Balochi Dialects Research Articles

Progressive constructions in different Balochi dialects from a diachronic and an areal linguistic point of view

AbstractThe present study explores the progressive constructions in different Balochi dialects from a diachronic and an areal linguistic point of view. Previous studies on different Balochi dialects (Buddruss 1988; Baranzehi 2003; Farrell 2003; Axenov 2006; Ahangar 2007; Jahani and Korn 2009; Nourzaei et al. 2015; Korn and Nourzaei 2019; Korn 2020, 2017a and 2017b) have described progressive constructions, but discussion from a diachronic and an areal linguistic point of view is largely lacking. I will argue that the diversity of progressive constructions in Balochi dialects is a result of language contact and diffusion rather than an internal historical development that can be explained in terms of grammaticalization. In addition, there is no trace of a morphological progressive construction in written samples of Balochi. The general imperfective marker =a= (verbal clitic) covers ongoing meaning. To the extent that this marker has lost its ongoing meaning and become a general indicative marker in the present domain, the language has filled the progressive gap with new constructions which are basically a result of language and dialect contact. The new progressive constructions are mainly periphrastic constructions that represent either direct or indirect code copying from dominant languages and other Balochi dialects.

Definiteness Marking from Evaluative Morphology in Balochi: Internal Variation and Diachronic Pathway

This paper investigates the usage and frequency of what is referred to as K-suffixes in three Balochi dialects, namely Koroshi, Coastal and Sistani Balochi. It shows that K-suffixes are most likely the reflexes of earlier evaluative morphology, traditionally termed “diminutives,” and are characterized by a high degree of multi-functionality. While in Coastal and Sistani Balochi evaluative functions continue to dominate, they have been largely lost in Koroshi Balochi, and the suffix is now used to indicate definiteness. The development appears to have been spearheaded by female speakers, and its frequency is also dependent on genre and speech situation. Data is taken from an extensive corpus of spoken Balochi narratives and from a questionnaire with thirty-six speakers. The results suggest that evaluative morphology can develop into definiteness marking, with the development passing over a stage of combination with deictic markers. The paper concludes that the development of definiteness marking can proceed down a pathway that is distinct from the one normally assumed for demonstrative-based definite marking, though the endpoint may be similar. This is the first detailed documentation of this process for any Iranian language, and one of the few well-documented cases of a non-demonstrative origin of definiteness marking worldwide.

Comparing Fading of Oral Narrative Features in Three Balochi Dialects

AbstractThis paper discusses discourse features such as tail-head linkage and repetition, development devices, associative strategies and subordination in oral narrative texts in the Koroshi (KoB), Sistani (SiB), and Coastal (CoB) dialects of Balochi, all of which belong to the North-West branch of the Iranian language family. The frequency with which these features vary with the dialect, and the variation can be attributed to different stages of orality. Three stages have been identified, with CoB and SiB at the ends of the cline and KoB located in between. CoB is the most conservative dialect, as different aspects of its grammar also show; it demonstrates a pure orality state by its frequent use of tail-head linkage, repetition and juxtaposition, and by the relative infrequency with which it employs associative and subordination strategies. SiB and its close relation Turkmenistan Balochi [TB])1 use associative and subordination strategies more frequently, have fully lexicalised development devices and seldom employs tail-head linkage, repetition and juxtaposition. This loss of oral techniques demonstrates that the state of narration in SiB has switched from oral to written style. Finally, KoB represents a language in a state of transition by using more unmarked tail-head linkage, repetition and juxtaposition and by a strong tendency to employ subordination strategies.

Syllable-Internal Structure in Iranian-Balochi Dialects

The present article dedicates to study the syllable-internal structure in three Iranian Balochi dialects (IBDs) namely MirjavehSarhaddi, Sarawani and Lashari dialects. The data analysis will be based on the onset-rhyme theory (e.g. Kurylowicz 1948; Fudge 1969; Vergnaud and Halle 1979; Selkirk 1982). Moreover, the syllable weight in IBDs will be discussed in the framework of mora theory (Hayes 1985, 1989). The data have been collected during the research fieldwork in Sistan and Baluchestan[A1] province, Iran. The research findings demonstrate that Balochi language is an example of nucleus-weight language in which heavy syllables depend on the number of elements in nucleus. Thus, CV and CVC are light syllables and CVV(C) syllable is counted as a heavy syllable. Besides, context dependent weight of CVC syllable occurs in IBDs stress pattern system. Studying the syllable contact (word-medial consonant clusters) in IBDs shows that Balochi is among languages which admit all types of the heterosyllablic clusters.

Koroští Balúčové a jejich jazyk / The Koroš Baloch and their language

The Korosh is an outlying Baloch group associated with the Qashqai tribal confederation of the Fārs province in southwestern Iran. Entirely isolated from Balochistan, the dialect of the Korosh, Koroshi, distinguishes itself in grammar and lexicon among Balochi language varieties. The phonology of Koroshi demonstrates a solid Balochi pedigree but not without major mu¬tations. Likewise, the nominal case-number system of Koroshi shows significant deviation from most other Balochi dialects. In verb morphosyntax a salient peculiarity is the coexist¬ence of two parallel systems of the imperfective, which appear to be stabilizing in an evolu¬tionary process of Koroshi aspect system. Borrowing from the neighboring languages is salient in the lexical domain, where Persian, the Fārs dialects, and Qashqai Turkic each play a part as the source language.

Notes on the speech of the Afro-Baloch of the southern coast of Iran

AbstractThe aim of the present article is to describe the morphosyntactic properties of Iranian Coastal Balochi as spoken by the Afro-Balochi community. The Afro-Baloch have completely switched to Balochi and there are no traces of African languages in their speech. In comparison with other Balochi dialects of Iran on the one hand and Coastal Balochi dialects of Pakistan on the other, Coastal Balochi as spoken in Iran shows archaic characteristics, particularly in its case system, in the demonstrative pronouns and in the alignment features. This particularly applies to the speech of the Afro-Baloch, who due to persisting social segregation have limited access to education and media.

Synchronically unexpected /n/ in the Balochi dialect of Iranshahr

Through the passage of time, changes take place in any language. Balochi has experienced historical changes in different layers of its structure. The aim of this article is to describe cases of /n/ in a specific Balochi dialect that are synchronically unexpected because, for instance, the equivalent word in Persian or in other Balochi dialects does not have an /n/, or there are certain forms in the paradigm of a lexeme that do not contain /n/. The focus is on the dialect spoken in and around the regions of Bompur and Iranshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. The insertion of unetymological /n/ in words with more than one syllable often causes a change of syllable structure from an open to a closed syllable. It is possible that a preference for closed syllables has got the process of /n/ insertion underway. The reason why /n/ is chosen could be that /n/ is available for nasalization of a vowel. This nasal vowel can then be re-interpreted as VC.

“Those were the hungry years”: A glimpse of Coastal Afro-Balochi

AbstractThe aim of the present paper is to describe the morphosyntactic properties of Iranian Coastal Balochi as spoken by the Afro-Balochi community. The Afro-Baloch have completely switched to Balochi and there are no traces of African languages in their speech. However, in comparison with other Balochi dialects of Iran on the one hand, and with Coastal Balochi dialects of Pakistan on other, Afro-Balochi shows archaic characteristics, particularly in its case system, in the demonstrative pronouns and in the alignment features. This might be due to the persisting social segregation of the Afro-Baloch and their limited access to education and media, resulting in reduced contact with the languages and dialects outside of their community.

Apology Speech Act Realization in the Sarawani Balochi Dialect: A Case Study of Female University Students

AbstractThis study aims at extracting and categorizing apology strategies in the Sarawani Balochi dialect. It also investigates the effect of the status and gender of addressees on the type and number of apology strategies employed by Sarawani Baloch female university students (SBFUS) based on a revised version of the Cross Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) proposed by Blum‐Kulka, House and Kasper (1989). The results show that while they used most of the apology strategies mentioned in CCSARP, which speaks to the universality of employing apology strategies, the participants also used new strategies reflecting the influence of their religious and cultural values. The results also show that although the status of the addressees significantly influenced the type and number of apology strategies used by the SBFUS in each type of apology situation, gender did not seem to have any such effect. Regarding the type and number of apology strategies, the most frequently used apology strategies were “illocutionary force indicating devices” and the “combination of 2” strategies.

The Ergative System in Balochi from a Typological Perspective

For the Western Iranian languages the transition from the Old Iranian to the Middle-Iranian period is characterised by – among other things – the loss of word-final syllables. This loss had a far-reaching impact on the nominal and verbal systems since it caused the loss of categories which had been expressed by suffixes. The consequences include the emergence of the so-called ergative system. Although descriptions of the ergative construction in Balochi do exist, there is no treatment yet which takes into account the material of the different dialects. Furthermore, the ergative construction in Balochi has been compared with data from Old Iranian, but not with data from Middle Iranian languages, and the development from the Middle Iranian stage to the different types found in present-day Balochi has also not yet been studied. The aim of this paper is therefore to present the data from the Balochi dialects as far as they are known today and to update, complete (and in some points, correct) previous descriptions of the matter.

The Comparison of the Prepositions /به :be/ in Persian and /پَه :pa/ in Balochi

One of the most widely-used prepositions, / be / in Persian and / pa / in Balochi, in the two Iranian languages of Persian and Balochi was phonologically and functionally (morphologically, syntactically, and semantically) studied in the present research. The methodology of research was based on a comparative-descriptive manner. It was found that Balochi, rather than Persian, has better preserved the older forms of the word by the retention of the phonemes /p/ and /a/. Functionally speaking, there were 24 cases of similarities against 10 cases of differences from a total of 34 cases in a synchronic study (almost 70% of similarities vs. 30% differences respectively). Not only can the results be used to provide a pattern for the comparison of other words of the two languages in order to provide language maps, educational comparative grammars, and teaching these languages; but they reveal that a revision is necessary in the typology system of Balochi dialects; especially for the dialects neighboring Persian. It means avoiding absolute classifying of all Balochi dialects as west-northern Iranian; since some of these dialects display many characteristics of west-southern Iranian languages as well.

The Balochi dialect of the Korosh

Koroshi is the Balochi dialect spoken by the Korosh (Koros), a group associated with the Qashqa’i tribes of Fārs in southwestern Iran. Entirely isolated from the main body of the Baloch habitat, Koroshi distinguishes itself in grammar and lexicon among Balochi varieties. The phonology of Koroshi demonstrates a solid Balochi pedigree but not without major mutations. Likewise, the nominal case-number system of Koroshi shows significant deviation from most other Balochi dialects. In verb morphosyntax a salient peculiarity is the coexistence of two parallel systems of the imperfective, which appear to be stabilising in an evolutionary process of the Koroshi aspect system. Borrowing from the neighbouring languages is salient in the lexical domain, where Persian, the Fārs dialects, and Qashqa’i Turkish each play a part as the source language. Given all these peculiarities the degree of mutual intelligibility between Koroshi and other Balochi dialects is yet to be established.

A Description of Derivational Affixes in Sarhaddi Balochi of Granchin

Sarhaddi Balochi dialect, a language variety of Western (Rakhshani) Balochi, employs derivation through affixation as one of its word formation processes. The purpose of this article is to present a synchronic description of the way(s) different derivational affixes function in making complex words in Sarhaddi Balochi as spoken in Granchin[1] district located about 35Kms to the southeast of Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of The Islamic Republic of Iran. The linguistic corpus was gathered through fieldwork. The data were collected from the free speech of 10 uneducated native speakers including 5 males and 5 females of about 5o-80 year old living in Granchin with various social backgrounds. The findings of the research signify that complex words of this dialect are derived via derivational prefixes, infixes and suffixes, among which derivational suffixes are more active or productive. The research also shows that the main derivatives of this dialect are derived verbs, derived nouns, derived adjectives, and derived adverbs.

The Short Vowels /i/ and /u/ in Iranian Balochi Dialects

The aim of the present paper is to study the status of the short vowels /i/ and /u/ in five selected Iranian Balochi dialects. These dialects are spoken in Sistan (SI), Saravan (SA), Khash (KH), Iranshahr (IR), and Chabahar (CH) regions located in province Sistan va Baluchestan in the southeast of Iran. This study investigates whether these two vowels have the same qualities as the short /i/ and /u/ do in the Common Balochi inventory (i, iː, u, uː, a, aː, eː, oː). The Common Balochi inventory is the vowel system represented generally for Balochi language, which is a North-Western Iranian language, a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian family. The data for this survey are gathered from villages, rural areas, and cities in these regions in the forms of free speech and verbal elicitation from more than 20 literate and non-literate male and female language consultants, 2 males and 2 females for each dialect. The investigation reveals that the short /i/ and /u/ show strong tendencies towards a lower position. This study suggests phonemic systems in which the short /i/ is modified to short /e/ in all dialects, but /u/ is modified to /o/ only in SI, SA, and CH; the lowering of the short /u/ to short /o/ in KH and IR may still be in the transition stage. It is possible that Persian, as the dominant language has had its influence on these dialects causing a lowering tendency in the two vowels under study.

Refusal speech act realization in Sarawani Balochi dialect: A case study of female university students

Refusal speech act realization in Sarawani Balochi dialect: A case study of female university students

Refusal Speech Act Realization in Sarawani Balochi Dialect: A Case Study of Male University Students

Following Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss-Weltz’s (1990) classification, this study examines the relationship between power and gender of the addressees and the type and number of refusal strategies employed by Sarawani Baloch male university students (SBMUS). Fifty SBMUS studying in Azad University of Sarawan were randomly chosen as the participants of the study. Data collection was accomplished through applying a revised version of DCT (Discourse Completion Test). The data collected were then coded and analyzed according to Beebe et al.'s (ibid.) taxonomy, and Chi-square and Correlation test results. The results show that refusal strategies extracted, are, for the most part, similar to those given in Beebe et al.’s work, which, in turn, confirms the universality of applying refusal strategies. However, SBMUS also employ some new strategies not predicted in the given scheme, suggesting the effect of their religion and culture. Research findings also denote the ineffectiveness of power and gender of the addressees on the type of refusal strategies employed by SBMUS. Moreover, results indicate that although power of the addressees affects number of refusal strategies used by the participants, their gender does not affect this variable. “Excuse, reason, explanation” dealing with all the addressees, the combination of 3 refusal strategies in reply to those in higher social power, and the combination of 2 strategies in response to those with equal and lower power are the most frequent refusal strategies regarding the type and number of refusal strategies.

A New Locative Case in Turkmenistan Balochi

AbstractThe Balochi dialect spoken in Turkmenistan possesses a case which is not seen in most other Balochi dialects. It has local/directive function, and its marker is a suffix that shows the oblique case marker suffixed to the genitive ending. The “locative” is also found in the Balochi dialect of Afghanistan, but here, the local deixis appears to always refer to a person. I argue that the locative may be interpreted within a typological framework implying that local deixis referring to persons is blocked in some languages. Instead, these languages use periphrastic constructions of the type “at a person's [place]”, as do English (e.g. at the baker's) and Old Georgian, among others. In Turkmenistan Balochi, areal influence from Russian and Turkmen, which have a separate locative case, may have played a role in the generalisation of the locative to include inanimates as well.