and Bakhtiari Luri descendants), Kerman, Guilan and Tehran provinces. Phonology Vowels // may also range to a higher // in the Northern dialect. Vowels /, / may also be realized as more close [, ] within diphthongs or before glide sounds. /, / can also be heard as higher [] in Southern Luri. // can also be raised as [] or [] before semivowels. Consonants // occurs in Northern Luri. Velar fricatives /, / as equivalent to uvular fricatives /, /, occur in Northern Luri. // occurs in Southern Luri. // occurs in Northern Luri, as well as in words borrowed from Persian. // can also be heard as a trill [] in Southern Luri. // also occurs as a glide to elongate short vowels (eg. /oh/; ). [, ] occur as allophones of a labiodental approximant //. Vocabulary In comparison with other Iranian languages, Luri has been less affected by foreign languages such as Arabic and Turkic. Nowadays, many ancient Iranian language characteristics are preserved and can be observed in Luri grammar and vocabulary. According to diverse regional and socio-ecological conditions and due to longtime social interrelations with adjacent ethnic groups especially Kurds and Persian people, different dialects of Luri, despite mainly common characteristics, have significant differences. The northern dialect tends to have more Kurdish loanwords inside and southern dialects (Bakhtiari and Southern Luri) have been more exposed to Persian loanwords. See also Bakhtiari dialect Borujerdi dialect Dialects of Fars References Further reading Freidl, Erika. 2015. Warm Hearts and Sharp Tongues: Life in 555 Proverbs from the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Vienna: New Academic Press. F. Vahman and G. Asatrian, Poetry of the Baxtiārīs: Love Poems, Wedding Songs, Lullabies, Laments, Copenhagen, 1995. External links Bakhtiari tribe Lori dialect, Encyclopædia Iranica Luri language: How many languages? - By Erik John Anonby - The Royal Asiatic Society, 2003 - Printed in the UK Languages of Iran Southwestern Iranian languages