Kuhmareyi language
| Kuhmareyi | |
|---|---|
| Southwestern Fars | |
| Native to | Iran |
Native speakers | 100,000 (2012)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | fay |
| Glottolog | sout2645 |
Kuhmareyi is one of the languages of southwestern Fars. It is a cluster of disparate dialects; the one illustrated here is the Davani dialect (Davani: devani;[2] Persian: دوانی, transliteration: Davāni) of the village of Davan, 12 kilometers north of Kazerun city in southern Iran. Davani had an estimated 1,000 speakers in 2004.[3]
Phonology
The transcription used here is only an approximation.[4]
Vowels
short: a, e, i, o, u
long: â, ā, ē, ī, ō, ū
Consonants
- voiced dental fricative: ð, generally after vowels, like in, 'bað' (bad).
- voiced velar fricative: γ, like in "γal'ati" (shroud).
- alveolar trill: like in 'borrâ' (flail).
- palatalization: inclination for 'g' and 'k' before front vowels, like in 'bega' (say).
- voiceless alveolar affricate: ts, like in 'tse' (what), and voiced dz, like in andzi (fig).
Grammar
Verbs
Davani is
ergative
in past transitive constructions. For example (Persian transliterations are in UniPers):
English: Hasan saw Ali in the garden.
Persian: Hasan, Ali-râ tuye bâq did.
Davani: hasan-eš ali-a tu bâγ di.
Infinitive markers include -san, -tan, -dan, -ðan.
Nouns
The suffix -aku makes nouns definite. For example:
bard "stone" → bard-aku "the stone"
The plural is marked by the suffix -gal. -u is exceptionally used for "man". For example:
sēv "apple" → sēv-gal "apples"
merd "man" → merd-u "men"
Pronouns
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ma | mu |
| 2nd | to | shumu |
| 3rd | u oy |
unā ushu |
Vocabulary
|
|
Example sentences
| English | Davani | Persian | Unipers |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is this? | i tsi-yen? | این چیست؟ | In cist? |
| Where is Ali? | ali an kâ? | علی کجاست؟ | Ali kojâst? |
| This horse is white. | i asp-e espe-hâ. | .این اسب سفید است | In asb sefid ast. |
| Go (and) chain Rostam's hand (and) bring him here, so that I give you the crown and the kingdom. | beða dass-e rostam huven-eš bâ injo ke-t ma tâj šâi hâðe. | .برو دست رستم را ببند، اینجا بیاور تا من تاج شاهی را به تو بدهم | Boro daste Rostam râ beband, injâ beyâvar, tâ man tâje šâhi râ be to bedaham. |
| They say he works 10 hours a day. | mege-yen rez-i dā sât kâr mēku. | .میگویند روزی ده ساعت کار میکند | Miguyand ruzi dah sâat kâr mikonad. |
| I have two small brothers and sisters. | dikko-m borô xey-e xord-ek he. | .دو برادر و خواهر کوچک دارم | Do barâdar va xâhare kucak dâram. |
| If you will go just once to their village, you won't forget the hospitality of its people. | agar hami akeš-a šesse-bi-ya velât-ešu hargese-tu meymu dâri-šu az yâð nemēšu. | .اگر تنها یکبار به ده آنها رفته باشی، مهمان‌نوازی مردم آنجا را هرگز از یاد نخواهی برد | Agar tanhâ yekbâr be dehe ânhâ rafte bâši, mehmânnavâziye mardome ânjâ râ hargez az yâd naxâhid bord. |
| Who called me? | ke-š čer-om ze? | چه کسی مرا صدا زد؟ | Cekasi marâ sedâ zad? |
See also
- Lari dialect
- Dialects of Fars
- Persian dialects and varieties
- Southwestern Iranian languages
- Iranian languages
References
- ^ Kuhmareyi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica article on Davani Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 964-7531-32-X(in Persian)
- ^ Mahamedi, H., 1982. The story of Rostam and Esfandiyâr in an Iranian dialect,Journal of the American Oriental Studies, 102.3, 451-459.
Further reading
- Morgenstierne, G., 1960. Stray notes on Persian dialects, II, Fârs Dialects-Davâni. Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, XIX, 123–129.
- Hasamzada-Haqiqi, C., 1970. Guyeše Davâni (Davani Dialect), in Proceedings of the First Congress of Iranian Studies. Tehran University, 77–98.
- Mahamedi, H., 1979. On the verbal system in three Iranian dialects of Fârs, in Studia Iranica, VIII, 2, 277–297.
- Salami, A., 1381 ISBN 964-7531-03-6(in Persian).
- Pierre Lecoq. 1989. Les dialectes du sud-ouest de l'Iran. In Rüdiger Schmitt (ed.), Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, 341-349. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert. In French.