The volume - of interest to students of Persian, Iranian philology, and comparative and general linguistics - contains fourteen papers that cover a diversity of themes relating to the history of the Persian language, including Middle Persian. Editions of so far unpublished texts and new language materials are also included. In Part I (Historical and descriptive grammar of Persian), Claudia A. Ciancaglini traces the formation of the periphrastic verbs of the "noun + kardan" type back to Indo-Iranian and suggests that such verbs in neighbouring non-Iranian languages are due to the influence of Persian and other Iranian languages; Judith Josephson surveys the devices developed in Middle Persian to convey various degrees of definiteness and deixis; Paola Orsatti recognises a deictic suffix -i in New Persian and documents its history in early and classical texts; and Gilbert Lazard provides a theoretical reference frame for the problem whether New Persian has one or more postnominal suffixes -i. In Part II (Middle Persian), Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst surveys the history of research on the Manichaean Middle Persian texts from Turfan; and Hassan Rezai Baghbidi offers a new edition and translation of the Middle Persian and Chinese inscription from Xi'an. In Part III (Non-standard New Persian), Elio Provasi provides an edition with translation, commentary, and glossary of seven unpublished New Persian fragments in Manichaean script from Turfan; Ela Filippone studies the language and translation techniques of the early dialectal translation of the so-called "Qor'an-e Qods"; David N. MacKenzie's unpublished index to the "Early Jewish-Persian argument" published by him in 1968 appears here posthumously; and Mauro Maggi and Paola Orsatti publish and translate two Persian hymns in Syriac script from manuscripts in the Mingana Collection. In Part IV (Literary New Persian), Mohammad Hasandust identifies and provides with an etymology eight words occurring in literary sources but so far ignored by Persian lexicography, and Riccardo Zipoli publishes a sample of a dictionary of obscene terms that, once completed, will assist in the study of texts tabooed on account of their vocabulary. In Part V (Dialectology), Gerardo Barbera offers an thorough presentation of the Minabi lexicon relating to the palm in comparison with other dialects of the area and with Persian, while Daniele Guizzo deals with Talesi terms for celestial bodies and weather phenomena and studies their position relative to neighbouring languages.

The Iranian languages form the major eastern branch of the Indo-European group of languages, itself part of the larger Indo-Iranian family. Estimated to have between 150 and 200 million native speakers, the Iranian languages constitute one of the world’s major language families. This comprehensive volume offers a detailed overview of the principle languages which make up this group: Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian. The Iranian Languages is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapters by the editor present a general overview and a detailed discussion of the linguistic typology of Iranian. The individual chapters which follow are written by leading experts in the field. These provide the reader with concise, non-technical descriptions of a range of Iranian languages. Each chapter follows the same pattern and sequence of topics, taking the reader through the significant features not only of phonology and morphology but also of syntax; from phrase level to complex sentences and pragmatics. Ample examples on all levels are provided with detailed annotation for the non-specialist reader. In addition, each chapter covers lexis, sociolinguistic and typological issues, and concludes with annotated sample texts. This unique resource is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will also be of interest to researchers or anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development. Gernot Windfuhr is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan; he has published widely on Persian and Iranian languages and linguistics and related languages, as well as on other aspects of Iranian culture including Persian literature and Pre-Islamic Iranian religions.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Manuscript cultures based on Arabic script feature various tendencies in standardisation of orthography, script types and layout. Unlike previous studies, this book steps outside disciplinary and regional boundaries and provides a typological cross-cultural comparison of standardisation processes in twelve Arabic-influenced writing traditions where different cultures, languages and scripts interact. A wide range of case studies give insights into the factors behind uniformity and variation in Judeo-Arabic in Hebrew script, South Palestinian Christian Arabic, New Persian, Aljamiado of the Spanish Moriscos, Ottoman Turkish, a single multilingual Ottoman manuscript, Sino-Arabic in northwest China, Malay Jawi in the Moluccas, Kanuri and Hausa in Nigeria, Kabyle in Algeria, and Ethiopian Fidäl script as used to transliterate Arabic. One of the findings of this volume is that different domains of manuscript cultures have distinct paths of standardisation, so that orthography tends to develop its own standardisation principles irrespective of norms applied to layout and script types. This book will appeal to readers interested in manuscript studies, sociolinguistics, literacy studies, and history of writing.

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the field of Persian linguistics, discusses its development, and captures critical accounts of cutting edge research within its major subfields, as well as outlining current debates and suggesting productive lines of future research. Leading scholars in the major subfields of Persian linguistics examine a range of topics split into six thematic parts. Following a detailed introduction from the editors, the volume begins by placing Persian in its historical and typological context in Part I. Chapters in Part II examine topics relating to phonetics and phonology, while Part III looks at approaches to and features of Persian syntax. The fourth part of the volume explores morphology and lexicography, as well as the work of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature. Part V, language and people, covers topics such as language contact and teaching Persian as a foreign language, while the final part examines psycho- neuro-, and computational linguistics. The volume will be an essential resource for all scholars with an interest in Persian language and linguistics.