Semnani language

Semnani
Semnani
سمنی زفون; Semani zefön
Region	Iran
Ethnicity	Semnani
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Western Iranian Northwestern Semnani Semnani; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Biyabanaki;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	smy
Glottolog	semn1249
ELP	Semnani
	Semnani is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO; Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Semnani (سمنانی زفون, Semani zefön) is the main language of the Semnan province of Iran and has several branches. The language belongs to the Northwestern branch of the Western Iranian languages. Spoken in south of the Caspian Sea, Semnani is linguistically closely related to Zaza language, another northwestern Iranian language spoken in Anatolia.^[2]^[3]^[4] It is suggested that Semnani and Zaza are descended from a common ancestor.^[2]^[5] Similar to Zaza, the noun, adjective systems and verb conjugation exhibit two genders (masculine and feminine), two cases and two numbers in Semnani.^[6]^[5]

Semnani, similar to other Caspian languages, bears some resemblance to the Old Iranian Median language and was influenced by Parthian in a later process.^[7]^[8]

Classification

Glottolog classifies the Semnani language within the Semnani-Biyabuneki subgroup of Northwestern Iranian languages^[9] and classifies nearby languages, such as Sangsari, Lasgerdi, Sorkhei and Aftari within another subgroup, the Komisenian subgroup.^[10] Jost Gippert, demonstrated that Semnani is linguistically very close to Zaza and suggested that both languages may have originated from a common ancestor.^[2]

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n			(ŋ)
Plosive	p b		t d			k ɡ	q	ʔ
Affricate				tʃ dʒ
Fricative	f v	θ	s z	ʃ ʒ		x ɣ		h
Tap			ɾ
Trill			(r)
Approximant			l		j	w

(Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Allophones are in parentheses.)

Grammar

Syntax

Subjects in Semnani must have gender agreement with the verb in their immediate clause.^[11]

Notes

^ "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". unesdoc.unesco.org. p. 46. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gippert, Jost (2008). "Zur dialektalen Stellung des Zazaki". Die Sprache. 47 (1): 103.
^ Asatrian, Garnik; Gevorgian, K. H. (1988). "Zāzā Miscellany: Notes on some religious customs and institutions". ACTA IRANICA. Leiden: Brill. p. 501.
^ Asatrian, Garnik; Gevorgian, K. H. (1988). W. Sundermann, W.; Duchesne-Guillemin, J.; Vahman, F. (eds.). "Zāzā Miscellany: Notes on some religious customs and institutions". Acta Iranica: Encyclopédie Permanente des Études Iraniennes. 12 (2): 501.
^ ^a ^b Hassanzadeh-Nodehi, Ramin (2025). Towards a grammar of the Semnāni language (PhD thesis). Sapienza – Università di Roma. p. 2-3.
^ Gippert, Jost (2008). "Zur dialektalen Stellung des Zazaki". Die Sprache. 47 (1): 90–91.
^ Habib Borjian: . In: . Nr. 2. Brill, 2009
^ Agnes, Korn. "A partial tree of Central Iranian: A new look at Iranian subphyla". Indogermanische Forschungen. 121 (1): 14.
^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Semnani-Biyabuneki". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Komisenian". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^ Rezapour, Ebrahim (2015). "Word order in Semnani language based on language typology". IQBQ. 6 (5): 169–190.

Bibliography

Pierre Lecoq. 1989. "Les dialectes caspiens et les dialectes du nord-ouest de l'Iran," Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Ed. Rüdiger Schmitt. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. Pages 296–314.

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[1] "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". unesdoc.unesco.org. p. 46. Retrieved 2025-12-21.

[:0-2] Gippert, Jost (2008). "Zur dialektalen Stellung des Zazaki". Die Sprache. 47 (1): 103.

[3] Asatrian, Garnik; Gevorgian, K. H. (1988). "Zāzā Miscellany: Notes on some religious customs and institutions". ACTA IRANICA. Leiden: Brill. p. 501.

[4] Asatrian, Garnik; Gevorgian, K. H. (1988). W. Sundermann, W.; Duchesne-Guillemin, J.; Vahman, F. (eds.). "Zāzā Miscellany: Notes on some religious customs and institutions". Acta Iranica: Encyclopédie Permanente des Études Iraniennes. 12 (2): 501.

[:1-5] Hassanzadeh-Nodehi, Ramin (2025). Towards a grammar of the Semnāni language (PhD thesis). Sapienza – Università di Roma. p. 2-3.

[6] Gippert, Jost (2008). "Zur dialektalen Stellung des Zazaki". Die Sprache. 47 (1): 90–91.

[7] Habib Borjian: . In: . Nr. 2. Brill, 2009

[8] Agnes, Korn. "A partial tree of Central Iranian: A new look at Iranian subphyla". Indogermanische Forschungen. 121 (1): 14.

[9] Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Semnani-Biyabuneki". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

[10] Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Komisenian". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

[11] Rezapour, Ebrahim (2015). "Word order in Semnani language based on language typology". IQBQ. 6 (5): 169–190.

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