Plural Formation in Persian Historical Texts: Morphology, Contact, and Interpretation

Abstract

This article examines plural formation in Modern Persian and its interpretive significance for historical documents. It asks how the productive native suffixes -hā and -(g)ān interact with inherited and borrowed Arabic plural forms, and what this interaction means for historians, translators, and language learners. The study uses qualitative document analysis and a purposive set of representative nouns drawn from authoritative Persian grammars, historical-linguistic descriptions, and lexicographic sources. The forms are classified by morphological strategy, animacy tendency, phonological shape, register, and likely documentary function. The analysis confirms that -hā is the least restricted and most productive plural marker, whereas -ān is favored with humans and other animate or institutionally personified referents but is not governed by animacy alone. Arabic sound and broken plurals remain especially visible in learned, legal, bureaucratic, and religious vocabulary, often alongside regular Persian alternatives. The findings show that plural choice may provide evidence about register, textual tradition, lexicalization, and contact history, but it cannot by itself establish social rank, date, or political ideology. A controlled, context-sensitive approach is therefore essential when reading Persian chronicles, decrees, correspondence, and inscriptions. The article concludes with practical recommendations for source criticism, translation, and the teaching of Persian historical morphology.