Kuwaiti Persian

Persian variety historically spoken in Kuwait

This article is about the Persian variety historically spoken in Kuwait. For Kuwaiti people of Iranian descent, see 'Ajam of Kuwait.

Kuwaiti Persian

عیمی
ʿĪmi
Native to| Kuwait
Ethnicity| 'Ajam of Kuwait

Language family

Indo-European

* Indo-Iranian
* Iranian
* Western Iranian
* Southwestern
* Persian
* Kuwaiti Persian

Language codes
ISO 639-3| None (`mis`)
Glottolog| None

Kuwaiti Persian, known in Kuwait as ʿīmi (sometimes spelled Eimi)[n 1] is a combination of different varieties of the Persian language and Achomi language[1][2] historically spoken in Kuwait.[3][4][5] Kuwaiti Persian has been spoken for generations, especially in the historical Sharq district of Kuwait City, where Iranian families had settled.[6][7]

In 2009, it was estimated that 89% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 40–70 spoke Persian fluently as their native language; whereas only 28% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 12–22 spoke Persian.[8] UNESCO recognise Kuwaiti Persian as an endangered language.[9]

## History

[edit]

Main article: 'Ajam of Kuwait

The Ajam (ʕɐjɐm) is an ethnic group in Kuwait composed of Kuwaiti citizens of Iranian descent.[10][7][11][12] Historically, Persian ports provided most of pre-oil Kuwait's economic needs.[12] The Ajam spoke a variety of dialects and sub-dialects. This mixture came to be called ʿīmi ([language] of the Ajam), over generations and generations, whereby the variety of Kuwaiti Persian developed.[7] Husseiniyat Marafi is among the oldest husseiniyas in Kuwait, as it was founded in 1905, and reading there was initially in the Persian language.[13]

Up until the 1950s, most Ajam (both Sunni and Shia) resided in the Sharq historical district in the old Kuwait City, thereby forming a linguistic enclave which preserved the language for generations.[14] They communicated in Persian between each other,[14] and did not frequently mingle with Arabic speakers until the oil-led industrialisation of Kuwait City which scattered people to the suburbs.[14] The linguistic enclave was not present any longer therefore the Ajam had to learn Kuwaiti Arabic to survive in the new environment.[14]

It is believed the Ajam community incorrectly pronounce various Kuwaiti Arabic words.[15] There is an Ajami accent of Kuwaiti Arabic, which is sometimes a subject of mockery in the media. Most recently, the media personality Fajer Al-Saeed mockingly imitated the Ajami accent of Hassan Jawhar.[16] The Persian sub-dialects of Larestani, Khonji, Bastaki and Gerashi have influenced the vocabulary of Kuwaiti Arabic.[17]

## Vocabulary

[edit]

ʿīmi has no official status and it is not standardised. As a koiné language, ʿīmi is often seen as a "childish" patois by the public.

Below is a table the compares some words in Kuwaiti and Standard Persian, as collected by Batoul Hasan. Some changes seen in Kuwaiti Persian are also common in other non-standard Persian dialects in Iran as well.

English word | In Iranian Standard Persian | In Kuwaiti Persian

|
|

Lunch | /næhɒ:r/ | /t͡ʃas/
Nose | /bi:ni:/ or /dumɒ:q/ | /pu:z/
Mum/Mom | /mɒ:mɒ:n/ | /daja:/
Pretty | /qæʃæŋ/ | /qæʃæŋin/
Beautiful | /xoʃgil/ | /qæʃæŋin/
Dinner | /ʃɒ:m/ | /ʃu:m/
Come (imperative) | /bijɒ:/ | /bijow/
It is cold | /særde/ | /sardin/
What's wrong with him/her | /t͡ʃite/ | /t͡ʃiʃin/
Excuse me/sorry | /bibæxʃid/ | /bibaxʃin/
That boy | /un pesæar/ | /pisaru/
That girl | /un du:xtær/ | /duxtaru/
One | /jek/ | /jak/
cheap | /ærzɒ:n/ | /arzu:n/
water | /ɒ:b/ | /ow/
Oh God | /aj xodɒ:/ | /ja xuda/

## Music

[edit]

In the 1990s and 2000s, the Kuwaiti record label Al-Nazaer released various music in the Kuwaiti Persian language.[18][19][20][21][22][23] Even some non-Ajam Kuwaiti musicians have released music in the Kuwaiti Persian language, such as the Miami Band (Ferqat Miami).[24][25]

## Discrimination

[edit]

See also: Anti-Iranian sentiment

According to Kuwait University professor Abdulmuhsen Dashti, the anti-preservation attitude of the Kuwaiti government towards the Persian language will eventually lead to the disappearance of the language in Kuwaiti society.[26] The government of Kuwait tries to delegitimise the use of the language in as many domains as possible.[26]

In 2008, the Kuwaiti writer Waleed Al-Rujaib was criticised[27] for releasing a novel set in the 1960s featuring the Ajam community's Persian language[28][29] and culture, Al-Rujaib considered the backlash a testament to "blind hatred for all those who are different from us".[27] The Kuwaiti television series Karimo attempted to address the identity crisis of Kuwaitis of Iranian descent.[30] The show featured Kuwaiti actors speaking fluent Persian;[30] which resulted in some racist discourse against the Ajam community.[31] The Alrai TV channel advertised the show in Persian and Arabic.[30]

In 2009, it was estimated that 89% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 40–70 spoke Persian fluently as their native language; whereas only 28% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 12–22 spoke Persian.[8] Cultural, political, and economic marginalization creates a strong incentive for Kuwaiti Ajam to abandon their language in favor of Arabic which is widely perceived as a more prestigious language.[7] This happens because Kuwaiti Ajam families want to achieve a higher social status, have a better chance to get employment and/or acceptance in a given social network so they adopt the cultural and linguistic traits of socially dominant groups with enough power imbalance to culturally integrate them, through various means of ingroup and outgroup coercion.[7] The generation of Kuwaiti Ajam born between 1983 and 1993 are reported to have a minimal proficiency in their language unlike the older generations of Kuwaiti Ajam.[8][32][7] Since the 1980s and 1990s, many Kuwaiti Ajam parents have reported an unwillingness to pass the Persian language on to their children, as it will hurdle their integration into the dominant culture.[8] The Ajam feel pressure to abandon ties that could be interpreted as showing belonging to Iran, as Persian is synonymous with Iranian, and the Persian language is actually called Iranian in Kuwaiti Arabic.[32] In several interviews conducted by PhD student Batoul Hasan, Ajam youth have shown hesitation to use or learn Persian due to stigmatisation and prejudice in Kuwait.[32][8]

In 2012, MP Muhammad Hassan al-Kandari called for a "firm legal action" against an advertisement for teaching the Persian language in Rumaithiya.[33]

UNESCO recognise Kuwaiti Persian as an endangered language.[9] The decline of Kuwaiti Persian is a reflection of the forced homogeneity of Kuwait's national identity and marginalisation of ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity among Kuwaiti citizens.[34][35] Unlike Bahrain and Dubai where the Ajam citizens still speak their language (including the youngest generations).[36]

## Education

[edit]

Standard Persian is currently taught at various institutes in Kuwait, including academic institutes, such as Kuwait University, diplomatic cultural institutes, such as the Iranian Embassy cultural office, language institutes, such as Berlitz, and religious institutes, such as Al-Imam Al-Mujtaba seminaries.[37]

In the educated elite circle, standard Persian is seen as a language with high cultural value. According to an Iranian cultural advisor to Kuwait, Khameyar said that a lot of Kuwaitis speak Persian proudly. He also added that many state officials carry conversations in Persian; including non-Ajam Kuwaitis who speak and answer in Persian with embassy officials. Khameyar also expressed his surprise from the reception their Persian language courses had received.[38]

## Further reading

[edit]

* Taqi, Hanan (2010). Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait (PDF) (PhD). Newcastle University.
* AbdulMohsen Dashti (2004). "Language Maintenance or Shift? An Ethnographic Investigation of the Use of Farsi among Kuwaiti Ajams: A Case Study". Arab Journal for the Humanities. 22 (87): 73–249.
* Batoul Hassan (2009). "Ideology, Identity, and Linguistic Capital: A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Shift Among the Ajam of Kuwait". The University of Essex.

## See also

[edit]

* Achomi language[1][2]
* Tarakma: Also called Lamerd, the ancestral homeland of many Ajam.[1][2]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Written in Arabic alphabet as "عيمي", and pronounced /ʕi:mi/ in Kuwaiti Arabic and /[ʔ]i:mi:/ in Kuwaiti Persian. Sometimes it is also referred to as ايراني "Iranian", but this could refer to the Persian language as well.)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Mehran (2 March 2023). "كتاب تاريخ جنوب فارس لارستان وبستك" (in Arabic).
2. ^ a b c khodo mania (27 April 2023). "كتاب تاريخ جنوب فارس لارستان وبستك". YouTube (in Arabic).
3. ^ Dénes Gazsi. "The Persian Dialects of the ʿAjam in Kuwait" (PDF). Stony Brook University. pp. 1–8.
4. ^ Dénes Gazsi. "The Persian Dialects of the Ajam in Kuwait" (PDF). Stony Brook University.
5. ^ Dénes Gazsi. "Dénes Gazsi - The University of Iowa - The Persian Dialects of the ʿAjam in Kuwait" (PDF).
6. ^ "The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries". scholarworks.gsu.edu. July 15, 2010. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
7. ^ a b c d e f Taqi, Hanan (2010). Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait (PDF) (PhD). Newcastle University.
8. ^ a b c d e Enam Al-Wer; Uri Horesh; Bruno Herin; Rudolf De Jong, eds. (2020). Arabic Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN 9781316865521.
9. ^ a b "Kuwaiti Persian". UNESCO.
10. ^ "Symposia Iranica - Institute of Iranian Studies" (PDF). University of St Andrews. pp. 20–21.
11. ^ "Policing Iranian Sanctions: Trade, Identity, and Smuggling Networks in the Arabian Gulf" (PDF). Naval Postgraduate School. pp. 25–27.
12. ^ a b Peterson, John (2016). J. E. Peterson (ed.). The Emergence of the Gulf States: Studies in Modern History. Bloomsbury. p. 107\. ISBN 9781472587626.
13. ^ Official Website of Husseiniyat Marafi (in Arabic). "أول برنامج بدأت به حسينية معرفي هو موسم شهري محرم وصفر من العام التالي سنة 1326 هجرية وكانت القراءة باللغة الفارسية."
14. ^ a b c d Taqi, Hanan (2010). Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait (PDF) (PhD). Newcastle University. p. 13-23.
15. ^ Asrar Johar Hayat (27 November 2018). ""كويتي مال أوّل"". Al Qabas (in Arabic).
16. ^ تضامن واسع مع نائب كويتي تعرّض لإساءة عنصرية من إعلامية (in Arabic). 15 January 2022.
17. ^ Al-Tajir (2013). Lang & Linguistic in Bahrain Mon. Routledge. p. 11\. ISBN 9781136136269.
18. ^ "Medly Irani فرقة الدانة للهبان - ميدلي ايراني". YouTube (in Persian).
19. ^ "ELBandrya فاضل كنكوني - البندرية". YouTube (in Persian).
20. ^ "Bandrya فاضل كنكوني - بندرية". YouTube (in Persian).
21. ^ "Amnzt Drogh فرقة السلام – أمنزت دروغ". YouTube (in Persian).
22. ^ "Mahlema Kalno Shorda فرقة الكواكب". YouTube (in Persian).
23. ^ "Marain Jan Dlm فرقة الأنوار – مريم جان دلم". YouTube (in Persian).
24. ^ "ميامي - بادا بادا". YouTube (in Persian).
25. ^ "Miami Band - Hala Yarom - 2008 - فرقة ميامي - هلا يارم". YouTube (in Persian).
26. ^ a b AbdulMohsen Dashti (2004). "Language Maintenance or Shift? An Ethnographic Investigation of the Use of Farsi among Kuwaiti Ajams: A Case Study". Arab Journal for the Humanities. 22 (87): 73–249.
27. ^ a b "وليد الرجيب: لا أجد حرجاً في تناول قصة يهود الكويت فحقيقة وجودهم معروفة". Al-Jarida (in Arabic). "عندما نشرت روايتي «موستيك»، قيل لي إنني أتعاطف مع الكويتيين من أصول فارسية، وغضب مني بعض المتعصبين للعروبة، أرأيت؟ هذا أسميه الكراهية العمياء لكل المختلفين عنا"
28. ^ "موستيك وليد الرجيب... أصوات المكان وتشظي السرد". Al Rai (in Arabic).
29. ^ Waleed Al-Rujaib (2008). موستيك: رواية (in Arabic). Dar Al Farabi. ISBN 9789953713120.
30. ^ a b c Andrew Hammond (2017). Pop Culture in North Africa and the Middle East: Entertainment and Society Around the World. California: ABC-CLIO. p. 143\. ISBN 9781440833847.
31. ^ "كريمو مسلسل كويتي باللغة الفارسية". September 7, 2010 - via YouTube.
32. ^ a b c Batoul Hassan (2009). "Ideology, Identity, and Linguistic Capital: A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Shift Among the Ajam of Kuwait". The University of Essex.
33. ^ الالكترونية, جريدة الآن. "ليس مقبولاً ربط الشيعة في الخليج بإيران.. بنظر د. صلاح الفضلي". Alaan Online Newspaper.
34. ^ Rana Almutawa (18 December 2018). "Monolithic Representations of 'Arabness': From the Arab Nationalists to the Arab Gulf".
35. ^ Shaikha AlBahaweed (17 January 2023). "رحلة البحث عن الهوية الكويتية: هل يؤثر التجنيس على الهوية الوطنية؟". Manshoor (in Arabic).
36. ^ Rana AlMutawa (2024). Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: Making Home in Dubai. Univ of California Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 9780520395060.
37. ^ "وضعیت زبان فارسی در کویت". motaleaatfarhangi.persianblog.ir. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
38. ^ "زبان فارسی در کویت با بار فرهنگی بالایی شناخته می‌شود- اخبار فرهنگی - اخبار تسنیم - Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم - Tasnim.

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Kuwait

Official languages|

* Arabic (Official per the Constituiton)
* English (used in some official settings but without status or legal requirement)

Native lects|

* Kuwaiti Arabic
* Kuwaiti Persian (ʿīmi/Eimi)
* Kuwaiti Sign Language

Expatriate languages|

* Various Arabic varieties
* Persian and other Southwestern Iranian lects
* Hindustani
* Tamil
* Malayalam
* Tagalog
* Indonesian
* Sinhala

Other|

| Pre-Kuwait|

* Ancient Greek
* Sumerian (Failaka Island)
* Akkadian (Failaka Island)

|

Education|

* Modern Standard Arabic (Mandatory 1-12)
* English (Mandatory 1-12)
* French (Grades 11-12)

lingua francas|

* Pidgin Gulf Arabic
* English

* v
* t
* e

Persian language

History|

* Proto-Indo-European (c. 3000 BCE)
* Proto-Indo-Iranian (c. 2000 BCE)
* Proto-Iranian (c. 1500 BCE)
* Old Persian (c. 525 – 300 BCE)
* Middle Persian (c. 300 BCE – 800 CE)
* New Persian (from 800)

Language families|

* Indo-Iranian languages
* Iranian languages
* Western Iranian languages

Dialects and varieties|

* Standard Persian
* Iranian
* Afghan
* Tajik
* Hazaragi
* Aimaq
* Kuwaiti Persian
* Tat
* Judeo-Persian
* Judeo-Tat (Juhuri)
* Bukhori
* Sistani
* Dehwari

Language features|

* Vocabulary
* Nouns
* Verbs
* Phonology

Grammar|

* Persian grammar
* Ezāfe
* Tajik grammar

Writing system|

* Old Persian cuneiform
* Pahlavi scripts
* Persian alphabet
* Persian calligraphy
* Tajik alphabet
* Romanized Persian alphabet
* Persian Braille

Literature|

* Persian literature
* Middle Persian literature
* Tajik literature

Organizations|

* Academy of Persian Language and Literature
* Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan
* Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature

Other topics|

* List of English words of Persian origin
* List of French loanwords in Persian
* List of countries and territories where Persian is an official language
* Persian language in South Asia

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template