Third -person singular pronoun “ای/ ـی ” in some Iranian texts and dialects

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor of Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payame- Noor University, Tehran, Iran

10.30465/cpl.2025.9311

Abstract

In the Tabaqat Al- Soufiye , Shirzad, and Golshad, the letter “ای/ ـی ” is sometimes seen in the position of the third- person singular pronoun. The research is to identify this linguistic element with the help of Iranian dialects and oral stories recorded from Herat in Afghanistan and South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan and North Khorasan provinces in Iran. For this purpose, by studying the two mentioned books, examining the written sources of the dialect, different angles of this pronoun have been discussed and investigated. For this basis,  “ای/ ـی ” with the suggested  subjective pronoun of ē, in Tabaqat Al- Soufiye is a pronoun  with the role of  subject and noun Modifier, and in Shirzad and Golshad, it is a pronoun with the role of  noun Modifier. This pronoun, with phonetic forms -ē˃-e, id, it, ay, hi and in Herat, Yaghnob in Tajikistan, Republic of Azerbaijan and the provinces of South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Isfahan, Fars and Hormozgan in different grammatical roles  has been used. Grammatically, except for a few exceptions, -ē˃-e and i are not placed in the noun modifier position if they are co-referent with the subject of the sentence.
 
Keywords:Tabaqat Al- Soufiye , Shirzad and Golshad, third person singular  pronoun, dialect, Iranian dialects.
 

Introduction:

In recent decades, the necessary fields for research on the Persian language have been prepared more and more. At this time, on one hand, some valuable Persian texts were corrected according to scientific principles and critical and authoritative editions of these works were made available. On the other hand, a number of Iranian dialects were also collected, compiled and documented, and new horizons were opened for conducting useful researches. In Tabaqat al-Sufiya by Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (2007) and Shirzad va Golshad and forty-seven other stories (2021) by an unknown author, the letter “ای/ ـی ” is sometimes seen in the position of the third -person singular pronoun. In none of the history of the Persian language and grammar books, there is no explanation for this pronoun. Therefore, in the present study, the utility of this pronoun in the two mentioned texts and some Persian dialects has been carefully discussed and investigated. It is also necessary to state that in today's Iranian Persian, personal pronouns are divided into two groups: attached personal pronouns and detached personal pronouns. Each group also has first person, second person and third person singular and plural. In this period of Persian language, the third person detached pronouns are:'u', 'uy', 'vey', and the third person attached singular pronoun is "-sh" (Abul Ghasemi 2006:116-134)
 

Materials & Methods:

This study has been done in a descriptive-analytical manner.  In this regard, first of all, the observer witnesses on the use of the pronoun “ای/ ـی ”have been extracted in Tabaqat Al- Soufiye, Shirzad va Golshad. Then, the phonetic forms and their grammatical roles in some Iranian dialects are explained by citing many evidences. The dialectal data used in this article was provided through the investigation of dialectal written sources and listening to 1300 oral stories recorded from the cities and villages of Herat province in Afghanistan, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan and North Khorasan provinces. As Sadeghi (2020: 12) points out, there are more ancient and dialectal features in Folklore ( tales, myths, legends)compared to everyday speech.

Discussion & Result:

According to the results of this study, the pronoun under investigation is seen with the suggested pronunciation of ē in Tabaqat Al- Soufiye, with the role of   Modifier noun and subject, and in the book of Shirzad va Golshad with the role of Modifier noun. From a dialectal point of view, this pronoun is used with different grammatical roles in a wide geographical area with the phonetic forms -ē˃-e, id, it, ay, hi and i. However, i is definitely the most used and frequent phonetic form. This pronunciation is not seen in the Amsal o Hekam ( Proverbs and Sayings )  of the city of Herat in Afghanistan, but in the oral tales recorded from around this city, the dialect of all the cities of South Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan, the dialect of Bojnord and Jajarm cities in North Khorasan, and the dialect of some areas of Isfahan provinces, Fars, Hormozgan and Tati( Native language in Western Iran) are commonly used in the northeast of the Republic of Azerbaijan.  In addition to what was said, except for a few exceptions, the phonetic forms -ē˃-e and i are not placed in the modifier noun position if they are coreference with the subject of the sentence.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

- Abolqasmi, Mohsen (2006), Historical grammar of the Persian language, 5th edition, Tehran: Samt. [in Persian]
- Afzalnejad, Mohammad (1998), Reviewing and description of Sadeh (Qaen) dialect, master's thesis, Mashhad: Department of Persian Language and Literature, Ferdowsi University. [in Persian]
- Akbarzadeh, Hadi and Abulqasem Amini (2019), The dictionary  of proverbs of the Sankhast people  , Mashhad: Dastor. [in Persian]
- Akbari Shalchi, Amir Hossein (1991), Dialectic dictionary of Great Khorasan, Tehran: Markaz Publishing. [in Persian]
- Amirinejad, Masoud (1996), Reviewing and description of Khaf dialect, master's thesis, Department of Linguistics - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. [in Persian]
- Ansari, Abdullah bin Mohammad (2007), Tabaqat Al- Soufiye , second edition, with introduction, confrontation, emendation and indexes by Mohammad Sarwar Moulai  , Tehran: Toos. [in Persian]
- Borjian, Habib (2015), Treasures of Iranian Dialects (Isfahan Province 2), Tehran: The Academy of Persian Language and Literature (APLL). [in Persian]
- Barande, Sahar (2022), Ardestani Dialect, Tehran:The Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian] 
- Bahar, Mehrdad (1972), Dictionary of Zadsperm selections, Tehran: Farhang Iran Foundation. [in Persian]
- Jami, Abdurrahman bin Ahmad (2011),Nafahat al-uns min hazarat al-Quds , introduction, emendation and notes: Mahmoud Abedi, Tehran: Sokhan. [in Persian]
- Changizi, Ehsan (2016), “The final e of the imperative verb in the Persian language”, Persian language and literature, 24th year  , No. 81. [in Persian]
-Hafiz-e Abro, Abdullah bin Lotfollah (2020), Geography of Hafiz-e Abro : Khorasan part, Volume 1, Tehran: Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Publications in collaboration with Sokhan Publications. [in Persian]
- Habibi, Munir (2015), Reviewing and description of Dorhi dialect, master's thesis, Mashhad: Department of Linguistics, Ferdowsi University. [in Persian]
- Hasandoost, Mohammad (2010), Comparative-thematic dictionary of the new Iranian languages and dialects, Vol. 2, Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian]
- Khatamipour, Hamed (2013), “e Ma'arfa” A New Point in the Historical Grammar of the Persian Language", Farhangestan special issue: Dastur, No. 9. [in Persian]
- Parviz Natel-Khanlari (2003), history of Persian language, vol. 3, Tehran: Farhang Neshar No. [in Persian]
- Khazainejad, Maherkh (1995), Reviewing and description of Gezik dialect of Birjand villages, MA thesis, Mashhad: Department of Linguistics, Ferdowsi University. [in Persian]
- Rejaei-Bukharaei, Ahmad Ali (1996), Bukhara dialect, second edition, Mashhad: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. [in Persian]
- Rezaei, Jamal (1998), Study of Birjand Dialect, Tehran, hirmand. [in Persian]
- Rewaqi, Ali (2003), “Persian Dialects and Texts (1)”, Association Letter,  3thYear  , No. 10. [in Persian]
- Rewaqi, Ali (2016), “Investigating the characteristics of Heravi language” : looking at the words of Sheikh al-Islam in the book “Always and always human”, heritage report, second period, appendix number 4. [in Persian]
- Zemoroddian, Reza (1987), Practical Linguistics: Examining the Qaen Dialect, Mashhad: Astan Quds Cultural Vice-Chancellor. [in Persian]
  - Salami, Abdolnabi (2007), The Treasure of Iranian Dialects (Fars Province), 4th book, Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian] 
- Salami, Abdul Nabi (2009), The Treasure of Iranian Dialects (Fars Province), fifth book, Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian]
- Sharifi, Shahla and Narjes Bano Sabouri (2018), “Investigation of lexical pronouns in some Persian dialects of Razavi and Southern Khorasan”, Linguistic Researches, Year 10, Vol. 19. [in Persian]
- Shamshirgarha, Mahbubeh, Saeed Bozorg Bigdeli and Mohsen Abul Qasimi (2014), “The use of personal pronouns in theTabaqat Al- Soufiye of Khwaja Abdulhag Ansari and the ancient dialect of  Herat,Language Related Research”  , Volume 5, Number 3. [in Persian]
- Shamshirgarha, Mehbobeh (2017), “Investigation of strange and rare words of ancient Heravi type and their use in contemporary Herat dialect”, Persian Language and Iranian Dialects (  Literary Research), Volume 2, Number 2. [in Persian]
- Shirzad and Golshad and forty-seven other stories (2021), edited and researched by Mohammad Jafari Qanawati, Volume 1, Tehran: Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Publications in collaboration with Sokhan Publications. [in Persian]
- Sadeghi, Mohsen (2014), “Kur, in a new meaning", in knowledge and freedom”: the Appreciation Letter  of Dr. Mohammad Reza Rashed Mohassel, at the request of Mohammad Jaafar Yahaghi, Salman Saket, Arash Akbari Mafakher, Tehran: Sokhan in collaboration with Farhangsarai Ferdowsi. [in Persian]
- Sadeghi, Mohsen (2020), Treasures of Iranian Dialects (Khorasan Province 1), with the collaboration of Safura Sahragard, Ali Asadullahi Dasht Bayaz, Hossein Parivash, Fazalollhh Barzegar, Habib Aghaei Bejestan, Ali Mohammadian Gash and Mojtaba Nahardani, Tehran:Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian] 
- Fathi, Azar (2002), “Verb formation in the Bandari (Bandar Abbas) dialect”: “The dialect of the neighborhood behind the city”, in the collection of articles of the first dialectical consensus of Iran, edited by Hasan Rezaei Baghbidi, Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. [in Persian]
- Fekrat, Mohammad Asef (1997), Heravi Farsi: The Spoken Language of Herat, Mashhad: Ferdowsi University. [in Persian]
- Kazemi, Rahmat (2000), Reviewing and description of Taybadi dialect, master's thesis, Mashhad: Department of Linguistics, Ferdowsi University. [in Persian]
- Kia, Sadegh (2011), A Dictionary of sixty-seven Iranian dialects, Tehran: Research Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies. [in Persian]
- Lazar, Gilber (2005), The Formation of the Persian Language, translated by Mahasti Bahraini, Tehran: Hermes. [in Persian]
- Lekok, Pir (2004), “Caspian sea areas Dialects and Northwest Iranian Dialects”, in Guide to Iranian Languages, Persian translation under the supervision of Hassan Rezaei Baghbidi, Tehran: Ghoghnos. [in Persian]
- Meghdari, Sedighe Sadat et al.(2012),Saffron to Mithqal : Qaen Proverbs, Qaen: Akbarzadeh Publications. [in Persian]
- Mansouri, Mehrzad (2011), “Personal Pronouns in Iranian Dialects and Languages”, Khorasan Linguistics and Dialects, 3rd year, vol. 1. [in Persian]
- Naseri, Zohrehsadat and Paria Razmdideh (2021), “Pronominal phrases in Qaen dialect”, Khorasan linguistics and dialects, 13th year, number 2. [in Persian]
 
 
 
Classical Persian Literature
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 39
(Autumn & Winter)
February 2025

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics