Learn the difference between modern Persian and old Persian
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| Michael: Is Modern Persian different from Old Persian? |
| Negar: And what are the differences? |
| Michael: At PersianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. The following situation is typical. Ben Lee, a high school student, is trying to read a quote in one of his textbooks, but finds a word written in a way he has never seen before. He turns to his friend, Sousan Soheyli, and asks, |
| "Is this in Persian?" |
| Ben Lee: این به فارسیه؟ (in be faarsi-ye?) |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: این به فارسیه؟ (in be faarsi-ye?) |
| Sousan Soheyli: بله، اما به فارسی باستانیه. (bale, ammaa be faarsi-ye baastaani-ye.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: این به فارسیه؟ (in be faarsi-ye?) |
| Michael: "Is this in Persian?" |
| Sousan Soheyli: بله، اما به فارسی باستانیه. (bale, ammaa be faarsi-ye baastaani-ye.) |
| Michael: "Yes, but it's in Old Persian." |
Lesson focus |
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| Michael: In the conversation, we hear Ben Lee say, |
| Negar: این به فارسیه؟ (in be faarsi-ye?) |
| Michael: which means, "Is this in Persian?" The response is |
| Negar: بله، اما به فارسی باستانیه. (bale, ammaa be faarsi-ye baastaani-ye.) |
| Michael: "Yes, but it's in Old Persian." |
| Michael: Persian, in particular, is a fascinating language to study because we can look at examples of Modern Persian and then look back at how the language has evolved over time. In this lesson, we'll talk about the differences between Modern Persian |
| Negar: فارسی مدرن (faarsi-ye modern) |
| Michael: and Old Persian. |
| Negar: فارسی باستانی (faarsi-ye baastaani) |
| Michael: We'll begin with Old Persian, which is rooted in Ancient Iraq and dates all the way back to the year 600 BCE. In fact, it was between the years 600 BCE and 300 BCE that Old Persian first appeared in the ancient inscription and clay tablets. The script itself consists of 36 phonetic letters and relies on short and long vowel sounds: "a," "i," and "u." |
| Negar: آ (aa), ای (‘i), and او (oo) |
| Michael: Beginning in the Sassanid era, around 200 CE, Middle Persian |
| Negar: فارسی میانه (faarsi-ye miaane) |
| Michael: was established to bridge the gap between Old Persian and the Modern Persian we know today. It was not until the middle of the 8th century that Modern Persian, or "New Persian," finally came into being. |
| Michael: New Persian differs so much from Old Persian. After Islam, many Arabic words entered into this language, but we can still find some words and phrases that remain from the Old Persian, with a little change in pronunciation. For example, |
| Negar: گوش (goosh), |
| Michael: which means "ear," came from the Old Persian word |
| Negar: گَوشَ (ga'oosha) |
| Michael: Some other words change more like |
| Negar: شادی (shaadi), |
| Michael: which means "happiness." This word was |
| Negar: شیاتی (shiyaati) |
| Michael: in the Old Persian language. And there are many new vocabulary words in modern Persian that have no equivalent in Old or Middle Persian. Most of them are related to technology. Words like: |
| Negar: راه آهن (raah-aahan). |
| Michael: which means "railway," |
| Negar: رایانه (raayaane), |
| Michael: which means "computer," and |
| Negar: هواپیما (havaapeymaa), |
| Michael: which means "airplane." |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: Sometimes, linguistics even break these groups down further into Early New Persian, Classical Persian, and Contemporary Persian: |
| Negar: فارسی نوین اولیه (faarsi-ye novin-e avvali-ye), فارسی کلاسیک (faarsi-ye kelaasik) and فارسی معاصر (faarsi-ye mo'aaser) |
| Michael: The most recent and present-day Persian is based on this Contemporary Persian form. |
| Michael: The writing system we see in Modern Persian is also dramatically different from that once used in Old Persian. Modern Persian uses the Arabic script. |
| Negar: خط عربی (khatt-e arabi) |
| A transliterate form of Persian has also been created using the Latin alphabet, |
| Negar: الفبای لاتین (alefbaa-ye laatin), |
| Michael: making it easier than ever for an international audience and new Persian language learners. |
| Although examples of Old Persian are the most obvious in Iran, scholars and historians have also reported findings in Romania, Armenia, Iraq, Bahrain, and Turkey. |
| Michael: In Iran, the "Academy of Persian Language and Literature" |
| Negar: فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی (farhangestaan-e zabaan va adab-e faarsi) |
| Michael: is officially in charge of coining the words that have no equivalent in the Persian language. The words mentioned above have been invented by this academy and have become popular in Persian speaking communities. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Negar: خداحافظ (khodaahaafez) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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