The national language of Iran is Persian—this is evident when you consider that the country is alternatively called Persia. Since Persian is the Middle Eastern country’s only official language, you may assume it’s the native language of most Iranians—but in fact, only around 53% of Iran’s 86 million inhabitants speak Persian as their first language. While most learn Persian to function in day-to-day life in Iran, the truth is that Iran is filled with speakers of minority languages indigenous to the country. One of these languages, accounting for 7% of Iranians, is Luri.
Luri boasts around 4 to 5 million native speakers, so it’s pretty sizable for a minority language and one of the biggest among Iran’s dozens of indigenous languages. It’s closely related to Persian, to the point where some may consider it a dialect, but Luri is generally classified as an independent language. Important differences in vocabulary and grammar hinder mutual intelligibility, but within a few months, a native Persian speaker could adjust to the nuances of Luri. However, if Luri isn’t recognized as the independent language that it is, it could face endangerment, with a dearth of linguistic and translation resources.
At TranslationServices.com, we’re one of the few translation agencies with a translation team dedicated to Luri. If you’d like to see a free quote for our Luri translation services, all you have to do is ask!
So, what exactly is Luri, anyway?
Luri is classified as a dialect continuum of closely related Southwestern Iranian languages, which means the language is broken down into a few key dialects that stretch across the Luri-speaking region. Specifically, Luri dialects include Northern Luri (or Central Luri), Shuhani, Hinimini, Bakhtiari, Chaharmahali, and Southern Luri. Luri speakers are most prevalent in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, with significant numbers of speakers also found in Hamadan, Isfahan, and Ilam. Smaller communities exist in Gilan and some villages in neighboring Iraq.
Luri is distinguished from other Iranian languages by the relatively small influence its sustained from Arabic and Turkish. Luri has conserved far more vocabulary and grammatical features from older versions of Persian, which could make Luri sound archaic to a native Persian speaker. There’s also a great deal of diversity within Luri dialects, with the more northern varieties featuring heavier influences from Kurdish and the southern Luri dialects exhibiting more loanwords from Persian. Bakhtiari, one of the biggest Luri dialects, can be seen as a transitional language between Persian and Kurdish.
A team ready for all your Luri translation needs
Most translation companies don’t work with Luri at all. Here at TranslationServices.com, not only do we offer Luri translation services, but we’ve endeavored to build the most skilled, most flexible, and most reliable Luri translation team possible. Our translators come from different parts of Iran, representing the many different dialects of the Luri language, so if you’re looking for translation services for a particular Luri dialect, we have you covered. That applies to both translation into Luri and from Luri—with passion and precision, our Luri translators are well trained in both directions.
What kind of Luri translation services are you interested in? Perhaps a translation of your marketing materials into Luri, allowing you to attract Luri-speaking locals to your organization? Maybe a translation of historical Luri-language literature into English, enabling you to share Luri’s rich culture with people who otherwise might not have known about this Iranian minority group? Or could it be that you’re seeking translation of books, poems, games, apps, websites, or other entertainment content from English to Luri, as a way to better legitimize this important Iranian language and give speakers more ways to use and enjoy their native tongue? Whatever your reason for wanting Luri translation services, our team is happy to oblige.
We can help you connect with Luri speakers or spread your originally Luri-language message around the world. Contact us today to start working with our Luri translators!