varietiesIranian

Varieties Iranian refers to the diverse languages and dialects within the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. The term encompasses a wide range of Southwestern, Northwestern, and Eastern Iranian languages spoken across Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and surrounding regions. The most prominent of these are the Persian varieties, but the term also includes numerous other languages with distinct histories, scripts, and sociolinguistic roles.

Among the Persian varieties, Iranian Persian, Dari, and Tajik are mutually intelligible to a large extent but differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and writing conventions. Iranian Persian, known as Farsi in Iran, is the national language and the standard in education, government, and media in Iran. Dari Persian is the Afghan standard and is widely used in education and broadcasting in Afghanistan. Tajik Persian is the standard in Tajikistan and is written in Cyrillic script. These three forms maintain core grammar and lexicon but show regional refinements and loanword patterns.

Beyond Persian, the Iranian language family includes Northwestern Iranian languages such as Gilaki, Mazandarani, Luri, and Bakhtiari, as well as Kurdish varieties, Balochi, and various Eastern Iranian languages like Pashto and Ossetian. These languages form a rich tapestry of dialects and languages with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility and regional prestige.

Writing systems among Iranian varieties vary widely. Persian varieties in Iran and Afghanistan use Perso-Arabic script with local conventions, while Tajik uses Cyrillic. In education and media, Persian varieties often serve as lingua francas within the Persian-speaking world, with Dari and Tajik holding official or co-official status in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, respectively. Scholarly classification continues to grapple with linguistic distinctions and cultural identities across the Iranian-speaking sphere.