Gilaki
Gilak
گیلٚکی زٚوان (ɡilɵki zɵvān)
Gilaki in Nastaliq style (گیلکی)
Native toIran, province of Gilan and parts of the province of Mazandaran and Qazvin also Alborz
RegionSouthwest coast of the Caspian Sea
Ethnicity4.6 million Gilaki (2021)[1]
Native speakers
2.55 million (2021)[1]
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3glk
Glottologgila1241
Linguasphere58-AAC-eb
Areas where Gilaki is spoken as the mother tongue

Gilaki (گیلٚکي زٚوؤن romanized: ɡilɵki zɵvön) is an Iranian language of the Northwestern branch, spoken in south of Caspian Sea by Gilak people. Gilaki is closely related to Mazandarani.[2] The two languages of Gilaki and Mazandarani have similar vocabularies.[3][4][5][6] The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages)[7] share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically Kartvelian language),[7][8][9] 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[10][11][12][13] and Galeshi/Deylami.[14][15] The western and eastern dialects are separated by the Sefid River,[16] while Galeshi is spoken in the mountains of eastern Gilan and western Mazandaran.[15]

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.[5]

Gilaki, which has two main dialect types, eastern and western, with the Safidrūd River as the general border, is a member of the Caspian subgroup. [17] There are many subdialects of Gilaki, and, progressing to the east, it 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.[18] 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.[19][20]

Furthermore, the eastern Gilaki dialect is spoken throughout the valley of the Chalus river.[21]

Apart from four Turkish-speaking villages higher up, the inhabitants of Alamut speak Gilaki and those of Rudbar Tati.[22] In Qazvin province, Gilaki is spoken in northern parts of the province, in Alamut.[23][24]

Grammar

Gilaki, is an inflected and genderless language. It is considered SVO, although in sentences employing certain tenses the order may be SOV.[25] Nonetheless, the language has many grammatical similarities to English.

Dispersion

Map depicting areas where the various dialects of Gilaki are spoken

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.[26][27][28][29][30][12][13][11][31] The number of Gilaki speakers is estimated at 3 to 4 million.[32][33][34] Ethnologue reports that the use of Gilaki is decreasing as the speaker population is decreasing.[35]

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:

GilakiPersianExample (Gilaki)
ieki.tab
e(ː), /eiseb
ɛ(œ)eiɛrɛ
əæ, emən
alag
äæzäy
ɒ (perhaps allophonic)lɒ.nə
o, /ɔd͡ʒoɾ
uo/ɡul
üutüm

There are nine vowel phonemes in the Gilaki language:

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Open a ɒ

The consonants are:

Gilaki Consonants
labial alveolar post-alveolar velar uvular glottal
voiceless stops p t t͡ʃ k ʔ
voiced stops b d d͡ʒ ɡ
voiceless fricatives f s ʃ x ~ χ h
voiced fricatives v z ʒ ɣ ~ ʁ
nasals m n ŋ
liquids l, ɾ ~ r
glides 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:

SingularPlural
dinəmdiním(i)
dinídiníd(i)
dinédiníd(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/.

SingularPlural
bídinəmbídinim
bídinibídinid
bídinəbídinid

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):

SingularPlural
buxúrdəmbuxúrdim(i)
buxúrdibuxúrdid(i)
buxúrdəbuxúrdid(i)

Imperfect

The imperfect is formed with what was originally a suffix -i:

xúrdimxúrdim(i)
xúrdixúrdid(i)
xúrdixúrdid(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:

SingularPlural
buxurdə bumbuxurdə bim
buxurdə bibuxurdə bid
buxurdə bubuxurdə bid

Past subjunctive

A curious innovation of Western Gilaki is the past subjunctive, which is formed with the (artificial) imperfect of bon+past participle:

SingularPlural
bidé bimbidé bim
bidé bibidé bid
bidé be/bibidé 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

SingularPlural
šón darəmšón darim
šón darišón darid
šón darəšón darid

Past progressive

SingularPlural
šón də/du bumšón 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:

SingularPlural
Nomperperán
Accperaperána
Genperəperánə

The genitive can change to -i, especially before some postpositions.

Pronouns

The 1st and 2nd person pronouns have special forms:

SingularPlural
Nommənamán
Accməraamána
Genmiamí
SingularPlural
Nomtušumán
Acctərašumána
Gentišimí

The 3rd person (demonstrative) pronouns are regular: /un/, /u.ˈʃan/, /i.ˈʃan/

Postpositions

With the genitive can be combined many postpositions. Examples:

GilakiEnglish
refor
həmra/əmrawith
ĵafrom, than (in comparisons)
mianin
ĵorabove
ĵirunder
ruon 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.

  • Example for adjectival modification: Western Gilaki: pilla-yi zakan (big children), Surx gul (red flower). Eastern Gilaki: Sərd ow (cold water) (ɑb-e særd in Persian), kul čaqu (dull knife) (čaqu-ye kond in Persian).

Possessive constructions

  • Examples for possessive constructions of nouns in Western Gilaki: məhine zakan (Mæhin's children) (Bæče-ha-ye Mæhin in Persian), Baγi gulan (garden flowers) (Gol-ha-ye Baγ in Persian). In Eastern Gilaki: Xirsi Kuti (bear cub) (Bæč-e Xers in Persian).

Vocabulary

GilakiMazandaraniZazaki KurmanjiEnglishPersianPersian transcriptionTatBaluchi
dimdim/ruruy/rı dêmfaceروی/چهرهruy/čehrehrudim/deym
zäyvačepıte/doman dergûş / zarokbaby/kidکودک/بچهkudak/bačehəyəlzag
pile pɛrgate piyerKalîke kalgrandfatherپدربزرگpedar bozorgkələpiyərpirok
zəmatpeyompeyam peyammessageپیامpayām
mərdə perši piyerPîye zama/viştewru xezûrfather of the husbandپدرشوهرpedar šoharxüsürmərd
kerk/murgh/keratkerg/kerkkerg mirîşkhenمرغ خانگیmorgh xānegikərgmorg
gow/gābguw gaw/gabcowگاوgāvmərəgougowk
buĵor/cuerjur/jārcor jorupبالاbālāzəvərborz
kiĵi/sitarərojā/esāreastare stêrkstarستارهsetārehastaraestar
kor/kilkā/lākukijā/deterkêna/çêna keçgirlدخترdoxtarduxtər/ kiləjinek/ dohtar/ jinen zag
rey/ririkā/peserLaj/biko lawboyپسرpesargədəbachek/ marden zag
putālmelijemorcele morîantمورچهmurčehmujnəmorink
siftāl/garzakkangelizerqet mozbeeزنبورzanburənggowder
pičabāmešipsing pisîkcat/pussy catگربه/پیشیgorbeh/pišipişikpeshik
nesänesum/sāynesiya reşshadowسایهsāyehsayəsāyag
vargadån/urgadånāvizun hākerdenVardan êxistinto hangآویزان کردن/آویختنāvixtan/āvizān kardanvəzərən
pillə=pillagatpîl/giran girgreatبزرگbozorgkələtuh/ mazan
zäk/zäyvačedoman,qîj,leyr zarokchildبچهbačehəyəlzag
pɛrpiyerpîye,baw bavfatherپدرpedarpiyərpet/ pes
kåråš=kereš/fakeshenbakešiyenkeresdan kişandinto draw on the groundکشیدن به دنبالkešidankəşirən
fuduštån/uduštånbučefessenlevnayış mijînto suckمکیدنmakidançumustən
vastånvene/meylwaşten vînappetite or desireاشتها و میلeštehā o meyl
šondån/fukudånbašendiyenşodan/şıdan rijandin / pê de berdanpouring of liquidsریختن مایعاتrixtan-e māyeāt
lisklis/sorreser-lic sîsk / runiklubriciousليز / سورliz/sor
kərčtarnekırç brittleترد و شکنندهtord o šekanandeh
därdārdâr dartreeدار و درختdār / deraxtdardāar/ drachk/ mach(date tree)
malĵå/čičinimičkāmiliçik tîvil / qilîçsparrowگنجشکgonješkmərgiçəjenjeshk
bušubur/bašobuşu biçe / heregoبروborobura/barabera/ shoten
fegir/fagirbair/bayrfekir bigretake it in your handبگیرbegirgirger
fangir/fanigirnair/nayrmegir megire / negiredon't take in your handنگیرnagirməgirmager
purdperd/pelpırd pirbridgeپلpolkürpi
sigar/si/sekoy u kerra çiya û kevirmountain and stoneکوه و سنگkuh o sang
kenesbarxerdtemas temastouchتماسtamās
morghanəmerqānehâk hêkeggتخم مرغtoxm-e morghxakərgāmorg/ hek
lantimarmar marsnakeمارmārmarmār
kəlachkelajqela qelacrowکلاغkalāghqəlağ
gərmalətgolmetareisot, ferfer îsotpepperفلفلfelfelistoutpelpel
pamadurgojefirang firingtomatoگوجه فرنگیgojeh-ye farangipamadur
vatərkəssən/vatərkəstənbaterkessenterqnaiden teqîn / peqînexplodeترکیدنterkidan
šimi šinšeme vesseseba/semed şıma ji bo tefor youبرای شماbarāye šomābey işmu/ bəri işmupar shoma/ par ta/ shome ent/ ti ent
mi šinme vesseseba/semede mı ji bo minfor meبرای منbarāye manbey mən/ bəri mənpar man/ mani ent
kiškazayčindekākerge mirişk chickenجوجهjujehcücə
vərzajunekā gaw / ganêrmale cowگاو نرgāv-e narnərəgou
lešetelem/telemkāmungâ mangebullگاو مادهgāv-e māddehgou
jir/bijirjir/jerceir/cér jêrdownپائینpā'inzirjahl/ cher
luchanqorpe/češ degārdiyençemard roll of the eyesچشم غرهčešm ghoreh
bəjar/bijarbinjār/bijār/šālizārberzer zeviya rizêrice farmمزرعه برنجmazra'e-ye berenj
vachukastanjurburdenvecyayen helkiştinclimbبالا رفتنbālā raftandürmarənborz buten

Comparison of Gilaki, Mazandarani, Kurmanci, Zazaki and Balochi

GilakiEnglishMazandaraniKurmanciZazakiBalochi
zay/zakbaby/kidvače/kotezarokdoman/qîjZag
ĵorupjur/jārjor/jûrcorBorz
kor/kilkagirlkijā/deterkeçkêna/çênajinek/janek
daartreedārdardardāar
bušugobur/bašobiçeso/şoboro
purdbridgeperd/pelpirpirdpuhl
zamagroomzomāzavazamasalonk
kaftfelldaketketkewtkapt

Notes

  1. 1 2 Gilaki at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. Dalb, Andrew (1998). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. Columbia University Press. p. 226. ISBN 0-231-11568-7.
  3. https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:560728/FULLTEXT02.pdf
  4. "GILAN x. LANGUAGES – Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  5. 1 2 "Gilaki".
  6. "OLAC resources in and about the Gilaki language".
  7. 1 2 Nasidze, I; Quinque, D; Rahmani, M; Alemohamad, SA; Stoneking, M (April 2006). "Concomitant Replacement of Language and mtDNA in South Caspian Populations of Iran". Curr. Biol. 16 (7): 668–73. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.021. PMID 16581511. S2CID 7883334.
  8. Academic American Encyclopedia By Grolier Incorporated, page 294
  9. The Tati language group in the sociolinguistic context of Northwestern Iran and Transcaucasia By D.Stilo, pages 137-185
  10. تاریخ بدخشان / تالیف میرزاسنگ محمدبدخشی ؛ باتصحیح و تحشیه منوچهر ستوده. Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. 1988. doi:10.29171/azu_acku_ds375_bay43_meem38_1367.
  11. 1 2 "ALAMŪT – Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  12. 1 2 "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  13. 1 2 ریاحی /, وحید. "دانشنامه جهان اسلام بنیاد دائرة المعارف اسلامی". دانشنامه جهان اسلام بنیاد دائرة المعارف اسلامی (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  14. محمود رنجبر، رقیه رادمرد (۱۳۸۲)، بررسی و توصیف گویش گالشی
  15. 1 2 «محمود رنجبر» و «رقیه رادمرد»؛ «بررسی وتوصیف گویش گالشی»؛ نشر گیلکان
  16. Stilo, Don "A Description of the Northwest Iranian Project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology"
  17. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  18. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  19. خائفی، عباس (۱۳۹۵). "بررسي ماضي نقلي در گويش هاي حاشيه درياي خزر". گردهمايي انجمن ترويج زبان و ادب فارسي ايران. ۱۱: ۲۰.
  20. ویکی, پارسی. "معنی گیلکی". پارسی ویکی (in Persian). Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  21. "ČĀLŪS". Encyclopaedia Iranica.alamut-valley-alborz-northeast-of-qazvin-
  22. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  23. "روزنامه ولایت قزوین - استان قزوین؛ گنجینه زبان‌های ایرانی".
  24. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  25. Johanson, Lars; Bulut, Christiane (2006). Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 9783447052764.
  26. "The Stateless Nations and the European Union", Stateless Nations, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, doi:10.1057/9781137008206.0011, ISBN 978-1-137-00820-6, retrieved 2021-03-27
  27. Huyse, Philip (2002-05-15). "Die iranischen Sprachen in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Wiesbaden, Reichert Verlag, 2000, IX + 106 p., 1 carte". Abstracta Iranica. 23. doi:10.4000/abstractairanica.35151. ISSN 0240-8910.
  28. "IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  29. شماره کتابشناسی ملی:۲۸۷۹۶۷۷/طرح بررسی و سنجش شاخص‌های فرهنگ عمومی کشور (شاخص‌های غیرثبتی){گزارش}: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).
  30. طرح بررسی و سنجش شاخص‌های فرهنگ عمومی کشور (شاخص‌های غیرثبتی){گزارش}: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).
  31. "شهرداری چالوس". www.chalouscity.ir. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  32. "Gilaki". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  33. "Iran Provinces". www.statoids.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  34. Held, Colbert C.; Cummings, John Thomas; Cotter, John V. (2018-05-04). Middle East Patterns. doi:10.4324/9780429493454. ISBN 9780429493454.
  35. "Gilaki". Ethnologue. Retrieved November 26, 2023.

Further reading

  • Christensen, Arthur Emanuel (1930). "Dialect Guiläkī de Recht" [The Gilaki dialect of Rasht]. Contributions à la dialectologie iranienne (PDF). Kgl. danske videnskabernes selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser. Vol. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-09. (translated into Persian 1995)
  • Purriyahi, Masud (1971). Barresi-ye dastur-e guyesh-e Gilaki-ye Rasht [A Grammatical Study of the Gilaki dialect of Rasht] (Dissertation). Tehran University.
  • Sartippur, Jahangir (1990). Vižegihā-ye Dasturi va Farhang-e vāžehā-ye Gilaki [Grammatical Characteristics and Glossary of Gilaki]. Rasht: Nashr-e Gilakan.
  • Shokri, Giti (1998). "Māzi-ye Naqli dar Guyeshhā-ye Gilaki va Mazandarāni" ماضی نقلی در گویش های مازندران و گیلان [The Present Perfect Tense in the Dialects of Mazandaran and Gilan]. Nāme-ye Farhangestān. 4 (16): 59–69.
  • Rastorgueva, V. S.; Kerimova, A. A.; Mamedzade, A. K.; Pireiko, L. A.; Edel’man, D. I. (2012). The Gilaki Language. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Vol. 19. Translated by Lockwood, Ronald M. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet. ISBN 978-91-554-8419-4.
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