Gilaki language explained

Gilaki
Also Known As:Gilak
Nativename:گیلٚکی زٚوان (ɡilɵki zɵvān)
States:Iran, province of Gilan and parts of the province of Mazandaran and Qazvin also Alborz
Region:Southwest coast of the Caspian Sea
Ethnicity:4.6 million Gilaks (2021)
Speakers: million
Date:2021
Ref:e27
Familycolor:Indo-European
Fam2:Indo-Iranian
Fam3:Iranian
Fam4:Western Iranian
Fam5:Northwestern Iranian
Fam6:Caspian
Dia1:Western Gilaki
Dia2:Eastern Gilaki
Dia3:Galeshi Gilaki
Iso3:glk
Glotto:gila1241
Glottorefname:Gilaki
Lingua:58-AAC-eb
Notice:IPA
Map:Gilaki Language Location Map.PNG
Mapcaption:Areas where Gilaki is spoken as the mother tongue

Gilaki (گیلٚکي زٚوؤن ɡilɵki zɵvön) is an Iranian language belonging to the Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern branch, spoken in south of Caspian Sea by Gilak people. Gilaki is closely related to Mazandarani.[1] The two languages of Gilaki and Mazandarani have similar vocabularies.[2] [3] [4] [5] The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages) share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically Kartvelian languages),[6] [7] [8] reflecting the history, ethnic identity, and close relatedness to the Caucasus region and Caucasian peoples of the Gilak people and Mazandarani people.

Classification

The language is divided into three dialects: Western Gilaki, Eastern Gilaki[9] [10] and Galeshi/Deylami.[11] [12] The western and eastern dialects are separated by the Sefid River,[13] while Galeshi is spoken in the mountains of eastern Gilan and western Mazandaran.[12]

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.[4] Progressing to the east, Gilaki 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.[14] 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.[15] [16]

Furthermore, the eastern Gilaki dialect is spoken throughout the valley of the Chalus river.[17]

In Qazvin province, Gilaki is spoken in northern parts of the province, in Alamut.[18] [19]

Grammar

Gilaki, is an inflected and genderless language. It is considered SVO, although in sentences employing certain tenses the order may be SOV.[20]

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.[21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] The number of Gilaki speakers is estimated at 3 to 4 million.[28] [29] [30] Ethnologue reports that the use of Gilaki is decreasing as the speaker population is decreasing.[31]

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)
pronounced as /i/ pronounced as /e/ pronounced as /ki.tab/
pronounced as /e(ː)/ pronounced as /iː/, pronounced as /eː//pronounced as /ei/ pronounced as /seb/
pronounced as /ɛ(œ)/ pronounced as /e/ pronounced as /iɛrɛ/
pronounced as /ə/ pronounced as /æ/, pronounced as /e/ pronounced as /mən/
pronounced as /a/ pronounced as /aː/ pronounced as /lag/
pronounced as /ä/ pronounced as /æ/ pronounced as /zäy/
pronounced as /ɒ/ (perhaps allophonic)pronounced as /aː/ pronounced as /lɒ.nə/
pronounced as /o/ pronounced as /uː/, pronounced as /oː//pronounced as /ɔ/ pronounced as /d͡ʒoɾ/
pronounced as /u/ pronounced as /o//pronounced as /uː/ pronounced as /ɡul/
pronounced as /ü/ pronounced as /u/ pronounced as /tüm/
There are nine vowel phonemes in the Gilaki language:
FrontCentralBack
Closepronounced as /i iː/pronounced as /u uː/
Midpronounced as /e/pronounced as /ə/pronounced as /o/
Openpronounced as /a/pronounced as /ɒ/

The consonants are:

Gilaki Consonants
labialalveolarpost-alveolarvelaruvularglottal
voiceless stopspronounced as /p/pronounced as /t/pronounced as /t͡ʃ/pronounced as /k/pronounced as /ʔ/
voiced stopspronounced as /b/pronounced as /d/pronounced as /d͡ʒ/pronounced as /ɡ/
voiceless fricatives pronounced as /f/pronounced as /s/pronounced as /ʃ/pronounced as /x ~ χ/pronounced as /h/
voiced fricativespronounced as /v/pronounced as /z/pronounced as /ʒ/pronounced as /ɣ ~ ʁ/
nasalspronounced as /m/pronounced as /n/pronounced as /ŋ/
liquidspronounced as /l/, pronounced as /ɾ ~ r/
glidespronounced as /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 darəšón darid

Past progressive

Singular Plural
šón də/du bum šón də/di bim
šón də/di bišón də/di bid
šón də/du bušón 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 prefix nV- can act like an infix -n-, coming between the prefix and the stem. So from fagiftən, "to get", we get present indicative fagirəm, but present subjunctive fágirəm, 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.

Possessive constructions

Vocabulary

EnglishGilaki Mazandarani ZazakiKurmanjiPersian Tat Baluchi
face dim dim/ru ruy/rıdêmPersian: روی/چهره Persian: ruy/čehrehru dim/deym
baby/kid zäy/zäkvače pıte/doman dergûş / zarokPersian: کودک/بچه Persian: kudak/bačeh əyəl zag
grandfather pile pɛrgate piyer KalîkekalPersian: پدربزرگ Persian: pedar bozorgkələpiyər pirok
message zəmatpeyom peyampeyamPersian: پیام Persian: payām
father of the husband mərdə per ši piyer Pîye zama/viştewruxezûrPersian: پدرشوهر Persian: pedar šoharxüsürmərd
hen kerk/murgh/keratkerg/kerk kerg mirîşkPersian: مرغ خانگی Persian: morgh xānegikərg morg
cow gow/gābguw gaw/gabPersian: گاو Persian: gāvmərəgou gowk
up buĵor/cuer/jorjur/jār cor jorPersian: بالا Persian: bālāzəvər borz
star kiĵi/sitarərojā/esāre astarestêrkPersian: ستاره Persian: setārehastara estar
girl kor/kilkā/lāku/deterkijā/deterkêna/çênakeçPersian: دختر Persian: doxtarduxtər/ kilə jinek/ dohtar/ jinen zag
boy rey/rike/väče rikā/peser Laj/bikolawPersian: پسر Persian: pesargədə bachek/ marden zag
ant putāl/pitarmelije morcele morîPersian: مورچه Persian: murčehmujnə morink
bee siftāl/garzakkangeli zerqet mozPersian: زنبور Persian: zanburəng gowder
cat/pussy cat piča bāmeši psingpisîkPersian: گربه/پیشی Persian: gorbeh/pišipişik peshik
shadow nesänesum/sāyne siya reşPersian: سایه Persian: sāyehsayə sāyag
to hang vargadån/urgadån āvizun hākerden VardanêxistinPersian: آویزان کردن/آویختن Persian: āvixtan/āvizān kardanvəzərən
great pillə/pilla gat pîl/girangirPersian: بزرگ Persian: bozorgkələ tuh/ mazan
child zäk/zäyvače doman,qîj,leyrzarokبچه bačehəyəl zag
father pɛr piyer pîye,bawbavپدر pedarpiyər pet/ pes
to draw on the ground kåråš=kereš/fakeshenbakešiyen keresdankişandinPersian: کشیدن به دنبال Persian: kešidankəşirən
to suck fuduštån/uduštånbučefessen levnayışmijînPersian: مکیدن Persian: makidançumustən
appetite or desire vastånvene/meyl waştenvînPersian: اشتها و میل Persian: eštehā o meyl
pouring of liquids šondån/fukudånbašendiyen şodan/şıdan rijandin / pê de berdanPersian: ریختن مایعات Persian: rixtan-e māyeāt
lubricious lisklis/sor reser-licsîsk / runikليز / سورliz/sor
brittle kərč tarne kırç Persian: ترد و شکننده Persian: tord o šekanandeh
tree därdār dârdarPersian: دار/درخت Persian: dār/deraxtdar dāar/ drachk/ mach(date tree)
sparrow malĵå/čičini/čišnakmičkā miliçiktîvil / qilîçPersian: گنجشک Persian: gonješkmərgiçə jenjeshk
go bušu bur/bašo buşu biçe / here Persian: برو Persian: borobura/bara bera/ shoten
take it in your hand fegir/fagir bair/bayr fekirbigrePersian: بگیر Persian: begirgir ger
don't take in your hand fangir/fanigir nair/nayr megir megire / negirePersian: نگیر Persian: nagirməgir mager
bridge purdperd/pel pırd pirPersian: پل Persian: pol kürpi
mountain and stone si gar/si/se koy u kerraçiya û kevirPersian: کوه و سنگ Persian: kuh o sang
touch kenesbarxerd temastemasPersian: تماس Persian: tamās
egg morghanə merqāne hâk hêkPersian: تخم مرغ Persian: toxm-e morgh xakərg āmorg/ hek
snake lanti/milommar marmarPersian: مار Persian: mār mar mār
crow kəlač kelaj qela qelaPersian: کلاغ Persian: kalāgh qəlağ
pepper gərmalətgolmetare isot, ferferîsotPersian: فلفل Persian: felfel istout pelpel
tomato pamadur goje firang firingPersian: گوجه فرنگی Persian: gojeh-ye farangi pamadur
explode vatərkəssən/vatərkəstənbaterkessen terqnaidenteqîn / peqînPersian: ترکیدن Persian: terkidan
for you šimi šinšeme vesse seba/semed şımaji bo tePersian: برای شما Persian: barāye šomā bey işmu/ bəri işmu par shoma/ par ta/ shome ent/ ti ent
for me mi šin me vesse seba/semede mıji bo minPersian: برای من Persian: barāye man bey mən/ bəri mən par man/ mani ent
chicken kiškazayčindekā kerge mirişkPersian: جوجه Persian: jujeh cücə
male cow vərza junekā gaw / ganêrPersian: گاو نر Persian: gāv-e nar nərəgou
bull leše telem/telemkā mungâmangeگاو ماده gāv-e māddeh gou
down jir/bijirjir/jer ceir/cérjêrPersian: پائین Persian: pā'in zir jahl/ cher
roll of the eyes luchanqorpe/češ degārdiyen çemardPersian: چشم غره Persian: češm ghoreh
rice farm bəjar/bijar binjār/bijār/šālizār berzerzeviya rizêPersian: مزرعه برنج Persian: mazra'e-ye berenj
climb vachukastanjurburden vecyayen helkiştinPersian: بالا رفتن Persian: bālā raftan dürmarən borz buten

Comparison of Gilaki, Mazandarani, Kurmanci, Zazaki and Balochi

English Gilaki Mazandarani Kurmanci ZazakiBalochi
English: baby/kid zay/zak/kūtevače/kote zarok Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: doman/qîj Baluchi: zag
English: up ĵor jur/jār jor/jûr Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: cor Baluchi: borz
English: girl kor/kilka kijā/deter keç Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: kêna/çêna Baluchi: jinek/janek
English: tree daar dār dar Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: dar Baluchi: dāar
English: go bušu bur/bašo biçe Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: so/şo Baluchi: boro
English: bridge purd perd/pel pir Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: pird Baluchi: puhl
English: groom zama zomā zava Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: zama Baluchi: salonk
English: fell kaft daket ket Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki: kewt Baluchi: kapt

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Dalb, Andrew (1998). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. Columbia University Press. p. 226. .
  2. Book: Rastorgueva, V. S. . The Gilaki Language . Ronald M. . Lockwood . 2012 . 978-91-554-8419-4 . Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
  3. Web site: GILAN x. LANGUAGES – Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  4. Web site: Gilaki.
  5. Web site: OLAC resources in and about the Gilaki language.
  6. Concomitant Replacement of Language and mtDNA in South Caspian Populations of Iran. 10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.021. 16581511. 16. 7. April 2006. Curr. Biol.. 668–73 . Nasidze . I . Quinque . D . Rahmani . M . Alemohamad . SA . Stoneking . M. 7883334. free . 2006CBio...16..668N .
  7. Academic American Encyclopedia By Grolier Incorporated, page 294
  8. The Tati language group in the sociolinguistic context of Northwestern Iran and Transcaucasia By D.Stilo, pages 137-185
  9. Book: تاریخ بدخشان / تالیف میرزاسنگ محمدبدخشی ؛ باتصحیح و تحشیه منوچهر ستوده. 1988. Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. 10.29171/azu_acku_ds375_bay43_meem38_1367.
  10. Web site: ALAMŪT – Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2021-03-28. iranicaonline.org.
  11. محمود رنجبر، رقیه رادمرد (۱۳۸۲)، بررسی و توصیف گویش گالشی
  12. «محمود رنجبر» و «رقیه رادمرد»؛ «بررسی وتوصیف گویش گالشی»؛ نشر گیلکان
  13. http://www.eva.mpg.de/linguistics/past-research-resources/documentation-and-description/northwest-iranian-project.html Stilo, Don "A Description of the Northwest Iranian Project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology"
  14. Web site: Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica .
  15. Book: خائفی، عباس (۱۳۹۵). "بررسي ماضي نقلي در گويش هاي حاشيه درياي خزر". گردهمايي انجمن ترويج زبان و ادب فارسي ايران. ۱۱: ۲۰..
  16. Web site: ویکی. پارسی. معنی گیلکی. 2021-03-28. پارسی ویکی. fa.
  17. Encyclopedia: ČĀLŪS . Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  18. Web site: روزنامه ولایت قزوین - استان قزوین؛ گنجینه زبان‌های ایرانی .
  19. Encyclopedia: ALAMŪT . Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  20. Book: Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects. 9783447052764. Johanson. Lars. Bulut. Christiane. 2006. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag .
  21. Huyse. Philip. 2002-05-15. Die iranischen Sprachen in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Wiesbaden, Reichert Verlag, 2000, IX + 106 p., 1 carte.. Abstracta Iranica. 23. 10.4000/abstractairanica.35151. 0240-8910. free.
  22. Web site: IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS – Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2021-03-27. iranicaonline.org.
  23. Book: شماره کتابشناسی ملی:۲۸۷۹۶۷۷/طرح بررسی و سنجش شاخص‌های فرهنگ عمومی کشور (شاخص‌های غیرثبتی):استان گیلان/به سفارش شورای فرهنگ عمومی کشور؛ مدیر طرح و مسئول سیاست گذاری:منصور واعظی؛ اجرا:شرکت پژوهشگران خبره پارس -شابک:۱-۶۰-۶۶۲۷-۶۰۰-۹۷۸ *وضعیت نشر:تهران-موسسه انتشارات کتاب نشر ۱۳۹۱ *وضعیت ظاهری:۲۸۵ ص:جدول (بخش رنگی)، نمودار (بخش رنگی).
  24. Book: طرح بررسی و سنجش شاخص‌های فرهنگ عمومی کشور (شاخص‌های غیرثبتی):استان قزوین/به سفارش شورای فرهنگ عمومی کشور؛ مدیر طرح و مسئول سیاست گذاری:منصور واعظی؛ اجرا:شرکت پژوهشگران خبره پارس -شابک:۳-۵۳-۶۶۲۷-۶۰۰-۹۷۸ *وضعیت نشر:تهران-موسسه انتشارات کتاب نشر ۱۳۹۱ *وضعیت ظاهری:۲۶۸ ص:جدول (بخش رنگی)، نمودار (بخش رنگی).
  25. Web site: Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2021-03-28. iranicaonline.org.
  26. Web site: ریاحی /. وحید. دانشنامه جهان اسلام بنیاد دائرة المعارف اسلامی. 2021-03-28. دانشنامه جهان اسلام بنیاد دائرة المعارف اسلامی. Persian. 2019-11-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20191112223703/https://rch.ac.ir/. dead.
  27. Web site: شهرداری چالوس. 2021-03-28. www.chalouscity.ir.
  28. Web site: Gilaki. 2021-03-28. Ethnologue. en.
  29. Web site: Iran Provinces. 2021-03-28. www.statoids.com.
  30. Book: Held. Colbert C.. Cummings. John Thomas. Cotter. John V.. 2018-05-04. Middle East Patterns. 10.4324/9780429493454. 9780429493454.
  31. Web site: Gilaki. Ethnologue. November 26, 2023.