Semnani language

Semnani (سمنانی زفون, Semani zefön) is the main language of the Semnan province of Iran and has several branches. The language belongs to the Northwestern branch of the Western Iranian languages. Spoken in south of the Caspian Sea, Semnani is linguistically closely related to Zaza language, another northwestern Iranian language spoken in Anatolia. It is suggested that Semnani and Zaza are descended from a common ancestor. Similar to Zaza, the noun, adjective systems and verb conjugation exhibit two genders (masculine and feminine), two cases and two numbers in Semnani.

Semnani, similar to other Caspian languages, bears some resemblance to the Old Iranian Median language and was influenced by Parthian in a later process.

Classification

Glottolog classifies the Semnani language within the Semnani-Biyabuneki subgroup of Northwestern Iranian languages and classifies nearby languages, such as Sangsari, Lasgerdi, Sorkhei and Aftari within another subgroup, the Komisenian subgroup. Jost Gippert, demonstrated that Semnani is linguistically very close to Zaza and suggested that both languages may have originated from a common ancestor.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n			(ŋ)
Plosive	p b		t d			k ɡ	q	ʔ
Affricate				tʃ dʒ
Fricative	f v	θ	s z	ʃ ʒ		x ɣ		h
Tap			ɾ
Trill			(r)
Approximant			l		j	w

(Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Allophones are in parentheses.)

Grammar

Syntax

Subjects in Semnani must have gender agreement with the verb in their immediate clause.

Notes

Bibliography

Pierre Lecoq. 1989. "Les dialectes caspiens et les dialectes du nord-ouest de l'Iran," Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Ed. Rüdiger Schmitt. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. Pages 296–314.