Farsi

Farsi → An introduction to Persian Language & Alphabet

Persian, also known as Farsi, belongs to the Indo-European language family and people primarily speak it in Iran, Afghanistan (where they call it Dari since 1958), and Tajikistan (where they referred to it as Tajiki during the Soviet era). Additionally, speakers used it historically in parts of the Persian Empire. In general, Persian uses current alphabet, which is a variant of the Arabic.

Modern Farsi originates from Middle Persian, which used as the official language of the Sassanid Empire and evolved from ancient Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire. Its grammar shows similarities to that of numerous contemporary European languages.

Approximately 110 million people speak Farsi worldwide, and Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan officially recognize it. Moreover, for many centuries, Persian used as a cultural language across various regions of West, Central, and South Asia.

Persian language has significantly influenced many sub languages, particularly in terms of vocabulary. For instance, it has impacted Central Asian Turkic, Caucasian, and Anatolian languages. Additionally, it has affected language of neighboring countries of Iran including Armenian, Georgian, and several other Indo-Iranian languages, especially Urdu, a variety of Hindustani.

Furthermore, Persian language has also exerted some influence on Arabic, most notably in Bahraini Arabic. Conversely, Persian has borrowed extensively from Arabic following the Arab conquest of Persia.

What is Farsi language?

Farsi uses a right-to-left writing system for both words and numbers. The alphabet consists of 32 letters, with some words sharing similar sounds. Furthermore, the language omits short vowels in its written form. Each letter of the alphabet appears in two forms of uppercase – lowercase. Moreover, letters connect to form words, whereas, in contrast to English, words in Farsi end with lowercase letters.

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Historical Origins & Development of Farsi Language

The Persian language, commonly referred to as Farsi, originates from Achaemenid Empire (circa 550 – 330 BCE). Scholars recorded it with the ancient Persian script, a writing system based on cuneiform. After Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Greek began to influence Old Persian, which subsequently led to the emergence of Middle Persian, also known as Pahlavi (circa 224 BCE – 651 CE).

Middle Persian served as the language of the Sassanian dynasty (224–651 CE) and, consequently, became the empire’s official language.During this era, Farsi experienced significant influence from Arabic, especially after the Islamic conquest in the 7th century. Moreover, the development of the Farsi-Arabic script alphabet, which was based on the Arabic, replaced the previously Pahlavi alphabet.

Modern Farsi began to develop from the 8th century AD. As a result, the language continued to absorb influences from Arabic, as well as from Turkish and Mongolian. Consequently, Modern Persian today encompasses a variety of dialects. Furthermore, it is spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and several other countries.

Which Countries Speak Farsi ?

Iran

Farsi language is the only official language of Iran, even though the country boasts a diverse population with numerous ethnic groups. Consequently, Persian is widely understood among the Iranian populace and belongs to the Indo-Iranian language family. Furthermore, Farsi serves as the primary language for both formal communications and literary activities within Iran.

Afghanistan

The neighboring Afghanistan has two official languages: Pashto & Dari. Although Pashto is entirely distinct from Farsi, Dari and Farsi represent two dialects from the same language. Consequently, people sometimes use the terms Farsi and Dari interchangeably, or refer to the language as Persian in English. Moreover, Dari is widely spoken in Kabul, the capital city, and also serves as the native language in the northern and western regions of the country.

Tajikistan

When researching which countries speaking Farsi, you will frequently find Tajikistan as one. That’s because the country’s official language, Tajik, is considered a modern dialect of Farsi or Persian. Specifically, Tajik shares grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation that closely resemble traditional Farsi.

However, Tajik has evolved from the Farsi spoken in regions like Iran and Afghanistan. This evolution results from factors such as geographical isolation, political boundaries, and the influence of neighbouring countries. Consequently, while Tajik retains many similarities to Farsi of Iran, it has developed distinct features over time.

Uzbekistan

Although Uzbek serves as the official language of Uzbekistan, the country remains highly multicultural and multilingual. Therefore, people frequently speak Tajik. Furthermore, some individuals in Uzbekistan also speak another Farsi-based language called Bukhari. Moreover, this Jewish dialect shares many similarities with the Tajik language, reflecting the close linguistic connections in the region.

Arabic vs Farsi → Understanding the Alphabets

Although both using similar alphabet, their writing systems differ significantly. Tow languages employ the Arabic alphabet; however, Parsi includes four additional letters (گ, چ, پ, ژ) (G, Ch, P, Zh), and exhibits unique characteristics in its writing system. Despite the apparent similarity of the alphabet, they represent distinct languages with different grammatical structures and pronunciations. People from both side, may read any writing in a sentence but that essentially doesn’t means they understand the the meaning of it, again, it’s just a similarity in alphabet.

Can you understand Farsi if you speak Arabic?

Generally, no -Although Farsi includes numerous Arabic words in its alphabet due to historical influences, however, both languages belong to distinct families with different grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Consequently, speaking the language alone does not allow a speaker to understand Arabic, and vice versa, without further study.

What was the Persian script before Arabic?

Before the adoption of the Arabic script, Persian used various ancient scripts. Initially, during the Achaemenid Empire, scholars wrote Old Parsi using cuneiform. Subsequently, in the Middle Persian period under the Sasanian Empire, writers used the Pahlavi script. Eventually, after the 7th century, the Arabic alphabet replaced them all.

English to Farsi: Basic words & phrases

Here are some useful yet easy to remember words and phrases that will come in handy for learning basic Farsi, especially if you are travelling to the region.