Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Mohammad: Hello everyone! I’m Mohammad!
Becky: And I’m Becky! Welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is Pronunciation, lesson 4. Persian Accents. How’s it going, listeners? Are you getting the hang of Persian pronunciation? We hope so!

Lesson focus
Mohammad: In this lesson, we’re going to go over some regional variations that affect pronunciation.
Becky: Up until now, we've learned about the pronunciation of Persian consonants, vowels, diphthongs and Persian stress.
Mohammad: Right. But we also want to tell our listeners that people might say things differently, depending on where in Iran you travel to. So, Becky, why is this?
Becky: Well, firstly we have to explain that there are two types of regional variations in Persian. Those with minor differences, such as tones and stress or changes in a few vowels and consonants, and then there are those with major differences, where vocabulary totally changes. Some may even sound like a completely different language.
Mohammad: Each one of these dialects and subset languages are named after the area where they’re spoken. For example, the two main dialects are "Tehrani" and "Esfahani". Some other subset languages are called "Lori", which is spoken in Lorestan, "Kurdi" which is spoken in Kurdistan, "Gilaki" in Gilan, and "Azeri" in the Azerbaijan provinces.
Becky: But in this lesson, we’re going to focus on the differences between these two dialects, and the four subset languages of Persian.
Mohammad: Let's start with "Tehrani", the standard Persian which is spoken in "Tehran", the capital of Iran.
Becky: Compared to the written and formal forms of "Tehrani", in the spoken "Tehrani" dialect, some sounds and letters tend to change into other sounds.
Mohammad: Right. For example, the long vowel "A" often changes into the long vowel "U". Let’s put this into context for you, listeners. The word "Khaneh" meaning "House", for example, becomes "Khuneh", and the word "Aram" meaning "Calm" becomes "Aroom".
Becky: In other cases, the short vowel "E" becomes a long vowel "i".
Mohammad: For example, the word "Shekar" meaning "Sugar" becomes "Shikar", or the word "Belit" meaning "Ticket" becomes "Bilit".
Becky: And the last letter in some of the words is usually removed for the spoken form.
Mohammad: That's right. For example, the sentence in Persian is "Oo dar khaneh nist", which means “He is not home”. This becomes "Oon khuneh nis". Let me give you another example. "Hanooz narafti?" meaning "Haven't you still gone?" becomes "Hanoo narafti?" Can you hear the differences?
Becky: Yeah! And for the people of Tehran, this occurs in daily conversation, but the standard "Tehrani" rules are the same as what we have learned up until now.
Mohammad: Okay. Let’s move on to the Esfahan province, another large and famous place in Iran. The Esfahani dialect is equally famous, and because of its different tonal structures, it is considered a melodic dialect.
Becky: Yes. The stress and pronunciation rules of Esfahani are also different. You need to pay attention when using short vowels, as their position changes. Simply put, this means that they use the same vowels as in standard Persian, but in different places. For example, the short vowel "E" is used a lot instead of the short vowel "A".
Mohammad: Like the word "Ez" instead of "Az" meaning "From", or the word "Peder" instead of "Pedar", both which mean "Father".
Becky: Another big difference in the Esfahani dialect is the vowel "U" being used instead of the Tehrani "A" long vowel.
Mohammad: Like the word "Dokun" instead of "Dokan" meaning "Boutique", and the word "Shooma" instead of "Shoma" meaning "You all".
Becky: And finally, one of the most famous parts of the "Esfahani" dialect is the transformation of the auxiliary verb “is” from “to be”, which changes from "Ast" to "Es".
Mohammad: So the phrase "Has eaten" in Persian, which uses the verb “is”, is "Khordeh ast" in its standard form. In Esfahani, however, it becomes "Khordes". And "What's up", which is "Che Khabar ast?", becomes "Che Khabares?"
Becky Great! Now, why don't we move on to the subset dialect-languages of Persian that are used in Iran?
Mohammad: Good idea. First, we'll start with the "Azeri" language, which is spoken across Ardabil, and the East and West Azerbaijan Provinces. It’s highly influenced by Turkish.
Becky: Which is why it can't be completely understood by Persians who don't know and understand the Turkish language. Can you tell us some characteristics of the Azeri language, Mohammed?
Mohammad: Well, In Azeri, rough vowel sounds and soft vowel sounds like O,U,A, and I, and soft sounds like Ö,Ü,E,Ə, and İ can't exist together in the root of one word, like Gözəllik and Ayrılıq which mean “Beauty” and “Separation”.
Becky: And also, in Azeri, words can be formed by adding suffixes to the roots of verbs and nouns.
Mohammad: That’s right. For example, "Su" meaning "water", can become "Sulamagh" meaning "water sprinkling".
Becky: Alright. The next language is "Gilaki" which, like its name suggests, is spoken in "Gilan" and other Caspian provinces.
Mohammad: This language has sounds that are not found in standard Persian, or are pronounced differently, such as q, k, and g.
Becky: Here’s a question, Mohammed. Do Persians from Tehran understand "Gilaki"?
Mohammad: Well, it’s likely that "Gilaki" speakers are the ones who will understand "Tehrani" more.
Becky: So, Mohammed, can you give us any examples of "Gilaki" words compared to Tehrani Persian?
Mohammad: Sure thing. The word for "Hen" is "Morgh" in Persian, and "Murgh" in Gilaki. And the word for "Ant" is "Murcheh" in Persian, and "Pitar" in Gilaki.
Becky: That's interesting! Another language that’s used in Iran is "Kurdi", which is spoken in the Kurdistan province and its neighbouring provinces.
Mohammad: Yes! Another interesting one. Some vowels and consonants of "Kurdi" don't even exist in original Persian.
Becky: Listeners, did you know that the short "i", the short "u" vowels, and the consonant "w" sound combined with "f", can only be found in "Kurdi"?
Mohammad: Let's compare one of the "Kurdi" subsets, named "Kurmanji", to standard Persian. "You" in Persian is "To", while in Kurmanji it becomes "Tu" or "Te". "Iron" is "Ahan" in Persian, and "Hesin" in Kurmanji. And "Name" is "Esm" or "Nam" in Persian, while it is "Nav" in Kurmanji.
Becky Interesting. You can tell they share some similarities, but the differences are just as noticeable! Okay, the last regional language we want to talk about is "Lori".
Mohammad: "Lori" is said to be one of the most similar languages to standard Persian.
Becky: Yes. It does share some similarities with Persian, because it derives its roots from the Sasanian-Pahlavi Persian language of the Middle Ages.
Mohammad: Today, Lori is spoken in a province named "Lorestan", and also across Western Iran.
Becky: So listeners! How was this lesson? Did you enjoy it? We hope you learned some useful pronunciation tips.
Mohammad: From now on, you'll learn each of the Persian dialects one by one, starting with "Esfahani"!
Becky: Which is of course an exaggeration. But you can surprise Esfahan's people...
Mohammad: ...by saying "Che khabares?!".
Becky And you can start to understand Persian accents from all over Iran, regardless of where the speakers are from. Just make sure you keep listening and practising.

Outro
Becky: And that’s it for this lesson. As always, make sure to check the lesson notes. The next lesson will be the last in this pronunciation series, so be sure to join us for that!
Mohammad: Thanks for listening. Khoda Hafez.
Becky: See you next time!

Comments

Hide