نشریه پژوهش های زبانی - ادبی قفقاز و کاسپین
پیاپی 4 (بهار 1399)

This introductory essay is based on my doctoral field research, done while residing in Azerbaijan from 2012-2016, exploring the identity of the Lahij coppersmiths. The Lahij people, living in the remote mountain sanctuary valley of the Girdiman River, have remarkably preserved their ancient southwest Iranian mother tongue, officially called ‘Tat,’ craftsmanship, traditional lifestyle, folk narratives, prayers, festivals, rituals and ethical principles. While the attention of foreign specialists is focused on the status of the state languages in the newly established Post-Soviet Central Asian Republics and Azerbaijan, the minorities were mostly overlooked. As the term minority already implies, the speakers of former regional languages are rare. Today, nevertheless, the compound reality of Azerbaijan still includes the presence of these regional languages forming a vital part of the remaining colorful mosaic. Since the history and archeology offers sparse information, an anthropological method adjusted to observant participation becomes a suitable way to discover the identity of the Lahij people living remotely in the Caucasus Mountains. On the one hand, the government recognizes Lahij for its Eastern architectural style and has given it the status of a historical preserve. On the other hand, it is not understood yet how it is possible to explore an ancient Iranian heritage of Azerbaijan through an authentic way of life. Within the overwhelming Azerbaijanization the Lahij people form one of the most striking exceptions to assimilation. Their endangered language, however, could be soon lost and their fragile identity could erode.

The story of Rustam and Zanün is a masterpiece of the epic literature of Iran in Gurani. It has no counterpart in Avestan, Middle Persian, Zoroastrian Persian, the national epics, and oral documented literature. The story can be divided into two general parts, i.e. “the story of Rustam and Zanün” and “the story of Aẓīm-Shāh”. While there are several manuscripts and rivayats available at our disposal, the nonacquaintance of scribes and story-tellers of the connected structure of the story has caused the division of the story into two independent sections. The most complete version of this story appears in the manuscript of the Haft-Lashkar in Gurani with 2722 couplets. This story has a coherent structure. The outer structure of the story begins with the cycle of the kingship of Tūs in the land of Tūrān and ends with his second kingship in the land of Tūrān. The inner structure of the story has a bilateral symmetry due to the coming and return of Afrāsiāb, Rustam, and Kay-Khosrow. The core of the story begins after an introduction and an introductory story. Then, the two main stories are given. They are connected together by a connecting story. Finally, the story ends with a concluding story. In general, the outer and inner structure of the story has a symmetrical approach. The oldest and rarest example of such usage is the symmetrical structure of the Gathas.

Dissertations are considered as the utmost research sources although their accessibility in Iran is difficult. In previous years, some dissertations on the local dialects of Iran have sporadically have produced. In recent decades, some researchers have also made valuable efforts to introduce dissertations on Iranian languages. Considering to the extent of researches on the Mazandarani language, the author has tried to introduce the dissertations on the Mazandarani language separately. Therefore the features of 143 on the Mazandarani language performed BA, MA and, Ph.D. levels will be provided and the results will be discussed in the present paper.

The Armenian ethnographer, Bagrat Xalatʿeancʿ, in a book entitled Iranian Heroes among the Armenian People (Paris, 1901), has collected and published a part of the folk tales of the Koghb and Aparan regions (both in present-day Armenia). The tales quoted in this book about the heroes of the Iranian national epic are of great importance, both linguistically and in terms of mythological discussions and research in Iranian and Armenian folklore. For the first time, Jalal Khaleghi Motlagh has used these folk tales in his research. In the present article, the author has translated two tales from this book and, in the margins, some words and terms of the Armenian text have been explained and discussed. The article contains some points concerning different forms of the names Rustam, Farāmarz, and Burzū in the Armenian folk tales, the discussion of the adjective rāstgēs/rustgēs about Rustam and the fiery color of the Farāmarz horse.

There is no trace of the Sogdian language in the ancient period of the Persian languages. However, in the Middle Ages, there are several works of this language, one of the most important of which is the ancient Sogdian letters. Sir Aurel Stein found the ancient Sogdian letters in 1907 in one of watch-towers of the Great Walls of China. These documents consist of 5 complete letters and 4 letter-like fragments. The fifth letter was written by a man named Fri-khwatāw from Guzang to Aspandhāt of Khotan on May 11, 313 AD. This letter includes the names of products such as silver, linen, a kind of unprocessed fabric, pepper, etc. In the present article, the author has read and translated this letter.

The toponym »دیمل»is pronounced in Persian as Deylam but in Dehkhoda Dictionary it is recorded both as Deylam and Daylam. In the present article, the author has shown that, according to the written forms of the word »دیمل»in Armenian, this toponym was also pronounced as Dēlam in Persian, and its writing and transcription in the form of Daylam, as Minorsky also pointed out, is derived from the Arabo-Persian script.