Posted on 08/17/2006 11:26:56 AM PDT by restornu
The Iranian In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to refer to Persian as Farsi. Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica, has written about the damage wrought by changing "Persia" to "Iran" and has pointed out that the use of Farsi in foreign languages is as detrimental.(1) Here, I would like to focus on the latter issue and explain the reasons behind the growth of tendencies to call Persian Farsi.
Persian, the term used for centuries in the West, originated in a region of southern Iran formerly known as Persis. It was the language of the Parsa, an Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into the region about 1000 BC. The older forms of the language are known as Old and Middle Persian. Old Persian was spoken until approximately the 3rd century BC and Middle Persian, or Pahlavi, was spoken from the 3rd century BC to the 9th century AD.
The use of the names Persia and Persian were gradually extended by the ancient Greeks and other Western peoples to apply to the Iranian Plateau and the official language in the region respectively. New Persian is closely related to these ancient forms. Persian became the lingua franca of the region during the Islamic period. It was the official language of countries such as India for many centuries during which time numerous annals, chronicles, and court volumes of poetry were compiled outside Iran. (2)
Today, Persian is not only the name of the official language in Iran but also of the Republic of Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, and different dialects of this language are spoken in many regions of south and central Asia.(3)
In recent years the word Farsi, the Arabized form of "Parsi," the name of the language in Persian, has become the standard word used by many English and non-English speakers to refer to modern Persian. Some Iranian authorities have actually encouraged this and have engaged in a systematic attempt to change the name of the language in the international communities to Farsi.(4)
This attempt to replace the word "Persian" with "Farsi" is not only incongruous with the history of the language but also creates confusion and misunderstanding. While the use of the word "Farsi" is a political statement for some Iranian authorities, for others it may indicate a lack of knowledge about the history of this language. It indicates that those who carelessly promote the use of the word Farsi are indeed engaging in an equivocal representation of this language and may not, by any means, be promoting Iranian culture.
Three main groups use the word Farsi instead of Persian while speaking English: non-Iranians who are somewhat familiar with the country and its culture; second-generation Iranians who know some Persian, and Iranians, including some officials, who do not have a sound knowledge about their culture and language.
The first two groups find it more confortable to refer to the language as Farsi and the third group finds it more politically correct to do so. In either case they do not do justice when they try to change the name of this language in English.
No matter who does it, there are three reasons why it is a mistake to refer to the Persian language as Farsi. First, it is ignoring the above historical facts about this language. It is as incorrect as calling the Persian Gulf as the Farsi Gulf.
Moreover, the name Farsi is obscure and under the best conditions refers only to certain dialects such as the Persian of Iran as opposed to Tajiki, the Persian of Tajikistan or Dari, the Persian of Afghanistan, or even one may say Isfahani, the Persian of Isfahan.
Second, the use of word Farsi in English strikes a discordant tone to the native speaker. Imagine someone speaking in English about their recent trip to Paris saying, "I went to Paris and there I spoke Francais." To use the word Farsi has the same impact and may sound not only pretentious at times but also destructive of English syntax.
Third, the word Persian in the mind of an English speaker, consciously or not, recalls many other historical and cultural legacies about Iran. Persian is closely associated with Persian poetry, Persian carpets, Persian cats, Persian poetry, Persian pistachios, and so on.
When you refer to this language as Persian, the audience may associate it with one or more of these relevant ideas. On the contrary, the word Farsi not only voids these historical and cultural associations, but it also adds to the recent portrayal of Iran as a strange and distant society.
This problem is not limited to the use of this word in English. Similar problems exist among French speaking Iranians and their friends who refer to Persian as Farsi. The issue is even more problematic in the case of French because the word Farsi sounds similar to the word Farci (stuffed) and therefore does not evoke any cultural connotations at all.
We should therefore avoid the use of the word Farsi instead of Persian (or Persan in French) because it not only violates historical fact but also some of the regularities of the language in which we speak. I believe that Persian is the true and proper name of this language in foreign tongues and international communities and changing it does not benefit the representation of Iranian culture.
Related links
* I speak Farsi -- By Sussan Tahmasebi * Eenjoori Beneveeseem? -- A debate on whether to change the Persian alphabet. * Cover stories * Who's who
Notes
1. See Ehsan Yarshater, "Zaban-i Nozohur" IrnianShenasi: A Journal of Iranian Studies, IV, I (Spring, 1992), 27-30; "Iran Ra dar Zabanha-ye Khareji Cheh Bayad Khand?" Rahavard: A Journal of Iranian Studies, V & VI, 20/21 (Summer & Fall, 1988), 70-75; and Nam-e Keshvar-e Ma Ra dar Zaban-e Engelisi Cheh Bayad Khand?" Rahavard, VIII, 29, (Spring, 1992), 22-26. (Back to article)
2. See Edward G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1902-4) and Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature (Dordrecht, Holland, 1968). (Back to article)
3. For more information see, Kent, Roland G. (Roland Grubb), Old Persian: grammar, texts, lexicon. 2d ed. (New Haven, American Oriental Society, 1953); Dandamaev, M. A. Iranians in Achaemenid Babylonia, (Costa Mesa, Calif. : Mazda Publishers in association with Bibliotheca Persica, 1992); and Johnson, Edwin Lee. Historical grammar of the ancient Persian language (New York: American book company, 1917). (Back to article)
4 English language journals published in Iran., text books published by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, and materials published for tourists often refer to Persian as Farsi. (Back to article)
When "Persia" became "Iran"
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.
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.
Iran: Country Information:
Name was changed from Persia to Iran in 1934.
Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran-Iraq war lasted fro over eight years from 1980-1988
Population: 68.9 million (UN, 2003)
Capital: Tehran
Major language: Persian
Major Religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 69 years (men), 72 years (women)
Monetary unit: 10 Iranian rials = 1 Toman
Main exports: Petroleum, carpets, agricultural products
Average annual income: US$1,680 (World Bank, 2001)
Ethnic Groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki & Mazandarani 8% Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baluch 2%, Turkmen 2%, Other 1%
Religion: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jew, Christian, Bahai 1%
For more information and upto date vital statistics on Iran visit Statistical Center of Iran ()
Farsi (Persian)
Farsi is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family; it is the official language of Iran. It is most closely related to Middle and Old Persian, former languages of the region of Fars ("Persia") in southwestern Iran. Modern Persian is thus called Farsi by native speakers. Written in Arabic characters, modern Persian also has many Arabic loanwords and an extensive literature.
The persian that is spoken in afghanistan is older than the kind spoken in Iran.
No, it doesn't really work, does it?
I noticed that shortly after the Iranian hostage crisis, people from Iran who were in the United States began referring to themselves as "Persian".
ping
sheeesh kebaab
Known in English as Dari, in Dari it's called (drum roll please)... "Farsi."
These are interesting articles on the significance of seemingly meaningless linguistic matters. Returning always to the point: "words have meaning."
I generally oppose the idea that we should, in English, always defer to the local language for foreign items or names for which we have a perfectly functional word in English. Imagine if we suddenly began calling Germany "Deutschland" instead of the name we have long known it by, a name derived from Latin "Germania".
Next they'll be wanting us to learn Maori to talk to New Zealanders. Enough, says I.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Maybe we should refer to Jordan by its official name in Arabic: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah.
New Zealanders? You're still calling that country New Zealand? I believe you mean Aotearoa.
Can some one translate thse pages?
http://ourpresident.ir/anavine%20vije/anavine%20vije%201/Dorooghe%20Bozorg.htm
http://ourpresident.ir/anavine%20vije/anavine%20vije%201/Nabarde%20Armagedon.htm
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