This volume presents papers demonstrating the current state of research on oral traditions among different groups in the Iranian-speaking cultural sphere. The articles offer from a variety of perspectives, encouraging the exchange of ideas between different academic disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, literature, religious studies and folklore studies concerning methods and models applied to studies of oral traditions in Iranian languages and cultures.

This book is a selected collection of the scholarly production on Middle and New Persian literature by professor emeritus Bo Utas, Uppsala University, presented to him on his 70th birthday. Out of 19 articles, 15 are in English and four in French. Of special interest is an article entitled ‘‘Genres in Persian literature 900 to 1900’’. Other articles deal with, among other subjects, the influence from Sufism on the Classical Persian poetry, non-religious Book Pahlavi literature, Modern Persian literature, New Persian prosody, and manuscript edition.

Throughout history Balochistan has been an important contact zone between the Indian Subcontinent and the Iranian Plateau. Today Balochistan is a land divided among several states. It is a region where a variety of languages intermingle, different religions jostle for attention, and traditional ways of living are challenged by modernity. The papers in this volume explore Balochistan's linguistic, socio-political and cultural diversity. Some take a historical perspective, and others examine the dramatic developments now shaping the region.

Der vorliegende Band enthält die Beiträge eines internationalen Symposiums über Sprachkontakt in Balochistan. Das Themenspektrum reicht vom Sprachkontakt zwischen Balochi und seinen Nachbarsprachen in historischen und rezenten Zeiten über soziolinguistische Fragen der Mehrsprachigkeit bis zur Rolle des Balochi ans Minderheitensprache im heutigen Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan und den Golfstaaten. Der Band bietet eine umfangreiche und vielfältige Zusammenschau der aktuellen Forschung zum Balochi.