Just 50 years ago Jews in Iran spoke a wide variety of languages, depending where they lived, such as Judeo-Shirazi, Judeo-Hamadani, Judeo-Isfahani, and Judeo-Kermani. These languages are so different from Persian that they are not understood by Persian monolinguals at all. Because the speakers of these languages are mostly in their 70s or older, these languages are endangered. If we do not record these speakers soon, their languages will be lost forever.

Luckily, some linguists, volunteer interviewers, and community organizations are collaborating to record people who speak these languages and ask them how they say certain words. How can you help? If you know someone from Shiraz, Hamadan, Kashan, etc., who may speak one of these languages, please complete this form. Or you can contact the interviewer, Haideh Herbert-Aynehchi, at haidehherbert@hotmail.com or 310-666-2632.

Another way you can help is to contribute financially to the project: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/HebrewUnionCollegeJewishInstituteofReligion/help-preserve-iranian-jewish-languages.

Finally, you can publicize the initiative by sharing this form with your Iranian Jewish friends and relatives or anyone else who might be interested.

The Iranian Jewish Language Documentation Project is a collaborative initiative of the HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project, the Endangered Language Alliance, Wikitongues, The Living Tongues Institute, and the Y&S Nazarian Iranian Young Leadership Initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.