Language study 1
- 1. Language Study: Farsi Marvyn A. Mahle TSL 660 March 30, 2010 سلام Farsi/Arabic Script: “Salam” (“Peace” or “Hello”)
- 2. What is Farsi? Farsi is the modern-day descendent of New Persian, dating from 800CE to the present. The term “Farsi” is itself derived from “Parsi”, the area called by the Greeks “Pars”, later called Persia, and today Iran. The language, like many others in Europe and Central Asia, sprang from Proto-Indo-European.
- 3. What was Proto-Indo-European? The language spoken by the Indo-Europeans, an ancient race that inhabited what is today Europe, parts of Near East, Iran, and India... Map source: indo-european.dnghu.org
- 5. Farsi Alphabet Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perso-Arabic_script
- 6. Farsi Consonants Source: http://www.lerc.educ.ubc.ca/LERC/courses/489/worldlang/persian/description/phonology.htm
- 7. Farsi Vowels Source: http://www.lerc.educ.ubc.ca/LERC/courses/489/worldlang/persian/description/phonology.htm Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_phonology
- 8. Farsi Morphology & Syntax Farsi adheres mainly to Subject-Object-Verb word order. However, case endings (e.g. for subject, object, etc.) expressed via suffixes may allow users to vary word order. Verbs agree with the subject in person and number. Almost 50% of Farsi words come from Arabic, but it has also borrowed words from English, French, and Turkic languages. Pluralization in Farsi is produced via suffixes. Farsi nouns do not indicate gender via grammar. In Farsi the question word aya, which indicates the posing of a yes/no question, appears at the beginning of a sentence. Adjectives generally follow the nouns they modify. Verbs in Farsi have two basic stems—one present and one past—and tend to be regular. Pronouns are not essential in a Farsi sentence, as verb endings provide information about the subject. Goes home would be an acceptable utterance in Farsi. The verb system in Farsi allows for subtle meanings to be expressed through prefixes and suffixes rather than through modals. Source: http://http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472030989-corrections.pdf
- 9. Sample Farsi Phrases Source: http://http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472030989-corrections.pdf
- 10. Sample Spoken Farsi Farsi Alphabet: http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/persian/alphabet_fa.mp3 Farsi Numbers: http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/persian/numbers_fa.mp3 Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Farsi: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/udhr/udhr_fa1.mp3
- 11. The Country Formerly Known as Persia... This article is a part of "Persia or Iran" by Professor Ehsan Yarshater, published in Iranian Studies, Vol. XXII, No.1, 1989. In 1935 the Iranian government requested those countries which it had diplomatic relations with, to call Persia "Iran," which is the name of the country in Persian. The suggestion for the change is said to have come from the Iranian ambassador to Germany, who came under the influence of the Nazis. At the time Germany was in the grip of racial fever and cultivated good relations with nations of "Aryan" blood. It is said that some German friends of the ambassador persuaded him that, as with the advent of Reza Shah, Persia had turned a new leaf in its history and had freed itself from the pernicious influences of Britain and Russia, whose interventions in Persian affairs had practically crippled the country under the Qajars, it was only fitting that the country be called by its own name, "Iran." This would not only signal a new beginning and bring home to the world the new era in Iranian history, but would also signify the Aryan race of its population, as "Iran" is a cognate of "Aryan" and derived from it.
- 12. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a circular to all foreign embassies in Tehran, requesting that the country thenceforth be called "Iran." Diplomatic courtesy obliged, and by and by the name "Iran" began to appear in official correspondence and news items. At first "Iran" sounded alien (for non-Iranians), and many failed to recognize its connection with Persia. Some (Westerners) thought that it was perhaps one of the new countries like Iraq and Jordan carved out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, or a country in Africa or Southeast Asia that had just been granted independence; and not a few confused it with Iraq, itself a recent entity. As time passed and as a number of events, like the Allied invasion of Iran in 1941 and the nationalization of the oil industry under Prime Minster Dr Mohammad Mosaddeq, put the country in the headlines, the name "Iran" became generally accepted, and "Persia" fell into comparative disuse, though more slowly in Britain than in the United States. The Country Formerly Known as Persia... cont'd.
- 13. English Words of Persian/Farsi Origin Shawl Pajama Taffeta Khaki Kiosk Divan Lilac Jasmine Jackal Caravan Bazaar Dervish Satrap
- 14. Further Information General information on Farsi and Iranian culture: http://www.farsinet.com Information on Farsi language, writing system, grammar, syntax, etc.: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/persian.htm ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language CIA World Factbook on Iran: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html