The first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet; represents a glottal stop /ʔ/ in initial position or a long vowel /aː/. In Luri, alef functions as a vowel carrier and is foundational to the script. The Luri spoken in Lorestan Province preserves Southwest Iranian vowel patterns that show a close relationship with Persian while retaining distinctive Luri phonological features.
Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". One of the base letters of the Perso-Arabic abjad. In Luri, /b/ is phonologically stable and appears in native Southwest Iranian vocabulary inherited from Old Iranian. Luri is closely related to Persian and forms part of a Southwest Iranian dialect continuum across the Zagros mountain region.
Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script not found in classical Arabic. In Luri, /p/ is common in native vocabulary inherited from Old Iranian and is stable across the dialects spoken in Lorestan Province, Khuzestan, and Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari.
Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". In Luri, both ت and ط are pronounced as plain /t/. The letter ت is frequent in Luri verb conjugation and nominal morphology; the language preserves Southwest Iranian verbal forms related to Persian and Bakhtiari while displaying features distinctive of the Zagros highland dialect area.
Pronounced as /s/ in Luri, identical to س. In Classical Arabic ث represents /θ/, but Luri — like all Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /s/. Retained in the spelling of Arabic loanwords found in formal or religious registers of Luri writing.
Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jam". Consistent in Luri phonology across the dialects of Lorestan Province. The letter ج appears in both native Luri vocabulary and Persian-Arabic loanwords. Luri dialects spoken across Lorestan, Khuzestan, and Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari may show variation in affricate realisation.
Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "chair". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. /tʃ/ is common in Luri native vocabulary and appears in words with Southwest Iranian heritage shared with Persian and Bakhtiari.
Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Classical Arabic; in Luri this letter is typically pronounced as the plain glottal fricative /h/, merging with ه. Luri, like other modern Iranian languages of the Zagros region, does not maintain the pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ in everyday speech.
Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Well-preserved in Luri and phonemically distinct from /k/ and /h/. خ appears in both native Luri vocabulary and in loanwords; the /x/ phoneme is a characteristic feature of Southwest Iranian languages spoken in western Iran.
Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". A non-connecting letter in the Perso-Arabic script. In Luri, /d/ is stable and common in native vocabulary. Luri preserves Southwest Iranian features in its consonantal inventory that reflect its position as a distinct but closely related relative of Persian in the Zagros highland zone.
Pronounced as /z/ in Luri, merging with ز. In Classical Arabic ذ represents /ð/ (like "th" in "that"), but Luri — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /z/. Retained in spelling of Arabic loanwords in formal Luri texts.
Alveolar trill or tap /r/, like a rolled "r". A non-connecting letter. In Luri, the rhotic is generally a flap or trill; dialects of Luri spoken across Lorestan Province and the broader Zagros region may show variation in the realisation of the rhotic consonant, as is common among Southwest Iranian varieties.
Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zoo". A non-connecting letter. In Luri, the letters ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all converge on the /z/ pronunciation, following the general Iranian simplification of the Arabic emphatic and interdental consonant series, shared with Persian and all other modern Iranian languages.
Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. /ʒ/ appears in Luri vocabulary primarily in Persian loanwords and is part of the language's consonant inventory as part of the shared Perso-Arabic literary tradition.
Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". In Luri, the three Arabic sibilants ث، س، and ص all merge into this /s/ pronunciation. Highly frequent in both native Luri vocabulary and in the substantial Persian-Arabic loanword layer found in modern spoken and written Luri.
Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Fully preserved in Luri and among the most frequent consonants in native vocabulary. The /ʃ/ phoneme is stable across Luri dialects spoken in Lorestan Province and adjacent areas of the Zagros highland zone.
Emphatic /sˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Luri, this letter is pronounced as plain /s/, merging with س. The pharyngeal emphasis of Arabic ص is not maintained in Luri. Retained in the spelling of Arabic loanwords that appear in more formal registers of written Luri.
In Luri, ض is pronounced as /z/, merging with ز. The historically emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Luri as in all modern Iranian languages. Preserved in writing to reflect the etymological spelling of Arabic loanwords in Luri texts.
Emphatic /tˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Luri, this letter is pronounced as plain /t/, merging with ت. Retained in writing to preserve the spelling of Arabic loanwords. Luri speakers do not distinguish ط from ت in spoken speech.
Emphatic consonant in Classical Arabic; in Luri, ظ is pronounced as /z/ like ذ، ز، and ض. Preserved in writing Arabic-origin vocabulary in formal Luri texts; the emphatic quality is not maintained in Luri spoken phonology.
Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Luri, ع is typically realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or a simple vowel onset, following the general Southwest Iranian treatment of this Arabic consonant. The pharyngeal quality is not systematically maintained in Luri spoken across Lorestan Province.
Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/, produced at the back of the throat. Preserved in Luri and phonemically distinct from /g/ (گ). غ appears in both native Luri vocabulary and in Arabic-Persian loanwords, and is part of the consonant inventory shared with Persian and other Southwest Iranian languages of the Zagros region.
Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun". Fully preserved in Luri; ف appears in native Iranian vocabulary and in Arabic loanwords. The /f/ phoneme is stable across Luri dialects spoken in Lorestan Province, Khuzestan, and Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari.
Voiceless uvular stop /q/ in Classical Arabic; in Luri, ق may be realised as the uvular /q/, the velar /k/, or a glottal stop /ʔ/ depending on dialect and register. Variation in the realisation of ق is a feature of Iranian languages broadly and is observed across Luri dialects of western Iran.
Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". Distinct from ق (uvular); consistently represents /k/ in Luri. The Persian/Dari form ک is used rather than the classical Arabic ك. ک is one of the most frequent consonants in native Luri vocabulary and appears productively in Luri morphology across all dialects.
Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. In Luri, گ is common in native vocabulary and is a key feature of the Southwest Iranian consonant inventory shared with Persian. The voiced velar stop is stable and productive across Luri dialects of the Zagros region.
Lateral alveolar approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp". Fully preserved in Luri; ل participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا in the Perso-Arabic script. The lateral is one of the most frequent consonants in Luri vocabulary and participates in various derivational processes of the language.
Bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "man". Very common in Luri vocabulary; م appears in both native Southwest Iranian words and Persian-Arabic loanwords. The bilabial nasal is phonologically stable and productive in Luri morphology, including in nominal and verbal suffixes shared with Persian and Bakhtiari.
Alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "noon". One of the most frequent consonants in Luri; ن appears in native vocabulary and in Persian-Arabic loanwords. The nasal /n/ is particularly prominent in Luri verbal morphology and participates in tense and aspect marking that shows close affiliation with the Persian verbal system.
In Luri, و typically represents the labiodental fricative /v/ or the long vowel /uː/. Luri has preserved certain vowel contrasts involving و that show its Southwest Iranian affiliation, and the letter is highly productive in both native vocabulary and in the Persian loanword layer prevalent in modern Luri speech. A non-connecting letter.
Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". In Luri, final ه can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ following Persian orthographic conventions. The /h/ phoneme appears in both initial and medial positions in Luri; the language's phonological treatment of word-final ه reflects its Southwest Iranian affiliation with Persian.
Palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal position (like "y" in "yes"), or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic position. In Luri, ی is highly productive in both consonantal and vocalic roles; the language preserves Southwest Iranian vowel patterns involving ی that reflect its close relationship with Persian and Bakhtiari, the most closely related variety.
Sambhu Raj Singh ·