

Proto-Indo-Iranians of the Eurasian Steppes during the Bronze Age H. Borjian, “Bronze Age Aryans”... more

district and settlement near Kashan, significant for its shrine and conservative traditions.

village in central Khorasan. Seat of the Gonabadi Sufi order.

Isfahan Caravanserai of Queen Mother کاروانسرای مادر شاه

Par, 2002

Encyclopædia Iranica, 2016

Habib Borjian, “FARROḴI,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2016, available at http://www.ira... more

historical town and district in the oasis of Bukhara.

Isfahan under the Saljuqs

Par, 2001

Isfahan, modern

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2007

Encyclopaedia Iranica articles by H. Borjian: “Isfahan ix. History of the Pahlavi Period and the... more

Isfahan in the Pahlavi Period

Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2007

H. Borjian 2007_ “Isfahan ix. History of the Pahlavi Period and the Post-Revolution Era,” vol. XI... more

Economy of Isfahan Province

Encyclopedia Iranica, 2007

H. Borjian, “Isfahan xiv (1). Economy of Isfahan Province,” Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. XIV, fasc.... more H. Borjian, “Isfahan xiv (1). Economy of Isfahan Province,” Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. XIV, fasc. 1, 2007, pp. 55-62.

Habib Borjian in "Modern Economy of the Province" covers the labor force, water management, farming, animal husbandry, tourism, and transportation and energy infrastructures. While the geographical distribution of economic activities within the province is highly uneven, Isfahan as a whole has and average economy within Persia, with inefficient agriculture, poorly-trained industrial labor, and substandard roads. A major advancement was the construction of the Kuhrang dam-tunnel to divert the headwaters of the Karun into Zayandarud, and the erection of another dam on the latter river, both projects leading to the expansion of cropland. In the energy sector, Isfahan plays a major role nationwide by importing natural gas and petroleum through pipelines from Khuzestan, converting the natural gas in thermal power plants into electricity, which is then transmitted through a network of towers to other provinces; likewise, the oil is processed in the largest refinery of the country near Isfahan, then shipped through pipelines to other cities. The development of nuclear technology has also been in progress for some time, but no serious attempt has been made to harness the immense potential of solar energy and wind power that exist in abundance throughout the province.

“Isfahan -- Industries

Encyclopedia Iranica, 2007

h. Borjian 2007. “Isfahan xiv (2). Industries of Isfahan City,” Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. XIV, f... more h. Borjian 2007. “Isfahan xiv (2). Industries of Isfahan City,” Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. XIV, fasc. 1, 2007, pp. 62-67.

H. Borjian, in Industries of Isfahan City, begins with an overview of the main periods of industrial development and then discusses the town’s major modern industries. A good part of the article is dedicated to the textile industry, which exemplifies the ideological drive of the Reza Shah period in industrializing the country, and that won Isfahan the title of the Persian Manchester. By 1941 there were at least ten large, privately-sponsored, spinning and weaving mills in Isfahan, employing some 11,000 workers. The author shows that about a quarter of city’s 200,000 inhabitants had their livelihood dependent on the textile industry, and this proportion is in agreement with the proportion, calculated by Arthur Millspaugh, of the townspeople who were dependent on the opium business twenty years earlier. While textile remained the economic mainstay of Isfahan for decades, a new wave of industrialization began in the 1960s, leading to construction of steel factories, cement and sugar mills, an oil refinery and defense and petrochemical industries, which rank Isfahan the nation’s second industrialized conglomerate only after Tehran.

Isfahan -- Traditional Crafts

Encyclopedia Iranica, 2007

“Isfahan xiii. Crafts,” Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. XIV, fasc. 1, 2007, pp. 48-55.

Barcelona Conference on Steppe Iranians

Iranshenasi, 2007

Letter about my Tbilisi conference speech

Iranshenasi, 2009

Komisenian languages: a history

Farhang-e Qumes, 2022

Interview with Gudarzi

Nowruz: Continuity & Change

Talangor, 2021

Zoom talk on 3-11-21.

Rise and Fall of Persian

Talangor, 2020

Is there continuity between Gilaki and Mazandarani?

Paper abstract. The first North American Conference in Iranian Linguistics (NACIL 1), Stony Brook... more

Iranian-speaking Lands

Talangor, 2020

Iran as a nation vs. Iranian peoples Avestan geography Steppe Bronze Aryans migrate southward Eas... more Iran as a nation vs. Iranian peoples
Avestan geography
Steppe Bronze Aryans migrate southward
East Iran: Khwārazm, Soghd, Balkh
Iranian expansion into the Western Steppes: Sythians, Sarmatians, Alans
Iranian expansion into Xinjiang
Super-provinces of Persia: Media, Fārs, Khorasan
Iranian spread westward: Kurdistan
Has Iraq ever been Iranian?
The current distribution of Iranian languages

Iranian Historical Linguistics Seminar: Lecture 2 Morphology with Habib Borjian

The Iranian Historical Linguistics Seminar is a special series of talks by Dr. Habib Borjian offe... more

کاوش علمی از نیویورک تا ﻣﺎرﺑﯿﻦ‬‬

Interview with the biweekly "Forsat", 23 Sept. 2017. Interviewer: Fatemeh Ghafurzadeh

Alborz Languages

دوشنبه، پانزدهم آذر‌ماه ۱۳۹۵، شصت‌وسومین نشست ماهانۀ فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی برگزار شد. در این... more دوشنبه، پانزدهم آذر‌ماه ۱۳۹۵، شصت‌وسومین نشست ماهانۀ فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی برگزار شد. در این نشست دکتر حبیب برجیان، پژوهشگر ارشد بخش ایران‌شناسی دانشگاه کلمبیا ـ نیویورک، در موضوع «زبان‌های منطقۀ البرز» سخنرانی کرد.
در ابتدای این نشست دکتر محمد دبیرمقدم، عضو پیوسته و معاون علمی و پژوهشی فرهنگستان، در سخنانی کوتاه، با اشاره به ضرورت انجام تحقیقات زبان‌شناختی بر گویش‌های مختلف زبان فارسی گفت: به نظرم ما معلمان و دانشجویان زبان‌شناسی تنها شاهد از بین رفتن گویش‌های مختلف زبان فارسی هستیم.
معاون علمی و پژوهشی فرهنگستان در ادامه بر وجود تنوع گویشی در ایران تصریح کرد و افزود: درصورتی‌که تحقیقات بیشتری بر روی این گویش‌ها صورت بگیرد، هم دانش زبان‌شناختی از نظر علمی افزایش می‌یابد و هم پژوهشگران ایرانی برای حضور در سطح جهانی علم زبان‌شناسی حرف بیشتری دارند؛ ضمن اینکه نظریه‌های زبان‌شناختی را با مستندات این مطالعه‌ها بهتر و بیشتر می‌توان ارزیابی کرد.
در ادامۀ این نشست دکتر حبیب برجیان، پژوهشگر ارشد بخش ایران‌شناسی دانشگاه کلمبیا و زبان‌شناس، با معرفی منطقۀ البرز، از خراسان تا آذربایجان، و تقسیم آن به سه بخش مرکزی و شرقی و غربی در کرانه دریای خزر گفت: این منطقه دارای سه جلگۀ گیلان و هامون و تنکابن است که این جلگه‌ها بیشترین جمعیت منطقه را در خود جای داده‌اند و مراکز مدنی در این جلگه‌ها در طول تاریخ تشکیل شده‌اند.
وی سپس افزود: اگر بتوانیم جغرافیای البرز را به‌سادگی تشخیص دهیم توان فهم توزیع گویش‌ها و زبان‌های منطقه را داریم. یکی از مختصات فرهنگی این منطقه جشن گرفتن تیرماه سیزده، مطابق با چهل‌وسومین روز از فصل پاییز است که اگر مردم منطقه‌ای این جشن را در تقویم خود داشته باشند به نوعی جزو فرهنگ مازندرانی به حساب می‌آیند.
وی با اشاره به اینکه زبان مازندرانی به دو نام مازندرانی و طبری خوانده می‌شود، گفت: در بسیاری از مطالعه‌ها این دو نام به‌صورت مترادف به کار می‌رود.
این استاد دانشگاه در ادامه با اشاره به مطالعاتی که در زمینۀ زبان‌ها و گویش‌های این منطقه داشته است، اظهار کرد: در مطالعۀ میدانی‌ای که در این منطقه انجام دادیم سه زبان مازندرانی در خاور، گیلکی در باختر و کاسپی مرکزی در میانه را تشخیص دادیم که میزان تفهیم و تفاهم میان این لهجه‌ها بسیار کم است.
وی همچنین از انجام مطالعۀ میدانی دیگری در منطقۀ درّۀ جاجرود، مشهور به نام قصران، خبر داد و گفت: در این درّه، بر اساس مطالعه انجام‌پذیرفته، دریافتیم که میزان زبان مازنی از سمت شمال به سمت جنوب این درّه کمتر می‌شود. در مطالعۀ آماری‌ای که بر اساس مطالعۀ میدانی انجام یافته است، متوجه شدیم که در این منطقه، در آبادی‌های بالای سر در جاجرود، سهم زبان مازندرانی بیش از هشتاد درصد و در آبادی‌های سفلی تا دوازده درصد است.
دکتر برجیان در پایان سخنان خود و بر اساس آمار و اطلاعات حاص از پژوهش‌های میدانی خود در زمینۀ گویش این منطقه تأکید کرد: بر اساس این تحقیقات می‌توان گفت در این منطقه شاهد بریدگی و تسلسل گویشی بین لهجۀ تهرانی و مازندرانی هستیم.
شصت‌وسومین نشست ماهانۀ فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی با حضور شماری از اعضای پیوسته و وابستۀ فرهنگستان و همچنین برخی از اعضای هیئت علمی، مدیران و پژوهشگران فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی و علاقه‌مندان برگزار شد.

Religious terms in the languages of Islam

GIE, 2015

عربی یا فارسی یا بومی؟ : واژگان دینی در "زبانهای اسلامی" اگرچه در قلمرو پهناور اسلام, از اندونزی... more عربی یا فارسی یا بومی؟ : واژگان دینی در "زبانهای اسلامی"

اگرچه در قلمرو پهناور اسلام, از اندونزی تا بوسنی و از نیجریه تا پکن, زبانها مختلف است, الفاظ دینی مشترک امکان مطالعه ی رده شناسانه ی این زبانها را فراهم آورده, اصطلاح "زبانهای اسلامی" را در این مورد خاص موجه می سازد. واژگان دینی در این زبانها اکثرا دخیل از فارسی و عربی است مگر در برخی از زبانها که اقلیتی از آنها بومی است.

این گزارش نتایج پزوهشی رو به انجام را از 26 زبان عرضه می کند. توزیع چهارده مفهوم (خدا, پیغمبر, نماز, روزه، گناه، بهشت و جز اینها) هر کدام بر روی نقشه ای ترسیم و مورد بررسی قرار می گیرد. از نتایج جالب توجه, بقای الفاظی چون بانگ (اذان) و آبدست (وضو) و آدینه است که در فارسی متروک شده. عموم زبانهایی که در شمال و شرق مرزهای ایران تکلم می شوند از نظر واژگان دینی از خود فارسی "فارسی تر" ند.

در پایان, علل و اسباب تاریخی وامگیری از فارسی و عربی در برابر حفظ الفاظ ماقبل اسلامی (سانسکریت, افریقایی, ترکی, اسلاوی, مسیحی) اجمالا مورد بحث قرار خواهد گرفت.