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Abstract: Religious dialects are cultural crossover phenomena, like "Judeo-Arabic" and "Christianese". A religiolect can be considered a dialect of a language that’s specific to a particular religious group. The Bahá'í Faith, too, has a nascent religiolect. Notes: Also online at academia.edu. |
An Introduction to the Baháʼí Religiolect
by Adib Masumian
published in Bahá'í Studies Review, 21, page 101–1202015
About: Religious dialects like Judeo-Arabic and Christianese have become popular topics of study in recent years. First proposed in the world of academia, the mass media-including public radio stations like PRI (Public Radio International)-have now begun to cover these 'religiolects' in their programmes. The purpose of this paper is to offer an introductory look at the religiolect of the Baháʼí Faith, a relatively recent religion founded in 19th century Persia (present-day Iran). To that end, we will explore the origins of the Baháʼí religiolect; examine the most essential loanwords of the religiolect; discuss some of the phraseology, both contemporary and historical, which composes the religiolect; and review especially extensive efforts to codify the religiolect. In striving to achieve the aforementioned goals, it is hoped that this paper will serve as a stepping-stone that others may use in their endeavours to further a greater understanding of the Baháʼí religiolect.
Download: masumian_bahai_religiolect.pdf.
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