TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reading Lessons
The Dari Language ... ........... . .......... .
Written Dari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
AI phabet Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Reading Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lesson One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Lesson Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Lesson Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Lesson Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Lesson Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Lesson Six . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lesson Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lesson Eight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lesson Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lesson Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lesson Eleven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Lesson Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Lesson Thirteen . . .. . .... . .. . .. ......... .. .. 27
Lesson Fourteen .. ... .. . . .. ............... . . 28
Lesson Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Lesson Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Lesson Seventeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Lesson.Eighteen (without diacritical marks) . ..... 33
.Lesson Eighteen (with diacritical marks) . . . . . . . . 34
Dari
The Dari Language
Dari is one of the two official languages of
Afghanistan, and it's the native tongue of about half
of the population. The other official language is
Pasbto, spoken by about 35 percent. In addition,
about 11 percent of Afghans speak a Turkic language
(either Uzbek or Thrkmen) and there are numerous
other languages as welt, such as Baluchi, Pashai,
and Nuristani. Many Afghans are bilingual, often
speaking more than one language as well as several
dialects of those languages.
Although both Dari and Pashto are official
languages, Dari is the primary means of
communication. It's taught in schools and heard
on national raclio, and it serves as the language of
business and higher education. Because of its long
and venerable literary tradition and its historical
it has a higher social status than Pashto.
Dari is also spoken by some two and a half million
people in Iran, Pakistan, and neighboring regions.
As well as the official form (the fonn taught in this
course, formerly called "Kabuli Dari"), it has a
number of variants.
2
Dari
The Dari Language (continued)
Also called "Dari Persian" or "Eastern Persian,"
Dari is one of the three major Persian dialects;
Modern Persian or Farsi (spoken in Iran) is another,
and Tajik (spoken in Tajikistan) is the third. Dari and
Tajik are considered a purer form of Persian- that is,
they show less Arab influence- but all three dialect
are more or less mutually intelligible. All belong to
the Indo-Iranian group of languages, which is a sub-
family of the Indo-European language .
Old Persian dates back to at least 500 n ; v r
time, it gradually evolved to Middl r
Dari Persian. During the rei gn of th ass 111i Is,
who ruled over the eastern regions f P rsin rr m
224-651 AD, it became the official court Inn tttt .
In fact, the name "Dari" most likely t rns from
the Persian word darbar, meaning "court." As Lh
prestige dialect, it spread to other regions a. w II.
After the Muslim conquest of Persia in the
middle of the seventh century, Arabic replaced
Dari as the official language of the Persians. This
period lasted approximately two hundred years.
During this time, Dari continued to evolve; it was
influenced by Parthian (a middle Iranian language)
3
Dari
The Dari Language (continued)
Scholars consider this linguistic amalgamation to
be the mother of both present-day Dari and Modern
Persian I Farsi.
The differences between Dari Persian and
Modern Persian I Farsi developed over time. Largely
because of its mountainous geography, the people of
the eastern region (including Afghanistan) bad less
contact and interaction with other foreign languages
than those of the western region. Modem Persian
continued to be influenced by Arabic, as well as
by some European languages, especially French.
Dari Persian, on the other hand, remained "purer"
and more classical, preserving its original language
style and expressions. Today, Farsi Persian and
Dari Persian are considered two different dialects.
4
Dari
Written Dari
Dari u e a modified version of the Arabic
alphabet, with thirty-two letters as opposed to
l w nty-eight in Arabic. Dari does not have capital
letters but uses an adapted form of Westem
punctuation. Written Dari bas the following
characteristics:
It is read from right to left, except for numbers,
which go from left to right.
Dari letter are distinguished by one, two, or
three dots, which are placed above or bel w the
letter- or, in some cases, by the Jack of dots.
As in English handwriting, most Dari letter
connect to those that follow them. However, seven
letters, called "non-connectors," connect nly to
letters that precede them.
When letters connect to a preceding letter, they
often modify their shape, undergoing a reduction
when the two are joined together.
Some letters also modify their hape according
to thei r position in a word - depending on whether
they appear in initial, medial , or final position.
5
Dari
Written Dari (continued)
In standard written Dari, the so-ca11ed
"short vowels" are usually omitted. They may be
represented by diacritical mark , as they are in these
reading lessons. The three "long vowels," however
--- often appearing in transliteration as "aa," "oo,"
and "ee" --- are separate letters and are written.
The appearance of some letters may vary,
depending on the choice of font.
A complete listing of the Dari alphabet and the
diacriticaJ follows. The alphabet is listed as a two-
page spread. You should use this chart for reference
only, as all the information you need to do the
readings is contained on the audio.
7
6
Dari
Dari
Dari Alphabet Chart
Dari Alphabet Chart
~ - - (Read from right to left.)
~ - - (Read from right to left.)
Symbol in Final
Medial Initial
Transliteration (Connected)
Name Name in Transliteration Letter
._ill alef I
aa/'
L I I I I L I
<l...J
be
'--'
b
~
"!' ~
,
<ll
pe
'--'
p
~ ..1. ...J
., .,
,
., .,
<G
te
w
t
..::... :i .:i
,
s
6
..
..1. .J
.(; se ..:..,
,
j
~
..::::.... ..::...
~
jeem
~
ch
~
..::::.... ..::...
.,
<l:::..
che
[ .,
,
h
c:
..::::.... ..::...
l_,b. <l:::..
he halwa
(
,
kh
c:
..::::.... ..::... cG.
kheh
(
,
d
J. J. .l
JIJ
daal
.l
z
.l J. .l Jlj
zaal
.l
r
j j ..) 0..)
re
..)
, ,
9
8
Dari
Dari
Dari Alphabet Chart (continued)
Dari Alphabet Chart (continued) .... - - (Read from right to left.)
~ - - (Read from right to left.)
Symbol in Final
Medial Initial
Transliteration (Connected)
Name Name in Transliteration Letter
b.)
ze
.)
z
.> .> .)
zh
:. :.
.> ..> .)
~
~
b.)
zhe
.)
~
~
s
U""
~ ..uJ ~
seen
J"'
sh
0U
....._
..uJ ~
sheen
c.fo
s
~
.......0 ......:;) J ~
sa ad
u.::::.
.-
z
~
.......0 ......:;)
JL...; zaad
u.::::.
t
.b. .b. .b
~
toi .b
z
J.:. J.:.
.L;
(S__,.L;
zoi .L;
(
(glottal stop)
t
.... ~
0:--c-
ayn
t
gh
r-
.i ~
~
ghayn
t
f
..J. 1 .A
cU
fe .._j
q
~
.i .Q
~
.._ju qaaf
L.9
11
10
Dari
Dari
Dari Alphabet Chart (continued)
Dari Alphabet Chart (continued) -+- - - (Read from right to left.)
-+- - - (Read from right to left.)
Name Name in Transliteration Letter
Symbol in Final Medial Initial
Transliteration (Connected) .._jl.S kaaf ...s:
k
...s. s. s:
.._jl_S gaaf .3:
g
..s. ~ s
I
J
l J
r-'1
laam
J
~
meem
f'
m
r-
..4. ..a
~
noon
u
n
u
:a.
.,j
JIJ
waw
J
w/oo
" "
J
h
<1.
+
.A
~ . I ~
he do cheshma (>
: J
L
yaa
<.S
ee/y
(.$
=- =
12
Dari
Dari Alphabet Chart (continued)
~ - - (Read from right to left.)
Name in Transliteration Diacritical Sound
I
I
fat' ha I zabar I I a I as in hat
kasra I zir I I e I as in shell
~
,
zama I pish I I o I as in home
mad 1
I aa I as in
father or awe
In Dari there is a special letter combination, 'i ,
called lam alef la, which represents the letter lam
followed by alef
In addition, there is another letter, Arabic in
origin, that functions both as a letter and as a
diacritical. It is the hamza ( ~ ) . Like the diacriticals,
it sits above the line of writing. When used as a
letter, it can appear anywhere in the word, and it
indicates a glottal stop. When used as a diacritical,
it makes some words that end in a vowel possessive;
in this case it appears over the final vowel and has a
I ye I sound. In either case, the hamza is rarely used
and is omitted from modem keyboards.
13
Dari
The Reading lessons
There are eighteen Dad reading lessons recorded
at the end of the program. You may choose to do the
readings along with tbe units, after every other unit
or so, or all together after completing the rest of the
course. Feel free to repeat the reading lessons as
often as necessary for practice with the Dari alphabet
and the sounds it represents.
Some of the words and phrases you will read
are taught in this course, but most are not, and ---
especially in the early lessons --- a number of them
are sirriply syllables rather than actual words. Actual
words are used more and more as the number of
letters introduced increases, and by Lesson Eighteen
you will be reading for meaning.
15
Dari
Lesson One
~ - - (Read from right to left.)
Page 14 is intentionally blank.
I_; I_; .11 I .1
Ji .12 IJ .2
_;i .13 JIJ .3
IJi .14 IJIJ .4
.)IJi .15 I"
..)
.5
l.)i . 16 .)IJ .6
Jl_j .7
I.)IJ .8
IJI.) .9
.)1.) . 1.0
16
Dari
Lesson Two
~ (Read from right to left.)
_;L..... .11 Jl.)i . 1
.)L.....1 .12 1.) .2
'I
).)Jl .13 .)I.) .3
,[
).)IJ .14
I
.)
.4
L.....l_; .15 Jl.) .5
).)JL..... .1 6 )J .6
.)I.) .7
J I .)I.) .8
L..... .9
I . 1 ... 1()
~ -
17
Dari
Lesson Three
(Read from right to left.)
..1L .11
_jL.....J4 .12
~ .13
).) ..1
I_;L..... .2
JW. .3
.)w.y:.. .14 J.)L..... \ J.)W. .4
'
~ y:.. .15
W,l
.) .) .5
I _ > : ~ J .16
,
.)
.6
'
.)..l .7
,
..1.).) .8
JY:,. .9
~ .10
-
'
0\
....
Q) ....-;
<"'!
C')
~ v: ~ r-:
00
~
0
""
>
.......
~
~
u::
c:
, -
....J
-
-'
~ ' ) j
1 \ 1 \ . "') \
'l
0
.:_"')
)
~ l
~
.:_"')
' ')
J ell
1
~
....J
ell "')
~
Q)
...1
....... ('l C')
"<t
II') \0 r- 00
-
-
.......
-
.......
-
-
-'
")\ \
\ ~
-
I
~ ~
- ~
_')
~ ~
~ ~
'-?
/
~
I
/ "')
~
-'
\ ~
.. ,
..
~ .....
<"'!
C')
'<:!: v:
\0
r-:
00
~
0
:J
- 0
u..
j \ ~
.:_"')
'')
3 \ ~
, .. ~
1
,.,
1
c:
1
'')
"')
-? 'l
0
j'
1
\1
1
ell
j
"')
)
/
/
ell "')
)
Q)
"')
\ 1
1
...1
-?
"')
N
C')
"<t
II') \0
....-;
.....
1
,- ,-
~
, _
')
1. - ~
j'
':l
"')
)
00
'
26
ll 27
Dari
.,.
Dari
-
Lesson Twelve
,
II Lesson Thirteen
,
. 11

.1
,j; .11
..
.1
II
''Q
- - Ji .
'
.12 c.s'y:;. .2
LL . 12
._,L....;
.2
.,,.
:
,I
.13 ._j 1.) .3

.13
IJ_j .3
II
.14 u-iWI .4

.4
I
.14




vO.; . 15
'-:-'..)-'-0
.5
"II
.15
l,ji .5

.16 <.>) i \ (5_,..::. i .6
II
.16 .6
.17 .7
!II
._,L .17 IJ.J .7
:
,.
,
. '
.8
.8
w <SlY. .18
1..)0.,>4
-.
\ .18 "':-'-...?
(5..) '.1:!.? . 19
L;.,
.9

.19
JjJ .9
f'
<.>).1:!). r-Y. .20
.10
IIIII
.20 .JJ.J . I 0
28
ll 29
Dari
'II.
Dari
,.
Lesson Fourteen ,_
Lesson Fifteen
-
.11
.
. I
.11

.1
I...J.J7 - -
-
-
-
.2
'.l'i .2
.12
, .
F .12
. 1.
J;."i . 13 La:;
.3
111
.13

.3
f" --:
..
-
-
.4
Jb .4
.)"iJ .14 ........,:::..
.14
: ": .u.

, c.,"il .15

.5
.15 WJb .5
I

.6
. -
.6
f")l.:. .16
II
t=; .16
w_r:o.
-
..
.7
-
.7
JIJ .17

,.
.17

I
JJ; .18 [f.) .8
t..) .18 J.\.;&.
.8
-
.19 <St.;.
.9
--
.9
J
. 19
"-:'Y:.
.20 .10
II
l 4 L.... .20 .10
32
Dari
Lesson Seventeen (continued)
'
._.>A_y..t .11

.12
eGG.. .13
b.)l:i.....u .14

,,
..S.),Y. .15
,
.16
1..57
J'i_Jl .17
'
. 18
.,
,
.19
. I..>" I":"'_,..;.. .20
'
33
Dari
Lesson 18 (without diacriticals)
f'-)1.......


I .
(..j"
(54-

f'"Y. -'=4 u2
7
;_.2o
f'"Y. r-=G.. If"
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
.6
.7
.8
.9
'l..Y" l ..::U.U.)J '10
34
Dari
Lesson 18
t)l..:.. . 1
,
.2

"" , I "" '
'":-'_,.;. .3
<: I . - I
U"' u.!o60.!o .4
.- 5
, "" , :....u
. ' U"'' .10 . -:
b .6
:
u
2
7.<; .7
, , I
tY. J-:1..:' <l.o <..S"b .8
t:; .9
, ,
'U"'' .10
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DARI PERSIAN
VOICES
English-Speaking Instructor ...... ... .. .... .... ... Ray Brown
Dari-Speaking Instructor ...... ....... ..... Jalil Abdul Karim
Female Dari Speaker .... .. ...... .. ....... .... ... ... Zala Ibrahimi
Male Dari Speaker ....... .. .. .... ... .... .......... Javed Rezayee
CouRSE WRITERS
Mirza Amiri + Joan Schoellner
EDITORS
Delaram Soltani + Beverly D. Heinle
REVIEWER
Adela Raz
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Beverly D. Heinle
PRODUCER & DIRECTOR
Sarah H. Mci nni s
RECORDING ENGINEERS
PeterS. Thrpin + Kell y Saux
Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA
t-
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