| Chapter : | Brief Introduction to the Herati Dialect |
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Lexicon
The vocabulary of Herati consists of four major layers: a) words commonly used in Afghan Persian dialects; b) words commonly used in modern Persian, in contrast to Afghan Persian; c) words peculiar only to Khorasani dialects linking Herati with those dialects in Iran; d) archaic words which are not used in modern Persian (except for Khorasani) or in Afghan Persian (the latter two layers partly overlap). Examples of the archaic words are: čoġuk/čaġuk-“sparrow,” kaliz-“bee,” lombus-“the bottom part of the cheek, mouth, lips,” parιz/farιz-“verdant spot,” pušιng-“the act of spraying,” xâzε/xâza-“wrinkled, withered,” and xaw-“handful, cupped hand.” The origin of certain dialectal words is unclear: allöuv-“immoral,” faršunε-“lamentation, crying,” kezg-“Adam's apple,” korġ-“pit,” xolup-“blister,” and yẹravε-“young fellow.” Among the verbs, the peculiarly Khorasani (or Eastern Iranian) mâstan-“want; like, love” and čelâftan-“grab, seize, take” merit particular notice.