The Bashkardi Alphabet

Q: What script does Bashkardi use?

Bashkardi is written using the Perso-Arabic script , the same script used for Persian (Farsi), Dari, Urdu, and many other languages of the Middle East and Central Asia. The script is an abjad — a consonantal alphabet of 32 letters written from right to left . Short vowels are generally not written; they are implied by context or indicated in educational texts by optional diacritical marks (harakat). The 32 letters include the 28 Arabic letters plus 4 letters unique to Persian: پ (pe /p/), چ (che /tʃ/), ژ (zhe /ʒ/), and گ (gaf /g/).

Q: Where is Bashkardi spoken?

Bashkardi is spoken primarily in the Bashkard district (locally known as Bashkard or Bashakerd) of Hormozgan Province , southeastern Iran. This mountainous sub-province lies to the southeast of Bandar-e Abbas, bordering Sistan-o-Baluchestan Province to the east and partly extending into Kerman Province to the north. The speaker population is estimated at approximately 35,000 people living in villages across the district. A small number of additional speakers may be found in urban areas such as Bandar-e Abbas as a result of migration.

Q: What language family does Bashkardi belong to?

Bashkardi belongs to the Southwest Iranian branch of the Iranian language family (itself part of the Indo-European family). It is closely related to Larestani, Kumzari, Garmsiri, and Bandari — all Southwest Iranian languages spoken in the coastal and mountain regions of Hormozgan and adjacent provinces. The Southwest Iranian branch also includes Persian (Farsi) and Dari , though Bashkardi is a distinct language and not a dialect of Persian. The Encyclopaedia Iranica classifies Bashkardi as a Perside (Southwest Iranian) dialect distinct from standard Persian.

Q: Is Bashkardi an endangered language?

Yes. Bashkardi is classified as Threatened by Glottolog and is documented as an endangered language by the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) at SOAS University of London. The language has received very little attention in Iranian linguistic studies until recent documentation projects. Factors contributing to its endangered status include: dominance of Persian (Farsi) in education, media, and government; urbanisation drawing speakers away from the Bashkard valley; and very limited written literature or formal standardisation of the language. ELAR's documentation project for Molkigal Bashkardi has produced a sketch grammar and an electronic lexicon of approximately 5,000 entries.

Q: What are the dialects of Bashkardi?

Bashkardi has two main dialect varieties, known locally as Marzigal (northern variety) and Molkigal (southern variety). These two varieties correspond to the main geographic subdivisions of the Bashkard district and are mutually intelligible despite having structural differences. The Molkigal variety has been the primary focus of the ELAR linguistic documentation project. Both varieties share the same Perso-Arabic script and the fundamental Southwest Iranian phonological and grammatical structure of Bashkardi.

Q: How does Bashkardi differ from Persian (Farsi)?

Although Bashkardi uses the same Perso-Arabic script as Persian and belongs to the same Southwest Iranian branch, it is a distinct language that is not mutually intelligible with standard Persian. Key differences include a distinct native vocabulary with many words not found in standard Persian; unique phonological features typical of peripheral Southwest Iranian dialects; different morphological patterns including the accusative/ergative alternation in verb agreement; and the use of modal-aspectual prefixes (notably 'a-' and 'e-') that are not present in standard Persian. Bashkardi is more closely related to Larestani and Kumzari than to standard Farsi.

Bashkardi Alphabet at a Glance

32 letters written right to left using the Perso-Arabic script — the same 28 Arabic letters plus 4 letters unique to Persian: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), and گ (gaf)
Bashkardi is a Southwest Iranian language classified within the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family; it is spoken in the mountainous Bashkard district (locally Bashkard) of Hormozgan Province, southeastern Iran ^[1]
Documented by the Endangered Languages Archive (SOAS University of London) as a threatened Southwest Iranian language; documentation includes a sketch grammar and electronic lexicon with English and Persian as target languages ^[2]
Estimated speaker population of approximately 35,000 people in villages in the Bashkard sub-province and adjacent areas extending into Kerman and Sistan-o-Baluchestan provinces ^[3]
Classified by the Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University) as a Southwest Iranian (Perside) language along with Bandari, Kumzari, and Larestani, all spoken in the Hormozgan coastal and mountain region ^[4]
Like Persian, Bashkardi is written as an abjad where short vowels are not written by default but indicated by optional harakat diacritics in educational texts ^[5]
Bashkardi has two mutually intelligible dialect varieties, Marzigal (northern) and Molkigal (southern), reflecting the two main geographic subdivisions of the Bashkard district

Bashkardi Consonant Letters

The Bashkardi alphabet contains 32 letters based on the Perso-Arabic script, all functioning as consonants or consonant-vowel carriers in the abjad system. This includes the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus 4 letters unique to Persian: پ (pe /p/), چ (che /tʃ/), ژ (zhe /ʒ/), and گ (gaf /g/). Like in standard Persian, many letters that had distinct Arabic phonemes have merged in Bashkardi pronunciation — for example, ث، س، and ص all represent /s/, while ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all represent /z/.

Bashkardi Consonant Letters

[AH-lef]

[BEH]

[PEH]

[TEH]

[SEH]

[JEEM]

[CHEH]

[HEH]

[KHEH]

[DAHL]

[ZAHL]

[REH]

[ZEH]

[ZHEH]

[SEEN]

[SHEEN]

[SAWD]

[DAWD]

[TAW]

[ZAW]

[AYN]

[GHAYN]

[FEH]

[QAHF]

[KAHF]

[GAHF]

[LAHM]

[MEEM]

[NOON]

[WAHW]

[HEH]

[YEH]

[AH-lef]

Alef — the first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet; in Bashkardi as in Persian it functions as a vowel carrier and long vowel /aː/ marker. Non-connecting letter; represents a glottal stop /ʔ/ in initial position or a long /aː/ vowel mid-word.

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". Present throughout Bashkardi native Southwest Iranian vocabulary and in Arabic/Persian loanwords; identical in articulation to standard Persian /b/.

[PEH]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters added to Arabic script for Persian; fully used in Bashkardi native vocabulary. Not present in Classical Arabic.

[TEH]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". Common in Bashkardi native Southwest Iranian vocabulary; in Persian/Bashkardi both ت and ط are generally pronounced as /t/, with ت the more common form.

[SEH]

In Bashkardi, pronounced as /s/, merging with س. Classical Arabic ث represents /θ/ (like "th" in "thin") but Southwest Iranian languages including Bashkardi have consistently converted this to the alveolar fricative /s/.

[JEEM]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jam". Present in Bashkardi native vocabulary and in Persian loanwords; the /dʒ/ affricate is well-integrated into Southwest Iranian phonology.

[CHEH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "chair". One of the four letters unique to Persian/Dari script; the /tʃ/ sound is common in Bashkardi and throughout Southwest Iranian languages.

[HEH]

In Bashkardi as in modern Persian, pronounced as plain glottal fricative /h/, merging with ه. The Classical Arabic pharyngeal /ħ/ pronunciation is not maintained in Southwest Iranian speech.

[KHEH]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Fully preserved in Bashkardi phonology; appears in both native Southwest Iranian vocabulary and in Arabic loanwords integrated into the language.

[DAHL]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". Non-connecting letter in the Perso-Arabic script; fully preserved in Bashkardi as a plain alveolar stop, common in native vocabulary.

[ZAHL]

In Bashkardi, pronounced as /z/, merging with ز. Classical Arabic ذ represents /ð/ (like "th" in "that"), but in Persian and Bashkardi this letter is pronounced as alveolar /z/.

[REH]

Alveolar trill or tap /r/, like a rolled "r". Non-connecting letter; the Bashkardi rhotic is a trill or tap consistent with Southwest Iranian phonology; appears frequently in native vocabulary.

[ZEH]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zoo". Non-connecting letter; in Bashkardi, the letters ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all converge on the /z/ pronunciation, as in standard Persian.

[ZHEH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to Persian/Dari script; used in Bashkardi in native Southwest Iranian words and in Persian loanwords.

[SEEN]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". In Bashkardi, the three Arabic sibilants ث، س، and ص all converge on /s/; one of the most frequent consonants in Bashkardi vocabulary.

[SHEEN]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Fully preserved in Bashkardi; one of the distinctive sibilant sounds of Southwest Iranian languages, appearing in native and borrowed vocabulary.

[SAWD]

Emphatic /sˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Bashkardi as in Persian, this letter is pronounced as plain /s/, merging with س. The Arabic emphatic quality is not maintained in Southwest Iranian pronunciation.

[DAWD]

In Bashkardi, pronounced as /z/. Classical Arabic ض had a unique emphatic pronunciation; in Persian and Bashkardi this has merged with /z/. The letter is preserved in writing to maintain the orthography of Arabic loanwords.

[TAW]

Emphatic /tˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Bashkardi as in Persian this letter is pronounced as plain /t/, merging with ت. Preserved in writing to maintain the Arabic orthography of loanwords.

[ZAW]

In Bashkardi, pronounced as /z/. Classical Arabic ظ was an emphatic consonant; in Persian and Bashkardi it has merged with /z/. Preserved in the orthography of Arabic loanwords only.

[AYN]

Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Bashkardi and Persian, often realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or as a simple vowel onset. The pharyngeal quality of Arabic ع is not maintained in Southwest Iranian speech.

[GHAYN]

Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/ or /ɢ/, produced at the back of the throat. Fully preserved in Bashkardi phonology as in all Persian varieties; appears in both native vocabulary and Arabic loanwords; distinct from گ (velar /g/).

[FEH]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun". Fully preserved in Bashkardi; appears in native Southwest Iranian vocabulary and in Arabic/Persian loanwords. Common across all Persian-using communities.

[QAHF]

In Bashkardi as in colloquial Persian, ق is generally realised as a uvular stop /q/ or glottal stop /ʔ/. In formal or more conservative speech registers the uvular articulation is preserved more consistently.

[KAHF]

Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". Phonemically distinct from ق; in Bashkardi ک consistently represents the voiceless velar stop across all registers and dialect varieties.

[GAHF]

Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to Persian/Dari script not found in Classical Arabic; گ represents a sound native to Iranian languages, fully used in Bashkardi vocabulary.

[LAHM]

Lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "land". Common throughout Bashkardi native vocabulary and loanwords; the Bashkardi lateral is similar to the standard Persian /l/.

[MEEM]

Bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "man". One of the most frequent consonants in Bashkardi; appears in native Southwest Iranian vocabulary, grammatical morphology, and in Arabic/Persian loanwords.

[NOON]

Alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "no". Very common in Bashkardi native vocabulary and in grammatical affixes; appears throughout the Southwest Iranian lexicon of the language.

[WAHW]

Non-connecting letter; in Bashkardi represents the bilabial/labiodental approximant /v/ or /w/ as a consonant, and the long vowel /uː/ or diphthong /ow/ as a vowel carrier. One of the most versatile letters in the Persian abjad.

[HEH]

Glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". Used in Bashkardi both as a consonant and as a word-final vowel marker (silent ه in certain contexts). In Bashkardi as in standard Persian, ه and ح both represent /h/.

[YEH]

The last letter of the Persian alphabet; functions both as the palatal approximant consonant /j/ (like "y" in "yes") and as the vowel /iː/ (long close front vowel). The most versatile vowel-consonant letter in the Perso-Arabic abjad.

Bashkardi Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

Bashkardi, like all Perso-Arabic script languages, is an abjad — a consonantal alphabet where short vowels are typically not written. In educational texts, the six harakat diacritical marks shown here are used to indicate short vowel sounds: fatha (/a/), kasra (/e/, /i/), damma (/o/, /u/), shadda (consonant doubling), sukun (no vowel), and tanwin fath (Arabic nominal suffix -an). These diacritics help learners correctly vocalise Bashkardi texts.

Bashkardi Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

[FAT-ha]

[KAS-ra]

[DAM-ma]

[SHAD-da]

[SOO-kun]

[TAN-ween]

[FAT-ha]

Fatha — a short diagonal stroke above a letter indicating the short vowel /a/, like "a" in "hat". In Bashkardi and Persian texts, fatha is used in educational materials to show the short /a/ vowel which is otherwise not written.

[KAS-ra]

Kasra — a short diagonal stroke below a letter indicating the short vowel /e/ or /i/, like "e" in "bet". Used in Bashkardi educational and religious texts to mark the short front vowel.

[DAM-ma]

Damma — a small hook above a letter indicating the short vowel /o/ or /u/, like "o" in "not". Used in Bashkardi educational texts to mark the short back rounded vowel.

[SHAD-da]

Shadda — a diacritical mark above a letter indicating consonant gemination (doubling). In Bashkardi, shadda marks a doubled or emphasised consonant, as in Arabic-origin words where consonant length is phonemically relevant.

[SOO-kun]

Sukun — a small circle above a letter indicating the absence of a vowel (a bare consonant). Used in Bashkardi educational materials to show that a consonant has no following vowel; important for indicating consonant clusters.

[TAN-ween]

Tanwin (nunation) fath — a double fatha indicating the Arabic nominal suffix /-an/. Appears in Bashkardi in Arabic loanwords where the Arabic nunation suffix is preserved in formal or conservative registers.

Eastern Arabic Digits (۰–۹)

Zero in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

One in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Two in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Three in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Four in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Five in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Six in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Seven in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Eight in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Nine in Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral system used in Bashkardi/Persian writing.

Expand All Collapse All

What script does Bashkardi use?

Where is Bashkardi spoken?

What language family does Bashkardi belong to?

Is Bashkardi an endangered language?

What are the dialects of Bashkardi?

How does Bashkardi differ from Persian (Farsi)?

References:

[1] Glottolog 5.x. "Bashkardi [bash1263]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Bashkardi
[2] Endangered Languages Archive (SOAS University of London). "Linguistic Documentation of Molkigal Bashkardi". Retrieved from ELAR: Bashkardi Documentation
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Language Code: bsg — Bashkardi". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: bsg
[4] Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University). "IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS". Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Iranica: Iranian Languages
[5] Unicode Consortium. "Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600-U+06FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Arabic Block