| Chapter : | Brief Introduction to the Herati Dialect |
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4. The specific object marker corresponding to LK, LP -râ appears in a variety of forms. If “r” of the marker is retained, the following vowel is often either completely dropped or much reduced (see Phonology no. 9): -r/-ər/-ərə/-erə/-er/-ε/-a/-ə/-rε. The marker is used in the following cases:
- a) it marks a direct object: besyâr ma-r xöu gerefta-“I felt very sleepy [lit. sleep took over me very much]”;
- b) it marks an indirect object mostly in the dative sense (as in Afghan Persian generally): yak aftε mâ-r mâlat de-“give us a week delay.”
The marker (as in LK, LP) is not added to a direct object in a generic sense (denoting a whole class of objects): meynâ âmuxtε mikonan ke meynâ yε gap bezanε-“[people] train the mayna [a species of bird] in such a way that it may speak a little.” However, instances of the marker not being added to an individualized definite direct object (as in classical Persian) have also been observed: i ki sâxtε?-“who has made/built this?”
Pronouns
- 5. The personal pronouns (due to the merging together of the third-person sing. pronouns with demonstratives) are:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| first | ma(n), mə, mε* | mâ(n), mo, mu** |
| second | to, tu | šomâ, šemâ |
| third | i, u | inâ, unâ*** |
*See Phonology no. 15b; **See Phonology nos. 8, 16; ***See Morphology no. 1.
- 6. A remarkable feature of the dialect (less frequently observed in other Khorasani dialects) is the enclitic use of the third-person pronouns both singular and plural. In Herati, these have fully replaced the third-person pronominal enclitics -eš/-aš/-ešân. The third-person pronouns when used enclitically are not stressed and may undergo certain qualitative and quantitative changes. Hence -i, -inâ may assume a more open articulation: -ệ, -ê, -ênâ (this fact can be explained by the influence of “n” since -i must have originated from in, see Phonology no. 3). Pronominal enclitic -u can be articulated more openly, while both -i and -u can be considerably shortened to the extent of non-syllabic sounds: -ĭ, -ŭ, -ŏ. The latter (more open) variant apparently goes back to the archaic pronunciation of this pronoun with the long “o”, LK ô-“he, she.” Both -ŭ and -ŏ can be preceded by the ezâfe: -ιŭ, -eŏ.