With the addition of 4 special letters for Persian sounds proper, which have no analogues in Arabic. Although the core of the vocabulary is Iranian words, there are a lot of borrowings, especially from Arabic (50-60% of all words), there are also numerous borrowings from Turkish, French, and English.

The modern Persian language has been formed over the past 70-80 years on the basis of colloquial Persian dialects and classical Farsi-Dari, which was the basis on which 3 related languages ​​developed - Persian (Farsi), Tajik and Afghan Dari. Therefore, each of these languages ​​can consider its entire huge literary heritage Farsi-Dari written - works by Rudaki, Firdowsi, Omar Khayyam, Saadi, Gafiz, Rumi, Jami and others.

The modern Persian language differs from the classical one at all linguistic levels - in phonetics, morphology, syntax, vocabulary. The oral form of the literary language is based on the Tehran dialect, in many cases it is used, even if it contradicts the norms of the literary language. Other Persian dialects are also known: Kerman, Isfahan, Novgan (Mehshed), Birjend, Sistan, Sebzevar, etc. In general, the dialects are little studied, some of them differ markedly from each other and, according to some linguists, are in fact separate closely related languages, in which the literary form is the same, but different live conversational broadcasting.


1. Genetic classification

Persian belongs to the southwestern subgroup of the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family. The closest relatives of this language are the Luro-Bakhtiyar dialects, which may have developed from the early New Persian language (VII-VIII centuries), as well as the Tat language, which is common in Azerbaijan. A few distant relatives of the Farsi language are the ancient dialects of Fars, the dialects of Larestanu and Bashkardi, which, like Persian, originate from the Middle Persian language.


2. History

Over a thousand-year history, the New Persian language has been powerfully influenced by the Arabic language (less noticeably in classical poets): not only words, but also productive word-formation models, grammatical elements, phraseological units and formulas have been actively borrowed from Arabic, especially in the official and scientific languages. Even many original words have changed their phonetic composition under Arabic influence (starting with the word f?rsi itself, instead of p?rsi). In the 19th century, borrowings from Western European languages ​​\u200b\u200b(French and English) began.

In the 1930s, after the establishment of the nationalist ideology of Shah Reza Pahlavi, the Academy of the Persian Language was created, which sought to "purify" the language from Arabicism and Western European words, restore and invent new words with a Persian root. After the abdication of the Shah in a year, this activity came to naught. The reforms were briefly resumed by Mohammed Reza Shah's son in the 1970s. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the process of "cleansing" the language stopped, Arabisms and Western borrowings are again widely used. A new Academy of Persian Language and Literature was created in 2010, and has already published 6 collections of neologisms.

Modern literary Persian language differs significantly from the classical one on virtually all language levels - in phonetics (mainly in vocalism), in morphology, in syntax, in vocabulary. There is a trend of convergence of the literary language with the spoken language, which can be traced in the work of Iranian writers since the beginning of the 20th century.


3. Distribution and dialects

3.1. Dialects

Distribution of Perso-Tajik dialects

Differences between the colloquial forms of the Persian language undoubtedly existed already in the era of the formation of the New Persian literary norm, and later, due to political fragmentation and the vast space covered by the expansion of colloquial Persian, they only grew. However, due to the persistence and uniformity of the written tradition until the 19th century, regional differences in the literary language were insignificant, and local differences in colloquial speech can be traced only on the basis of dialect forms, which occasionally fell into literary works.

A large array of Persian-Tajik dialects, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Fergana Valley, has not been fully described and classified due to the poor development of dialectology in Iran and Afghanistan and the lack of descriptions of many dialects. In general, it can be divided into Western Farsi Iran and oriental Farsi, underlying Tajik and Dari, as well as some transitional groups:

  • Western Farsi dialects distributed primarily in the central regions of Iran (in the so-called "Persian Iraq": Hamadan, Qazvin, Merkez (or Erak proper) Qom, Tehran, Isfahan, Kermanshah). These include the leading dialect of Iran - Tehran.
  • Dialects Khorasan: from Tehran to the Afghan border. Transitional group in Eastern Farsi, which also has close dialects Kuhistan(Southern Khorasan), Sistan (border of Iran and Afghanistan) and further western dialects of Afghanistan: Herat (Farsiwaniv) of the Hazaras ("language Khazar "), charaymaks. In the south, Sistan is bordered by dialects of the Persian-speaking Baloch group, which are called dekhvari (Iranian and Pakistani Balochistan)
  • Dialects Tajiks distributed in the east and north of Afghanistan (with the leading dialect of Kabul), as well as in the west of Pakistan. Further north, they pass into dialects of Tajikistan and separate enclaves in Uzbekistan (Bukhara, Samarkand, Nurota, Chust, etc.).

Thus, in the 20th century, a diasystem of three national languages, dialects are usually divided according to the languages ​​​​of the countries where they exist, despite the fact that the borders of states practically do not correspond to the borders of dialect groups:

All three literary norms, although they show disagreements primarily in vocabulary, phonetics, and to a lesser extent in grammar, they are markedly conservative, so educated speakers in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan can usually easily understand each other. Together, daily local dialects can differ quite significantly, especially for the extreme dialects of the Perso-Tajik continuum (zahidno-Iranian and Pivnichno-Tajik).


3.2. Number of media

As the language of interethnic communication, literature, media and other spheres of public life, Farsi is the second language for representatives of other peoples of Iran: both Iranian-speaking (Kurds, Lurivs, Balochs, Mazenderans, etc.) and non-Iranians (Azerbaijanis, Arabs, Turkmens, Armenians, etc.). Small groups of Persian migrants, naturalized, ("Iran") are also distributed in the Persian Gulf countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, United Arab Emirates (Ajam), as well as in Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Central Asia (Central Asian Iranians)


4. Phonetics

Persian has 6 vowel phonemes - i, e, ?, ?, o, u, 2 diphthongs - o͡u, e͡i and 22 consonant phonemes.

4.1. Loud

In the modern language, the opposition by longitude has changed by phonological opposition by quality, supplemented by opposition by stability and - instability in a weak (unstressed) position. In various regional variants, the transformation of classical vocalism took place differently. In Iranian Farsi, unstable vowels correspond to short classical vowels, stable vowels correspond to long ones, while ē coincides with ī and ō with ū:

Unstable vowels differ from stable ones in that they are more subject to reduction in an unstressed position. In shock positions, the longitude of the unstable ones practically does not differ from the stable ones. Loud / ɒ / acts as a rounded back sound, perceived by Ukrainian speakers almost like a long / o /.


4.2. Consonants

The phonemes /p/, /t/, /k/ tend to be aspirated, especially before stressed vowels and sonorant consonants, and also at the end of a word: پول pul"money", توپ tup"ball" [tʰ up]. /K/ and /g/ are palatalized at the end of a word and before front vowels: گرگ gorg"wolf". Voiced consonants at the end of a word practically do not deafen.

In addition, the phonemes /k/ and /g/ tend to be back-palatal pronunciations before the vowels [ā], [u], [o]. (For example, this is how the first / g / in the word wolf- [ġorg "]).

In classical Persian, as in modern Tajik and Dari, two uvular phonemes were distinguished: fricative / ʁ / (in specific Persian words, Arabisms and Turkism) and breakthrough / q / (only in Arabisms and Turkism). In modern Iranian Farsi, these two phonemes coincided in one, which is transliterated as q. It has two voiced allophones: fricative [ʁ] and breakthrough [ɢ]. The breakthrough variant occurs at the beginning of a word.

With the development of Arabic-Persian bilingualism and the expansion of the consumption of the Persian language lexicon replenished big amount Arabisms. According to rough estimates, Arabisms make up 14% in the vocabulary of material culture, 24% in the intellectual sphere, 40% in the usual literary text. Most Persian Arabisms can be replaced by specific Persian equivalents, which often happens. On the other hand, many daily specific Persian words have "high" Arabic equivalents.

Another major component of the Persian vocabulary is Turkisms, which penetrated primarily into the vocabulary associated with the army, life, and cattle breeding. A layer of Indo-Aryan vocabulary is also noticeable.

In modern times, Western Farsi was actively penetrated by European borrowings, primarily from French and English.


7. Writing


7.1. ABC

Arabic script
Story? Transliteration
Numbers? Numbers
Other signs and letters
diacritics
Gamza? Tanvin? Shadda
But marbuta ة ? Alif Maksoor ى
Lam-alif لا
Solar and lunar letters
Additional letters

? O ?
isolatedInitialMediumUltimateNameLat.
transliteration.		IFAkir.
transliteration
آ / ا ا ا alefā, a, [Ɒ], [?], [ʔ] a, e
ب ب ب b[B]b
پ پ پ p[P]P
ت ت ت t[T]T
ث ث ث s[S]With
ج ج ج Jimj / ǰ [ʤ] j
چ چ چ Chec/ch [ʧ] h
ح ح ح ha-ye hottih[H]X
خ خ خ khex / kh[X]X
- - د dald[D]d
- - ذ zalz[Z]With
- - ر r [ɾ] R
- - ز z[Z]With
- - ژ zhe? /zh [Ʒ] same
س س س sins[S]With
ش ش ش ?in? /sh [Ʃ] w
ص ص ص sads/s[S]With
ض ض ض , [J], [i]and, and, her

All letters in a word are written together, with the exception of 7 monthly letters, they do not connect with the following after themselves, therefore they have only two graphic options (isolated and final): aleph (ا), gave (د), hall (ذ), re (ر), ze (ز) same (ژ) and wav (و).


8. Relationship with other Indo-European languages

In addition to the similarity of the Indo-European peoples of the cultural plan, there is a linguistic relationship, which makes it possible to unite the Indo-European languages ​​into a single family. Common features in vocabulary and grammar are explained by the common origin of these languages ​​from the Proto-Indo-European language. When comparing the ancient language layers, one can observe more common features. Related words can also arise through borrowings.

The table shows several examples showing the relationship of Persian with other Indo-European languages.

ancient Persianmiddle PersianNew Persianancient GreekLatinGermanEnglishUkrainianSwedish
pitarpidarpedar Persian. پدر patēr πατήρPaterVaterfatherfatherfa(de)r
matarmad (ar)madar Persian. مادر mētēr μήτηρmaterMuttermotherhavemo(de)r
brotherbrad (ar)baradar Persian. برادر adelphos ἀδελφόςfraterBruderbrotherBrotherbro(de)r
? ducht (ar)dochtar Persian. دختر thygatēr θυγατήρfiliaTochterdaughterdaughterdotter
namannamnam Persian. نام onoma ὄνομαnomenNamenameNamenamn
dadā-tanaiydadandadan Persian. دادن didōmi δίδωμιdaregebengivegivegiva/ge
hischta-tanaiyawischtadanisdan Persian. ايستادن histēmi ἵστημιsisteresich stellenstandbecomest?lla sig
manā (mich)man (ich, mich)man (ich) Persian. من eme ἐμέmeMichme (ich, mich)to memig
pantschapandschpandsch Persian. پنج pente πέντεquinquef?nffivefivefem
haftahafthaft Persian. هفت hepta ἑπτάSeptembersiebensevensevensju
utāudwa/o Persian. و kai καίetundandioch
rastarastrast Persian. راست orthos ὀρθόςrectusrecht, richtig, rechtsrightrightr?tt, riktig(t), h?ger
yaugdschogdschokskōmma σκῶμμαiocusJuxjokejokesk?mt

9. Borrowings from Persian to Ukrainian

Borrowings from the Persian language are called iranisms, although the term iranism itself is broader. In total, Iranianisms include borrowings from all Iranian languages, both ancient (Avestan, Old Persian, Scythian) and modern (Persian, Tajik Kurdish).

Not very many lexemes got into Ukrainian from the Persian language. First of all, these are such borrowings as gourds, balagan, bazaar, which came to Ukrainian through the Turkic languages.


10. Study in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the Persian language has been taught and researched again since independence. Then, with the participation of a student of Academician A. Krymsky, an outstanding orientalist Emelyan Pritsak, the Institute of Oriental Studies was created, which was named after A. Krymsky, with a branch in Simferopol, and a department of oriental studies was opened at Kiev University to train connoisseurs of oriental languages. Oriental languages, apart from Kyiv and Lvov, are now taught in Kharkov, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kramatorsk, Ostrog, Lugansk, and Simferopol.

Now Persian language courses are taught in the following universities:


Notes


Literature

  • Persian-Ukrainian Dictionary (compiled by Ph.D. Mazepov O.V., assistant. Bocharnikova A.M.), Kyiv: ed. Kyiv University.
  • Practical course of translation from Persian: manual for a practical course from Persian for third-year students / Kiev National Linguistic University; way of life Okhrimenko M.A. - M.: Ed. center of KNLU, 2010. - 175 p. : Tab. - Text in parallel Ukrainian. and pers. languages.
  • Peysikov L. S. Tehran dialect - M., 1960.
  • Rubinchik Yu.A. Modern Persian - M., 1960.
  • Rubinchik Yu.A. Grammar of the modern Persian literary language - M., 2001.
  • Ovchinnikova I. K. Textbook of the Persian language (آموزش زبان فارسی) - M .: Publishing House Philology TRI, 2002. - 3000 copies.
  • Romanchenko, Andrey A. Aviation terminology of the modern Persian language (characteristics, classification, creations and means of replenishment): Abstract of the thesis. dis. cand. philol. Sciences: 10.02.13 National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Oriental Studies. A. Yu. Krymsky. - M., 2010.
  • Bocharnikova, Anna Mikhailovna The norm and usage of the Persian language in translated lexicology: Abstract of the thesis. dis. cand. philol. Sciences: 10.02.13 National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Oriental Studies. Krymsky. - K., 2009

Persian is one of the 10 oldest languages, which includes Tamil, Lithuanian, Icelandic, Hebrew, Macedonian, Basque, Finnish, Georgian and native Irish. These languages, which the magazine "Culture" listed in its report, noting their current positions in different countries of the world, presented as 10 oldest languages ​​of the world.

In the introduction of this report, it was stated: "The evolution of a language is similar to biological evolution, occurs very subtly from generation to generation, so there is no dividing point that distinguishes one language from the next language, which is formed from the first ... This is why it is impossible to say that one language older than any other language, since they are all as old as humanity itself.

Thus, each language listed below has a special distinction that distinguishes it from others. " In this report, pointing out the difference in the Persian language, against the backdrop of a large number of its speakers, as in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as minor changes in this language for for long years, says: "Today, native speakers of Persian can read a record written in 900 much more easily than an Englishman when he tries to read the works of Shakespeare."

Page from a copy of the Panchatantra, 1429 from Herat

For many centuries, the Iranians have kept the sweet Farsi language in their warm arms as a precious pearl, developed, processed and made it more beautiful day by day. The term "sweet" has been used in Persian for a long time and refers to the lightness and softness of this language. The Manichaean texts, Avesta and Pahlavi materials indicate the sweetness of the language. This term has been used for a long time about speech, and then the Iranians and foreign Iranianists used it only in relation to the language. "Sweet Persian", "Farsi - sugar" and the term "Persian sugar" are used only in connection with the Persian language (Farsi), and not other languages. The sweet Persian language went through a rather long period, and turned into its current form. The history of the Persian language is also like a history ancient territory Iran is ancient and has risen from millennia.

What we today call the Persian language is the germ of the language of a group of so-called Indo-European languages. In connection with the common characteristics of the Persian language with the language of the Indians, he made up the group of the Indo-Iranian language branch with the Indian languages.

In the past millennia, the Indians took the route on the other side of the Hindu Kush, and the Persians settled in the territory called Iran. Then, the Iranian language group began its development. Iranian languages ​​spread to large area, from Maverannakhr and to the banks of the Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers in the east. In the north, it covered the Great Khorasan, Kharazm, the Caucasian regions and the shores of the Caspian Sea. In the west to Mesopotamia and in the south to the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ​​Oman.


Distribution map of Iranian languages

The spread of Iranian languages, which occurred in antiquity, this moment also continues. These languages ​​spread not only on the territory of today's Iran, but also in Central Asia, the Transcaucasus, Afghanistan and other countries in the Middle East.

From the point of view of linguists, Iranian languages ​​in this large area are related languages, derived from ancient language, which is called mother tongue. The same origin, homogeneity of the main words and grammar of these languages ​​testify to their relationship. The basis of the origin of these languages ​​from the Iranian language group lies not in the current geographical or political boundaries of Iran, but the criteria for the relationship of these languages ​​are international linguistic criteria. Based on this, Ossetian, which is spoken in the Caucasus, the Yaghnobi language, spoken in the Yaghnob and Pashto valleys, which is spoken in Afghanistan, from the point of view of science and modern linguistics, are part of the Iranian languages.

There are three main periods in the history of the Persian language: the first period, which is called ancient. This period begins when the first signs of Iranian languages ​​appeared. This period lasted until the end of the power of the Achaemenid dynasty. The two main languages ​​in which there is valuable literature, i.e. Old Persian representing the language of the Achaemenid inscriptionsand the language of the Avesta, which is the language of the Zoroastrian religious books, belong to this period.


Manifesto of Kurosh the Great in Old Persian cuneiform

During this period, languages, like many ancient languages ​​of the world, have complex grammar. In them, nouns are declined in 7-8 cases. Verbs have compound tenses. In addition, masculine, feminine, and neuter genders play a role in grammar. In addition to the singular and plural, there is a dual.

Second period or middle period Persian language began at the end of the Achaemenid period and continued until the beginning of the Islamic period. During this period, on a large territory, according to linguistic and geographical bases Languages ​​are divided into two groups: Western and Eastern. The eastern group of languages ​​includes the Sogdian, Khorezmian, Scythian and Bactrian languages. The languages ​​of the western group include: Parthian and Middle Persian. There is valuable literature in these languages, including translations, comments on the Avesta, philosophical, theological and religious books, such as "Dincard", "Bundahishn", "Fragments of Zadsparam", Pahlavi texts, "Shekand Gumanik Vichar" and many other works.


Shapur inscription in Middle Persian

During this period, the Iranian language underwent great changes. Phonetic system very simplified. The declension of nouns, adjectives and pronouns has disappeared from these languages. Verb inclinations have been greatly simplified. The gender and dual number disappeared, and the ground was prepared for the appearance of the Dari pearl. Then the third or new period Iranian languages, a developed and strengthened language, i.e. Sweet Persian has found itself in a new period to become the language of poetry, literature, culture, science, religion, love and mysticism.

The structure and syllabary system of the Persian language has unique features that amaze linguists. Simple pronunciation of letters, beautiful rhythm of words, simple grammar and word formation ability are featuresPersian. Due to the agglutinative structure, the Persian language can build words indefinitely. This feature only exists in a few languages. An agglutinative language suggests that the formation of new dictionary words with various meanings occurs by adding additional parts (affixes) to the stem or root: suffixes, prefixes, etc.

However, the secret of the long life of the sweet Persian language is not only in its phonetic, linguistic and grammatical systems. That which kept the Persian language up to today, this thinking that was expressed in this language. Basically, this Iranian thinking expressed in Persian has led to the survival and dynamism of that language.

We still have the Avesta, which has come down from the depths of centuries. We draw the human messages of Zoroaster from the pages of the Avesta. During the Sassanid period, our language conveyed a rich culture. The science and philosophy of Greece and India, both through contacts with scientists and through the books of these countries, enriched our cultural and linguistic components. The literature of the Sassanid dynasty, which was created during the period of early Islam, is very rich. From this period there was a book "Dincard", which describes the most complex religious and philosophical issues. Reflecting on the words and terms of this book, one can understand the depth of the abilities and possibilities of the Persian language. The book "Shekand Gumanik Vichar" confronts the reader with strong verbal and scientific literature in the dialogue between religions. The reader is surprised by the strong rhetoric of the time. The language of the book "Yadegar-e Zariran" is epic, it speaks of heroes. The book "Derakht-e Asurig" (Assyrian Tree) depicts pleasant pictures between a palm tree and a goat, and the book "Khosrow va Ridag" talks about the most beautiful flowers, perfumes, games, coatings and foodstuffs.

At the end of the time of the Sassanids, the beginning of the Islamic period, the Persian language with such rich history becomes such a language that takes the leading position, and does not even yield to a new phenomenon, like the Arabic language. The Persian language consciously attracts words to itself and presents them within its own limits, that after more than two hundred centuries, the language of that time is familiar to the Iranians.

Iranians don't need a dictionary to understand Rudaki's Qasida:

Muliyan was suddenly blown by a wave,

She reminded me of my love.

The Persian language turned into an Iranian essence and was recognized when Yakub Leys Sistani said to the poets of his palace: " Call me in the language that is my language". The emirs of the Sassanid dynasty ordered to speak and write in Persian and considered the language one of the foundations of the state. From this period, translations of the Holy Quran into Persian began. So, the treasury of Persian words was protected from the dangers of the times, and the ground was prepared for the emergence of Shahnam -e Ferdowsi A book that until today has been and will forever be in history a document proving the identity of the Iranians.


Ferdowsi, creator of the Shahnam-e

Persian is sweet. He is eternal. Its foundation is not broken. This is a palace that is not harmed by wind or rain. Since this seed of communication was planted everywhere in Iran, it was strengthened by the speakers of this language beyond the borders of Iran. New flowers will blossom from it and there will be fresh fruits.

Dear radio listeners, let's end this program with a poem by the great Iranian poet, Ferdowsi:

I've worked so hard for thirty years

revived the Persian language of the Iranians,

He built a high palace with poetry,

Which will not destroy not the wind, not the rain

The Persian language, also known as Farsi, deserves to be noticed by all lovers. foreign languages. And now I'll tell you why.

1. Beauty

Iranians have a saying "fārsi shirin ast" - "Farsi is sweet". Melody, lingering, warm sounds - this language seems to have been specially created for poetry and songs. Here is one review: “When I listen to Iranians, there is a feeling as if honey is flowing down my ears, when I speak, or rather I try, a unique feeling of sweetness, sherbet, grapes of tenderness arises in my mouth, which I don’t want to part with.”

2. Simplicity of grammar

If you are a lover of exceptions, furious grammar, irregularly shaped tablets, then please do not take up Farsi. I once saw on the Internet a list of Persian grammar rules that fit on two Word pages. There are no gender and number agreements in Farsi, there are no cases, the endings of verbs are the same in all tenses. You will be able to hold basic conversations soon after you start learning.

3. Imagery

But with vocabulary it will be more difficult. All Iranians are a bit poets, and their language is part poetry. Judge for yourself, here are the ordinary expressions of everyday speech: “my thought fell to the fact that ...”, “my soul wants to tell you that ...”, “I will sacrifice myself for you”, “my soul”, “your place was empty” (it is a pity that you were not there), "my heart wants ...", "let your hands know no pain." Such expressions are found in Farsi at every turn.

4. Key to other languages

For historical reasons, Farsi influence can be seen in in large numbers languages: Hindi, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish, Azeri... Not knowing Turkish, I was able to understand individual words on the plane ticket, but I understand Hindi almost every word.

5. Persian poetry

This goal alone may be enough. Omar Khayyam, Hafiz, Saadi, Rumi - they all wrote in Persian. Our translations of their works either sacrifice meaning for form or vice versa. In translation, we will never hear the music of their poems, never understand their true greatness. Having learned Farsi, you will be able to understand them, because the language has not changed much since then.

6. Cinema

The fact that Iranian cinema is very strong is known only to a narrow circle of fans. Now you know too. Iranians make deep and touching films. Majid Majidi, Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi (who has already received two Oscars), Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami - I advise everyone, not even interested in Farsi, to watch their films. Well, if you understand Farsi, you will get double pleasure and will be able to look into the heart of the Persian soul.

7. Original culture

Persian culture is an unusual mixture of ancient Zoroastrian and Islamic traditions. Everything is different in Iran, they even have their own calendar. Do you know what book is considered the Bible here, is in every home, and is placed on the table on holidays? Think Quran? No, this is a collection of poems by Hafiz. This very clearly shows the originality of Persian culture. Even Islam is different here, for example, it is allowed to portray people.

8. Travel

Iran is one of the most underrated tourist spots on the planet. It's safe here and there are no terrorists. But there is varied nature(from snowy mountains to hot deserts) and a rich historical heritage ancient persia: Isfahan, Shiraz, Persepolis, five thousand years old Yazd… But for a smooth journey you will need a minimum knowledge of Farsi. locals usually do not speak English.

9. Iranians

Without knowing the language, you will not be able to talk to the locals, and you will miss a lot. Iranians are very friendly and kind people, and their hospitality is a real art. They will try their best to help you, arrange a real feast in your honor (Iranian cuisine is very tasty) and may offer to give you any thing that you praise in their house (it is better to be polite and refuse).

Even if you speak a little Farsi, the Iranians will blossom and say a lot of compliments to you. Many travelers note that the most wonderful impression, despite all the beauties of Iran, they have left precisely with the locals.

10. Opportunity to chat with a native speaker

Maybe you still do not have the opportunity or desire to go to Iran. It doesn't matter - you can find Iranians in Russia. There are already many Iranians coming to Russia, and there will be even more, because visas for tourist groups have just been cancelled. And if you make friends with them here, then you are guaranteed an invitation to Iran! And you don't have to be afraid of them. Of course, everywhere bad people and you have to be vigilant. But among the Iranians there are a lot of educated and interesting, absolutely modern people who are worth talking to.

What to say in conclusion? Run to learn Farsi! Joke. You probably won't need Persian for a career or other practical achievement. But it can certainly become your language for the soul!

Persian language(فارْسِى (fārsi)) used many different scripts, including Old Persian cuneiform, Pahlavi, Aramaic, and Avestan, and . After the Muslim conquest of the Persian state of the Sassanids in 642, Arabic became the language of state power culture and especially religion.

The modern Persian language appeared during the ninth century. Persian is written using a variation of the Arabic alphabet. In addition, the Persian language contains many words of Arabic origin. There are also two methods of writing Persian using the Latin alphabet.

During the period of Mongol and Turkish rule, Persian functioned as the language of government in Turkey, Central Asia and India, where it was used for many centuries, and after 1900 in Kashmir.

The Persian language is part of the Iranian branch and has about 130 million speakers, mainly in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A significant number of Persian speakers also live in other countries, including Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Israel, Turkmenistan, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

In Afghanistan, the Persian language is known as Dari (درى), or Persian Dari, and in Tajikistan as the Tajik language (Tojiki / تاجيكى).

Persian alphabet

Persian, Farsi or Parsi?

On English language and other languages, the official language of Iran is sometimes called "Farsi". This is the correct transliteration of the language's self-name, although many experts, including international organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, prefer to call this language Persian. Some Persian speakers use the older local name: Parsi (پارسی).

Iran or Persia?

Until 1935, modern Iran was officially called Persia. Despite this, the Persians have called their country Iran since the reign of the Sassanids (226-651).

Persian, or Farsi, is the official language of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It belongs to the Iranian group of the Indo-European family of languages. It is also spoken in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Pamirs (although the form of the language is more archaic there). Just a hundred years ago, this language was much more common - from the Middle East to India. The total number of Farsi speakers is quite large: 65 million in Iran, about 7 million in Tajikistan; plus Dari (Farsi dialect): 34 million in Afghanistan and about 2 million in Pakistan.

In addition to Persian, the Iranian group of languages ​​includes many modern living languages: Balochi, Gilyan, Dari, Kurdish, Mazendaran, Ossetian, Pashto, Tajik, Talysh, Tat, etc. The Iranian group also includes dead languages: Avestan, Alan, Bactrian, Old Persian, Median, Parthian, Saka, Scythian, Sogdian, Middle Persian (Pahlavi), Khorezmian.

There are three periods in the history of the Persian language: ancient, middle, new.

ancient period(VI-III centuries BC) is represented by the ancient Persian language, which was distributed in the southwestern part of the Iranian plateau (modern Fars province). The ancient Persian language is attested by cuneiform inscriptions of the Achaemenid dynasty (VI-IV centuries BC), made on the walls and architectural details of palaces, tombs of kings, rocks, etc. The sacred book of the Zoroastrians Avesta is also written in one of the dialects of the ancient Persian language, which they called in honor of the holy book - Avestan. And the language of the most ancient part of the Avesta (Gats - hymns) according to sound composition and grammatical forms is so close to the ancient Indian (Vedic Sanskrit) that both of them can be considered as dialects of one common proto-language of the Aryans. Both Old Persian and Avestan have a rich inflectional system with a pronounced grammatical category of gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), three numbers (singular, dual, plural) and cases (there are seven in Old Persian and eight in Avestan).

Middle period(III century BC - VII century AD) is represented by the Middle Persian language (Pahlavi). It is written and literary language Iran of the Sassanid era (224-651 AD). It is based on Istakhra - a dialect of the capital of one of the southern provinces of Iran - Fars (Persia), the homeland of the Sassanids. The reign of this dynasty was the heyday of writing in the Middle Persian language. Later, having ceased to be the language of living communication, Middle Persian remained as a written language for many centuries, mainly among the Zoroastrians. Two categories of monuments in the Middle Persian language have come down to us: those written in the Pahlavi script and created using other types of writing. The monuments of the first category include: inscriptions on various structures, tombstones, rocks, coins, seals, amulets, vessels, as well as quite extensive Zoroastrian literature of spiritual and secular content. The writing of the Middle Persian language was based on Aramaic alphabet. The oldest example of book writing is the Christian Pahlavi Psalter (translated from Syriac). The manuscript dates from around the 7th century AD. e. The Psalter was found in Bulayik (north of Turfan). Quite a few examples of Zoroastrian literature have come down to us, mainly of a religious content: Bundahishn (World Creation), which sets out the views of the Zoroastrians on the creation of the world, “Datastan and menoye hrat” (“Judgments higher mind”), “Pandnamak and Zardusht” (“The Book of Instructions of Zoroaster”), etc. Monuments created using other types of writing include: Manichaean texts written in Manichaean and Sogdian script and Turkic runic writing. Manichaean texts are also religious in content. Pahlavi, in comparison with Old Persian, is characterized by a simplification of morphology, a change in syntax, as well as some phonetic shifts. It is dominated by the features of the analytical system. As a result of the collapse of flexion, already in a very early period of its development, it loses grammatical categories gender and case, dual number, verb forms change significantly. During the period of domination of the Arab Caliphate in Iran (7th-10th centuries AD), Arabic became the state language, as well as the language of literature and writing.

new period(modern) began around the 7th-8th centuries AD. e. and continues to the present. By the beginning of the 9th century, a literary language was developing in Central Asia and Khorasan, called in various literary and historical writings Dari language, as well as Parsi (or Farsi), which became the common language for Persians and Tajiks. This period includes the creation of the first written monuments based on the Arabic alphabet.

The modern Persian and Tajik languages ​​are a further modification of the Dari language, that is, they are practically two branches of the originally single Dari language. The Iranians, having adopted Islam, began to spread it further across the territory of modern Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Afghanistan and India. This gave reason to call the Persian language the second language of Islam. In a significant part of this region, the classical Persian language becomes the common language for Indians, Iranians, Tajiks and other peoples, functions as the language of literature, science, culture and interethnic communication. Therefore, in the languages ​​of this region, along with Arabic borrowings, there are also many Persian words and expressions.

In the 10th-15th centuries, the richest literature, mainly poetry, was created in Farsi. Among the authors are representatives of the peoples of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia: Rudaki (X century) in Bukhara, Firdousi (X-XI centuries) in Khorasan, Omar Khayyam (XII century), Jami (XV century) in Herat, Saadi (XIII century) and Hafiz (XIV century) in Shiraz, Nizami (XIII century) on Azerbaijani soil, Rumi (XIII century) in Balkh (Khorasan). The great scientist Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), prominent historians of the Iranian Middle Ages Beyhaki, Gardezi, Rashid ad-Din and others wrote in Farsi.

The conquest of Iran by the Arabs had a significant impact on the Persian language: the Arabic script was borrowed, the vocabulary was enriched huge amount Arabic words. According to experts, more than half of the active lexical composition of the modern Persian language is a word of Arabic origin. However grammatical structure The Persian language showed exceptional stability in relation to the Arabic language and did not undergo almost any changes.