The Online Atlas of the Languages of Iran: Design, Methodology and Initial Results

Document Type : مقالات مروری تحلیلی

Authors
1 Assistant Professor in General Linguistics, Department of English, Bakhtiari Studies Research Institute, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2 Professor in Linguistics and French, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
University
Academic rank, field / Department
Author name




Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
Assistant Professor in General Linguistics, Department of English;

Bakhtiari Studies Research Institute


Mortaza Taheri-Ardali




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Professor in Linguistics and French


Erik Anonby




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Technical Manager, Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC)


Amos Hayes




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
PhD candidate in Linguistics, Language Documentation and Revitalization


Zahra Azin




University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Master Student in Cognitive Science, Departement of Social Sciences




Zhino Ebrahimi




University of Kurdistan-Hewlêr, KRI, Iraq
Lecturer


Ergin Öpengin




University of Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Noush Azarin Atabaki




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Research Associate, Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC)




Adam Stone




Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
Scientist (retired)


Donald Stilo




Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
PhD candidate in General Linguistics


Elmira Esmaeelpour




Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Maryam Amani-Babadi




The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia
PhD candidate in Linguistics


Muhammed Ourang




Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Elham Izadi




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Geomatics Researcher, Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC)


Robert Oikle




Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Nawal Bahrani




Columbia University, New York, US
Research Scholar


Habib Borjian




Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in TEFL


Ava Bahrami




Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Hamideh Poshtvan




Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
PhD candidate in Linguistics


Shiva Piryaee




University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
PhD student in Linguistics, Department of Linguistics and English Language


Peiman Pishyardehkordi




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada



Algonquin College, Ottawa, Canada
PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics;

Instructor of English for Applied Purposes


Parisa Sabethemmatabadi




Velayat University, Iranshahr, Iran
Assistant Professor in Ancient Iranian Languages, Persian Language and Literature Department


Shima Jaafari-Dehaghi




Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
MA in (graduate) General Linguistics


Maryam Jalili Doab




Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
PhD candidate in Linguistics


Faranak Jamaleddin




Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Kamyar Joulaei




Islamic Azad University of Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Hasan Haji Shabaniyan




Payame Noor University, Department of Literature and Foreign Languages, P.O. box: 193953697, Tehran, Iran
Assistant Professor in General Linguistics


Jila Khanjani




Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Leila Dianat




Sistan va Baluchestan University, Zahedan, Iran
MA (graduate) in Linguistics


Ali Rashidi




Islamic Azad University of Khomein, Iran
MA (graduate) in Linguistics


Reza Rezvani Borujeni




Islamic Azad University of Zanjan, Iran
MA (graduate) in Linguistics


Zohreh Rahnema




Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
MA student in TEFL


Zeinab Zamani-Gandomani




University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
Research Fellow in General Linguistics


Laurentia Schreiber




Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in Linguistics


Negar Sherafat




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Professor in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies; cross-appointed in Linguistics, and Cultural Mediation


Jaffer Sheyholislami




Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in Ancient Iranian Languages and Culture


Mina Salehi




Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Mahnaz Talebi-Dastenaei




Managing Editor of Publishing House, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in Linguistics


Ali Akbar Abedian Kasgari




Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Associate Professor in General Linguistics


Maryam Sadat Ghiasian




Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Assistant Professor in General Linguistics


Mehdi Fattahi




Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
PhD candidate in General Linguistics


Saeideh Ghandi




Ilam University, Ilam, Iran
PhD candidate in TEFL


Mojtaba Gheitasi-Doolabi




High School English Teacher, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Roya Kamali




Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Linguistics, Department of Ancient Iranian Languages and Culture, Tehran, Iran
Associate Professor in Ancient Iranian Languages and Culture


Farzaneh Goshtasb




Imam Khamenei Technical Faculty, Minab, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Hassan Mohebbi Bahmani




Iranian Ministry of Education
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Mohammad Mohammadi




Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Assistant Professor in General Linguistics, Department of Linguistics and Foreign Languages


Ronak Moradi




Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
PhD (graduate) in General Linguistics


Mehrdad Meshkinfam




Azad University of Tehran - Science and Research Branch, Iran
PhD candidate in Ancient Iranian Languages and Culture


Razieh Mousavi Khoo




Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
MA (graduate) in General Linguistics


Arefe Nezhad Bahram




Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran
Assistant Professor in General Linguistics


Fatemeh Nemati




Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden and Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
Postdoctoral Researcher


Maryam Nourzaei




Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
MA (graduate) in Education


Emily Wang




Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
PhD candidate in General Linguistics


Hossein Hashemi-Zarajabad






Abstract

Iran is home to a treasury of languages representing diverse language families: Iranic, Turkic, Semitic, Indic, Dravidian, Armenian, and Kartvelian, as well as sign languages. Despite valuable research carried out by Iranian and western scholars, there is still no comprehensive publication depicting the geographic distribution and linguistic status of language varieties in Iran. In order to work toward this goal, the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) (www.iranatlas.net) was officially launched in 2015 as an international, online research programme. The present study opens with a historical overview of the research context and underlines the ongoing necessity of constructing such an atlas for the languages of Iran. The article then outlines the design of the Atlas, the methodology necessary to guide and organize the research project, and the results which are being generated. Specifically, we look at the Atlas bibliography, classification of Iran’s languages, the design of a set of linguistic data questionnaires, and findings from fieldwork. Selected initial research results from fieldwork in Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari and Hormozgan Provinces, where the research process is most advanced, are provided in the form of linguistic data maps.

Keywords

Subjects


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