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The Korosh people are scattered across large areas of southern Iran, from Hormozgan all the way to Khuzestan, and onto the Iranian plateau. This group, which numbers over 10,000 people, is found in significant concentrations near Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan Province, in north-western Fars Province around Shiraz, and across the southern part of Fars Province. 

Although oral accounts situate the provenance of the Korosh in Balochistan, and their language is closely related to southern varieties of Balochi, they have a distinct identity. Some affirm a historical and ethnic connection to the Baloch, but others view themselves as an autonomous tribe; in north-western Fars Province, members of the group maintain an affiliation with the larger Qašqā’i tribal confederacy.

The present work contributes to the study of the Korosh through the lens of their language, Koroshi. The corpus for this study has been gathered among speakers of the dialect of Koroshi spoken around Shiraz. The book opens with a brief overview of the Korosh people and their culture. The main part of the study consists of an in-depth, corpus-based description of the phonology and morphosyntax of the Koroshi language; a corpus of seven glossed and translated texts of different genres; and a glossary of more than 1200 items. This documentation is supplemented with a CD containing soundfiles of the texts, a searchable PDF of the book, and images of the Koroshi community.

Laraki, a Southwestern Iranian language variety heavily influenced by Arabic, is spoken on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This study is a survey of language use by the Larakispeaking community and is based on a field trip conducted in January 2009. In our research, we provide an overview of the language community, define the language and its varieties, and examine patterns of language use, attitudes and vitality. Responses from speakers of Laraki provide a fascinating window into the ethnic identity of the Laraki community, most of whose ancestors come not from Iran, but from Arabia. While a lexicostatistical comparison of Laraki with Musandam Kumzari show a high degree of lexical similarity, recorded text tests (RTTs) reveal that intelligibility of Musandam Kumzari to speakers of Laraki is marginal. Taking linguistic considerations and speakers’ perceptions into account, we conclude nonetheless that Laraki and Musandam Kumzari should be considered dialects of a single language, Kumzari. In our investigation of language use, a striking pattern of adaptive multilingualism emerges in which speakers of Laraki normatively select one of several languages (Laraki, Farsi, Arabic and at least one regional variety such as Qeshmi, Hormuzi or Bandari) according to domains of use and limitations in the proficiency of their audiences. Although use of the mother tongue is vigorous in domestic and traditional work-related domains, and speakers’ attitudes toward their language are overwhelmingly positive, the small size of the language community and the history of social upheaval in the region place the community at risk.