Aimaq dialect

Aimaq or Aimaqi () is a Persian dialect and the dominant eastern Persian ethnolect spoken by the Aimaq people in central northwest Afghanistan (west of the Hazarajat). It is close to the Dari varieties of Persian. The Aimaq people are thought to have a 5–15% literacy rate.

Dialects Subdialects of the Aimaq dialect are as follows: Chinghizi, Firozkohi, Jamshidi, Maliki, Mizmast, Taimani, Taimuri, Zainal and Zohri.

Phonology Phonetically, as one of the eastern Persian dialects, the Aimaq dialect displays typical phonological features of eastern varieties of Persian.

Vowels The "majhul" vowels ē and ō are kept separate in Aimaq, whereas in western Persian they are merged with ī and ū respectively. For instance, the identically written words شیر 'lion' and 'milk' are in western Persian both pronounced [šīr], but in Aimaq [šēr] for 'lion' and [šīr] for 'milk'. The long vowel in زود 'quick' [zūd] and زور 'strong' [zūr] is realized as [ū] in western Persian, whereas these words are pronounced as [zūd] and [zōr] respectively by Aimaq speakers. The diphthongs of early Classical Persian aw (as ow in Engl. cow) and ay (as i in English ice) have in Aimaq become (as in Engl. low) and (as in Engl. day). Dari and Iranian Persian, on the other hand, are more archaic, e.g. نوروز 'Persian New Year' is realized as , and نخیر 'no' is uttered as in Dari and Iranian Persian, and as in Aimaq. and are kept separate in word-final positions in Aimaq, whereas in western Persian, has as a word-final allophone.

Consonants Aimaq pronounces و as a bilabial consonant , which is realized as a voiced labiodental fricative in western Persian. is found in Aimaq as an allophone of f before voiced consonants. The voiceless uvular plosive (ق) and voiced velar fricative (غ) are treated as separate phonemes in Aimaq whereas in western Persian they are merged as one.A. Pisowicz, Origins of the New and Middle Persian phonological systems (Cracow 1985), p. 112-114, 117.

Aimaq dialect

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