Maryam Nourzaei

Currently I have two main projects. One involves the documentation of Kholosi, an endangered Indo-Aryan language spoken in Iran. In the other project I am documenting and analysing traditions of mamabies (songs sung to new mothers) among Afro-Baloch and other communities in Iran. A further project that is ongoing concerns the Dravidian language, Brahui.

My research interests thus extend across languages spoken in Iran belonging to three different language families. Given the varieties concerned are highly endangered, documentation has been a priority, but I also investigate language contact, particularly contacts between Iranian and Indo-Aryan and Iranian and Dravidian languages.

In addition, my research focuses on endangered cultures and traditions such as healing and pregnancy traditions, particularly among Afro-Baloch communities.