The first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet; represents a glottal stop /ʔ/ in initial position or a long vowel /aː/. In Vafsi, alef functions as a vowel carrier following the standard Persian orthographic convention. Vafsi preserves archaic Central Iranian vowel features that distinguish it from Standard Tehran Persian, and the alef is integral to representing these vowel qualities in the Perso-Arabic writing system used by the Vafsi community of Markazi Province.
Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". A core letter of the Perso-Arabic abjad. In Vafsi, /b/ appears in inherited Central Iranian vocabulary and in loanwords from Persian and Luri, the dominant contact languages in western Iran. The /b/ phoneme is fully productive in the Vafsi consonant inventory of Markazi Province.
Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Urdu script not found in classical Arabic. In Vafsi, /p/ is a productive phoneme in both the inherited Central Iranian core lexicon and in loanwords from Persian integrated into the Vafsi language of Markazi Province, western Iran.
Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". In Vafsi, both ت and ط are pronounced as /t/. A common consonant in Vafsi vocabulary. The Central Iranian phonological heritage of Vafsi includes consonant correspondences with related languages such as Luri and Bakhtiari, reflecting shared Central Iranian ancestry; Vafsi preserves conservative phonological patterns from Middle Iranian that distinguish it from Standard Persian.
Pronounced as /s/ in Vafsi, identical to س. In Classical Arabic ث represents /θ/, but Vafsi — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /s/. Retained in writing to preserve the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords in Vafsi formal and religious registers, following the standard Persian orthographic convention.
Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jam". Present in Vafsi vocabulary, appearing in inherited Central Iranian words and in Persian/Luri loanwords. The /dʒ/ phoneme is well-attested in the Central Iranian dialect cluster, and Vafsi maintains it as part of its consonant inventory in the Markazi Province region of western Iran.
Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "chair". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Urdu script. In Vafsi, چ appears in inherited vocabulary and in Persian loanwords. The /tʃ/ phoneme is productive in the Vafsi phonological system, reflecting Central Iranian consonant features shared with related languages of the Zagros region.
Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Classical Arabic; in Vafsi this letter is pronounced as the plain glottal fricative /h/, merging with ه, following the standard Iranian pattern. Vafsi does not preserve the pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ in borrowed vocabulary, consistent with other Central Iranian languages of western Iran.
Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Well-preserved in Vafsi; خ appears in both inherited Central Iranian vocabulary and in Persian loanwords. The /x/ phoneme is characteristic of Iranian languages throughout western Iran, and Vafsi maintains it as a productive phoneme distinct from /h/.
Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". A non-connecting letter in the Perso-Arabic script. Common in Vafsi vocabulary. Vafsi's Central Iranian phonological heritage includes characteristic consonant correspondences with Luri and Bakhtiari, and /d/ participates in the regular sound correspondences that characterise the Central Iranian dialect cluster in western Iran.
Pronounced as /z/ in Vafsi, merging with ز. In Classical Arabic ذ represents /ð/ (like "th" in "that"), but Vafsi — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /z/. Retained in the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords used in Vafsi written texts following standard Persian orthographic conventions.
Alveolar tap or trill /r/, like a rolled "r". A non-connecting letter. One of the most frequent consonants in Vafsi vocabulary. The rhotic in Vafsi is part of a distinctive Central Iranian consonant inventory showing systematic correspondences with its related languages Luri and Bakhtiari, reflecting the common Central Iranian ancestry in western Iran.
Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zoo". A non-connecting letter. In Vafsi, the letters ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all converge on the /z/ pronunciation following standard Iranian conventions. The /z/ phoneme is productive in Vafsi vocabulary across its inherited Central Iranian core lexicon and in loanwords from Persian.
Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Urdu script. This sound appears in Vafsi vocabulary, particularly in Persian loanwords. ژ is a non-connecting letter and one of the distinctive markers of the Persian script family used in Vafsi writing in Markazi Province.
Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". In Vafsi, the three Arabic sibilant letters ث، س، and ص all merge into /s/. Highly frequent in Vafsi vocabulary inherited from Central Iranian, as well as in Persian and Arabic loanwords absorbed into the Vafsi lexicon through centuries of contact in Markazi Province, western Iran.
Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Fully preserved in Vafsi; ش appears in both inherited Central Iranian vocabulary and in Persian loanwords. The /ʃ/ phoneme is phonologically stable in Vafsi and represents an important feature shared with neighbouring Iranian languages of the Zagros region.
Emphatic /sˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Vafsi, this letter is pronounced as plain /s/, merging with س. The pharyngeal emphasis of Arabic ص is not maintained in Vafsi pronunciation. Retained in writing to preserve the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords, particularly in Islamic religious vocabulary used in Vafsi-speaking communities of Markazi Province.
In Vafsi, ض is pronounced as /z/, merging with ز. The historically emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Vafsi as in all modern Iranian languages. Retained in the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords used in Vafsi formal and religious contexts following standard Persian orthographic conventions.
Emphatic /tˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Vafsi, this letter is pronounced as plain /t/, merging with ت. Retained in writing to preserve the spelling of Arabic loanwords. Vafsi speakers do not distinguish ط from ت in everyday speech, following the general Iranian pattern shared with Persian throughout Iran.
Emphatic consonant in Classical Arabic; in Vafsi, ظ is pronounced as /z/ like ذ، ز، and ض. The letter is preserved in the traditional spelling of Arabic-origin vocabulary used in Vafsi formal and religious registers; the emphatic quality is not maintained in Vafsi phonology, following the standard Persian orthographic convention.
Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Vafsi, ع is typically realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or simple vowel onset following standard Persian phonological conventions. The pharyngeal quality of Arabic ع is not systematically preserved in Vafsi speech, as in other modern Iranian languages of western Iran.
Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/, produced at the back of the throat. Present in Vafsi in Persian/Arabic loanwords. The uvular fricative /ɣ/ (غ) contrasts with the velar stop /g/ (گ) in Vafsi vocabulary, following the standard Persian phonological distinction shared across Iranian languages of western Iran.
Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun". Present in Vafsi primarily in loanwords from Persian and Arabic. The /f/ phoneme in Vafsi appears in borrowed vocabulary from Persian, the national language of Iran and primary contact language of Vafsi speakers in Markazi Province.
Voiceless uvular stop /q/ in Classical Arabic; in Vafsi, ق may be realised as the uvular /q/ in formal or careful speech following Persian convention, or as a glottal stop /ʔ/ in casual speech. ق appears primarily in Arabic loanwords absorbed into Vafsi through the Islamic religious tradition and Persian contact in western Iran.
Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". Distinct from ق (uvular); consistently represents /k/ in Vafsi. A productive phoneme in Vafsi vocabulary across both the inherited Central Iranian core lexicon and in loanwords from Persian, the primary contact language in the Arak region of Markazi Province.
Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Urdu script. In Vafsi, /g/ appears in inherited Central Iranian vocabulary and in Persian loanwords. The /g/ phoneme is phonemically distinct from the uvular fricative /ɣ/ (غ) in Vafsi phonology, following the standard Persian convention used throughout Iran.
Lateral alveolar approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp". Fully preserved in Vafsi. ل participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا in the Perso-Arabic script. One of the most frequent consonants in Vafsi vocabulary across all lexical layers — inherited Central Iranian core words and loanwords from Persian.
Bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "man". A very common consonant in Vafsi vocabulary. م appears in inherited Central Iranian words and in Persian loanwords integrated into the Vafsi lexicon of Markazi Province. The bilabial nasal is phonologically stable and highly productive in Vafsi morphology.
Alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "noon". One of the most frequent consonants in Vafsi vocabulary; ن is productive in inherited Central Iranian vocabulary and in loanwords from Persian. Vafsi verbal morphology shows distinctive Central Iranian patterns around nasal consonants that reflect its archaic character relative to Standard Persian.
In Vafsi, و represents /v/ (labiodental approximant) or the long vowel /uː/, following the standard Persian phonological convention. Vafsi preserves archaic vowel patterns from Middle Iranian in its vowel system, making the vowel function of و particularly important for representing the Central Iranian vowel contrasts of this language of Markazi Province.
Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". In Vafsi, final ه can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ following Persian orthographic conventions. The glottal fricative is an active phoneme in Vafsi vocabulary across both the inherited Central Iranian core and in loanwords from Persian.
Palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal position (like "y" in "yes"), or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic position. In Vafsi, ی participates in the vowel system of this Central Iranian language, which preserves some archaic Iranian vowel contrasts inherited from Middle Iranian and not found in Standard Tehran Persian.
Sambhu Raj Singh ·