The online ''Atlas of the Languages of Iran'' (ALI) is a collection of interactive language distribution maps and

linguistic map A linguistic map is a thematic map showing the geographic distribution of the speakers of a language, or isoglosses of a dialect continuum of the same language, or language family. A collection of such maps is a linguistic atlas. The earliest su ...

s of the languages spoken across

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The atlas is developed and maintained at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Center (GCRC) at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The maps on the atlas are searchable and illustrate patterns in the

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

morphosyntax In linguistics, morphology is the study of words, including the principles by which they are formed, and how they relate to one another within a language. Most approaches to morphology investigate the structure of words in terms of morphemes, wh ...

, and

lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...

of languages spoken in Iran. As the atlas is interactive, users are free to access the data and information represented on the maps, and they are encouraged to contribute and comment on the language data for each location.

Language maps

The primary goal of this atlas is to provide an overview of the language situation in

. The atlas provides both interactive language distribution maps and static

s.The language distribution maps show

language varieties In sociolinguistics, a variety, also known as a lect or an isolect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles, or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety.Meech ...

spoken across the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s of Iran alongside an estimation of the number of speakers for each variety.

Language classification

The Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) presents a ''working classification'' of the languages of Iran using the traditional

classification tree Classification chart or classification tree is a synopsis of the classification scheme, designed to illustrate the structure of any particular field. Overview Classification is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentia ...

, based on the works of

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

s and other scholars. The language classification tree is also represented as a three-dimensional force graph web visualizing language varieties and different types of links between them: ''genealogical inheritance'', ''areal similarity'', and ''ethnic identification''.

Resources

Resources used for language data collection and documentation throughout the process of building ''ALI'' have been provided on the atlas's page. The

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

contains a list of references that are used and/or cited in the atlas.

Questionnaire

The ''ALI'' linguistic data questionnaire, available in English and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, has been developed specifically for the languages of Iran and is used to collect language data across the country. The questionnaire consists of three main parts: ''Lexicon'', ''Morphosyntax'', and ''Numbers'' using which

s collect

lexical Lexical may refer to: Linguistics * Lexical corpus or lexis, a complete set of all words in a language * Lexical item, a basic unit of lexicographical classification * Lexicon, the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge * Lexical ...

and

morphosyntactic In linguistics, morphology is the study of words, including the principles by which they are formed, and how they relate to one another within a language. Most approaches to morphology investigate the structure of words in terms of morphemes, wh ...

data in

fieldwork Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

sessions. The collected lexical data is considered as an important resource for future electronic

Etymological dictionaries An etymological dictionary discusses the etymology of the words listed. Often, large dictionaries, such as the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and '' Webster's'', will contain some etymological information, without aspiring to focus on etymology. ...

for the languages of Iran. In addition to the language data, the questionnaire contains

Sociolinguistic Sociolinguistics is the descriptive, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...

context questions that provide detailed information about the interview respondents' linguistic background and language use as these factors directly affect the elicited language data.

References

External links