'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎113v] (231/610)

As a community, although friends of reform, they did not
identify themselves with the constitutional movement in Persia.
Tney are, however, bitterly opposed to the intolerance of the
Shl’ah priesthood, and, in contrast to its narrow anti-foreign
attitude, they are willing to co-operate with foreigners for the
establishment of better government in Persia and may conse
quently be considered as pro-British. The free masonry existing
between them makes them very useful as intelligence agents.
E.—Languages.
The three main languages are Farsi, Turki, Mazandarani and
GllakI dialects, corresponding to the distribution of races as
described in paragraph (c) above, the population of districts
where two races meet being bilingual. Farsi is, however, the
offi'hal and the only written language throughout the area.
The Farsi spoken in different parts of the Farsi area has
only very slight local differences, and a European with a know
ledge of Persian never experiences any difficulty in understand
ing or making himself understood either in town or country.
TurM is the only language of the northern Turki districts
and no Farsi is spoken or understood except by the upper class
and a small proportion of the population of Zinjan. Further
south, where the population becomes mixed, some Farsi is also
understood, but it is more usual to find a Farsi with a know
ledge of Turki than vice versa. The Turki of these parts differs
considerably from Ottoman Turkish, and there is also consider
able variation between the Turki of Azarbaijan and the Turki
of the districts around Saveh.
Mazandarani and Gilaki dialects vary considerably in
different districts throughout the Caspian provinces. They are
akin to Farsi in origin but have now become so distinct from it
as to be quite incomprehensible to a man of Fars. Owing to
the constant intercourse between people of the Caspian pro
vinces and of the plateau, besides the local dialects of these
provinces, the language of the adjacent Elburz or plateau
districts is also generally understood, i.e. Farsi from Astarabad
to the Safid Bud valley in Gilan, but north-west of this
valley, where the Gilakis come into contact with the Turki
people of Tarum, Turki begins to supersede Farsi, and in Talish
verv little Farsi is understood.
Besides these 3 main languages of the area the tribes men
tioned in chapter VIII, which have been imported into it, retain
their original Turki, Kurdi, Kirmanji, Luri or Lakk tongues,
but have also learned the language of their neighbours.