Case in Caspian Languages: Gilaki, Mazandarani, Talysh, Tati

In accordance with the latest classification of the Caspian languages (Gilaki, Mazandarani, Talysh and the Tati dialect group) as Central Iranian, a new non-case description of the grammar of Gilaki and Mazandarani is proposed, while confirming the traditional system of two cases in the Talysh language and in the Tati dialect group. In Mazandarani and Gilaki, instead of cases, a construction with a reverse ezāfe and a postpositional connection between the components of the phrase is proposed. A similar attributive reverse ezāfe construction in Talysh and Tati as an additional means of linking words is also identified and demonstrated. In the data of the various dialects of the Tati group diverse ways of linking words in noun phrases are observed, including the use of the oblique case.