Laki language

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the laki language. For the Northeast Caucasian language, see Lak language.
Laki
Kermanshah in Iran, and scatteredly elsewhere in Iran and Turkey
EthnicityLaks, Hasanvand
Native speakers
680,000 (2021)[1]
Perso-Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3lki
Glottologlaki1244
Linguasphere58-AAC-aac

Laki (

Kurdish dialect,[4][5][6][7][8] by most linguists[2] and is spoken chiefly in the area between Khorramabad and Kermanshah in Iran by about 680,000 native speakers.[1]

Geography

Laki is spoken in Iran and in Turkey. In Iran, the

Mazandaran.[13] In Gilan province, Laki is spoken by around 1,500 people.[14]

In Turkey, the language is spoken by the Şêxbizin tribe, scattered around the country.[15]

Classification

The classification of Laki as a sub-dialect of

Kurdish is unsettled,[2] but the differences between Laki and the other Southern Kurdish dialects are minimal.[7] However, linguist Fattah argues that Laki cannot be considered a dialect of Southern Kurdish since Laki is ergative and is thus a fourth Kurdish language.[16]

Other linguists argue that Laki is closely related to Kurdish but refrain from deciding its place among the

Northwestern Iranian languages.[3]

Laki has also been classified as a Luri dialect, but speakers of Luri claim that Laki is "difficult or impossible to understand".[4] Linguist Shahsavari points that Laki is sometimes seen as 'a transitional dialect between Kurdish and Luri'.[17]

History

Oral literature

Two significant groups of Laki oral literature are religious oral literature and astronomical literature. The first group includes Shia oral hymns and Yarsan songs, while the second gives an expansive and colorful account of Laki narratives of astronomical events and their consequences, the power of the sun, moon, the week and tales on the stars. A third and less significant group of Laki oral literature are verses on nature and the daily life. In the folklore of rural areas, fal gərtən or 'tell fortunes' are very important.[18]

Written literature

Page of a Persian–Laki dictionary, dated 1811 CE.

The use of Laki in literary writing is a more recent phenomenon and has therefore not been considerably developed.[19] Historically, the use was impeded by the status of Gorani as koiné among Kurds which meant that speakers of Laki wrote their poetry in Gorani.[20] Nonetheless, some early Laki works include the quatrain al-shi'r bi-l-fahlawīya (year 716 in hijri) which was preserved in a 14th-century manuscript, and Jang-i Hamawan which was a freely adapted Laki version of the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi.[21] Mele Perîşan (1356–1431) also wrote his diwan in Gorani influenced by Laki.[22]

The most well-known manzuma in Laki is Darcenge written by Sayid Nushad Abu al-Wafa'i, a fellow of Sultan Sahak and contemporary of Nader Shah. The Darcenge contained questions concerning the events taking place in the world with sophisticated answers. This period also saw many Laki versions of the Kalâm-e Saranjâm.[23]

In addition, there are many manuscripts titled Kule bad meaning 'the continuous wind' scattered around the region. These manuscripts appeared numerously in the late 16th century and early 17th century and were used to express

Yaqub Maydashti,[24] Mila Manuchichr Kuliwand and Mila Haqq Ali Siyahpush.[25]

Laki phonology

Main article: Kurdish phonology

The phonology of Laki is identical to that of other Southern Kurdish dialects, which diverges from Kurmanji and Sorani by also having the /øː/, /oː/ and /ʉː/.[26]

Vowel phonemes[27]
  Front Central Back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
Close iː ʉ
ɨ		 ʊ
uː
Close-mid eː øː o
oː
Open-mid ɛ
Open a ɑː

Comparison of cognates

English[28] Laki Kurmanji Kurdish Khorramabadi Luri
salt xöwa xwê nəmak
oil rîm rûn reğo
fire agör agir taš
go sî, re çû ra
come hewt, hat hat ōma
fall ket ket oftā
say vöt, gôt got got
hungry vörsönî, versörnî birçî gosna
here îre vir īčö
there ûre wir ūčö

References

  1. ^ a b Laki at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b c Anonby (2021).
  3. ^ a b Anonby (2004), p. 7.
  4. ^ a b Anonby (2003), p. 180.
  5. ^ Windfuhr (2009), p. 587.
  6. ^ Schmitt (2000), p. 85.
  7. ^ a b Hamzeh’ee (2009).
  8. ^ Dehqan (2008).
  9. ^ Fattah (2000), p. 56.
  10. ^ Dehqan (2008), pp. 295 & 297.
  11. ^ Department of Studies and Planning of Lorestan Province.
  12. ^ Vajehyab.
  13. ^ Fattah (2000), p. 57.
  14. ^ "Language distribution: Gilan Province (heritage languages)". Iran Atlas. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  15. ^ Dr. Mikaîlî (2020), pp. 8–10.
  16. ^ Fattah (2000), pp. 55–56.
  17. ^ Shahsavari (2010), p. 79.
  18. ^ Dehqan (2008), p. 299.
  19. ^ Ahmadzadeh (2021), p. 704.
  20. ^ Dehqan (2008), pp. 296 & 299.
  21. ^ Dehqan (2008), p. 296.
  22. ^ Hamzeh’ee (1990), pp. 60 & 238.
  23. ^ Dehqan (2008), pp. 296–297.
  24. ^ Dehqan (2016), p. 118.
  25. ^ Dehqan (2008), p. 298.
  26. ^ Fattah (2000).
  27. ^ Mirdehghan & Moradkhani (2010), pp. 513–531.
  28. ^ Anonby (2004), p. 20.
  • Baran, Murat (2023). Kurdish Grammar: Lekî Reference Book. Kwêyeşt: Amazon publishing.
    ISBN 979-8396561472
    .

Bibliography

Further reading

Laki test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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