| Central Plateau languages | |
|---|---|
| Central Plateau dialects (CPD) | |
| Geographic distribution | Central Iranian Plateau |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | nucl1790 |
The Central Plateau languages, also called the Central Plateau Dialects (CPD), are a group of Northwestern Iranian languages spoken in cities, towns and villages of central Iran, particularly in the provinces of Isfahan Province, Markazi Province, Yazd Province and Qom Province. [1]
The majority of the population of Isfahan once spoke these languages. The Central Iranian dialects appear to have had a common origin. The old dialects of Kerman and Yazd, preserved by the Zoroastrians and Jews of those cities; the former dialect of Isfahan, traces of which survive in the poetry of figures such as Owḥadi of Isfahan; and the speech of the Jewish communities along the Zayandeh River and in Gaz are all considered part of this group. This language group, sometimes referred to as the Rāji/Caspi language, was also spoken in the cities of Ray, Qom, and Hamadan. [2] According to Shams-i Qays Razi, the people of Ray and Iraq-i Ajam preferred their own local Fahlavi poetry to Persian verse. In Borujerd and Khorramabad, these dialects were spoken among Jewish communities, and some religious minority groups there have preserved elements of the old speech. The medieval scholar Ibn al-Muqaffa' reported that these dialects were known in earlier periods as Fahlavī, and in even older times as Pahlavī. [3]
The following classification follows the most recent tree presented by the Iran Atlas. [1]
Sivandi, spoken in Sivand 75 km north of Shiraz, is the only Northwestern Iranian language in southern Iran. Sivandi shares many grammatical and lexical similarities with the Central Iranian dialects.
| Sivandi | Ashtiani | Persian |
|---|---|---|
| varf | varfa | barf (snow) |
| esbe | esba | sag (dog) |
| varan | varan | bārān (rain) |
| gal | gal | -hā (plural suffix) |
| Sivandi | Khunsari | Persian |
|---|---|---|
| giyan | giyun | jān (life) |
| esbe | esba | sag (dog) |
| varan | varun | bārān (rain) |
| hame | hama | mā (we) |