Dari Zoroastrian: Encyclopedia II - Dari Zoroastrian - Dari's dialects

Dari Zoroastrian - Dari's dialects

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 Yazd dialect is itself comprised of some thirty varieties, each distinct and unique to one of the Zoroastrian neighborhoods in and around Yazd. The variation amongst the Yazd dialects is so great that, were they not for their geographic proximity, they would no doubt be classified as distinct dialects. The Kerman dialect may also contain (or may have contained at one time) a comparable level of dialectical complexity.

Other varieties of Dari may also exist, in particular, varieties spoken in non-Zoroastrian communities. The local speech of the nearby city of Nain and its surrounding towns, including Tudeshk and Abiyaneh, has been attested to bear striking resemblances to the language of the Zoroastrians of Yazd and Kerman. Whether this speech is a distinct language or simply another dialect of Dari has not yet been determined, though cursory surveys have indicated a high level of mutual intelligibility between speakers from these areas and speakers of Zoroastrian Dari. Were further study to confirm this result, the local speech of the Nain area could then be considered a dialect of Dari. In such an event the exclusively Zoroastrian nature of the Dari language would have to be reconsidered, since Nain and the surrounding areas are largely Muslim in religious character.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Dari's dialects", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki