Kho'ini dialect

Kho'ini (alternatives: Xoini, Xo'ini, Khoeini, or Di) is a Tatic dialect or language spoken in northwestern Iran, and is one of many Western Iranian languages. It is spoken in the village of Xoin and surrounding areas, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Zanjan city in northern Iran. The Xoini verbal system follows the general pattern found in other Tati dialects. However, the dialect has its own special characteristics such as continuous present which is formed by the past stem, a preverb shift, and the use of connective sounds. The dialect is in danger of extinction.

Kho'ini
Di
Die Zuan دیه زواَن
Pronunciation[xo.iːniː]
Native toIran
RegionEjarud, Zanjan County
Language codes
ISO 639-3xkc
Glottologkhoi1250
ELPKho'ini[1]

Kho'in

Kho'in (Persian: خوئین), also spelled as Xo'in an Khoein, is located in "Ejarud" rural district of Zanjan Province at the end of a long valley. In recent decades the village has lost its centrality because of veering the road of Zanjan to Bijar from Xoin. In 1960, the farmers was growing fruits around on the slopes of the hills, but Xoin's Qanats were neglected; many of the houses deteriorated already and a number of inhabitants had been migrating to Tehran seeking works. The population was 800 to 900 at the time and declining.

There has been a sense of nostalgia about the better days of Xo'in among the dwellers. Local beliefs hold that in the Qajar period some Xoinis emigrated to Merv, Ashgabat and Baku. There is a cavernous dent called "Dei-manda", meaning, "remnant of a fort" (known in other parts of Iran as "Qaleh Gabri/Gowri"), said to have been made by Zoroastrians. Some villagers legendarily believed that Xoinis had earlier been Gowr. They gave credence to being originally from Sistan. Some said when Bahman invaded Sistan to avenge his father, Esfandiyar, the descendants of Rostam fled and came to Xoin. In spite of dwindling estate, the village has 8 maintained mosques and a Tekyeh.

Geography

Azeri Turkic has mostly replaced Xoini, however in the 1960s, the extent of the dialect was as follows:

  • Sipkamar (Persian: "Sefidkamar"): It is a village to the west of Xoin. The dialect was best preserved there. It had some 70 households in 1963. Sefidkamar has been more flourishing than Xoin. The access road is rather doubly arduous and limits communications, which may have been instrumental in the dialect's survival.
  • Xoin: Azerbaijani language is the predominant language and the indigenous dialect was fading away in 1960 and might be extinct by now. In Aruz Mâla, the northern quarter of Xoin, the dialect is somewhat better known than in Aš Mâla, the southern quarter, where almost no one knows the language any longer.
  • Sa'idabad: In its lower quarter, they speak mostly the dialect.
  • Garne: A couple of kilometers from Xoin. The people speak the dialect.
  • Sura: A village to the east of Xoin, which had some 250 inhabitants. Some knew the dialect.
  • Balubin (Persian: "Balbavin"): The dialect is spoken side by side with Turkic.
  • Halab: The language had practically disappeared, being replaced by Azerbaijani. Just one old man could remember a few sentences in 1960.

Phonology

Some sounds are approximate. Some of the vowels like "e, â, o, u" and "i" show variations.

Monophthongs
Sound (IPA) Notes Romanization Example(s)
ɒgenerally a somewhat rounded /ɔ/ââynakâ
æ-atar
e-eâme
ohas a wide range between /u/ and /ɔ/. It could be an allophone of /ɒ/ or /u/.oxorâk
u-uburi
yprobably not a separate phoneme. The palatalization may be a Turkic influence.üdü, mü, lüt
œa phoneme or an allophone of /o/ or /u/öhöröm, čöröl
i-ipir


The consonants are: p, b, t, d, č, j, k, g, x, xʷ, q, f, m, n, r, l, s, z, ž, š, h, v, w, y.

Notes about some Consonants
Sound (IPA) Notes Romanization Example(s)
kFinal /k/, following a vowel is mostly pronounced as /g/ and as in the 3rd. person singular suffix, begins as a half-voiced stop and ends as a fricative /x/.kxorâk, nedârek
ʒis a rare soundžžani, gužd
m,nFinal /m/ and /n/ after a vowel (particularly /ɒ/ )are tending to merely nasalize the preceding vowel. For example, in the 1st person plural person suffix: -ɒm/-ɒ̆̆ /m, nmerdân
wis infrequent. After some vowels it can be considered as diphthong. Generally in most of the cases it is dropped or can be considered as a buffer or a semivowel.wwâ (consonant), wuj-, uwâ
jcan appear in all parts of the wordsyyem
xIn a number of words it is followed by a weak /w/ or /u/ without making any changes in the syllabic count of the word. Whether xu should be counted as a separate consonant or should be considered in such words as xuan a contraction of xua is moot.xxuan (or xwan), xalâw.
ʋ-vvel


In Xoini, vowel harmony, gemination and lengthening more or less occurs.

Grammar

Nouns and adjectives

Nouns have two cases: direct and oblique. Contrary to the often case in Persian, adjective is not Post-positive. The formation of different kinds of nouns and adjectives and their order are as follows:

Nouns and adjectives
Formation and notes Example(s) Persian English
Abstract noun: adjective + a stressed -igallawân → gallawâničupân → čupânishepherd → shepherding
adjective + -a/-e + nounsüjesta kömer; tara nunsuxte zoqâl; nâne tâze (tar)burned coal; fresh bread
Izafat is reversed comparing to Persianast-e mezgmaqz-e ostoxânbone marrow
Substantive adjective: -âr + present stem of the verbpül âdâ-r-ârpul dahandemoney giver
Adjective: noun + -ingulek- (lower part) → gulgin lavenjlabe pâyinlower lip
Adjective: present stem + -ganinenta:ganinâšâmidanidrinkable
Adjective: -julkermajul-e (or possibly: kermaj (wormy) + -ul + e)kerm-ur-e (kerm-var-e)(It) is wormy
Adjective relating a person to a place or a language: -ejdiej; spekamarejdi-gu; sefidkamar-iDi (Xoini) speaker; Sefidkamari

Pronouns

Pronouns
  Singular Plural
Person123123
Nominativeaztea(v)šemâân
Obliquemanteâšemâân
Possessiveče-maneš-teč-ače-mâ(n)še-mâ(n)č-ân


The possessive pronouns are also used with both preposition and postposition, e.g.:

  • a:râ buri čeman ku pül ar-gi (tomorrow come (and) take money from me). čeman ku means "from me"
  • de man panir a-čman xarat-(e)š-e (he sold two maunds of cheese to me). a-čman means "to me"

They are acted as possessive adjectives too:

  • čeman da:s-em begi (take my hand). Note that the pronoun is repeated by the clitic -em.


Demonstrative pronouns
  Nominative Accusative Oblique
Proximate
Singularememečia/čie, čem
Pluralemeemânčiân
Remote
Singulara(v)aveča/čâ
Pluralaveavânčân


For example:

  • čia ku (from this),
  • čâ ku (from that).

They serve also as adjectives:

  • čiân/čân daste begi (take these/those ones' hands)
  • čie/čâ daste begi (take this/that one's hand)

Possession is also expressed by adding suffixes to nouns. These are added after inflection for number. See the "Person Suffixes" table below.

Reflexive pronoun: geg. But it is treated as a noun in terms of declension, e.g.:

  • mâ a gege-mân viar seg-mân či (we piled stones in front of ourselves).

Verbs

The verbal system follows the general pattern found in other Tati dialects. It employs:

  • A present and a past stem
  • Personal suffixes
  • preverbs: â-, (âje-), ar-, baʋ-/ʋaʋ-, bay/ʋay-, či-, da(r)-, dari-, pa(r)-, wut-
  • Negative Marker: ne-
  • Prohibitive Marker: ma-
  • Subjunctive/Imperative prefix: be-
  • Imperfective: -in-/-en-/-m-
  • Insistence, necessity, volition: pi-; e.g.: te pi niši (you must not go)
  • Desire, need: pi-sta-; e.g.: pist-am/pista-r-im bešum (I want to go)

However, the main exceptional characteristics of Xoini are:

  1. Continuous present is made by the past stem;
  2. The preverbs shift their positions depending on tense and mood;
  3. The use of a connective sound is frequent. It is generally -r- and sometimes -y-, when the vowels of the different elements of a verb come into contact. For example: mesar te nâza-r-â-m-bim (this year you will become well).


Person Suffixes
Person Singular Plural
1st-(e)m-mân
2nd-i (-y after a vowel)-yân
3rd-(e)š-(e)šân


The above suffixes serve as:

  1. Possessives, e.g.: berâ-m âmi (My brother came).
  2. Agents of past transitive verbs in an ergative construction, e.g.: te ow-i ente (You drank water).
  3. Objects, direct or indirect, e.g.: ü seg-ešân p(e)tow-šân kay (They threw a stone).

The suffixes may be attached to the verb; the agent of the verb in an ergative construction; an adverb; a prepositional or postpositional phrase; and in a compound verb to its nominal Complement.

The same set of endings is used for the present and the subjunctive. The endings of the preterit and the present perfect are basically the enclitic present forms of the verb 'to be' (*ah-, here called base one). For pluperfect and subjunctive perfect the freestanding auxiliary verb 'to be' (*bav-, here called base two) is utilized. There is no ending for singular imperative and it is -ân for plural. For the inflections of "to be" see "Auxiliary inflection" below.

Stems and imperative mood

The past and present stems are irregular and shaped by historical developments, e.g.: wuj- / wut- (to say); xaraš-/xarat- (to sell); taj-/tat- (to run). However, in many verbs the past stem is built on the present stem by adding -(e)st; e.g.: brem-bremest- (to weep).

The imperative is formed by the modal prefix be- if the verb contains no preverb, plus the present stem and without ending in the singular and with -ân in the plural. be- is often changed to bi-, bo- or bu- according to the situation, and appears as b- before a vowel of a verbal stem.

Active voice
Active Voice
Form Tense Notes Example(s)
Infinitive-past stem + -edakošt-e (to put out)
IndicativePresentpresent stem + personal endingstaj-em (I run)
Preterite of intransitive verbspast stem (the stress falling on the last syllable of it) + the present tense of "to be" (which is personal endings)verit-im (I ran)
Preterite of transitive verbsThe same as above except that normally it is put in the 3rd person singular whether its object, which is put in the direct case, is singular or plural.Example with enclitic pronouns as agent: vind-em(e) (I saw)
Perfect of intransitive verbspast participle (generally made of the past stem plus a stressed -a-) + the present tense of "to be"tânesta-r-im (I have been able)
Perfect of transitive verbspast participle + a suffix pronoun as agent + -e (the 3rd person singular of the present tense of "to be")vind-a-m-e (I have seen)
Imperfective perfect of intransitive verbs1) past stem + the present tense of "to be".
2) The affix en-/in-/em- + past stem (seems to show imperfectivity).
1) še-m (I used to go).
2) em-kak (he used to do); xuand-em-e (I used to say)
Imperfective perfect of intransitive verbsThe same as "1)" above except that enclitic pronouns are added as the agents of the verb either before the stem or after it.harru ... xwand-eg/xwand-em-eg (I would say ... everyday)
Pluperfectpast participle + the preterit of "to be"rast-a b-im (I had reached)
Imperfective pluperfectverb's Past tense + the perfect of "to be" (Actance)berembeste dar-e biak (had been crying) -the informant has been absent-
Futuresimilar to Present of intransitivesra:s-ek (he will arrive)
Present progressivepast stem + stressed -a (appears to be a past participle) + the present tense of "to be"xarat-a-r-im (I am selling, lit.: I am seller)
Preterite progressivepast stem + stressed -a + the preterit of "to be"arga:ta b-im (I was taking)
SubjunctivePresentbe- (unless a preverb is contained) + present stem + personal endingsbe-ttaj-em ((that) I run)
Perfectpast participle + the subjunctive of "to be"agar az ša:-bum (if I should have gone) (Persian: rafte bâšam)
Optativepresentsubjunctive is usedxodâ ešte omr be-d-ek (may God give you (long) life)
Conditionalpresentsubjunctive is usedaga az bettajem nengem šigek (if I run my leg will break)
Passive and causative
Form Notes Example(s)
PassiveThe passive stem: present stem + -(e)stšur-est-e (was washed);
â-kar-est-i/karesti-â/karesti-râ (had been opened, lit.: has been opened);
xuar-est-i (has been eaten)
Causativepresent stem + -en or -jenbekejer! (laugh!) → 'bekejer-en! (make laugh!);
betta(j)! (run!) → bettâ-jen! (make run!, gallop!)
Auxiliary inflection

The conjugation of the verb 'to be' uses two different bases; historically one from the root *ah- and the other from the root *bav-.

Conjugation of "to be"
Form Tense Conjugation Notes
Infinitive-be-
Imperative-bebe (sing.); bebuin (pl.)from the root *bav- and follows the general rule
IndicativePresentim, iš, e; âm, ân, endAfter e and â, the e of the 3rd person singular changes to y. e.g. te-yš (you are (sing.))
Preteritebim, biš, be; biyâm, biyân, bendthe past stem of *bav- + the endings taken from the base one of "to be"
Imperfective preteriteharvax za:m bustek (whenever it became/was sore);
az harvax nâwxaš bustim (whenever I became/was ill)
the secondary participle in -ste of "to be + the present of "to be" (base one) (i.e. personal endings)
Perfectbiyam, biay, biak; biayâm, biayân, biayndthe participle bia of base two + the present of "to be" from the base one.
Pluperfectbia bim, bia biš, bia be; bia biâm, bia biân, bia bend.the participle of the base two + the preterit of the same verb as auxiliary
SubjunctivePresentbebum, bebin, bebu(k); bebiâm, bebiân, bebundathe present stem of *bav- + the verbal prefix be- with the endings: -m, -in, -k, -âm, -ân, -nda. Sometimes the prefix be- is omitted,


The present from the root *bav- is the present of "to become" which is from the same root with the addition of the preverb â- and the imperfective prefix (e)m-, thus: â-m-bum, â-m-bin, â-m-buk; â-m-biâm, â-m-biân â-m-bend (I become, you become, etc.). So it doesn't mean "to be".

There is another form, hest- which occurs in the sense of "to be, to exist": hest-im, hest-iš, hest-e; hest-im, hest-iân, hest-end.

Particles


Prepositions, postpositions and the conjunction "and" of Xoini are as follows:

Particles
Particle Example Persian English
a (to)xerdege seg-eš darderare a xumme.Bačče sang râ miandâzad be xomre.The child throws stone at the (large earthen) jar.
â (to)â fekr-em âmi.be fekram âmad.It came to my mind.
da (to)pase neng-eš da dar bend.Lenge gusfand râ be dâr beband.Tie the sheep's foot to the tree!
ta (with)xâwey ta gigay beba.xâharat râ xodat bebar.Take your sister with you!
avi (without)avi ačman mašbi man maro (mašo)!Don't go without me!
bi (without)bi berâ maš.bi barâdar maro (mašo).Don't go without (your) brother.
pa (on)pa tantanan sar neruye sare ham neh.Pile (or lay) on top of each other!
viar (in front of)mâ a gege-mân viar seg-mân či.mâ dar jelowe-mân sang čidim.We piled stones in front of ourselves.
-da(r) (in)daryâye lavenj-da čadereš žay(dar) labe daryâ čâdoraš râ bepâ kardHe has pitched his tent at the edge of the sea.
-ku (from)čeman-ku xabar magi!az man xabar magir (mapors)!Do not ask me!
-tan (from)va-tan âmayma terân.az ânjâ âmadeam tehrân.I have come from there to Tehran.
-da (from)vela-da tuma bigitoxmhâ râ az gol begirTake seeds from the flower.
-(r)â (for)yem galân-â pa:n karek.râš râ barâye gale pahn kard.He spreads fodder for the flock.
o (and)nun o ow âjade â jem faqirenân o (va) âb bede be in faqire.Give bread and water to this poor (fellow)!

Turkic influence

Xoini has been impacted by Turkic Azeri to some extent. That includes borrowing a number of verbal forms, for example: -miš which is attached to the past stem of some verbs to form a verbal noun, e.g., wut-miš (saying). The postposition, -da (from) seems to be Turkic. There exist also a number words e.g.: düz (straight, right).

Vocabulary and example sentences

English Xoini Persian Example sentence English
bigpillabozorg (pil)em kay pilliThis house is big.
bring (v)wuareâvardanwuar-ekHe brings.
brotherberâbarâdarberâ-y nâmiYour brother did not come.
come (v)âme/owme/o:meâmadanagar angâ bubum mâmIf I should be here, I will come.
cry (v)beremegeristanxorde beremasta-r-eThe child is crying
dayruruzmoru nürüja paši pistarim bešumToday afternoon I want to go
do (v)kayekardante čekâra kay'da-r-iš?What are you doing?
doorbardarmoru hüš bare ka-y(r)ar-e?Have you today closed the door at all?
eat (v)xuaexordannun xuay-dar-imI am in (the act of) eating bread
eyegelgânčešmxodâ gelgân-i sibi bevendâ(r)negmay God turn your eyes white (i.e., may you lose sight)
fatherpiarpedarxodâ piar-eš rahmat bekarekMay God show mercy to his father.
fireâtašâtašâtaš daš-kayeto kindle fire
goodnâzaxubpa:ta xorâk čie-râ nâza nigiCooked food is not good for him (lit.: this one).
housekayxânemâ kay-mân na-xarata-mânwe have not sold our house.
laugh (v)kejerxandidante tanga omri da hüš kejerestayšTill now, have you ever laughed in your life?
mothermâdarmâyem wujemI will tell my mother.
open (v)kare/kar-âjegošudanxurdek kay da ništa be, vindeš divâr kareste-r-âjeThe child was sitting in the house (when) he saw the wall was cracked open.
paddyčaltukčaltukbav-šân-est-a(g) čaltuk hani nembu jam-kayone can any longer gather scattered rice.
placelakaem laka a laka tafâvot nedârekThis place (or) that place makes no difference.
read (v)xuande/xwandxândanbavandân-da az harru xuanda wut-m-išt-im, dasnamâz-em gat-e-par-e, namâzema xuand-em-e xalaw-em da:-m-en-kak gerava-m da:menkak še-ma wâjârIn those times I used to rise from sleep, make ablution, say my prayers, would put on my clothes, would put on my socks (and) would go to the market.
say (v)wuje/wutegoftannemâz-eš en-wuj-ek(every day) he says his prayers.
sisterxow/xâwxâharem kâqe xowem berâsenMake reach (deliver) this letter to my sister.
waterowâb/owparsâr ow-ni-mon darde/owmon nedardLast year we did not have water.
womanžanizanem žani nâziThis woman is good.
yesterdayzirdiruz/diaz zir va bim te n-âmayšI was there yesterday (but) you did not come (lit.: have not come).

References

Yarshater, E., 2002. The Xo'ini dialect. Persica, Vol. 18, P. 85-102. doi:10.2143/PERS.18.0.494

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