Dari (Zoroastrian)
| Dari | |
|---|---|
| Gabri | |
| Yazdi | |
| Native to | Central Iran |
| Region | Yazd and Kerman |
|
Native speakers
|
8,000–15,000 (1999) |
|
Indo-European
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | zoro1242 |
Zoroastrian Dari (Persian: دری زرتشتی or گویش بهدینان literally Behdīnān dialect) is a Northwestern Iranianethnolect spoken as a first language by an estimated 8,000 to 15,000 Zoroastrians in and around the cities of Yazd and Kerman in central Iran. The ethnolect is often overlooked by linguists because the region is predominantly Muslim and because Dari is primarily spoken (rarely written). Dari is a Persian dialect.
Dari is also known as Behdināni or pejoratively as Gabri (sometimes Gavrŭni or Gabrōni). Dari has numerous dialects. there are certain differences compared to new Persian, though it is still a Persian dialect related to middle Persian Pahlavi.
Genealogically, Dari Persian is a member of the Northwestern Iranian language subfamily, which includes several other closely related languages, for instance, Zazaki and Balochi. These Northwestern Iranian languages are a branch of the larger Western Iranian language group, which is in turn a subgroup of the Iranian language family.
The language known as Zoroastrian Dari is also referred to as 'Behdinâni' ("language of the people of good religion") or pejorative yet common name, 'Gabri' ("language of the infidels"). The roots of the name 'Gabri' date back to Muslim invasion of Iran and is resented by indigenous speakers of Dari to refer to their language. As Farudi and Toosarvandani point out: "For them, choosing to call their language Dari, the speakers of the language invoke their ancestral connections to a pre-Islamic Iran."
The Dari language has traditionally been divided into two main dialects: the variety spoken in Yazd and the one spoken in Kerman. This division of the language, based on the division of its speakers into their two main cities of residence, conceals the complexity of the actual dialectical situation. The Yazdi dialect itself has some thirty varieties, each distinct and unique to one of the Zoroastrian neighborhoods in and around Yazd. The variation amongst the Yazdi dialects is so great that, were it not for their geographic proximity, they would no doubt be classified as distinct dialects. The Kermani dialect may also contain (or may have contained at one time) a comparable level of dialectical complexity.
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