The Sivandi Alphabet

Q: How many letters does the Sivandi alphabet have?

The Sivandi alphabet has 32 letters , all derived from the Perso-Arabic script . The 32 letters include the 28 Arabic letters plus 4 letters unique to Persian and Dari: پ (pe, /p/), چ (che, /tʃ/), ژ (zhe, /ʒ/), and گ (gaf, /ɡ/). Short vowels are generally not written but can be indicated with optional diacritical marks called harakat.

Q: Where is Sivandi spoken?

Sivandi is spoken in the village of Sīvand , located near the ruins of Persepolis in Fars Province, southwestern Iran. With an estimated 100 to 1,000 remaining speakers , Sivandi is classified as critically endangered and is one of the most geographically isolated surviving Southwest Iranian languages. Sīvand itself is situated in a historically significant area associated with the ancient Achaemenid Persian Empire.

Q: What branch of Iranian languages does Sivandi belong to?

Sivandi belongs to the Southwest Iranian branch of the Iranian language family. Its closest relatives include Persian (Farsi) and Luri . However, Sivandi is distinct from standard Persian and is widely recognised by linguists as one of the most archaic surviving Southwest Iranian languages, preserving phonological and morphological features of Old Persian that have been lost in modern Farsi.

Q: Is Sivandi an endangered language?

Yes. Sivandi is classified as critically endangered — the most severe category before extinction. With only an estimated 100 to 1,000 speakers , all concentrated in a single village near Persepolis, the language faces an acute risk of extinction within a generation. Persian has displaced Sivandi in all formal, educational, and broadcast contexts, and intergenerational transmission has effectively ceased in most families. Linguistic documentation of Sivandi is considered urgent by researchers worldwide.

Q: Is the Sivandi script read from right to left?

Yes. Like all Perso-Arabic scripts , Sivandi is written and read from right to left . Each letter connects to adjacent letters within a word in cursive style, and most letters change shape depending on their position — initial, medial, final, or isolated form. The only exception to the right-to-left direction is numerals , which are written left to right even within otherwise RTL text. The script falls within the Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600–U+06FF).

Q: What makes Sivandi linguistically unique?

Sivandi is considered uniquely valuable because it preserves archaic features of Old Persian that have disappeared from modern Farsi. Linguists have documented that Sivandi retains Old Persian consonant clusters , vowel distinctions , and verbal paradigms that shed light on the historical development of the Southwest Iranian language family. These archaic features make Sivandi a crucial data point for reconstructing the history of the Iranian languages, even as the language itself faces extinction.

Sivandi Alphabet at a Glance

32 letters written right to left using the Perso-Arabic script
Sivandi is a critically endangered Southwest Iranian language spoken in the village of Sīvand near the ruins of Persepolis, Fars Province, Iran ^[1]
Uses the Perso-Arabic script, written in Naskh and Nastaliq calligraphic styles ^[2]
Estimated 100–1,000 remaining speakers, one of the most critically endangered Southwest Iranian languages ^[3]
Belongs to the Southwest Iranian branch — the same branch as Persian (Farsi) and Luri — but preserves archaic Old Persian phonological features lost in modern Farsi ^[4]
Includes 4 letters unique to the Persian/Dari script, not found in Arabic: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), and گ (gaf)
Sivandi is one of the most archaic surviving Southwest Iranian languages, preserving Old Persian vowel contrasts and consonant clusters absent in modern Persian ^[5]

Sivandi Consonant Letters

The Sivandi alphabet contains 32 consonant letters based on the Perso-Arabic script. This includes the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus 4 letters unique to Persian/Dari: پ (pe /p/), چ (che /tʃ/), ژ (zhe /ʒ/), and گ (gaf /ɡ/). Each letter changes shape depending on its position within a word — initial, medial, final, or isolated. Sivandi uses this same script to write one of the most archaic surviving Southwest Iranian languages, spoken near the ancient ruins of Persepolis.

Sivandi Consonants

[BEH]

[PEH]

[TEH]

[SEH]

[JIM]

[CHEH]

[HEH]

[KHEH]

[DAL]

[ZAL]

[REH]

[ZEH]

[ZHEH]

[SIN]

[SHIN]

[SAD]

[ZAD]

[TAH]

[ZAH]

[AIN]

[GHAIN]

[FEH]

[QAHF]

[KAF]

[GAF]

[LAM]

[MIM]

[NUN]

[VAV]

[HEH]

[YEH]

[HAMZA]

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". Sivandi preserves this sound from Old Iranian roots, appearing in native Southwest Iranian vocabulary unchanged from ancient forms.

[PEH]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script, absent from classical Arabic. Frequent in native Sivandi vocabulary inherited from Southwest Iranian.

[TEH]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". Very common in Sivandi verb conjugation and nominal morphology, reflecting Old Iranian heritage shared with Persian and Luri.

[SEH]

Pronounced as /s/ in Sivandi, identical to س. Classical Arabic /θ/ is not preserved in Sivandi or any other Iranian language. Retained in spelling of Arabic loanwords.

[JIM]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jump". Common in Sivandi native vocabulary. Sivandi preserves archaic features of the affricate system from Proto-Southwest Iranian.

[CHEH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church". One of the four letters unique to Iranian-based scripts. Appears in native Sivandi vocabulary of Southwest Iranian origin.

[HEH]

Historically a pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Arabic; in Sivandi (as in Persian) realised as the glottal fricative /h/. Found primarily in Arabic loanwords.

[KHEH]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Very common in Sivandi, appearing in native words and loanwords. A characteristic Iranian sound preserved in the Southwest branch.

[DAL]

Voiced dental/alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "door". Ubiquitous in Sivandi vocabulary. Sivandi preserves archaic /d/ correspondences lost in many modern Persian dialects.

[ZAL]

Historically the Arabic interdental /ð/; in Sivandi merges with /z/, identical to ز. Appears in Arabic loanwords used in formal and religious registers.

[REH]

Voiced alveolar trill or tap /r/. Fundamental to Sivandi phonology. Sivandi preserves archaic /r/ consonant clusters inherited from Old Persian and Middle Persian.

[ZEH]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zebra". The primary /z/ letter in Sivandi. Appears in native Southwest Iranian words and loanwords.

[ZHEH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to Iranian-based scripts. Present in Sivandi vocabulary with connections to the Southwest Iranian phonological system.

[SIN]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". The primary /s/ letter in Sivandi. Merges with ث and ص in spoken Sivandi, as in all Iranian languages.

[SHIN]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Common in native Sivandi vocabulary. Sivandi preserves historical /ʃ/ in positions where other Southwest Iranian languages have undergone change.

[SAD]

Arabic emphatic /sˤ/; in Sivandi merges with plain /s/. Used in Arabic loanwords. The emphatic quality distinguishing ص from س in Arabic is not preserved in Sivandi speech.

[ZAD]

Arabic emphatic /dˤ/ or /zˤ/; in Sivandi realised as /z/. Appears in Arabic loanwords absorbed via Persian. Phonemically identical to ز in spoken Sivandi.

[TAH]

Arabic emphatic /tˤ/; in Sivandi merges with plain /t/. Found in Arabic loanwords. Not phonemically distinct from ت in Sivandi, though retained in spelling.

[ZAH]

Arabic emphatic /ðˤ/; in Sivandi merges with /z/. Appears in formal Arabic loanwords used in religious and literary contexts. Phonemically identical to ز in Sivandi.

[AIN]

The Arabic pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/; in Sivandi (as in Persian) realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or a vowel onset. Occurs in Arabic loanwords and distinguishes Sivandi's Arabic-derived vocabulary from its native Iranian roots.

[GHAIN]

Voiced velar or uvular fricative /ɣ/. Occurs in both native Sivandi vocabulary and Arabic/Persian loanwords. Phonemically active in Sivandi, connecting it to the broader Southwest Iranian tradition.

[FEH]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fan". Appears in Persian and Arabic loanwords in Sivandi, and in some native Southwest Iranian vocabulary.

[QAHF]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/ in classical Arabic; in Sivandi varies by dialect — some speakers maintain /q/, others merge it with /ɣ/. Found in Arabic and Persian loanwords.

[KAF]

Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". One of the most common consonants in Sivandi. Present in native Southwest Iranian roots and across all word positions.

[GAF]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to Iranian-based scripts. Very common in native Sivandi words, reflecting archaic Southwest Iranian phonological features.

[LAM]

Voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/. Fundamental to Sivandi phonology. Appears across native Southwest Iranian vocabulary and contributes to the distinct sound of Sivandi.

[MIM]

Voiced bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "mother". Very frequent in Sivandi vocabulary across all word positions. Found in native Iranian words, Persian loanwords, and the Arabic-derived lexical layer.

[NUN]

Voiced alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "no". Essential to Sivandi morphology, appearing in verb endings and grammatical suffixes characteristic of Southwest Iranian languages.

[VAV]

Functions as consonant /v/ or /w/ and as long vowel /uː/ or /o/ in Sivandi. Sivandi preserves archaic bilabial /w/ in certain environments, a feature connecting it to Old Persian phonology.

[HEH]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". Appears word-initially and word-medially in Sivandi. Also serves as a word-final vowel marker (silent ه) indicating a preceding /a/ or /e/ vowel.

[YEH]

Functions as consonant /j/ (like "y" in "yes") and as long vowel /iː/ or /e/ in Sivandi. Essential to Sivandi morphology, appearing in verb paradigms that preserve archaic Southwest Iranian grammatical features.

[HAMZA]

Glottal stop marker /ʔ/. Used in Arabic loanwords in Sivandi. Native Southwest Iranian Sivandi vocabulary generally does not feature the standalone hamza.

Sivandi Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

Like all Perso-Arabic scripts, Sivandi is an abjad — a consonantal alphabet where short vowels are not written by default but indicated by optional diacritical marks (harakat). The six harakat marks shown here are used in educational texts and learners' resources to aid correct pronunciation of Sivandi, whose spoken vowel system preserves archaic Southwest Iranian vowel contrasts distinct from modern Persian.

Sivandi Vowel Diacritics

[FAT-ha]

[KAS-ra]

[DAM-ma]

[SHAD-da]

[tan-WIN]

[SOO-kun]

[FAT-ha]

Short open vowel /a/ or /æ/. In Sivandi, the exact vowel quality reflects archaic Southwest Iranian phonology distinct from modern Persian. Used in educational texts to indicate the short /a/ sound above a consonant.

[KAS-ra]

Short front vowel /e/ or /i/. In Sivandi placed beneath a consonant. Employed in vowelised Sivandi texts for disambiguation of the archaic vowel distinctions the language preserves.

[DAM-ma]

Short back rounded vowel /o/ or /u/. Used in vowelised Sivandi texts. Sivandi preserves Old Persian vowel contrasts that have merged in standard modern Persian.

[SHAD-da]

Consonant gemination marker. Written above a consonant to indicate it is doubled. Appears in Arabic loanwords used in Sivandi where consonant length is phonemically significant in the source Arabic word.

[tan-WIN]

Arabic nunation ending /-an/. Preserved in some Arabic adverbs and formal phrases used in Sivandi religious and literary contexts. Represents a word-final /-an/ nasal vowel from Arabic formal grammar.

[SOO-kun]

Marks the absence of a vowel after a consonant. Appears in fully vowelised Sivandi texts. Helps represent the consonant clusters characteristic of Sivandi's archaic Southwest Iranian phonology.

The first letter of the Sivandi alphabet. Functions as a long vowel carrier and consonant. Sivandi preserves archaic vowel features at the alef position from Old Iranian.

Second letter. Voiced bilabial stop /b/. Fundamental to native Sivandi Southwest Iranian vocabulary.

Third letter — an Iranian addition absent from Arabic. Voiceless bilabial stop /p/. Common in archaic Sivandi roots.

Fourth letter. Voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Appears in native Sivandi words and loanwords from Persian and Arabic.

Fifth letter. Historically Arabic /θ/, realised as /s/ in Sivandi. Used in Arabic loanwords.

Sixth letter. Voiced affricate /dʒ/. Common in Sivandi native Southwest Iranian vocabulary.

Seventh letter — Iranian addition. Voiceless affricate /tʃ/. Prevalent in native Sivandi words.

Eighth letter. Arabic pharyngeal realised as /h/ in Sivandi. Used in Arabic loanwords.

Ninth letter. Voiceless velar fricative /x/, very common in Sivandi speech.

Tenth letter. Voiced alveolar stop /d/. One of the most frequent consonants in Sivandi. Preserves archaic Southwest Iranian /d/ correspondences.

Eleventh letter. Arabic /ð/ merged with /z/ in Sivandi. Appears in Arabic loanwords.

Twelfth letter. Alveolar trill or tap /r/. Essential to Sivandi phonology and archaic consonant clusters.

Thirteenth letter. Primary /z/ in Sivandi. Merges with ذ, ض, ظ in speech.

Fourteenth letter. Iranian addition. Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ present in Sivandi Southwest Iranian vocabulary.

Fifteenth letter. Primary /s/ in Sivandi. Merges with ث and ص in speech.

Sixteenth letter. Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, common in Sivandi vocabulary with archaic Southwest Iranian forms.

Seventeenth letter. Arabic emphatic /sˤ/ realised as /s/ in Sivandi. Used in Arabic loanwords.

Eighteenth letter. Arabic emphatic merged with /z/ in Sivandi. Appears in Arabic loanwords.

Nineteenth letter. Arabic emphatic /tˤ/ merged with /t/ in Sivandi. Used in Arabic loanwords.

Twentieth letter. Arabic emphatic merged with /z/ in Sivandi.

Twenty-first letter. Arabic pharyngeal realised as glottal stop or vowel onset in Sivandi. Found in Arabic loanwords.

Twenty-second letter. Voiced velar/uvular fricative /ɣ/. Active phoneme in Sivandi native and borrowed vocabulary.

Twenty-third letter. Labiodental fricative /f/. Appears in Persian and Arabic loanwords in Sivandi.

Twenty-fourth letter. Uvular stop; dialect variation between /q/ and /ɣ/ in Sivandi.

Twenty-fifth letter. Voiceless velar stop /k/, one of the most frequent consonants in Sivandi.

Twenty-sixth letter. Iranian addition. Voiced velar stop /ɡ/, very common in native archaic Sivandi vocabulary.

Twenty-seventh letter. Lateral approximant /l/. Fundamental to Sivandi phonology.

Twenty-eighth letter. Bilabial nasal /m/. Very frequent in Sivandi vocabulary across all word positions.

Twenty-ninth letter. Alveolar nasal /n/. Important in Sivandi verb endings and grammatical morphology.

Thirtieth letter. Consonant /v/ or /w/ and long vowel /uː/. Sivandi preserves archaic bilabial /w/ linking it to Old Persian.

Thirty-first letter. Glottal fricative /h/. Used word-initially, word-medially, and as a silent vowel marker word-finally in Sivandi.

Thirty-second letter. Consonant /j/ and long vowel /iː/. Essential to Sivandi morphology and its archaic Southwest Iranian verbal paradigms.

Sivandi Digits

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for zero. In Sivandi, borrowed as sifr from Arabic through Persian. Used in Sivandi-language writing alongside the standard Persian numeral system.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for one. The Sivandi word for "one" is related to yak, the common Iranian form, reflecting archaic Southwest Iranian heritage shared with Persian.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for two. Sivandi "two" reflects the common Iranian form du, cognate with Persian دو and Old Persian duva.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for three. Sivandi "three" continues the Iranian form se, cognate with Persian سه and Avestan θri.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for four. Sivandi follows the Iranian čahar/chahar pattern, shared with Persian and preserving the Old Iranian form čaθwar.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for five. Sivandi panj continues the ancient Iranian root, cognate with Persian panj and Sanskrit pañca, tracing back to Proto-Indo-Iranian.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for six. Sivandi šeš/shesh continues the Iranian form, related to Avestan xšvaš and cognate with English "six".

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for seven. Sivandi haft is the classic Iranian form, cognate with Persian haft, Avestan hapta, and English "seven".

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for eight. Sivandi hašt/hasht continues the ancient Iranian root, cognate with Persian هشت and Avestan ašta.

Eastern Arabic-Indic numeral for nine. Sivandi noh follows the Iranian form, cognate with Avestan nava and English "nine".

…

The RTL comma used in Sivandi and Persian texts. Placed after clauses and list items, mirrored for right-to-left script.

RTL semicolon used in Sivandi and Persian writing. Separates related independent clauses in formal written Sivandi.

RTL question mark used in Sivandi texts. Mirrors the Latin question mark for right-to-left writing direction.

Opening quotation mark in Sivandi and Persian typography. Used as the opening quotation in formal written Sivandi.

Closing quotation mark in Sivandi and Persian typography. Paired with « for quotations in Sivandi written texts.

…

Ellipsis mark used in modern Sivandi prose and digital writing to indicate an omission or trailing thought.

The Arabic-script percent sign used in Sivandi-language texts across Iran.

Kashida or tatweel — a horizontal stroke used to extend a letter for typographic alignment in Sivandi calligraphy and formal print.

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How many letters does the Sivandi alphabet have?

Where is Sivandi spoken?

What branch of Iranian languages does Sivandi belong to?

Is Sivandi an endangered language?

Is the Sivandi script read from right to left?

What makes Sivandi linguistically unique?

References:

[1] Glottolog 5.1. "Sivandi [siva1239]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Sivandi
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600-U+06FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Arabic Block
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Language Code: siy — Sivandi". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: siy
[4] Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University). "SĪVAND". Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Iranica: Sīvand
[5] Endangered Languages Project. "Sivandi". Retrieved from Endangered Languages Project: Sivandi