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Mazandarani language
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Mazandarani or Tabari (Also known as: Mazeniki, Taperki) is an Iranian language of the northwestern branch. Spoken mainly in Iran's Mazandaran and Golestan provinces, it is partially, but not fully, intelligible with respect to Persian. There are many similarities in grammar and vocabulary which render the Mazandarani and the standard Persian, moderately intelligible between speakers of either. . In addition, virtually all speakers of Mazandarani are also fluent in standard Persian.
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Encyclopedia
Mazandarani or Tabari (Also known as: Mazeniki, Taperki) is an Iranian language of the northwestern branch. Spoken mainly in Iran's Mazandaran and Golestan provinces, it is partially, but not fully, intelligible with respect to Persian. There are many similarities in grammar and vocabulary which render the Mazandarani and the standard Persian, moderately intelligible between speakers of either. . In addition, virtually all speakers of Mazandarani are also fluent in standard Persian.
Etymology
The name Mazanderani (and variants of it) derives from the name of now Caspian Province of Mazanderan (Mazerun in Mazanderani), which was part of former Kingdom of Tapuria. People traditionally call their language Gileki, the same as Gilekis do. Gileki consist of two morphemes : Gil + postfix ki. The name Tapuri (or Tabari) which was the name of an ancient language of somewhere in former Tapuria, Nowadays becomes prevalent into youth groups instead of Gileki.
However the fact is Gilan & Mazanderan were part of the same state known as Tapuria which it's national language was known as Gileki.
History
Among the living Iranian languages, Mazandarani 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.
The rich literature of this language includes books such as Marzban Nameh (later translated into Persian) and the poetry of Amir Pazevari. The use of Mazandarani, however, has been in decline. Its literary and administrative rank was lost to Persian perhaps long before the ultimate integration of Mazandaran into the national administration in the early seventeenth century. .
The Mazandarani language is closely related to Gilaki and the two languages have similar vocabularies. Notably, the language did not come under the influence of other incoming languages such as Arabic and Turkish. According to Ethnologue, there were more than three million native speakers of Mazandarani in 1993 speaking different dialects such as Gorgani, Ghadikolahi and Palani
Grammar
Mazanderani is an inflected and gender free language.
It is considered SVO in conventional typology. .
Morphology
Function Cases
Case |
Position |
Meaning |
Sere-a
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Nominative
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The Home
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Sere re
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Accusative
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To the Home
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Sereo
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Vocative
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Home!
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Sere se
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Genitive
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Home’s
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Sere re
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Dative
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To the Home
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Sere ye jä
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Ablative
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By the Home
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Adjectives
Adjective |
Position |
Meaning |
And-e Sere
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Applicative
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Gat e Sere
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Comparative
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Big Home
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untä Sere
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Determinative
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That Home
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S?re
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Superlative
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Xär Sere
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Suffixes
Mazandarani is one of Synthetic languages which uses many suffixes to construct adjectives, verbs, and especially nouns. The list below is a sample list obtained from the .
Locatives
Suffix
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Example
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Meaning
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Kash
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Kharkash
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Good Place
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Kel
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Tutkel
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Mulberry Limit
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Ij
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Yoshij
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Yoshian
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Bun
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Chenarbon
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At the Plantain
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Ja
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S?re Ja
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Of Home
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Sar
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B?nesar
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At the Below
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Subjectives
Suffix
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Example
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Meaning
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Chaf
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Au Chaf
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Water Sucker
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Rush
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Halikrush
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Drupelet Seller
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Su
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V?rgsu
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Wolf Hunter
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Kaf
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Ukaf
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Who acts in water
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Vej
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Galvej
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Mouse Finder
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Yel
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v?ngyel
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Bandmaster
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Orthography
Perso-Arabic Script
Mazanderani is commonly written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Romanization
Jahangir Nasr Ashrafi proposed Latin scripture of this language to be used in dictionaries and other textural resources for compatibly of foreigners.
It is also being usable in Chat, Email and SMS messages.
Vocabulary
Although Mazandarani shares the great part of its vocabulary with Gilaki (due to fact that it belongs to Caspian group of languages) and to lesser extent Modern Kurdish & Persian, it has many specific words of its own. Many Proto Indo-Iranian words, no longer in use in Persian, survive in Mazanderani.
Sheltered by high Alborz mountains, Mazandarani preserves many Indo-European old words which are no longer in common use in many other Iranian languages such as Persian.
Below, a few common Mazanderani words & their English cognates are listed for sample.
| English | Mazanderani | Persian | Example of |
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| New | Nu | Naw/no | Adjective | | Great | Gat | Bozorg | Adjective | | Better | Better | Behtar | Adverb | | Been | Bine | Budeh/Shodeh | Auxiliary Verb | | Being | Bien | Budan | Infinitive of Verb | | Moon | Moong/Mong | Mâh | Noun | | Tulip | Tulip | Lâleh | Noun | | Cow | Go/Gu/Guw | Gâv Mâda | Noun | | My | Me/Mi (before the noun) | am (after the noun) | Pronoun | | Let (German: Lass) | Lass | Derang | Verb | | Gab | Gap | Goftogu | Verb | | Right | Rast | Râst/Haq/Amud | |
Colloquial Mazandarani has also a few Nordic, French, English, and a handful of Russian loan words in everyday use.
Influences exerted by Mazanderani
Modern-day of Iran
There are many popular companies in Iran that their name are from the origin words of this language.
In non-Iranian languages
There are some Mazanderani loanwords in the Turkmen language.
There is also evidence that Sanskrit and Mazanderani share some words - for instance, vrika is Sanskrit for wolf, while the Mazenderan equivalent is varg as well it's Swedish cognate, varg.
Specimen
áme kerka šúnne nefar-sar. nefar-sar xes?nne. badími nefar-sar-e cel-o-cu hame bapíssene. baúteme, “vace jan! inje, kelum-e pali, mé-vesse ?tta kerk-keli deres ha´ken!” ve em nemašun ke pe dar-biarde, hamun šo badíme bemúne sere pier o vace. ande-tumi pier o vace bemúne sere, nemaz k?rdene, qeza x?rdene; ba:d ez nemaz šíne ún-var, saat-e car harket k?rdene.
Our chickens go onto the nefar and sleep on it. [Once] we noted that the wood of the nefar was all rotten. I told [my son], “Dear child! Here, next to the stable, make me a chicken coop.” In the evening that [my son] was setting the foundation, the father [-in-law] and [his] son came home. As soon as the father and son came home, they would say their prayers, eat something, and then, after the prayers, they would go over there (to the next room); then at four o’clock they would set off.
(from Maryam Borjian and Habib Borjian, “Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran [: Mysterious Memories of a Woman],” Iran and the Caucasus 11/2, 2007, pp. 226-254.)
ozere-vâ éne dámbe sevâí
i?nne búye delbárre dev?i
qam o qoss?ye del vóne kenârí
me j?ne gel déne búye xedâí
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At break of dawn blows the cool breeze.
It brings over the healing odor of the beloved.
The sorrow of the heart will go away.
My dear flower smells like God.
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basut? sin?ye miónne h?reš!
tévesse – n?zenin! – baíme nâxeš
te armúne d?l i, ey nâzenin yâr!
tévesse m?sle belbel zámbe nâleš
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Look at the middle of the burnt chest!
For you – O loveable! – I am unwell.
You are the heart’s aspiration, O beloved!
For you I moan like a nightingale.
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Del-e armun “Heart’s Aspiration”
Rezaqoli Mohammadi Kordekheyli
Transcribed and translated by: Habib Borjian
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mosalmunun! m?re šabgir var?nne
ax, m?re ba kamer-e haftir var?nne
m?re bav?rdene Terkemun-e dam
Terkemun kafer o gelile be-ra:m
Moslems! They are carrying me at the crack of dawn.
O, they are taking me away with a pistol on the[ir] waist.
They took me to the vicinity of the Turkmen [tribes].
Turkmen [are] unbelievers and the bullet [is] ruthless.
gete,
ašun xo badima men še Ali-re
sio dasmal dav?sso še gali-re
age xa´nne ba´uren ámi badi-re
bázene xerusek š?me gali-re
volvol sar-e dar g?ne ey zari-zari
me gol daš báio sarbaz-e Sari
He would say,
Last night I dreamed my Ali.
He [had] wrapped a black kerchief [round] his throat.
If it is their intention is malignant about us,
May croup-cough attack your throat!
The nightingale on the tree constantly bemoans
My dear brother drafted in Sari.
Quatrains sang by Sabura Azizi, transcribed and translated by Habib Borjian; Ref. Habib Borjian and Maryam Borjian, “Mysterious Memories of a Woman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran,” Iran and the Caucasus 11/2, 2007.
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General
Further reading
Recent Studies
- Habib Borjian, Archiv Orientálni, 2006, The Oldest Known Texts in New Tabari: The Collection of Aleksander ChodŸko, 74/2, pp. 153-171.
- Dr. Borjian, Habib; 2006; Amir Pazevari (legendary poet of Mazandarani language), University of Minnesota, United States
- Habib Borjian, Iranian Studies, 2006, A Mazandarani account of the Babi Incident at Shaikh Tabarsi, 39/3, pp. 381-400.
- Habib Borjian, Guyesh-shenâsi, 2006, Textual sources for the study of Tabari language I. Olddocuments, no. 4.
Other Studies
- Nawata; 1984; Mazandarani; Asian and African Grammatical Manual, No 17, Tokyo, ILCAA
Bibliography
- Johannes Albrecht Bernhard Dorn, 1860-66, Masanderanische Sprache (I-II/1, 3, St. Petersburg)
- Satoko Yoshie, 1998, Sari Dialect (of Mazandarani language), Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokio, Japan
- Dr. Shokri, Guiti; 1995, Sari Dialect (of Mazandarani), Tehran, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
- Dr. Shokri, Guiti; 2006, Ramsari Dialect , Tehran, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
More references
* Borjian, Habib, “Tabarica II: Some Mazandarani Verbs,” Iran and the Caucasus 12/1, 2008, pp. 73-82.
* Borjian, Habib, “Two Mazandarani Texts from the Nineteenth Century,” Studia Iranica 37/1, 2008, pp. 7-50.
* Borjian, Habib, and Maryam Borjian, “The Last Galesh Herdsman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from South Caspian Rainforests,” Iranian Studies 41/3, 2008, pp. 365-402.
* * Borjian, Habib, and Maryam Borjian, “Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran : Mysterious Memories of a Woman,” Iran and the Caucasus 11/2, 2007, pp. 226-254.
* Chodzko, Alexander, 1842, Specimens of the popular poverty of Persia as found in the adventures and improvisations of Kurroglou, the bandit- minstrel of Northern Persia; and in the songs of the people inhabiting the shores of the Caspian Sea. Orally collected and translated, with philological and historical notes, London, pp. 510- 517, 568- 581.
* Christensen, A.; 1995 (tr); Contributions a la dialectologie iraniene, Dialect Guiläki de Recht, (Guyesh –e Gilaki-ye Rasht) translated, with notes by Ja‘far Khomami Zade, Tehran.
* DeMorgan,J., 1904, Mission Scientifique en Perse, vol.5,Etudes linguistiques(I.) Dialectes du Kurds. Langues et dialects du nord de la Perse, Paris, pp.200-246.
* Geiger, w., &., Wilhelm Kuhn, 1898–1901; Die Kaspischen Dialekte;Grundriss der Iranischen Philologie , 1Band, 2Ab., Strassburg. Pp.344-380..
* Dorn B. (ed.); 1860-1866; Kenntniss der Iranischen Srachen, St. Petersburg.
* Lambton, A.K.S.; 1938, Three Persian Dialects, London.
* Le Coq, P.; 1989; Les dialects Caspiens et les dialects du nord- ouest de l, Iran in Schmitt, R. (ed), Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, pp.296-312, Wiesbaden.
* Makenzi, D.; 1969; Iranian Languages, in Sebeok, Thomas, A. (ed), Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol.5, pp. 450-477, Nederland. MG.
* Melgounof, G., 1868, Essai sur les dialects du Masenderan et du Guilanla pronunciation locale, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Geselaschaft, vol.xxII, pp. 195-224.
* Mozaffari, M., V., 1979, Noqandari, Langrud.
* Nowata, T., 1948, Mazandarani, (Asian and African Grammatical Manual, No 17), ILCAA, Tokyo.
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* Oranski, I., M., 1979, (tr.), Moqaddame –ye Feqholloqe- ye Irani, translated by Kešavarz, Tehran.
* Purriyahi, M., 1971, Barresi-ye dastur-e Guyesh-e Gilaki-ye Rasht (A Grammatical Study of Gilaki dialect of Rasht), (Ph. D Thisis), Tehran University.
* Sartip pur, J., 1990, Vižegiha-ye Dasturi va Farhang-e važeha-ye Gilaki (Grammatical Characteristics and Glossary of Gilaki), Rasht.
* Shokri, G., 1990, Verb Structure in Sari dialect, Farhang, Vol.6, pp.217-231, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran.
* ----------, 1998, Mazi –ye Naqli dar Guyeshha-ye Gilaki va Mazandarani (Present perfect in Gilani and Mazandarani Dialects), Name-ye Farhangestan, The Quarterly Journal of Iranian Academy of Persian Language and Literature, vol.4, No.4, Tehran.
* ----------, 2002, Verb Structure in Ramsari Dialect, Professor Jes Peter Asmussem, Memorial Volum, Copenhagen, pp. 83-111.
* ----------, 1356, Farhang e Semnani, Sorxe i, Lasgerdi, Sangsari, šahmizadi, Vezarate Farhang o Honar, Tehran.
* Sokolova, V.S. & Grjunberg, A.L.; 1962; ??????? ???????? ???????????? ???????? ?????? (Istorija izuchenija bespis`mennyx iranskix azykov), lzd. AN SSSR, Moscow, pp. 118–147.
* A manuscript of Maghamat e Hariri in Arabic with translation into Mazandarani Tarjome –ye Maghamat e Hariri, Teheran, Malek library. (600 A.H)
* Zav`jalova, V:I:, 1956, Novye svedenija po fonetike iranskix jazykov, Gilanskij I mazanderanskij jazyki, Trudy Instituta Jazykoznaija AN SSSR, Moskva, vol.6, pp. 92-112.
* Yoshie, Satoko, 1996, Sari Dialect, Iranian Studies, No.10, ILCAA, Tokyo.
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See also
External links
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