“Second Language Vocabulary–Persian Resources and Teaching and Learning Strategies–Draft Essay”*

by Michael Craig Hillmann, May 2019

My first trip overseas was Pan Am Flight Number 1 from New York City to Tehran following on the heels of an
intensive beginning Persian course, 250 contact hours at six hours each week day for nine weeks at The University
of Texas. The course syllabus was Mohammad Ali Jazayery’s audio-lingual Elementary Lessons in Persian:
Experimental Edition (1965).1 That meant Persian-only class sessions, no textbook materials for students, no reading
and writing instruction, lots of pattern practice and drills (e.g., completion, question-answer, substitution, and
transformation), step-by-step introductions of phrase and sentence patterns, memorization of dialogues, and a late
afternoon hour or more in a language laboratory listening to and repeating Persian.
Once on the ground in Tehran, a bus took us 40-some, new minted American Peace Corps Volunteers, from
Mehrābād Airport to our hotel. I happened to sit in the first row to the right of the driver, whom I peppered with
questions en route to see if the 250 hours had done their job. They had, although I restricted myself to questions to
which I already knew answers in case I didn’t understand exactly what the driver would say in reply and to yes-no
questions, at least the first part of answers to which I’d get (e.g., “Is Tehran’s population more than 2,000,000
people?” and “Was it hot in Tehran today?”).
Two days later, in a first-class compartment on the 4 pm to 8 am train to Mashhad, which made a prayer stop at
Dāmghān, I successfully ordered likely the best chelo morgh [rice and chicken] dinner in the world that day. And, if
I slept well that night, it was probably because I had accomplished my first oral-aural Persian tasks and because the
Jazayery book had convinced me that I had won a sort of foreign language lottery in signing up for a two-year
English teaching stint at the University of Mashhad–I was entering the world of what promised to be the easiest
foreign language imaginable, even for famously doltish American language learners. After all, as Jazayery’s lessons
had it, the Fārsi Persian language: (1) presents native speakers of general American English–I can’t speak for British
English or American English south of the Mason-Dixon line (e.g., four or more /a/ sounds for some Texans I have
met in Austin)–with no serious pronunciation problems (e.g., easily resolvable, initial issues with /kh/, /r/, /q/, front
‘l’ in syllable-medial and -final positions, and /h/ in syllable-medial and -final position); (2) exhibits no definite
article or indefinite article per se; (3) features no irregular verbs; (4) has no grammatical gender except in the use of
some Arabic loanwords and phrases, (5) calls for no change in word order in any sort of interrogative statements; (6)
requires no change in word order or convolution of elements in subordinate clauses that normally exhibit subject-
object-verb patterns; (7) features no declension of nouns, pronouns, adjectives or relative pronouns, (8) involves no
necessary pluralization of nouns used with cardinal numbers; (9) involves no irregularities in cardinal and ordinal
numbers; (10) features a single verb conjugation and only twelve discrete tenses; (11) allows for flexibility in the
word order of subject, object, and verb parts of statements; and (12) makes use of a Perso-Arabic writing system that
is phonetic (albeit with a significant shortcoming problematic in the short term; e.g., /hotel/ being spelled /htl/.
So, once settled in my basement room at the Mashhad University Club and, having scouted the surprisingly laid
back, doroshkeh-filled, bicycle-friendly, rose-watered-flavored, and lamb-fat-scented Persian-only world beyond my
basement room, and once acclimated to classroom life and tongue-burning tea drinking in the Faculty Lounge, I
hired Hamid Āsudeh, the teenaged son of the doorman at the Club, to bring me breakfast most mornings: a ceramic
bowl of yoghurt with yoghurt skin on the top, a glob of drippy, pectin-less jam on wax paper, a hunk of bolghār
cheese also wrapped in wax paper, and a slab of tāftun bread. Hamid would bring all that and tea, from a samovar
upstairs, and stand behind me while I ate and read aloud the text of the day, correct my pronunciation, and define
unfamiliar words in the text. I recall noting at the time that these sessions were as energizing and satisfying as my
deliciously unAmerican breakfasts because they made for conversation practice not for its own sake, but for the sake

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of accomplishing a task relevant to my interests as an undergraduate and graduate literature major, now mesmerized
by a new right-to-left world that, among other things, has had me expanding my notion of lyric poetry ever since. I
also remember noting that learning Persian through Persian was easier and quicker than my school-learnt French
through English.
As for texts, I started with the Michigan Modern Persian Readers series (1962), Khayyāmic quatrains in Sādeq
Hedāyat’s edition called Tarāneh’hā-ye ‘Omar Khayyām, Ferdowsi’s Story of Sohrāb in Parviz Nātel Khānlari’s
Shāhkār-hā-ye Adabiyāt-e Fārsi [Masterpieces of Persian Literature] series for university students, A.J. Arberry’s
Fifty Ghazals of Hāfez, and several Hedāyat short stories and his novella called Buf-e Kur [The Blind Owl]. On the
side, I read L.P. Elwell-Sutton’s Elementary Persian Grammar (1963) and Ann Lambton’s Persian Grammar
(1963).2 And always at my side was a copy of Solayman Haïm’s Farhang-e Yekjeldi-ye Farsi-Engelisi [The New
One-Volume Persian-English Dictionary] (1961).3 I made check marks next to headwords I looked up in Haïm and
wondered as time went on what was going on when I looked up a word that already had two or more check marks
next to it!
Six months later, a decent amount of Persian, those Iranian breakfasts, kālbās sandwiches for lunch, and
chelokabāb and istānboli polow dinners under my belt, I started wondering why I was still unable to regale either
my students and colleagues with a life story as fascinating by Rousseauian definition as Rousseau’s own
Confessions or my hosts and fellow guests at parties with my then New Critical views on the nature of lyric poetry.
The simple answer: a lack of vocabulary had me hemming and hawing. Of course, I had faced the same issue with
my native language, but had handled it stress-free, they tell me, by lying mostly on my back for a spell, then sitting
up and crawling, then standing, and then walking and running, all the while absorbing all the words I’d be needing
for a while. Then I went to elementary school and learned to read the words I already knew and then other words
that opened up worlds beyond my time and place. I had six or so years to do all this, but naturally didn’t now have
that much time to acquire an Iranian first-grader’s command of Persian vocabulary. I had to find shortcuts to achieve
near-native skills in Persian listening and reading in a year or so, assuming that Persian speaking would take care of
itself within whatever time frame my mouth, tongue, glottis, and parietal lobes needed.
This essay offers a sampling of such shortcuts in fifteen “mini-lessons” within the framework of a review of
Persian vocabulary acquisition and maintenance as treated in Persian instructional and reference materials for
speakers of English published in the first two decades of the 21st century. I hasten to add that my involvement in
Persian Studies unfortunately has not included any training in Linguistics or Lexicography or Foreign Language
Education–caveant lectores–, which means that my essay draws on anecdotal experience and presents no more than
impressions of representative recent Persian textbooks and dictionaries and illustrations of methods and strategies in
teaching and writing about Persian that relate to vocabulary acquisition and maintenance.4
Specifically, this essay discusses: (1) theme-based Persian glossaries, phrasebooks, and learner’s dictionaries;
(2) representative Persian dictionaries of various sorts and their utility in vocabulary acquisition and maintenance;
(3) attention paid to vocabulary issues in 21st-century Persian instructional materials designed for adult English-
speaking learners; (4) a word-method approach to reading Persian that focuses on vocabulary acquisition; and (5)
contextualization as an overall strategy in teaching/learning Persian vocabulary, the five sections interspersed with
the cited fifteen mini-lessons.
*****
Upwards of twenty theme-based Persian glossaries, phrase books, and learner’s dictionaries for speakers of
English have appeared in the first two decades of the 21st century.5
Conceptually the most important among Persian glossaries is A Frequency Dictionary of Persian by Corey

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Miller and Karineh Aghajanian-Stewart (2017),6 which provides a corpus-based list of 5,000 frequently used words
in the language in order of decreasing frequency, along with “thematic vocabulary lists” on: (1) animals, (2) body,
(3) clothing, (4) colors, (5) countries, (6) electronics, (7) emotions, (8) family, (8) female names, (9) food, (10)
health, (12) last names, (13) light verb constructions, (14) male names, (15) materials, (16) nationalities, (17) nature,
(18) politics, (19) professions, (20) religions, (21) simple verbs, (22) sports, (23) time, (24) days, (25) Persian
months, (26) Dari months, (27) Islamic months, (28) French months, (29) transport, and (30) war. Entries for
numbered headwords include authentic examples from the corpus, perhaps a signal that vocabulary work in Persian
instructional materials should focus on authentic texts. But, in a frequency dictionary that focus, appropriate and
particularly useful for instructors, instructional materials developers, and advanced students of Persian, is
problematic for elementary-intermediate students of Persian both because of the possible unfamiliarity of such
readers with much in the authentic examples except for the frequently used word in question and because authentic
examples altogether may not reflect the variety in the most common Persian phrase and sentence patterns and
structures. And, when the authors observe that “4,000-5,000 most frequent words account for up to 95% of a written
text,” there’s ultimately not much comfort in that fact, as these three examples suggest. First, although the infinitive
phrase «‫ رفنت‬+ ‫ در‬+ ‫ جا‬+ ‫ »از‬/az + jā + dar + raftan/ consists of four of the most common words in Persian, how does
a reader get from recognizing those four words to discerning the verb’s denotation? Second, how can an
intermediate student of Persian confront the word «‫ »تحمل‬in a text, a word that does not appear in a reading
threshold vocabulary and that he/she has not seen before, yet automatically know how to pronounce it as well as
surmise its denotation in context (i.e., “to get angry”?7 Third, ditto for «‫ »ملی گرایی‬with its four pieces of
information?8
Focussing on vocabulary in one thematic area is Media Persian by Dominic Parviz Brookshaw (2011, 2014,
128 pages),9 which presents media vocabulary “grouped...within each chapter...in smaller, untitled sub-sections by
topic…. [S]trict alphabetical ordering has been avoided on the whole” because, according to the author, “this is
counter-productive to learning vocabulary lists…[:] general, politics and government, elections, conflict and
security, law and order, human rights, economics trade and industry, science and technology, energy, environment,
aid and development culture and sport. Media Persian does not use diacritical marks or English transcription as a
guide to pronunciation of Persian terms, but offers a link to online audio files to help check pronunciation. Media
Persian does not cite any Persian dictionaries.10
• Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi’s What the Persian Media Says: A Coursebook (2015) is a Persian-only reader for
upper-intermediate and advanced students, each of its 30 lessons featuring an authentic newspaper text, available on
the textbook’s website, text subjects including: national news, international news, politics, opinion, entertainment,
arts, economics, provincial news, crimes and disasters, social issues, literature, theatre, health, and books. The
lessons present comprehension, headlines, idiomatic expressions, and vocabulary exercises that focus on the
pluralization of 500+ nouns, especially Arabic loanwords.11
Mini-lesson #1. Classroom and self-study introduction and practice of media vocabulary can begin early on in
an elementary Persian course. Here follows such a lesson, in working with which students should have access to a
recent Persian-Engish dictionary or a Persian-English glossary of newspaper terms, as well an audio file recording of
the lesson‘s text. The mini-lesson highlights what some learners see as the daunting task of Persian vocabulary
acquisition and the utility of learning groups of vocabulary items in context.
§1.1. Look over this vocabulary list.
to answer (‫َﺟﻮاب دادن )ده‬ newspaper ‫روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ‬

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 ‫روﺑِﺮو ﺷﺪن )َﺷﻮ( ‪to face, to confront‬‬ ‫‪news‬‬ ‫اِ ﱢ‬
‫طﻼﻋﺎت‬
‫‪to seek, to seach‬‬ ‫ُﺟﺴﺘﻦ )ﺟﻮ(‬ ‫‪name‬‬ ‫اِﺳﻢ‬
‫‪plot, conspiracy‬‬ ‫ﺗُﻮِطﺌِﮫ‬ ‫‪page‬‬ ‫ﺻﻔﺤﮫ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﺗََﻮﱡﺳﻞ ‪resorting/turning to for help‬‬ ‫‪publication; publishing‬‬ ‫اِﻧﺘِﺸﺎر‬
‫‪question‬‬ ‫ﺳﺆال ج‪ .‬ﺳﺆاﻻت‬ ‫‪issue; number‬‬ ‫ُﺷﻤﺎره‬
‫‪text‬‬ ‫َﻣﺘﻦ ج‪ُ .‬ﻣﺘﻮن‬ ‫‪single issue‬‬ ‫ﺗَﮏ ُﺷﻤﺎره‬
‫‪separation, space‬‬ ‫ﺻﻠﮫ‬
‫ﻓﺎ ِ‬ ‫‪date; history‬‬ ‫ﺗﺎرﯾﺦ‬
‫)‪number (quantity‬‬ ‫ﺗِﻌﺪاد‬ ‫‪title‬‬ ‫ُﻋﻨﻮان‬
‫‪nearness, proximity‬‬ ‫ﻧَﺰدﯾﮑﯽ‬ ‫‪headline‬‬ ‫ُﻋﻨﻮاِن َﺳﺮ َ‬
‫ﺻﻔﺤﮫ‬
‫‪distance, remoteness‬‬ ‫دوری‬ ‫‪price, cost‬‬ ‫ﻗِﯿَﻤﺖ‬
‫)‪means (of doing sth‬‬ ‫ی ﮐﺎر‬‫َوﺳﯿﻠﮫ ِ‬ ‫‪word‬‬ ‫َﮐﻠَﻤﮫ‬
‫‪under consideration‬‬ ‫ﻈﺮ‬‫ُﻣﻮِرِد ﻧَ َ‬ ‫‪phrase‬‬ ‫ِﻋﺒﺎَرت‬
‫‪what person‬‬ ‫ﭼﮫ َﮐﺴﯽ‬ ‫‪sentence‬‬ ‫ُﺟﻤﻠﮫ‬
‫‪best‬‬ ‫ﺑِﮭﺘَﺮﯾﻦ‬ ‫‪paragraph‬‬ ‫ﭘﺎراﮔﺮاف‬
‫‪for prep‬‬ ‫ی‬‫ﺑَﺮا ِ‬ ‫‪article‬‬ ‫َﻣﻘﺎﻟﮫ‬
‫‪about, concerning prep‬‬ ‫ی‬
‫َدرﺑﺎره ِ‬ ‫‪meaning‬‬ ‫َﻣﻌﻨﯽ‬

‫‪§1.2. Read these two sentences, and then listen to a reading or recording of them while reading‬‬
‫‪along. Look up still unfamiliar words on the foregoing list. Then follow the directions in the‬‬
‫‪second sentence, looking up still unfamiliar words in the text.‬‬
‫س ﯾﮏ اِ ﱢ‬
‫طﻼﻋﺎﺗﯽ اﺳﺖ درﺑﺎره ی ُﺷﻤﺎره ای از ﯾﮏ روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ و ُﻋﻨﻮاِن ﺳﺮﺻﻔﺤﮫ ی اّوِل آن‪.‬‬ ‫ﻣﺘِﻦ در ِ‬
‫ﻣﺘﻦ را ﺑﺨﻮاﻧﯿﺪ و ﺑﮫ ﺳﺆاﻻت زﯾِﺮ ﻣﺘﻦ َﺟﻮاب ﺑﺪھﯿﺪ‪.‬‬
‫____________________‬
‫روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ اﺑﺮار‬
‫ﭘﻨﺠﺸﻨﺒﮫ ‪ ٢١‬دی ‪َ ١٩ - ١٣٧۴‬ﺷﻌﺒﺎن ‪ ١١ - ١۴١۶‬ژاﻧﻮﯾﮫ ‪١٩٩۶‬‬
‫ﺷﻤﺎره ‪٢٠٨۴‬‬
‫‪ ١٢‬ﺻﻔﺤﮫ‬
‫ﺗﮏ ﺷﻤﺎره ‪ ٢٠٠‬﷼‬
‫_____________________________‬
‫رﺋﯿﺲ ﺟﻤﮭﻮر‪ :‬ﺗﻮﺳﻞ ﺑﮫ ﻗﺮآِن ﮐﺮﯾﻢ ﺑﮭﺘﺮﯾﻦ اﺑﺰار‬
‫ﺑﺮای روﯾﺎروﯾﯽ ﺑﺎ ﺗﻮطﺌﮫ ھﺎﺳﺖ )ﻣﻘﺎﻟﮫ در ﺻﻔﺤﮫ ‪(٢‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫اﺳﻢ روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ؟‬ ‫‪١‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﺗﺎرﯾﺦ اِﻧﺘِﺸﺎِر روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ ی ُﻣﻮِرد ﻧَ َ‬
‫ﻈﺮ؟‬ ‫‪٢‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﺷﻤﺎره ی روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ ی ﻣﻮرد ﻧﻈﺮ؟‬ ‫‪٣‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﺻﻔﺤﮫ ھﺎی روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ؟‬
‫ﺗِﻌﺪاِد َ‬ ‫‪۴‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﺖ ﺗَﮏ ﺷﻤﺎره ی روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ؟‬
‫ﻗِﯿَﻤ ِ‬ ‫‪۵‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫َﻣﻘﺎﻟﮫ ی ُﻣﻮِرِد ﻧﻈِﺮ روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ در ﺻﻔﺤﮫ ی ﭼﻨﺪ روزﻧﺎﻣﮫ اﺳﺖ ؟‬ ‫‪۶‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎﻟﮫ ی ﻣﻮرد ﻧﻈﺮ درﺑﺎره ی ﭼﮫ َﮐﺴﯽ اﺳﺖ؟‬ ‫‪٧‬‬
‫______________________________‬ ‫ﺑﮭﺘﺮﯾﻦ َوﺳﯿﻠﮫ ی ﮐﺎر ﺑﺮای روﺑِﺮو ﺷﺪن ﺑﺎ ﺗُﻮِطﺌﮫ ھﺎ ﭼﯿﺴﺖ؟‬ ‫‪٨‬‬

‫‪4‬‬
 ‫❒ ﻧﺰدﯾﮑﯽ ُﺟﺴﺘﻦ ❒ دوری ﺟﺴﺘﻦ ❒ ﻓﺎﺻﻠﮫ ﺟﺴﺘﻦ‬
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‫ﮐﻠﻤﮫ ی »ﺗََﻮﱡﺳﻞ« ﺟﮫ َﻣﻌﻨﯽ ﻣﯽ دھﺪ )✗(؟‬ ٩

As for a comprehensive theme-based guide to Persian vocabulary, there is A Thematic Dictionary of Modern
Persian (2004, 2010) by Colin Turner, which offers vocabulary lists with English transcriptions of Persian
headwords of these “Themed Sections”: Air Travel, Animals, Art and Architecture, Astronomy, Biology, Birds and
Insects, The Calendar, Cars and Driving, Chemistry, Clothes, Colors, Computing, Countries of the World, The
Countryside, Crime and Punishment, Economics Trade and Finance, Education, The Environment, The Family,
Farming, Feelings and Relationships, Festivals and Commemorations, Fish, Flowers and Plants, Food and Drink,
Free Time, Fruit, Geographical Features, Geology, Grammar, Greetings and Interjections, Health and Disease, Herbs
and Vegetables, At the Hotel, The House, Household Furniture, The Human Body, Industry and Development,
Information and Services, International Relations, Islam, In the Kitchen, Language and Linguistics, Literature,
Materials, Mathematics, The Media, Military Affairs, Music, Numbers (Cardinal), Numbers (Ordinal), Office and
School Equipment, Personal Characteristics, Personal Effects, Philosophy, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Religions
of the World, At the Seaside, Shops and Shopping, Sociology, Sounds, Sport, Stage and Screen, Time, Tools, In the
Town, Train Travel, Transport, Trees, Weather and Meteorology, Work and Professions. Includes an “Index of
English Words.”13 A comparison of Turner’s “Literature” list with a dictionary of literary terms by a literature expert,
that cites frequency of usage of Persian equivalents for English terms,14 suggests that Turner may not have referred
to technical dictionaries or literary critical writing in deciding on specific Persian equivalents for English terms.
As for the classroom use of theme-based guides to Persian vocabulary, role model exercises focussing on
specifics of the lives of adult American learners of Persian reveal that the following are among many situations and
subjects that come up repeatedly in conversation: talking about family, making plans, talking about feeling unwell,
asking personal questions, negotiating classroom life and activities, negotiating a language textbook, describing
one’s daily routine, telling one’s life story, describing one’s job, talking about Persian poems, talking about movies,
talking about Iranian politics, talking about Islam in Iran, talking about Iranian culture, and talking about computers
and the online world.
Mini-lesson #2. Here follows part of an elementary-level lesson on daily activities. The lesson might begin with
review of a list of verbs that relate to predictable daily activities, for example, these random verb infinitives:
to chat with colleagues ‫َﮔﭗ زدن ﺑﺎ ھَﻤﻜﺎران‬
to check e-mail ‫اى ِﻣﯿﻞ ﭼﻚ ﻛﺮدن‬
to eat lunch ‫ﻧﺎھﺎر ﺧﻮردن‬
to leave the office ‫اِداره را ﺗَﺮك ﻛﺮدن‬
to go to the gym ‫ﺑﺎﺷﮕﺎِه َورِزﺷﻰ رﻓﺘﻦ‬
to watch television ‫ﺗﻠﻮﯾﺰﯾﻮن ﻧﮕﺎه ﻛﺮدن‬
to drop by a bar ‫َﺳﺮ زدن ﺑﮫ ﺑﺎر‬
to read a book (*‫ِﻛﺘﺎب ﺧﻮﻧﺪن* )ﺧﻮن‬
to go home (*‫ﺧﻮﻧﮫ* َرﻓﺘﻦ )ر‬
The lesson might proceed with a monologue or dialogue (and translation) for listening and reading. The lesson
might then introduce typical, relevant questions and answers.
§2.1. Read the following pairs of questions and answers, using the translations to resolve
questions about meaning.

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 What time do you get up in the morning ‫ﭼﻨﺪ ُﺑَﻠﻦ ﻣﯿﺸﯿﻦ؟‬
َ ِ‫ﻋ ﺖ‬
َ ‫ﺻﺒﺎ ﺳﺎ‬
ُ ‫ﺷﻤﺎ‬
ُ .١
I usually get up at 7 o'clock .‫َﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً ﺳﺎَﻋﺖ ھَﻔﺖ ﭘﺎ ﻣﯿَﺸﻢ‬
When do you go to the office? ‫ ِﻛﻰ ﻣﯿﺮﯾﻦ ِاداره؟‬.٢
I leave the house at 7:45 ‫ﺖ ﯾِﻚ ُرﺑﻊ ﺑﮫ ھَﺸﺖ اَز ﺧﻮﻧﮫ ﻣﯿﺎم ﺑﯿﺮون‬
ِ ‫ﺳﺎَﻋ‬
and get to the office by 8:30 .‫ﺖ ھَﺸﺖ و ﻧﯿﻢ ﻣٮِﺮَﺳﻢ اِداره‬
ِ ‫و ﺳﺎَﻋ‬
How many hours a day do you work? ‫ ﭼﻦ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ در روز ﻛﺎر ﻣﻰ ﻛﻨﯿﻦ؟‬.٣
I work eight hours .‫ھﺸﺖ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ ﻛﺎر ﻣﻰ ﻛﻨﻢ‬
When do you usually eat lunch? ‫ ﻧﺎھﺎرو ﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً ِﻛﻰ ﻣﯿﺨﻮرﯾﻦ؟‬.۴
I'm really busy these days ،‫اﯾﻦ روزھﺎ َﺳَﺮم َوﺣَﺸﺘﻨﺎك ُﺷﻠﻮﻏﮫ‬
so I don't get to lunch until 1 o’clock or 1:30. ،‫ﺖ ﯾﻚ‬
ِ ‫واﺳﮫ ھﻤﯿﻦ ﺗﺎ ﺳﺎﻋ‬
.‫ﯾﻚ و ﻧﯿﻢ ﻧِﻤﯿﺮﺳﻢ ﺑﮫ ﻧﺎھﺎر‬
I can’t work when I’m hungry. ‫ﻣﻦ ﺑﺎ ُﮔُﺮﺳﻨِﮕﻰ ﻧﻤﻰ ﺗﻮﻧﻢ ﻛﺎر ﻛﻨﻢ‬
There’s nothing I can do about it sometimes .‫ﺑَﻌﻀﻰ َوﻗﺘﺎ ﭼﺎره اى ﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬
Until what time do you-2 you work ‫ﻋﺼﺮھﺎ ﺗﺎ ﭼﮫ ﺳﺎﻋﺘﻰ‬
َ ‫ﺷﻤﺎ‬
ُ .۵
in the late afternoons ‫ﻛﺎر ﻣﯿﻜﻨﯿﺪ؟‬
I usually work until 5 o’clock or 5:30. .‫ ﭘﻨﺞ و ﻧﯿﻢ ﻛﺎر ﻣﯿﻜﻨﻢ‬،‫ﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً ﺗﺎ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ ﭘﻨﺞ‬
Where do you go after that? ‫ ﺑﻌِﺪش ﻛﺠﺎ ﻣﯿﺮﯾﻦ؟‬.۶
I go straight home ‫ﯾﮫ راﺳﺖ ﻣﯿﺮم ﺧﻮﻧﮫ‬
because I eat dinner early. .‫ﭼ ﻮ ن ﻣ ﻌ ﻤ ﻮ ﻻ ً ز و د ﺷ ﺎم ﻣ ﯿ ﺨ ﻮ رم‬
What do you-2 do after dinner? ‫ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﺷﺎم ﭼﯿﻜﺎر ﻣﯿﻜﻨﯿﻦ؟‬.٧
I watch television or read a book. .‫ﺗﻠﻮﯾﺰﯾﻮن ﻧﮕﺎه ﻣﻰ ﻛﻨﻢ ﯾﺎ ﻛﺘﺎب ﻣﯿﺨﻮﻧﻢ‬
When do you-2 go to bed nights? ‫ ﺷﺒﺎ ﻛِﻰ ﻣﯿﺨﻮاﺑﯿﻦ؟‬.٨
During the week at 11 o’clock. .‫در طﻮِل ھﻔﺘﮫ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ ﯾﺎزده‬
Only on Friday and Saturday nights ‫ﺐ ﯾﻚ ﺷﻨﺒﮫ‬
ِ ‫ﺐ ﺷﻨﺒﮫ و ﺷ‬
ِ ‫ﻓﻘﻂ ﺷ‬
do I go to bed a little later. .‫ﯾ ﻚ ﻛ ﻢ د ﯾ ﺮ ﺗ ﺮ ﻣ ﯿ ﺨ ﻮ ا ﺑﻢ‬
What do you do on those nights? ‫ اون ﺷﺒﺎ ﭼﯿﻜﺎر ﻣﻰ ﻛﻨﻰ؟‬.٩
Usually we’re at a party or we have guests .‫ﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً ﯾﺎ ِﻣﮭﻤﻮﻧﻰ ھﺴﺘﯿﻢ ﯾﺎ ﻣﮭﻤﻮن دارﯾﻢ‬
§2.2. Now read each question with a partner who reads the answer. Read the text again
reversing roles.
§2.3. Review the questions and think of factual answers reflecting your situation. Look up any
needed Persian words in your English-Persian dictionary.
§2.4. Again with a partner, practice the questions and answers with information reflecting your
actual daily activities.
*****
Phrasebooks are another situational or theme-based vocabulary resource, Lonely Planet’s Farsi (Persian)
Phrasebook and Dictionary (2014, 260p) by Davar Dehghani likely the most readily available. Designed for
6
(European?) travelers to Iran, it features these sections: meeting people, getting around, accommodation, around
town, going out, family, interests, social issues, shopping, food, in the country, health, specific needs, times, dates,
and festivals, numbers and amounts, an emergencies, followed by English-Farsi (Persian) and Farsi (Persian)
“dictionaries of 2,700+ and 920+ entries, respectively.15
Easy Persian Phrasebook: Essential Expressions for Communicating in Persian (2014, 174 p) by Reza Nazari
treats the colloquial/spoken register and presents Perso-Arabic and English transcriptions. Subject/situation
categories include quick reference for: the basics, greetings, introductions, jobs, invitations, praise and gratitude,
requests, feeling and blessings, weather, time and dates, numbers, sports, colors, animals, insects, flowers, body,
countries, nationalities, and languages; traveling, booking tips, flight registration, on the plane, train, bus, boat, taxi,
bus, subway, car rental, driving, parking, at the service station, out of order; communication means: post office,
telephone, internet; eating: fruits/vegetables, spices, seafood, meat, grocery, drinks, at the restaurant; shopping–
finance: clothing, accessories, electronics, jewelry, books, in the office; sightseeing: tourist information,
entertainment, movies, theater, at the museum, camping, at the beach, countryside; health and beauty care:
drugstore, pain, seeing a doctor, dentists, hair salon; emergencies: accidents, police.16
Except for grouping vocabulary according to situations, subjects, and themes, theme-based Persian glossaries,
phrasebooks, and learner’s dictionaries may not directly “teach” vocabulary, but Persian instructors can easily
develop reading, listening, and speaking lessons around sections and situations in such guides. Jane Adelson-
Goldstein and Norma Shapiro’s English/Farsi Oxford Picture Dictionary: Second Edition 2009) is a useful ancillary
resource with its everyday topics sections and illustrations of 4,000+ words and expressions,17 as is Patrick R.
Moran’s Lexicarry: Pictures for Learning Languages (2015).18
Mini-lesson #3. Here is a sample audio motor unit, a sort of activity designed to help develop listening skills
that can concomitantly serve vocabulary acquisition and reinforcement aims.

§3.1. After listening to and watching your instructor identify the following classroom objects,
execute his/her commands to point to specific objects. Then ask classmates to execute the
commands.
…...‫ﺗﺨﺘﮫ ﺳﯿﺎه‬.…..‫ﮐﻒ اﺗﺎق‬.…..‫ﺳﻘﻒ‬...…‫ﭘﻨﺠﺮه‬.…..‫در‬...…‫ﺑﺎ دﺳﺖ اﺷﺎره ﮐﻨﯿﺪ ﺑﮫ دﯾﻮار‬
blackboard..classroom floor..ceiling….window...door…...wall
.…‫ﭘِﺮﯾِﺰ ﺑﺮق‬.…‫ﮐﻠﯿِﺪ ﺑﺮق‬.…‫ﭼﺮاغ‬.…‫ﻣﯿِﺰ ﻣﻌﻠﻢ‬.…‫ﺻﻨﺪﻟﯽ ﻣﻌﻠﻢ‬
electric socket...light switch….lamp/light...teacher’s table...teacher’s chair
.…‫َﺳﻄﻞ آﺷﻐﺎل‬.…‫ھَﻮاِﮐﺶ‬.…(‫ﭘَﺮده )ﭘُﺮوِژﮐﺘﻮر‬.…‫ﮐﺎﻣﭙﯿﻮﺗِﺮ‬.…‫ﻧﻘﺸﮫ‬.…‫ﭘﻨﮑﮫ‬
trash can…….air vent….projection screen….computer….map….fan
.…‫ب درﺳﯿﺘﻮن‬
ِ ‫ﮐﺘﺎ‬.…‫ﺳﯿِﻢ ﺑﺮق‬.…‫ﭘﺮده ﮐﺮﮐﺮه‬.…‫ﭘﺮده‬
your textbook..electric cord……….blinds….curtain

§3.2 After listening to and watching your instructor perform the following actions, execute his/
her commands by performing those actions. Then ask classmates to execute the commands.
.«‫ﺑِﮕﯿﻦ »ﺳﻼم‬ .١
Say “hello.”
.‫ ﺑُﻠَﻦ ﺷﯿﻦ‬/ .‫ﭘﺎ ﺷﯿﻦ‬ .٢
Stand/get up.
.‫ﺑﺮﯾﻦ ﺟﻠﻮی ﺗَﺨﺘﮫ ﺳﯿﺎه‬ .٣
Go to the blackboard.
.‫اﺳِﻤﺘﻮﻧﻮ روی ﺗﺨﺘﮫ ﺳﯿﺎ ﺑِﻨِﻮﯾﺴﯿﻦ‬ .۴
Write your name on the blackboard.
.‫ف ﭘﻨﺠﺮه‬
ِ ‫ﺑِﺮﯾﻦ ﺑﮫ طﺮ‬ .۵

7
 Go to the window.
.‫ﭘَﻨَﺠﺮه رو ﭘﺎز ُﮐﻨﯿﻦ‬ .۶
Open the window.
.‫)ﭘﺮده( ِﮐﺮِﮐﺮه رو ﺑِﺒﻨﺪﯾﻦ‬ .٧
Shut/close the blinds.
.‫ﭼﺮاﻏﺎرو ﺧﺎﻣﻮش ﮐﻨﯿﻦ‬
ِ .٨
Turn off the lights.
.‫ﭼﺮاﻏﺎرو دوﺑﺎره ُروﺷﻦ ﮐﻨﯿﻦ‬ .٩
Turn the lights on again.
.‫ﺑﺮﯾﻦ ﺑﮫ طﺮف ﭘَﻨَﺠﺮه‬ .١٠
Go to the window.
.‫ﺑَﺮَﮔﺮدﯾﻦ ﺟﺎﺗﻮن‬ .١١
Go back to your seat/place.
‫ف در‬ َ ‫ﺑِﺮﯾﻦ‬
ِ ‫طَﺮ‬ .١٢
Go to the door.
.‫از اﺗﺎق ﺑِﺮﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﺮون و دوﺑﺎره ﺑﯿﺎﯾﻦ ﺗﻮ‬ .١٣
Leave the room and come back in. /biyāyn tu/.
.«‫ﺑِﮕﯿﻦ »ُﺧﺪاﺣﺎﻓِﻆ‬ .١۴
19
Say “good-bye.”
*****
General Persian dictionaries, as well, do not teach vocabulary, but they often offer authentic Persian texts as
illustrations of uses of headwards and facility in their use seems indispensable in developing reading competence
and in maintaining and expanding command of passive vocabulary. And it so happens that, since the mid-1970s,
Persian lexicography in Iran has expanded dramatically and expertly in Iran. Reliable dictionaries now exist in
many specialized and technical fields and domains, among them: agriculture, animal husbandry, Arabic loanwords,
archaeology, architecture, art, astronomy, banking, biology, business, carpets, oriental (Persian), chemical
engineering, chemistry, cinema, civil engineering, computer science, dialects, earth sciences, economics, electricity,
electronics, engineering, environment, European loanwords, geography, geology and mines, geophysics, health and
hygiene, industrial engineering, journalism, law, linguistics, literature, management, materials, mathematics,
mechanical engineering, medicine, metallurgy, meteorology, military affairs, mining engineering, mountain
climbing, music, names (male and female), nursing, nutrition, painting, philosophy, phonetics, photography,
physical education/sports, physics, political science, politics, proverbs, psychology, psychiatry, pure Persian,
railroad, religion, science and technology, slang, sociology, statistics, and veterinary medicine.20
Now, most specialized/technical Persian dictionaries published in Iran are primarily English to Persian,
designed to familiarize their Iranian readers with English vocabulary in technical fields. But, because most of these
dictionaries usually contain at least a Persian-English vocabulary list or glossary and because some specialized/
technical dictionaries are Persian-English or have parallel Persian-English and English-Persian sections, specialized/
technical Persian dictionaries also meet needs of English-speaking, general learners and readers of Persian and
instructional materials developers designing lessons focusing on vocabulary. Moreover, because of the outdatedness
and other inadequacies of most hardcopy, general Persian-English dictionaries, English-speaking Persian experts and
learners can supplement coverage in their Persian-English dictionaries through access to specialized/technical
Persian dictionaries in subjects of interest.
Of course, the most useful dictionaries for elementary and intermediate, English-speaking students of Persian
are Persian-English and English-Persian dictionaries of bookish/written [‫ﻧِِﻮﺷﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ِﮐﺘﺎﺑﯽ‬Persian, which learners can
use even for colloquial/spoken [‫ُﮔﻔﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ُﻣﺤﺎوره ای‬Persian forms heard or seen once they learn the basic differences
between the two registers of Persian.21 For advanced students of Persian, abridged and unabridged Persian-Persian

8
dictionaries are particularly important. And Persian-Persian and Persian-English dictionaries of colloquial/spoken
and slang registers of Persian have their place on the shelves of students of Persian and Persianists. Online
dictionaries are a separate category of resource not described in this essay because of their arguably lesser utility in
vocabulary acquisition and maintenance, as implied below. Parenthetically, memorization of the Persian alphabet in
alphabetical order and perhaps also in reverse order is not child’s play, but rather essential for efficient dictionary
use, not primarily in locating the letter with which a word begins, but rather in locating letters within words.
*****
At every stage or level of Persian study and Persian use by English-speaking learners, those learners think of
something they want to say or write, but do not know the relevant equivalent Persian word or expression. Here
follow brief descriptions of four English-Persian dictionaries likely on or near the desks of most Persianists.22
• The most popular English-Persian dictionary over the years has arguably been Haïm’s The One-Volume
English-Persian Dictionary (1993, 2002 [1st paperback edition], 700 p.). 40,000 entries. Outdated, but still useful
when supplemented with lists or glossaries of newer (post-1970s) words, and also needs a Persian-Persian or
Persian-English dictionary for pronunciation of Persian words.
• The most readily available English-Persian dictionary in the English-speaking world is likely the first half of
The Combined New Persian-English and English-Persian Dictionary by Abbas and Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani
(1986). Outdated and not error-free but still useful, especially if supplemented with word lists or glossaries of post-
early 1970s) words.
• • Among 21st-century English-Persian dictionaries, at least two stand out. First is Farhang Moaser One-
Volume English-Persian Millennium Dictionary by Ali Mohammad Haghshenas, et al. (2005). A second is Pooya
English-Persian Dictionary, Two Volumes in One (2008) by Mohammad Reza Bateni and assistants.
Mini-lesson #4. Here is an exercise based on entries in the One-Volume Millennium English-Persian
Dictionary and Pooya English-Persian Dictionary: Two Volumes in One.
§4.1. Match the following English words and phrases with sample Persian equivalents and
definitions below.
1 advertise 9 mass communications media
2 advertisement 10 medium
3 advertiser 11 technical
4 advertising 12 technicality
5 communicate 13 technically
6 communication 14 technician
7 communications network 15 technique
8 communicator 16 technology

ِ ‫ ﺷﺎِر‬،‫ آدِم ﻓَﺼﯿﺢ‬،‫آَدِم ُروَﺷﻦ ﺑﯿﺎن‬

‫ح ﺗَﺮدﺳﺖ‬ ___
‫ اِﻋﻼن ﻛﻨﻨﺪه‬،‫آﮔﮭﻰ دھﻨﺪه‬ ___
‫ ﺗَﺒﻠﯿﻎ‬،‫ اﻋﻼن‬،‫آﮔﮭﻰ‬ ___
ِ ‫ ُﺟﺰﺋﯿﺎ‬،‫ ﻧُﻜﺘﮫ ی ﻓﻨّﻰ‬،‫ح ﻓَﻨّﻰ‬
‫ت ﺑﻰ اھّﻤﯿّﺖ‬ ِ ‫اِﺻِﻄﻼ‬ ___
‫اِ ﱢ‬
‫ اِظﮭﺎر ﻛﺮدن‬،‫ آﮔﺎھﺎﻧﯿﺪن از‬،‫طﻼع دادن‬ ___
‫ راِه ارﺗﺒﺎط‬،‫ ﺗَﻤﺎس‬،‫ اِرﺗِﺒﺎط‬،‫ رﺳﺎﻧﺪن‬،‫اِﻧﺘِﻘﺎل‬ ___
ِ ‫ در ﭼﺎرﭼﻮ‬،‫ از ﻧﻈِﺮ ﻓﻨّﻰ‬،‫ﺑﮫ ﻟﺤﺎِظ ﻓﻨّﻰ‬
‫ب ﻗَﻮاﻧﯿﻦ‬ ___
‫ اﻋﻼن ﻛﺮدن‬،‫ آﮔﮭﻰ ﻛﺮدن‬،‫ﺗﺒﻠﯿﻎ ﻛﺮدن‬ ___

9
 ‫ ﻛﺎِر ﺗﺒﻠﯿﻐﺎت‬،‫ﺻﻨﻌﺖ ﺗﺒﻠﯿﻐﺎت‬
َ ،‫ﺗﺒﻠﯿﻐﺎت‬ ___
‫َﺷﺒَﻜﮫ ی ارﺗﺒﺎطﺎت‬ ___
‫ ﻓّﻦ‬،‫ ﺗِﻜﻨﯿﻚ‬،‫ راھﻜﺎر‬،‫ َرِوش‬،‫ﺷﯿﻮه‬ ___
‫ ﻓﻨّﺎورى‬،‫ ﺗﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮژى‬،‫ﻓّﻦ ِﺷﻨﺎﺳﻰ‬ ___
‫ ﺗََﺨ ﱡ‬،‫ ﺻﻨﻌﺘﻰ‬،‫ﻓﻨّﻰ‬
‫ﺼﺼ ﻰ‬ ___
ّ‫ُﻣﺘََﺨ ﱢ‬
‫ ﺗِﻜﻨﯿﺴﯿﻦ‬،‫ ﻓَﻨﺎور‬،‫ﺼﺺ‬ ___
‫ َرﺳﺎﻧﮫ ھﺎى ُﮔﺮوھﻰ‬،‫ت ﺟﻤﻌﻰ‬
ِ ‫َوﺳﺎﯾِِﻞ ارﺗﺒﺎطﺎ‬ ___
َ ،‫ اَﺑﺰار‬،‫وﺳﯿﻠﮫ‬
‫ رﺳﺎﻧﮫ‬،‫ واِﺳﻄﮫ‬،‫طﺮﯾﻖ‬ ___
*****
• The most popular among Persian-English dictionaries over the years has arguably been S. Haïm’s The One-
Volume Persian-English Dictionary, its 1963 incarnation a book that never left my side in Mashhad.23 It contains
22,500 entries and is outdated, but still useful if supplemented with lists or glossaries of (post-1960s) words.
• The most readily available Persian-English dictionary in the English-speaking world is likely the second half
of The Combined New Persian-English and English-Persian Dictionary by Abbas and Manoochehr Aryanpur
Kashani (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1986).24 Outdated and not error-free but still useful, especially if
supplemented with word lists or glossaries lists of post-early 1970s words, e.g., «‫ِﮔﺮا‬...» /...gerā/ and
«...‫ »ِﮔﺮاﯾﯽ‬/...gerāyi/ words for “...ists” and “...isms.”
Kimia Persian-English Dictionary (2006) by Karim Emami seems (as of 2020) to enjoy the best reputation
among Persian-English dictionaries.25 It includes some colloquial/spoken [‫ُﮔﻔﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ُﻣﺤﺎِوره ای‬and slang [‫ ]ﻋﺎﻣﯿﺎﻧﮫ‬words
and expressions, marked as such, among its 20,000+ headwords. On the downside, Kimia Persian-English
Dictionary is not error-free and, owing to the fact that is not corpus-based, it exhibit gaps in coverage of some high-
frequency lexical items.
Mini-lesson #5. Here is a mini-lesson that introduces terms useful in talking about and reading Persian
dictionaries and presents a text illustrating dictionary vocabulary.
§5.1. Study the following list of words and phrases on the subject of dictionaries. Then check
your Persian-English dictionary to gauge any coverage limitations.
ِ ‫ﻓَﺮھَﻨ‬
‫ﮓ دوﺳﻮ‬ dictionary ‫ﮓ ﻟُﻐﺎت‬
ِ ‫ﻓَﺮھَﻨ‬
dosuyé 2-directional dictionary (Persian-English, E-P) monolingual dictionary ِ ‫ﻓَﺮھَﻨ‬
‫ﮓ ﯾِﻚ َزﺑﺎﻧﮫ‬
specialized dictionary ‫ﮓ ِاﺧِﺘﺼﺎﺻﻰ‬
ِ ‫َﻓﺮَھﻨ‬ bilingual dictionary ِ ‫ﻓَﺮھَﻨ‬
‫ﮓ دوَزﺑﺎﻧﮫ‬
lexicography ‫ﮓ ِﻧﮕﺎرى‬
ْ ‫ َﻓﺮَھﻨ‬،‫ﮓ ِﻧﻮﯾﺴﻰ‬
ْ ‫َﻓﺮَھﻨ‬ reverse sort dictionary ‫ﻓَﺮھَﻨﮓ زاﻧﺴﻮ‬
denotation ‫ﺻﺮﯾﺢ‬
َ ‫ﻰ‬
ِ ‫ َﻣﻌﻨ‬،‫َﻣﻌﻨﻰ‬ headword ‫َﺳﺮَﻣﺪَﺧﻞ‬
connotation ‫ﺿﻤﻨﻰ‬
ِ ‫ﻰ‬
ِ ‫َﻣﻌﻨ‬ entry ‫َﻣﺪَﺧﻞ‬
association – association of ideas ‫ﻰ َﻣﻌﺎﻧﻰ‬
ِ ‫ َﺗﺪاﻋ‬- ‫َﺗﺪاﻋﻰ‬ spelling ‫اِﻣﻼء‬
explanatory symbol alāmát-e towzihí ‫ﺖ ُﺗﻮﺿٮﯿﺤﻰ‬
ِ ‫ﻋﻼَﻣ‬
َ pronunciation ‫ﺗَﻠَﻔﱡﻆ‬
abbreviation symbol ...ekhtesārí ‫ﻋﻼَﻣﺖ ِاﺧِﺘﺼﺎرى‬
َ part of speech ِ ‫ ﻧُﻮ‬.‫ﻗِﺴِﻢ َﻛﻠِﻤﮫ‬
‫ َﻣﻘﻮﻟﮫ ی ﻧَﺤﻮى‬،‫ع َﻛﻠﻤﮫ‬
proper name ‫اﺳِﻢ ﺧﺎص‬ word root – source/origin ‫ َﻣﻨﺸﺄ‬،‫ َﻣﺒﺪأ‬- ‫رﯾﺸﮫ ی َﻛﻠِﻤﮫ‬
approximate equivalent ‫ل َﺗﻘﺮﯾﺒﻰ‬
ِ ‫ُﻣﻌﺎِد‬ mabdá' manshá‘

semantic arena/environment howzéh ‫ﺣﻮ ز ه ی ﻣَﻌﻨﺎﯾﻰ‬ definition ‫ﺗَﻌﺮﯾﻒ‬

10
 stress/accent mark(er) ta(e)kyé ‫ﺖ َﺗﻜﯿﮫ‬
ِ ‫ﻋﻼﻣ‬
َ synonym – antonym ‫ ُﻣﺘَﻀﺎد‬- ‫ُﻣﺘَﺮاِدف‬
background information ‫ت َزﻣﯿﻨﮫ اى‬
ِ ‫طﻼﻋ ﺎ‬
‫ِا ﱢ‬ example, illustration ‫ ِﻣﺜﺎل‬،‫ﻧِﻤﻮﻧﮫ‬

§5.2. The generic subordinating conjunction «‫ »ﻛﮫ‬introduces relative clauses, as in these two
examples. Note that an unstressed /i/ sound, written «‫»ى‬, appears at the end of the word about
which the relative clause gives information.
be ketābi ke ‫ اِﺳِﻢ ِﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ ﻛﮫ دﯾﺮوز ﻣﯿﺨﻮاﻧﺪﯾﺪ ﭼﮫ ﺑﻮد؟‬.١
What was the name of the book you were reading yesterday?

esm-e ketābi ke .‫ ﺑﮫ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ ﻛﮫ واژه ھﺎى ﯾﻚ زﺑﺎن را ھﻤﺮاه ﺑﺎ ﻣﻌﻨﻰ آﻧﮭﺎ ﻧﻘﻞ ﻣﻰ ﻛﻨﺪ »ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ« ﻣﻰ ﮔﻮٮﻨﺪ‬.٢
They call a book which reports on the words of a language together with their meanings a "dictionary."

§5.3. Look over the following partial dictionary entry for the word «‫»ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ‬, which denotes
both “dictionary” and “culture.” Using the above list, underscore dictionary terms in the text that
appear on the list.

‫ى ﯾﻚ َزﺑﺎن را ھَﻤﺮاه ﺑﺎ َﻣﻌﻨِﻰ آﻧﮭﺎ ﺑﮫ ھَﻤﺎن‬

ِ ‫( ِﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ ﻛﮫ واژه ھﺎ‬١) .(‫ )اِﺳﻢ‬farháng ‫ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ‬

ِ ‫ َﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً ﺑﮫ ﺗَﺮﺗﯿ‬،‫ ﯾﺎ واژه ھﺎى ِﯾﻚ زﺑﺎن را ﺑﮫ زﺑﺎﻧﻰ دﯾَﮕﺮ‬،‫زﺑﺎن‬

‫ﺐ اَﻟِﻔﺒﺎﯾﻰ ﻧَﻘﻞ ﻣﻰ ُﻛﻨَﺪ و‬

ِ َ‫ ھُِﻮﯾ‬،‫ﻣﻌﻤﻮﻻً آﮔﺎھﻰ ھﺎﯾﻰ َدرﺑﺎره ی ﺗَﻠَﻔﱡﻆ‬

‫ و ُﺟِﺰ آﻧﮭﺎ ﺑﮫ ﺧﻮاﻧَﻨﺪه‬،‫ رﯾﺸﮫ ی َﻛﻠِﻤﮫ‬،‫ﺖ َدﺳﺘﻮرى‬

‫( ﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ ﻛﮫ در آن واژه‬٢) . ‫ ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ ﻣﻌﯿﻦ‬،‫ ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ ﺑﺰرگ ﺳﺨﻦ‬:‫ ﻗﺎﻣﻮس‬،‫ ﻟَُﻐﺖ ﻧﺎﻣﮫ‬.‫ﻣﻰ َدھَﺪ‬

.« ‫ع ﺧﺎﺻﻰ َﺷﺮح داده ُﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ‬

ِ ‫ى َﻣﺮﺑﻮط ﺑﮫ ِرﺷﺘﮫ اى از داﻧِﺶ ﯾﺎ ُﻣﻮﺿﻮ‬
ِ ‫ھﺎ‬
§5.4. Using data from the foregoing text, answer these questions.

_____________________ (1) ‫ﮓ ُﻟﻐﺎت ِﭘﯿﺪا ﻛﺮد؟‬

ِ ‫طﻼﻋﺎﺗﻰ را در ُﻣﻮِرِد ﯾﻚ َﻛِﻠﻤﮫ ﻣﻰ َﺗﻮان در ﻓﺮھﻨ‬
‫ ﭼﮫ ُﻧﻮع ِا ﱢ‬.١
___________________ (4) ___________________ (3) ___________________ (2)
What sorts of information about a given word can one find in a dictionary
_____________________________________ ‫( »ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ« ﭼﮫ ﭼﯿﺰى َاَھﱢﻤﱠﯿﺖ دارد؟‬2) ‫ﻒ دوم‬
ِ ‫ در ﺗﻌﺮٮﯿ‬.٢
In the second definition of “dictionary,” what has particular importance
______________________________‫« ﺑﮫ ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ ﭼﮫ ﻣﻰ ﺷﻮد؟‬a branch/field of knowledge» ‫ت‬
ِ ‫ﻋﺒﺎَر‬
ِ .٣
What’s the Persian equivalent for the English phrase ‘a field/branch of knowledge’?
__________________ _______________ .‫ دو َﻛﻠِﻤﮫ ی ُﻣﺘَﺮاِدف ﺑﺎ ﻛﻠﻤﮫ ی »ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ« در ﻣﺘﻦ ﺑﺎﻻ ﭘﯿﺪا ﻛﻨٮﺪ‬.۴
Find two synonyms for the word /farhang/ in the foregoing text.t
_________________________________ .‫ن ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ را ﻧﺎم ﺑﺒﺮﯾﺪ‬
ِ ‫ﻰ زﺑﺎ‬
ِ ‫ﮓ ﻟﻐﺎتِ ِاﺧِﺘﺼﺎﺻ‬
ِ ‫ ﯾﻚ ُﻧﻮع ﻓﺮھﻨ‬.۵
Name one sort of specialized Persian dictionary.

§5.5. Use this translation to resolve questions about meaning in the foregoing text.
Dictionary. (1) A book which recounts the words of one language together with their
meanings in the same language or the words of one language in another language, usually
in alphabetical order, and which usually gives readers information about pronunciation,
grammatical identity, word origin, and the like. loghatnāmé, qāmus: Sokhan Unabridged
Dictionary, Mo’in’s Persian Dictionary. (2) A book in which words pertaining to a field
of knowledge of a special(ized) subject have been explained: Dictionary of Economics.
*****
Theme-based Persian learner’s dictionaries, glossaries, phrase books, and frequency lists highlight the utility of

11
threshold reading, listening, and speaking word lists in the design of instructional materials and ancillary materials
in elementary Persian courses. In that regard, specialized non-technical Persian dictionaries, that is, dictionaries
treating specific areas of Persian or Persian from a specific perspective, can also serve as valuable resources in
teaching/learning vocabulary; for example, thesauri, reverse-sort dictionaries, dictionaries of Arabic loanwords in
Persian, pronunciation dictionaries of proper names, dictionaries of onomatopoeic lexical items and phrases in
Persian, dictionaries of “pure” Persian words, and dictionaries of neologisms.26 Among such resources, a reverse-
cort dictionary and a dictionary of Arabic loanwords would appear the most useful for vocabulary acquistion and
expansion.
• Khosrow Keshani’s Dictionnaire inverse de la langue persane/Farhang-e Fārsi-ye Zānsu [Reverse Order/Sort
Persian Dictionary] (1993)27 offers readers examples of the sorts of word-ending elements to allow them to reach
working generalizations about suffixes, verb stems and other verb parts, and words that combine with pre-final
elements. Mini-lesson #13 (below) reviews uses of the letter yeh «‫ »ى‬in word-final position, perhaps the most
important word-ending element that a reverse-sort dictionary would highlight.
• Sayyed Mohammad Nahvi’s Farhang-e Risheh'i-ye Vām'vāzeh-hā-ye ‘Arabi yā Loghāt-e ‘Arabi-ye Mosta'mal
dar Fārsi [Dictionary of the Roots of Arabic Loanwords or Arabic Words Used in Persian] (1989) is a reliable, easy-
to-use guide in an Arabic dictionary style (i.e., entries appear in alphabetical order according to triliteral root
systems presented at headwords) that can help learners get passive control of family groups of vocabulary items,
rather than dealing with related words one at a time.28
Mini-lesson #6. According to some experts, nearly half of Persian noun/adjective words may come from
Arabic, which means that learning how to recognize and deal with the Arabic element in Persian is important to
vocabulary acquisition and expansion.29 Here is a mini-less that can begin that process.
§6.1. Read the following list of Arabic loanwords are related to a h+k+m «‫ »ﺣﮑﻢ‬root system.
Triliteral consonantal root systems of families of related words are a core feature of Arabic
loanwords in Persian.
order, decree; sentence ‫ اَﺣﮑﺎم‬.‫ُﺣﮑﻢ ج‬

philosophy, wisdom, knowledge ‫ ِﺣَﮑﻢ‬.‫ِﺣﮑَﻤﺖ ج‬

sage, wise man, philosopher ‫ ُﺣَﮑﻤﺎ‬.‫َﺣﮑﯿﻢ ج‬

governor; magistrate; judge; dominant, ruling ‫ ُﺣّﮑﺎم‬.‫ﺣﺎِﮐﻢ ج‬

ruling, dominant ‫ﺣﺎﮐﻤﮫ‬

rulership, ruling, authority, sovereignty ‫ﺣﺎِﮐﻤﯿﱠﺖ‬

condemned, sentenced, convicted - sentence ‫ َﻣﺤﮑﻮ ِﱠﻣﯿﺖ‬- ‫َﻣﺤﮑﻮم‬

law court ‫ َﻣﺤﺎِﮐﻢ‬.‫َﻣﺤَﮑﻤﮫ م‬

arbitration, mediation, judgment ‫ِﺣَﮑِﻤﯿﱠﺖ‬

strengthening. fortifying ‫ﺗَﺤﮑﯿﻢ‬

trial, hearing, tribunal ‫ ُﻣﺤﺎِﮐﻤﺎت‬.‫ُﻣﺤﺎِﮐﻤﮫ ج‬

strengthening - firm, strong, secure(ly)- firmness ‫ ُﻣﺤﮑﻤﯽ‬- ‫ ُﻣﺤَﻤﻢ‬- ‫اِﺣﮑﺎم‬

bossiness, domineering behavior ‫ﺗََﺤﱡﮑﻢ‬

solidness, firmness, strength, fortification- fortifications ‫ اِﺳﺘﺤﮑﺎﻣﺎت‬- ‫اِﺳﺘِﺤﮑﺎم‬

12
 fortified, firm ‫ُﻣﺴﺘﺤَﮑﻢ‬
§6.2. Knowing the basic meaning of a root system and the sorts of meanings that derived
patterns give to the root idea can make possible educated guesses about the meaning of most
Arabic loanwords in context as well as about their pronunciation. For example, the following
Arabic loanword forms, described with the number “1” for the first of three root letters, “2” for the
second root letter, and “3” for the third root letter of triliteral root system communicate the modes
presented within parentheses. Identify a word from the foregoing list that exhibits each of the
following forms.
1a23, 1e23, 1o23 (base level verbal noun) ________________
1ā2é3 (active noun-adjective) ________________
ma12ú3 (passive noun-adjective) ________________
ma12e3é (noun of place) ________________
ta12í3 (derived active/intensive verbal noun) ________________
mo1ā2e3é (derived reciprocal verbal noun) ________________
e12ā3 (derived active/intensive verbal noun) ________________
ta1a22ó3 (derived verbal noun) ________________
este12ā3 (derived verbal noun) ________________
§6.3. Knowing that the presence of one or more of these ten letters ‫ق‬-‫غ‬-‫ع‬-‫ظ‬-‫ط‬-‫ض‬-‫ص‬-‫ذ‬-‫ح‬-‫ث‬,
almost always indicates a word’s Arabic origin, pay particular attention to words with one or more
of these letters, as well as any other words with three letters that remind you of other words with
the same three letters in the same order, for example: ‫[ َﺳﻼم‬hello], ‫[ ﺳﺎﻟِﻢ‬healthy, whole], ‫ﺗَﺴﻠﯿﻢ‬
[surrender], ‫[ اِﺳﻼم‬Islam], and ‫[ ُﻣﺴﻠِﻢ‬Muslim].30
*****
The most important dictionary resources for students of Persian and potentially the richest source for
vocabulary acquisition, maintenance, and expansion are general Persian-Persian dictionaries that define and
illustrate headwords within the context of Persian itself. The unabridged Loghat’nāmeh-ye Dehkhodā and the
slightly abridged Farhang-e Mo‘in remain the best-known Persian-Persian dictionaries and standard resources for
texts predating the 1970s.31 As for Persian-Persian dictionary coverage into the 21st century, Farhang-e Bozorg-
Sokhan [Sokhan Comprehensive Dictionary] and Farhang Moaser’s Farhang’nāmeh-ye Fārsi: Vāzhgān va A‘lām
[Persian Encyclopedical Dictionary: Lexicon and Proper Names] provide reliable coverage.
• Sokhan Comprehensive Dictionary includes headwords from “everyday conversation.” According to Chief
Editor Anvari: “The examples and citations are quoted from the works of 800 authors and poets, resulting in over
80,000 main entries, 40,000 sub-entries, and 170,000 examples and citations. These include the Persian word
sources as well as examples and citations covering a period of twelve centuries.”32
• Farhang’nāmeh-ye Fārsi: Vāzhgān va A‘lām [Persian Encyclopedical Dictionary: Lexicon and Proper
Names], 3 volumes (2009/10, 3,021 p). by Gholāmhosayn Sadri Afshār, Nasrin Hakami, and Nastaran Hakami,
features verb past stems and verb participles as headwords, but no present stem headwords.33 It concludes with a
Bibliography (pp. 2998-3011) that lists upwards of 200 dictionaries on the subject of, or otherwise relevant to, the
study of Persian vocabulary.
• The just cited two dictionaries are indispensable for Persianists, while for everyday carry-with use, Farhang-e

13
Mo‘āser-e Fārsi [Contemporary Persian Dictionary], 4th edition (2004) by Gholāmhosayn Sadri Afshār, Nasrin
Hakami, and Nastaran Hakami includes among its headwords a comprehensive list of prefixes, infixes, and suffixes,
words and phrases from popular culture and entertainment media, and the colloquial/spoken register of Persian.34 It
does not list verb present or past stems unless constituting lexical items in their own right or unless they serve as
word-final components of multi-part words.
Mini-lesson #7. Thinking of already familiar Persian words and looking them up in Sokhan Comprehensive
Dictionary or Persian Encyclopedical Dictionary: Lexicon and Proper Names makes for a useful vocabulary
building and reinforcement exercise. The activity, repeated regularly, exposes learners to Persian definitions of
familiar words, synonyms of those words, and authentic illustrations of them. Scanning headwords preceding and
following a word in question often introduces words and phrases related to that word.
§7.1. Look up the verb infinitive «‫[ »ﺗَﻮاﻧِﺴﺘَﻦ‬to be able] in Sokhan Comprehensive Dictionary and
read the entry. Use your Persian-English dictionary to check the meanings of a few of the
unfamiliar words in the entry. Reread the entry. Scan the headwords above and below the word in
question.35
§7.2. Look up the word «‫[ »ُﺧﺪا‬god, God] in Persian Encyclopedical Dictionary and read the
entry. Use your Persian-English dictionary to check the meanings of a few of the unfamiliar words
in the entry. Reread the entry. Then scan the (50+) headwords beneath «‫ »ُﺧﺪا‬to appreciate how
prefixes, suffixes, verb stems and other parts, and other words combine with it.
§7.3. ُTo facilitate use of Persian-Persian dictionaries, find and regularly look at a Persian-
English list of Persian grammar terms.36
• Cited Persian-Persian dictionaries treat literary [‫ ]اََدﺑﯽ‬and bookish/written [‫ﻧِِﻮﺷﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ِﮐﺘﺎﺑﯽ‬registers of the
language, leaving the colloquial/spoken [‫ُﮔﻔﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ُﻣﺤﺎِوره ای‬and slang [‫ ]ﻋﺎﻣﯿﺎﻧﮫ‬registers untouched. Abolhasan Najafi’s
comprehensive Farhang-e Fārsi-ye ‘Āmiyāneh [Colloquial/Slang Persian Dictionary] (1999/2000) presents
thousands of authentic examples of headwords and headword phrases taken from 110+ prose works written between
1921 and the 1990s by writers born in Tehran.37
• As for dictionary resources for oral, as opposed to written, colloquial/slang Persian, Mehdi Samā‘i’s Farhang-
e Loghāt-e Zabān-e Makhfi [A Persian Dictionary of Argot (lit: secret language)] (2003), which treats the slang of
young people in Tehran, is an interesting sample among a score of guides to Persian slang of various sorts.38 As
useful as such guides may prove as occasional resources, they may not figure significantly in high-frequency
vocabulary acquisition.
*****
Most Persian textbooks for speakers of English, including teaching grammars, do not reference Persian
dictionaries or practice their use in lesson units. Of course, textbook authors can easily supplement their textbooks
by preparing exercises on Persian-English and English-Persian dictionaries or assigning (parts of) a hardcopy
Persian-Persian dictionary as required reading in their courses. As mentioned in passing above, Persian-Persian
dictionary entries being authentic texts, reading them both develops reading skills and reinforces and expands
vocabulary through exposure to synonyms that appear in entries for given headwords and through scanning entries
immediately before and after entries in question.
Mini-lesson #8. As an illustration of the use of dictionary entries in Persian reading activities, here follows a
sample reading unit called “A Dictionary Definition of Culture,” adapted from Gholāmrezā Ensāfpur’s Kāmel

14
Farhang-e Fārsi [Comprehensive Persian Dictionary] (1994),39 which reminds readers that familiarity with Iranian
culture plays an important role in reading competence at the intermediate/advanced level of Persian study
§8.1. Read this list of Persian verb infinitives. Then scan the Persian text below for finite verb
forms or noun/adjective words derived from the verb infinitives. Infinitives appear on the list in
the order in which their related forms appear in the text.
to know sth – knowledge ‫داﻧِﺴﺘَﻦ )دان( – داﻧِﺶ‬
to build – urban development, city planning – tool making ‫ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻦ )ﺳﺎز( – َﺷﮭﺮﺳﺎزی – اَﺑﺰارﺳﺎزی‬
to learn; to teach – teaching, instruction; education ‫آﻣﻮﺧﺘَﻦ )آﻣﻮز( – آﻣﻮِزش‬
to raise, to nourish – nurturing, rearing; training, development ‫ﭘَﺮَوردن )ﭘﺮور( – ﭘَﺮَوِرش‬
to go – method ‫َرﻓﺘﻦ )َرو( – َرِوش‬
to wear; to put on clothes – clothing ‫ﭘﻮﺷﯿَﺪن )ﭘﻮش( – ﭘﻮﺷﺎک‬
to eat; to drink – food ‫ُﺧﻮرَدن )ﺧﻮر( – ُﺧﻮراک‬
to see – point of view, viewpoint ‫دﯾَﺪن )ﺑﯿﻦ( – دﯾﺪﮔﺎه‬
to know sb; to recognize – anthropology ‫ِﺷﻨﺎﺧﺘَﻦ )ِﺷﻨﺎس( – اِﻧﺴﺎن ِﺷﻨﺎﺳﯽ‬
to create – created; creature ‫آﻓَﺮﯾَﺪن )آﻓَﺮﯾﻦ( – آﻓَﺮﯾِﺪه‬
to live – nonliving ‫زﯾﺴﺘَﻦ )زی( – ِﻏﯿِﺮ زﯾﺴﺘﯽ‬
to transfer ‫ُﻣﻨﺘَﻘِﻞ َﮐﺮَدن‬
َ َ‫ﭘَﺮداﺧﺘَﻦ )ﭘَﺮداز( – ﻧ‬
to pay; to undertake – theoreticians ‫ﻈﺮﯾِﮫ ﭘَﺮدازان‬
to designate; to appoint; to determine – decisive ‫ﺗَﻌﯿﯿﻦ َﮐﺮَدن – ﺗَﻌﯿﯿﻦ ُﮐﻨَﻨِﺪه‬

§8.2. Now scan the text below for the Persian equivalents of these English words and phrases.
The words and phrases appear on the list in the order in which they appear in the text.
1. architectural style(s) ………………………...
2. urban development, city planning ………………………...
3. education ………………………...
4. anthropological viewpoint ………………………...
5. theoreticians ………………………...
6. tool making ………………………...
7. distinction, distinctiveness …………………………
8. mammals ………………………...

§8.2.1. Find any Persian terms on this answer list that you could not find in the text.

‫ ﭘِﺴﺘﺎﻧﺪاران‬،‫ ﺗَﻤﺎﯾُﺰ‬،‫ اَﺑﺰارﺳﺎزی‬،‫ ﻧَﻈَﺮﯾّﮫ ﭘَﺮدازان‬،‫ دﯾﺪﮔﺎِه اِﻧﺴﺎن ِﺷﻨﺎﺳﯽ‬،‫ آﻣﻮِزش و ﭘَﺮَوِرش‬،‫ َﺷﮭﺮﺳﺎزی‬،‫ﮏ ِﻣﻌﻤﺎری‬
ِ ‫َﺳﺒ‬

§8.3. Now scan the text to find the missing singular or plural form in these pairs of nouns.

plural singular

..…………… ‫اَﺛَﺮ‬
15
 ‫اَﺧﻼق‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫اََدب‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫اََدﺑﯽ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﭘَﺴﯿﻨﯽ‬
‫ﺗَﻤﺎﯾُﺰات‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫اَدﯾﺎن‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫َرﺳﻢ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﺻﻔَﺖ‬
‫ِ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﺻﻨَﻌﺖ‬
‫َ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫َﻋﻘﯿﺪه‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﻗﺎِﻋﺪه‬
‫ُﻣَﺸﱠﺨﺼﺎت‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﻣﺄﺛﱠﺮه‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫َﻣﻌِﺮﻓَﺖ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫َﻣﻈﮭَﺮ‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ُﻣﻮﺿﻮع‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫ﻣﯿﺮاث‬
‫ﻧَ َ‬
‫ﻈﺮﯾّﺎت‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫اَﻧﻮاع‬ ‫……………‪..‬‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫واژه‬
‫……………‪..‬‬ ‫وﯾِﮋﮔﯽ‬

‫‪§8.4. Read these questions and then read this unit’s text for answers.‬‬

‫ﺚ ﺗﺎرﯾﺨﯽ را ﻧﺎم ﺑﺒﺮﯾﺪ‪__________________ .‬‬

‫‪ .١‬ﭼﮭﺎر ﻧﻤﻮﻧﮫ از َﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﮥ َﻣﻌﺎِرف و آﺛﺎر و ﻣﺂﺛﺮ وﯾﮋۀ ﻣﻮارﯾ ِ‬
‫______________________‬ ‫_____________________‬ ‫___________________‬

‫‪ .٢‬ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ از دﯾِﺪ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺷﻨﺎﺳﯽ آﻓﺮﯾﺪۀ ﭼﯿﺴﺖ؟ __________________________________________‬

‫‪ .٣‬ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﮫ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻓﺮاد ﻣﻨﺘﻘﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد؟ _____________________________________________‬

‫‪ .۴‬ﻣﺸﺘﺮک ﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﻣﺸّﺨﺼﺎ ِ‬

‫ت اﻧﺴﺎن ﭼﯿﺴﺖ؟ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‬

‫‪ .۵‬اﮐﺜﺮ ﻧﻈﺮﯾّﮫ ﭘﺮدازان ﭼﮫ ﭼﯿﺰھﺎﯾﯽ را ﺗﻌﯿﯿﻦ ﮐﻨﻨﺪۀ ﺗﻤﺎﯾﺰ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻧﺴﺎن و دﯾﮕﺮ ﭘﺴﺘﺎﻧﺪاران ﻣﯽ داﻧﻨﺪ؟ __________‬

‫_____________________________________________________________________‬

‫‪§8.5. Read the text while listening to its recording. For remaining issues with meaning in the‬‬
‫‪text, first consult a Persian dictionary and then refer to the translation beneath the text.‬‬

‫ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ‪ :‬ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﮫ ﻣﻌﺎرف و آﺛﺎر و ﻣﺂﺛﺮ وﯾﮋه ﻣﻮارﯾﺚ ﺗﺎرﯾﺨﻰ ھﺮ ﻣﻠﺖ ﺷﺎﻣﻞ‪ :‬داﻧﺸﮭﺎ‪ ،‬واژﮔﺎن زﺑﺎن‪ ،‬ادﺑﯿﺎت‪ ،‬دﯾﻦ و ﻋﻘﺎﯾﺪ‪،‬‬
‫ﺻﻨﺎﯾ ﻊ‪ ،‬ﺳﺒﻚ ﻣﻌﻤﺎرى و ﺷﮭﺮﺳﺎزى‪ ،‬ﻓﻮ ﻟﻜﻠﻮر‪ ،‬آﯾﯿﻨﮭﺎ و آداب و رﺳﻮم و طﺮز ﻣﻌﺎﺷﺮت‪ ،‬ﺷﯿ ﻮه آﻣ ﻮزش و ﭘﺮ ورش و روش‬

‫‪16‬‬
 ‫ طﺮز آھﻨﮕﮭﺎى ﻣﻮﺳﯿﻘﻰ و ﻣﻮﺿﻮﻋﺎت ﻧﻘﺎﺷﻰ و دﯾﮕﺮ ھﻨﺮھﺎ و ھﻤﭽﻨﯿﻦ وﯾﮋﮔﯿﮭﺎى ﺧﻠﻖ و ﺧﻮى و ﻧﻮع ﭘﻮﺷﺎك و ﺧﻮراك‬،‫زﻧﺪﮔﻰ‬
‫ ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ از دﯾﺪﮔﺎه اﻧﺴﺎﻧﺸﻨﺎﺳﻰ آﻓﺮﯾﺪه اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ و او آن را از طﺮﯾﻖ ﻏﯿﺮ زﯾﺴﺘﻰ ﺑﮫ‬.‫و ﺗﻤﺎﻣﻰ دﯾﮕﺮ ﻣﻈﺎھﺮ زﻧﺪﮔﻰ اﯾﺸﺎن‬
‫ زﺑﺎن و اﺑﺰارﺳﺎزى و ﺗﻨﻈﯿﻢ‬،‫ اﺣﺘﻤﺎﻻً اﻛﺜﺮ ﻧﻈﺮﯾﮫ ﭘﺮدازان‬.‫ ﻣﺸﺘﺮﻛﺘﺮﯾﻦ ﻣﺸﺨﺼﮫ اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ‬،‫ ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ‬.‫ﭘَﺴﯿﻨﯿﺎن ﺧﻮد ﻣﻨﺘﻘﻞ ﻣٮﻜﻨﺪ‬
.‫ﻗ ﻮ ا ﻋ ﺪ ﺟ ﻨ ﺴ ﻰ ر ا ﺻ ﻔ ﺎ ت ﻣ ﮭ ﻢ ﺗ ﻌ ﯿ ﯿ ﻦ ﻛ ﻨ ﻨ ﺪ ه ﺗ ﻤ ﺎ ﯾ ﺰ ا ﻧ ﺴ ﺎ ن ا ز د ﮔ ﺮ ﭘ ﺴ ﺘ ﺎ ﻧ ﺪ ا ر ا ن ﻋ ﺎ ﻟ ﻰ ﻣ ﻰ د ا ﻧ ﻨ ﺪ‬

‫ ص‬٧٨٣ .١٣٧٣ ،‫ اﻧﺘﺸﺎرات زّوار‬:‫ ﺗﮭﺮان‬.‫ ﻛﺎﻣﻞ ﻓﺮھﻨﮓ ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ ﺑﻘﻠﻢ ﻏﻼﻣﺮﺿﺎ اﻧﺼﺎف ﭘﻮر‬:‫ﻧﻘﻞ ﻗﻮل از‬

§8.5.1. Text translation. Culture:The aggregate of knowledge/learning and historical monuments/

works/traces and legacies left behind and characteristics of the historical legacy/heritage of every
nation/people, consisting of: knowledge/learning, language vocabulary, literature, religion and
beliefs, crafts/techniques/industries, style(s) of architecture and city planning, folklore, customs
and manner of social intercourse, style/method of education and manner of living, kinds of
melodies and subjects of painting and other arts, and, likewise, characteristics of behavior and
disposition, and kinds of clothing and food and all of the manifestations of a people's life. From
the viewpoint of anthropology, culture is a human creation and humanity transfers it in a nonliving
way to its to descendants. Culture is the most mutual/shared characteristic of human beings. The
majority of theoreticians presumably consider language, tool making and regulation of sexual
rules as the important determining qualities of the superiority of human beings over other higher
mammals.
*****
Upwards of sixty Persian textbooks, manuals, and grammars for classroom use by English-speaking learners
have appeared since the mid-1990s.40 This figure arguably exceeds the number of Persian programs at universities in
the English-speaking world. The Routledge imprint, for example, publisher of The Routledge Handbook of Persian
Second Language Acquisition (2020) appears with a dozen or more Persian titles published since 2000.41 A
conclusion one might draw here is simply that university Persian instructors more often than not choose to design
and teach their own instructional materials rather than adopt and adapt existing materials, while government
organizations often commission or produce in-house instructional materials for their Persian courses and programs.
As for the rationale behind teachers’s preferences in these regards, four factors stand out. First, teachers in any given
Persian program may not share language teaching/learning goals with teachers in other programs. Second, some
textbook writers develop artificial reading and listening texts and dialogues of their own, while others seem
comfortable only with prompted and authentic texts. Third, differences exist in the views of Persian textbook writers
concerning specific Persian features and phenomena and the Persian language register with which to describe and
illustrate those phenomena. Fourth, Persian textbook writers may not share views teaching/learning methods and
approaches and may privilege specific methods and approaches.
At the same time, in almost all cases, authors both describe prior field-testing of materials reflected in their
books and acknowledge input by expert colleagues, editors, and students. This and impressions from reading such
instructional materials can lead to the supposition that authors likely get good results when using their own
textbooks, manuals, and grammars with their own methods.
In addition, authors of Persian textbooks, manuals, and grammars offer specific rationales for their books on
subjects already treated in other such books, but not usually with specific references to those other books. In fact,
rarely do footnotes appear in Persian textbooks citing the work of other authors or of secondary and tertiary sources.
Readers of 21st-century Persian textbooks for speakers of English also come across observations and
generalizations about Persian language phenomena such as these: (1) “The vowel system in Persian consists of six

17
vowel sounds, all represented by the letter «‫»ا‬, called alef”; (2) “The Persian alphabet has 32 letters–All of these,
with the exception of the first letter alef «‫»ا‬, are consonants”; (3) “Seven letters of the alphabet never change their
shape…”; (4) “I can think of only one word that begins with the long vowel u…”; (5) “...there is only one common
word that ends with the sound ‘a’, and that is the informal word for ‘no’”; (6) “The letter ye is the first of two letters
that function as both a consonant and a vowel”; (7) “The sound .../r/...is the sound American English speakers make
saying gotta as in gotta go”; (8) “When the letter he-ye do cheshm comes at the end of the word and is immediately
preceded by a consonant, it makes an /e/ sound”; (9) “...we never write two of the same consonants in a row”; (10)
“...the Persian sound gh [‫ ق‬،‫[ ]غ‬is] like r in French”; (11) “Direct objects of transitive verbs are always followed by /
rā/”; (12) “If the verb is intransitive then you will never use /...rā/”; (13) “Whereas temporal clauses [in Persian]
precede the main clause, purpose clauses always follow the main clause”; (14) “Although...man, to, u, et cetera
have other uses, these are basically subject pronouns”; (15) “Not so many Arabic plurals are now in common
use...The student's only recourse is the dictionary” and “...the broken plurals of Arabic words are…hardly ever used
in colloquial Persian”; (16) “...the subjunctive mood is used in sentences where the action is not definitely going to
happen”; (17) “The subjunctive mood in Persian...always depends in some way upon or follows a primary verb in
the indicative mood”; (18) “There is no sequence of tense in Persian”; (19) “The stress in Persian words generally
falls on the last syllable of a word, with few exceptions...the exceptions are mainly verbs”; (20) “Singular nouns
always follow numbers in Persian” and “Nouns always remains singular after numbers”; (21) “...the subject is the
person or thing doing the action”; (22) “All substantives (adjectives and nouns) are abstracted by suffixing -i. For
substantives ending in -e, the abstraction is -gi”; (23) “The plural suffix [-ān]…is used in formal and written
Persian; never in colloquial Persian”; (24) «‫ »واِﻟِﺪﯾﻦ‬vāledeyn [parents] illustrates a so-called Arabic loanword
“broken plural” form; (25) “When asking a question in Persian...just raise the intonation towards the end of the
sentence”; (26) “Because all Persian verbs show the person and number of their subject in a suffix attached to the
verb, subject pronouns can be omitted from a sentence”; (27) «‫‘ »عامیانه‬āmiyānéh is the equivalent of “colloquial”;
(28) “Question words in Persian normally carry the stress which is opposite of what happens in English...stress on
the question words in English can sound menacing and gives the impression of aggression”; (29) “In Persian, a
quantified noun, i.e., a noun accompanied by a number, never takes the plural”; and (30) “...adjectives in Persian
always follow the noun they qualify or describe…”42
• The Routledge Introductory Persian Course: Farsi Shirin Ast, Book 1 (2010) by Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi and
Dominic Parviz Brookshaw43 is designed for completion in an academic year-long course involving 80-90 classroom
contact hours. It devotes over half of its 260 pages of text to Persian-English and English Persian glossaries and
word lists with sample sentences in each of its 15 chapters. Each chapter also offers charts of words and phrases in
their differing bookish/written [ketābi/neveshtāri] and colloquial/spoken [mohāvereh’i/goftāri] forms, which charts
relate to parallel bookish/written and colloquial/spoken dialogues in each chapter. The authors encourage use of
unidentified Persian dictionaries in dealing with vocabulary, a necessary procedure here insofar as the book does not
offer pronunciation guidance for vocabulary items through either English transcriptions or e’rāb short vowel marks.
Of the 1,400+ items in the Persian-English glossary, over half are Arabic loanwords, including 25+ examples of the
taf‘il verbal noun pattern. Alphabet instruction takes place in the first twelve pages of the textbook. A second edition
of The Routledge Introductory Persian Course: Farsi Shirin Ast, Book 1 appeared in 2019
• Persian of Iran Today Book One (2015) by Anousha Shahsavari with Blake Atwood44 is designed for
completion “in approximately forty contact hours.” The textbook describes itself as “a proficiency-based resource”
whose “innovative multimedia curriculum draws on the latest trends in language pedagogy and interweaves
grammar- and vocabulary-building exercises with narrative elements in order to engage and develop students'
abilities in Persian.” Most of the ten units in Persian of Today Book One have these parts: Cultural Note, Short

18
Conversations, Vocabulary, Alphabet, Listening Comprehension, Grammar, Writing Exercise, Speaking Activity, and
Language Game. Alphabet and handwriting instruction (tahriri script) sections begin on page 18 and the last written
symbol gets introduced on page 171.
• Pejman Nojoumian’s four-volume Persian Learner textbook series (2017-2018) describes itself as
a modern multimedia-based instructional materials…. Part One and Part Two cover the first-year
elementary Persian program [is] designed to develop basic to intermediate Persian proficiency
through authentic materials with integrated languages skills and thematic contents enriched with
culture. Part Three covers the second-year intermediate Persian program and targets Novice high
to intermediate proficiency levels. Part Four covers the third-year advanced Persian program and
targets high intermediate to advanced proficiency levels. The series has been developed based on
the latest language learning standards that define clear-cut student learning objectives. Lessons
have been sequenced based on the complexity of language tasks and spiraled up in line with the
intended proficiency levels. The set has been primarily designed as classroom textbooks but can
also be used as a tutorial. Persian Learner set has a companion website and a free online
dictionary app. The textbooks come also with an Instructor's Guide and a Basic Grammar &
Verbs reference (2017-2018).45
• Saeed Yousef and Hayedeh Torabi’s Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (2012) treats “formal, written
Persian” and, according to its coauthors, “can be used by instructors of the language as a complementary book for
practicing grammar while using other texts for reading.” Basic Persian contains 282 pages of which 63 are
vocabulary lists, 58 are exercises, 35 are answer keys, and 126 pages of grammar discussions in twenty chapters, the
first devoted to the alphabet, seven devoted to parts of speech, and the rest dealing with verbs. In the last chapter,
called “Passive,” the authors assert that “Persian hates the passive and uses ingenious methods to avoid it.”46
Mini-lesson #9. Passive voice verb forms and words making use of passive verb stems and parts are ubiquitous
in Persian and a significant vocabulary acquisition focus.
§9.1. Here follow examples of the active and passive voice infinitives of four transitive verbs,
(i.e., verbs that govern a direct object).
passive voice verb active voice verb

to be wanted/desired ‫ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ to want/to desire ‫ﺧﻮ اﺳﺘﻦ‬

to be(come) disgraced ‫ُرﺳﻮا ﺷﺪن‬ to disgrace ‫ُرﺳﻮا ﻛﺮدن‬
to wake up ‫ﺑﯿﺪار ﺷﺪن‬ to wake (sb) up ‫ﺑﯿﺪار ﻛﺮدن‬
to get caught up/trapped (in sth) ‫ِﮔِﺮﻓﺘﺎر ﺷﺪن‬ to capture/trap sb/sth ‫ِﮔِﺮﻓﺘﺎر ﻛﺮدن‬

§9.2. The following chart presents affirmative active and passive voice forms in a bookish/
written register for the transitive verb «‫[ »دادن‬to give] in the various tenses and indicative
imperative, and subjunctive moods. Note that the passive voice of «‫ »دادن‬consists of its past
participle «‫ »داده‬followed by conjugated forms of the verb «‫[ »ﺷــــﺪن‬to become] in all moods and
tenses.
tense/mood passive voice conjugated forms active voice conjugated form

general indicative present dādé mishavad 13

‫داده ﻣﻰ ﺷﻮد‬ mídahad 1
‫ﻣﻰ َدَھﺪ‬ .1

present subjunctive/imperative dādé (be)shavad 14

‫ﺷَﻮد‬
َ ‫ داده‬،‫داده ﺑﺸﻮد‬ bédahad 2
‫ِﺑَﺪَھﺪ‬ .2

present continuous dārad dādé mishavad 15‫ﺷَﻮد‬

َ ‫داَرد داده ﻣﻰ‬ dārad mídahad 3
‫داَرد ﻣﻰ َدَھﺪ‬ .3

future dādé khāhad shod 16

‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ‫داده ﺧﻮاَھﺪ‬ khāhad dād 4
‫ﺧﻮاَھﺪ داد‬ .4

simple past dādé shod 17

‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ‫داده‬ dād 5
‫داد‬ .5

past repetitive dādé mishod 18

‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ‫داده ﻣﻰ‬ mídād 6
‫ﻣﻰ داد‬ .6

19
past continuous dāsht dādé mishod 19
‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ‫داﺷﺖ داده ﻣﻰ‬ dāsht mídād 7
‫داﺷﺖ ﻣﻰ داد‬ .7

present perfect dādé shodé'ast 20

‫ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ‬
ُ ‫داده‬ dādé'ast 8
‫داده اﺳﺖ‬ .8

perfect subjunctive dādé shodé bāshad 21

‫ﺷﺪ‬
َ ‫ﺷﺪه ﺑﺎ‬
ُ ‫داده‬ dādé bāshad 9
‫ﺷﺪ‬
َ ‫داده ﺑﺎ‬ .9

perfect repeated/continuous dādé mishodé'ast 22

‫ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ‬
ُ ‫داده ﻣﻰ‬ mídādé'ast 10
‫ ﻣﻰ داده اﺳﺖ‬.10
past perfect dādé shodé bud 23
‫ﺷﺪه ﺑﻮد‬
ُ ‫داده‬ dādé bud 11
‫ داده ﺑﻮد‬.11
perfective past perfect dādé shodé budé'ast 24
‫ﺷﺪه ﺑﻮده اﺳﺖ‬
ُ ‫ داده‬dādé budé'ast 12
‫ داده ﺑﻮده اﺳﺖ‬.12

§9.2.1. Here follow translations of the foregoing verb forms, numbered according to the
numbers accompanying the forms.

l
He/she gives (sth, e.g., every day). 2He'd/she'd like to give (sth–subjunctive). He/she
should give (sth–imperative). 3He's/she's giving (sth now). 4He'll/she'll give (sth
tomorrow). 5He/she gave (sth yesterday). 6He/she used to give (sth a lot). 7He/she was
in the middle of giving (sth, e.g., when I saw him/her). 8He's/she's given (sth, e.g., a
number of times). 9It's possible that he's/she's given (sth, but I can't remember). 10When
he/she lived in New York, he/she used to give (things). 11By the time I got to the store,
he/she had already given sth). 12The shop which I went to regularly last year he/she had
given (things to before then).

13
It is given (e.g., every day). 14I'd like for it to be given/not to be given (subjunctive). It
should be given (imperative). 15It’s being given (there right now). 16It’ll be given (there
tomorrow). 17It was given (yesterday). 18It used to be given (out regularly). 19It was
being given (away when I saw him/her). 20It has been given (a number of times). 21It's
possible that it has (already) been given (, but I don’t know for sure). 22Years back, such
a discount was (routinely) given to customers. 23It had been given (to her before you got
to Texas). 24(Before I started working at the university, a lot of money) had been given to
it for Persian Studies.

§9.3. Here follows a list of the active and passive voice infinitives for pairs of verbs. Note that
the passive voice of most verbs consists of its past participle followed by conjugated forms of the
verb «‫ﺷﺪن‬ُ » [to become] in all moods and tenses. However, the verb «‫[ »ﻛﺮدن‬to make, to do], when
transitive, forms its passive by substituting forms of the verb «‫[ »ﺷﺪن‬to become] in all moods and
tenses, including its infinitive «‫ »ﻛﺮدن‬which becomes «‫ﺷﺪن‬ ُ » [to become]. An asterisk (*) follows
specifically colloquial/spoken forms.
to become (*‫ ش‬،‫ﺷﻮ‬
َ ) ‫ﺷَﺪن‬
ُ ❒ to make, to do (‫ﻛﺮدن )ُﻛﻦ‬ ❒

to be(come) implemented/performed ‫اﺟﺮاء ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to implement, to execute, to perform ‫ِاﺟﺮاء ﻛﺮدن‬ ❒

to be(come) distributed/broadcast ‫ﭘﺨﺶ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to distribute, to disseminate, to broadcast ‫َﭘﺨﺶ ﻛﺮدن‬ ❒

to be(come) eliminated ‫ﺣﺬف ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to eliminate, to omit ‫ﺣﺬف ﻛﺮدن‬

َ ❒

to be(come) used, to be made use of ‫اﺳﺘﻔﺎده ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to use, to make use of (vi?) (‫ِاﺳﺘِﻔﺎده ﻛﺮدن )َاز‬ ❒

to be(come) named ‫ﻧﺎﻣﯿﺪه ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to name, to call (‫ﻧﺎﻣﯿﺪن )ﻧﺎم‬ ❒

to be(come) read/sung ‫ﺧﻮاﻧﺪه ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to read; to study; to sing (*‫ﺧﻮن‬ ،‫ ﺧﻮﻧﺪن* )ﺧﻮان‬،‫ﺧﻮاﻧﺪن‬ ❒

to be(come) built/made/constructed ‫ﺳﺎﺧﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to build (‫ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻦ )ﺳﺎز‬ ❒

20
to be(come) undertaken ‫ﺷَﺪن‬
ُ ‫ﭘﺮداﺧﺘﮫ‬ ❒ to pay; to proceed (to begin/do) (‫َﭘﺮداﺧﺘﻦ )َﭘﺮداز‬ ❒

to be(come) known ‫ﺷﻨﺎﺧﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to know (sb) (‫ﺷﻨﺎس‬

ِ ) ‫ﺷﻨﺎﺧﺘﻦ‬
ِ ❒

to be(come) given ‫داده ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to give (‫دادن )ده‬ ❒

to be(come) seen ‫دﯾﺪه ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to see ( ‫دﯾﺪن )ﺑﯿﻦ‬ ❒

to be(come) composed/sung ‫ﺳﺮوده ﺷﺪن‬

ُ ❒ to compose/write poetry (‫ﺳﺮا‬
َ ) ‫ﺳﺮودن‬
ُ ❒

to be(come) obtained ‫ﮔﺮﻓﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to get, to obtain, to receive (‫ِﮔِﺮﻓﺘﻦ )ﮔٮﺮ‬ ❒

to be(come) said ‫ﮔﻔﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to say, to tell (*‫ گ‬،‫ُﮔﻔﺘﻦ )ﮔﻮ‬ ❒

to be(come) kept ‫ﻧﮕﺎه داﺷﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to keep, to preserve, to withhold (‫ِﻧﮕﺎه داﺷﺘﻦ )دار‬ ❒

to be performed ‫ﺑﮫ ِاﺟﺮاء ُﮔﺬاﺷﺘﮫ ﺷﺪن‬ ❒ to perform (*‫ ذار‬،‫ﺑﮫ ِاﺟﺮاء ُﮔﺬاﺷﺘﻦ )ُﮔﺬار‬ ❒

§9.4. Study the following list of verb forms of «‫ﺷَﺪن‬

ُ » [to become] and of noun/adjective words
that incorporate its verb parts or stems.
verb infinitive to become ‫ﺷَﺪن‬
ُ .1
verb past stem; 3rd person singular, simple past ten he/she/it became; it happened ‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ... .2
verb past participle having become, having taken place ‫ﺷﺪه‬ُ ... .3
verb present stem: bookish/written – colloquial/spoken *‫ ش‬- ‫ﺷﻮ‬ َ ... .4
...impersonal construction one can..., it is possible *‫ ﻣﯿﺸﮫ‬- . . . ‫ﺷَﻮد‬
َ ‫ﻣﻰ‬... .5
future tense it will become/take place/happen ‫ﺷﺪ‬
ُ ‫ﺧﻮاَھﺪ‬ َ ... .6
simple past tense it became/it took place (once) ‫ﺷﺪ‬ ُ ... .7
mi -past tense: it used to happen (repeated/continuous past action/verbal state) ‫ﺸﺪ‬ ُ ‫ﻣﯿ‬... .8
present perfect tense it has happened/it has become ..... ‫ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ‬ ُ ... .9
past perfect tense it had become.../it had taken place ‫ﺷﺪه ﺑﻮد‬ُ ... .10
infinitive + /í/ adjective form doable – forgettable ‫ﺷَﺪﻧﻰ‬
ُ ‫ َﻓﺮاﻣﻮش‬- ‫ﺷَﺪﻧﻰ‬ ُ .11
negative infinitive + /í/ adjective form undoable – unforgettable ‫ َﻓﺮاﻣﻮش َﻧﺸَُﺪﻧﻰ‬- ‫َﻧﺸَُﺪﻧﻰ‬ .12
past participle preceded by noun/adj lost (person) pl: lost persons ‫ ُﮔﻢ ﺷﺪﮔﺎن‬.‫ُﮔﻢ ﺷﺪه ج‬ .13
person raised in... pl: people raised in...‫ ﺑﺰرگ ﺷﺪﮔﺎن‬.‫ﺑُُﺰرگ ﺷﺪه ج‬ .14
suffixed present stem collapsible, foldaway ‫ ﺗﺎﺷﻮ‬: ‫ﺷﻮ‬... .15
suffixed present participle in andé ‫ﺤﺮ ﺷﻮﻧﺪه‬
ِ ‫ ُﻣﻨَﻔ‬- ‫ دورﺷﻮﻧﺪه‬- ‫ ﭘﺎك ﺷﻮﻧﺪه‬- ‫ﺷَﻮﻧﺪه‬ َ ... .16
becoming – becoming clean – become far(ther) away – explosive
past verb stem traffic ‫ﺷﺪ آَﻣﺪ‬
ُ .17

§9.5. Read these sentences illustrating the foregoing verb tense and mood forms of the verb
«‫»ﺷــــﺪن‬. Note that subjunctive and imperative forms can appear without a /be/ prefix in the case of
multi-word verbs in which «‫ »ﺷــﺪن‬is the verbal element. Circle the number of any item that reflects
passive meanings.
.‫ ھَﻮا َﺳﺮد ﺷﺪ‬.١
The weather got cold.

.‫ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﻢ ﻛﮫ ﮔﻢ ﺷﺪه ﺑﻮد ﭘﯿﺪا ﺷﺪ‬.٢

My book that had gotten lost turned up/was found.

*‫ ﭘﺎ َﺷﻢ ﯾﺎ ﺑِﺸﯿﻨَﻢ؟‬/ ‫ ﭘﺎ َﺷَﻮم ﯾﺎ ﺑِﻨِﺸﯿﻨَﻢ؟‬.٣

Shall I stand up or sit?

21
 *!‫ ﺧﻔﮫ ﺷﯿﻦ‬/ !‫ﺧﻔﮫ ﺷﻮﯾﺪ‬
َ .۴
Shut up (you-2)!

*.‫ َﻧﺸُﺪ ِﺑﺮﯾﻢ‬.۵

We couldn't go (e.g., sth came up)

‫ اُﻣﯿﺪوارم در اِﻣﺘِﺤﺎن ُﻣَﻮﻓﱠّﻖ ﺷﺪه ﺑﺎﺷﻨﺪ‬.۶

I hope they did well in/on the test/examination.

*.‫ ﺑﺎھﺎت ﻣﯿﺎم‬،‫ َاﮔﮫ ﻛﺎَرم زودَﺗﺮ َﺗﻤﻮم ِﺑﺸﮫ‬.٧

If my work finishes more quickly/earlier, I'll come/I'm coming with you-1.

*.‫ دو و ﺳﮫ ﻣﯿﺸﮫ ﭘَﻨﺞ‬.٨

Two plus three makes five.

.‫ﻣﻰ َﺷَﻮد اﻣﯿﺪوار ﺑﻮد ﻛﮫ زﯾﺎد ﺷﻮﻧﺪ‬ .٩

One can be hopeful that they'll increase (in number).

‫ در ُﭼﻨﯿﻦ َﻣﻮاﻗِﻌﻰ ﻣﻦ ھﻤﯿﺸﮫ َوﺳَﻮﺳﮫ ﻣﻰ ُﺷﺪه ام ﻛﮫ آﺧﺮ ﭼﺮا ﺑﺎ ﺳﻰ و ھﺸﺖ ﺑﺎر ﻧﺸﻮد؟‬.١٠
At such moments I was always tempted to say: Why mightn't it work after thirty-eight times?

.‫ ﻗُﺮار ُﺷﺪ ُﻣَﺮﺗﱠﺐ ﺑﺎﺷﻢ‬.١١

I was supposed to be organized/well-behaved.

‫ در اﯾﻦ َﺧﺒَﺮ از ﭼﮫ َﻛﺴﻰ ﻧَﻘِﻞ ﻗَُﻮل ُﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ؟‬.١٢

In this news item what person has been quoted?

‫ ﯾﺎ ﻓﻼُن ِدﻟﺨﻮرى را‬،‫ﺼِﺮف ﺑَِﺸﻮﯾﺪ‬

َ ‫ ھﻤﯿﻦ ﺑﺎِﻋﺚ ﻣﻰ ﺷﻮد ﻛﮫ از رﻓﺘﻦ ﺑﮫ ھﺮ ﺟﺎ ﻛﮫ ﻗَﺼﺪ داﺷﺘﮫ اﯾﺪ ُﻣﻨ‬.١٣
.‫ﺑَﮭﺎﻧﮫ ﻛﻨﯿﺪ‬
. The very thing causes you to change your mind about going wherever you planned
to go and to use such-and-such irritation, annoyance as an excuse.

A “follow-up to Basic Persian,” Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (2014), according to author
Saeed Yousef, assisted by Hayedeh Torabi, introduces “some new categories and structures that have not been
covered in the Basic volume [and]...expands on those already covered by giving new details and showing the usage
nuances.” The longest chapter in Intermediate Persian is the 16-page Unit 10 called “Nouns and Adjectives made
from verbs Some prefixes and suffixes.” The space devoted to the subject would seem to imply the view that the
chief task and chore for students of Persian at the intermediate and advanced levels is vocabulary acquisition and
maintenance. Of his glossary, Yousef states that “it includes all the simple verbs [emphasis added]...whether used in
the book or not.”47 Listing one-word Persian verbs draws attention to an important vocabulary issue (although
Yousef’s list both omits 60 or more verbs appearing on other such lists and includes a handful of multi-word verbs).
Mini-lesson #10. The following sampling of one-word verbs highlights their productivity in terms of
vocabulary insofar as each verb cited exhibits a different sort of derived, non-verb word.

§10.1. Read the following list of verb infinitives present verb stems, and identify the structures
or patterns in the sample words/forms derived from verbs.
sample word/form derived from the verb English equivalent verb present stem verb infinitive

thought, idea ‫اَﻧﺪﯾﺸﮫ‬ to think, to ponder (‫)اَﻧﺪﯾﺶ‬ ‫اَﻧﺪﯾﺸﯿﺪن‬

22
 station, stop (bus/train) ‫اﯾﺴﺘﮕﺎه‬ to stand, to halt ( ‫)اﯾﺴﺖ‬ ‫اﯾﺴﺘﺎدن‬
prophet ‫ﭘﯿَﻐﻤﺒَﺮ‬ to take/carry (‫)ﺑَﺮ‬ ‫ﺑُﺮدن‬
acceptance ‫ﭘَﺬﯾِﺮش‬ to accept (‫)ﭘَﺬﯾﺮ‬ ‫ﭘَﺬﯾُﺮﻓﺘﻦ‬
faded ‫َرﻧﮓ ﭘَﺮﯾﺪه‬ to fly (‫)ﭘَﺮ‬ ‫ﭘَﺮﯾﺪن‬
request – asking for ‫ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﺎر‬ to want (*‫ ﺧﻮا‬،‫)ﺧﻮاه‬ ‫ﺧﻮ اﺳﺘﻦ‬
debt ‫ﺑِِﺪھﻰ‬ to give (*‫ د‬،‫َده‬/‫)ِده‬ ‫دادن‬
pregnant ‫ﺑﺎردار‬ to have (‫)دار‬ ‫داﺷﺘﻦ‬
wise, knowledgeable ‫داﻧﺎ‬ to know (sth) (*‫ دون‬،‫)دان‬ *‫ دوﻧِﺴﺘﻦ‬،‫داﻧِﺴﺘﻦ‬
wild (animal) ‫درﻧﺪه‬ to tear, to rend sth (into piecs) (‫)َدر‬ ‫َدرﯾﺪن‬
eye ‫ دﯾِﺪﮔﺎن‬.‫دﯾِﺪه ج‬ to see (‫)ﺑٮﻦ‬ ‫دﯾﺪن‬
newborn ‫ﻧﻮزاد‬ to give birth (‫)زا‬ ‫زادن = زاﯾﯿﺪن‬
giving birth, childbirth ‫زاﯾﻤﺎن‬ to give birth (‫)زا‬ ‫زاﯾﯿﺪن = زادن‬
fuel ‫ﺳﻮﺧﺖ‬ to burn (‫) ﺳﻮز‬ ‫ﺳﻮﺧﺘﻦ‬
perhaps, it is possible ‫ﺷﺎﯾَﺪ‬ to be possible; to be suitable (‫)ﺷﺎ‬ ‫ﺷﺎﯾِﺴﺘﻦ‬
hard-working–employees ‫ ﮐﺎرُﮐﻨﺎن‬.‫ﻛﺎرُﻛﻦ ج‬ to do, to make (‫)ُﻛﻦ‬ ‫َﻛﺮدن‬
rubber band ‫ِﻛﺶ‬ to pull (‫)ِﻛﺶ‬ ‫ِﻛﺸﯿﺪن‬
permanent, settled, remaining ‫ﻣﺎﻧَﺪﻧﻰ‬ to remain (*‫ ﻣﻮن‬،‫)ﻣﺎن‬ *‫ ﻣﻮﻧﺪن‬،‫ﻣﺎﻧﺪن‬
deceased/dead ‫ ُﻣﺮدﮔﺎن‬.‫ُﻣﺮده ج‬ to die (‫)ﻣﯿﺮ‬ ‫ُﻣﺮدن‬
index (e.g., book) ‫ ﻧَﻤﺎﯾِﮫ‬،‫ﻧِﻤﺎﯾِﮫ‬ to show, to point out; to appear (‫)ﻧِﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﻧِﻤﻮدن‬

§10.2. Read this list of present verb steams and past verb stems and participles and the
explanations that follow the list. Then review the foregoing list.
example of verb part/form verb part/form

to pass (by), to cross ‫ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﻦ‬ infinitive ‫ َﻣﺼَﺪر‬.١

he/she/it passed (by); forgiveness ‫ُﮔَﺬﺷﺖ‬ short infinitive or past stem ‫ ِﺳﺘﺎِك ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﮫ‬،‫ ﺑُِﻦ ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﮫ‬.٢

having passed (by); the past ‫ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﮫ‬ past participle ‫ َﻣﻔﻌﻮِل ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﮫ‬،‫ﺖ ﻓِﻌﻠِﻰ ُﮔَﺬﺷﺘﮫ‬
ِ َ‫ﺻﻔ‬
ِ .٣
pass; passage, passageway ‫ُﮔَﺬر‬ imperative verb stem, present verb stem ‫ رﯾﺸﮫ ی ﻓِﻌِﻞ اَﻣﺮ‬.۴

(1) Persian infinitives, which always end in «‫ن‬...» /...án/, can function as nouns, e.g., ‫»َﺧﺮﯾ َِﺪِن ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ‬
[buying a car] or «‫[ »ﻓُﺮوﺧﺘِﻦ ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ‬selling a car].
(2) A verb's past stem appears with removal of the «‫ن‬...» ending of a verb's infinitive. For
example, the past stem of the verb «‫[ »َﺧﺮﯾﺪن‬to buy] is «‫»َﺧﺮﯾﺪ‬. A verb's past stem is often a word
in its own right, for example «‫[ »َﺧﺮﯾﺪ‬purchase (n)] or the phrase «‫[ »َﺧﺮﯾِﺪ ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ‬buying a car]. A
verb's past stem is also the 3rd person singular form of the simple past stem, for example
«‫[ »او ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ َﺧﺮﯾﺪ‬he/she bought a car]. The past stem can also combine with a suffix to form
words, e.g., «‫[ »َﺧﺮﯾﺪار‬customer purchaser].
(3) A verb's past participle is formed by adding «‫ه‬..» to a verb's past stem, for example

23
 «‫[ »َﺧﺮﯾﺪه‬having bought], and often serves as a noun/adjective in its own right, e.g., «‫[ »ِرﺳﯿﺪه‬ripe
(of fruit)].
(4) The present stem of many verbs, used in creating present tense forms, also combines with
nouns and adjectives to form words, e.g., «‫ »ِﮔﺮا‬from «‫[ »ﮔﺮاﯾﯿﺪن‬to incline] in «‫»ِﻣﻠّﻰ ِﮔﺮا‬
[nationalist] and «‫[ »ﺑُﻨﯿﺎد ِﮔﺮا‬fundamentalist]. Present verb stems likewise combine with the
suffixes /...andé/, /...ésh/, /...ā/, /...āk/, /...(ā)n/, and /...é/ to produce nouns and adjectives. Here
follow examples.
present stem + suffix = noun/adjective verb present stem verb infinitive

writer ‫ﻧﻮﯾﺴﻨﺪه‬ ‫ﻧِﻮﯾﺲ‬ to write ‫ ﻧِﻮﺷﺘﻦ‬.١

food ‫ﺧﻮراك‬ ‫ﺧﻮر‬ to eat, to drink khordán ‫ﺧﻮردن‬ .٢

folder (manila) ‫ﭘﻮﺷﮫ‬ ‫ﭘﻮش‬ to wear, to put on, to cover ‫ﭘﻮﺷﯿﺪن‬ .٣

knowledgeable ‫داﻧﺎ‬ ‫دان‬ to know ‫داﻧﺴﺘﻦ‬ .۴

flowing, fluent; psyche, spirit ‫َروان‬ ‫َرو‬ to go ‫ َرﻓﺘﻦ‬..۵

for sale, on sale ‫ﻓُﺮوﺷﻰ‬ ‫ﻓُﺮوش‬ to sell ‫ﻓُﺮوﺧﺘَﻦ‬ .۶

effort, making an effort ‫ﮐﻮِﺷﺶ‬ ‫ﮐﻮ ش‬ to make an effort, to strive ‫ﮐﻮﺷﯿﺪن‬ .٧

*****
Looked at in the aggregate, 21st-century Persian textbooks for speakers of English highlight a handful of issues
only tentatively or temporarily resolved in individual cases and desirable emphases not addressed. First is the
possibly problematic issue of convening a communicative classroom environment using a textbook that privileges
the bookish/written register of Tehran Persian. In other words, what would the language of classroom instruction and
discussion be for learners using such textbooks? Second is the apparent reticence on the part of textbook authors to
teach reading and writing making use of colloquial/spoken Persian forms in Perso-Arabic script. Third, although
existing Persian textbooks and teaching grammars pay attention to vocabulary, primarily in the form of lists and
glossaries, that attention does not often involve exercises and activities that draw attention to shortcuts in learning
word patterns and forms.
Despite recent lexicographical attention to colloquial/slang [mohāvereh’i/‘āmiyāmeh] registers of the
contemporary Fārsi Persian language,48 much Persian textbook writing continues to privilege the ketābi/neveshtāri
[bookish/written] register of the language. The rationale for this focus presumably relates to the facts that most
published Persian writing and much media broadcasting appear in bookish/written Persian. And for learners of
Persian whose interest in the language relates to written texts, for example, Persian literature, a focus on bookish/
written Persian makes sense. Moreover, even for Persian learners whose main aim is proficiency/competence in
speaking Persian, the most efficient way of expanding vocabulary is through reading.
As for the argument for privileging colloquial/spoken Persian, the fact that native speakers of Persian
themselves learn colloquial first and then bookish and that English-speaking learner might do the same with
shortcuts may suggest their learning colloquial/spoken first. Moreover, initial exposure to colloquial/spoken Persian
makes possible a communicative classroom environment from the outset, which is why I prefer to devote the first
semester of a university Persian course to colloquial/spokrn listening, speaking, reading, and writing and then
introduce differences between colloquial/spoken and bookish/written registers,49 thereafter treating the two registers
in tandem with a focus on authentic listening, speaking, and reading texts.

24
 Also, it may make no difference in terms of development of Persian reading skills to which register learners are
first exposed. A more salient issue here might have to do with the fact that most Persian textbooks appear not to base
their treatment of Persian reading from alphabet instruction to intermediate/advanced texts on identifiable reading
methods, including strategies for scanning, skimming, gisting, inferring, and the like, or on methodologically
grounded attention to vocabulary acquisition. For example, the function of Persian-English and English-Persian
translation exercises accompanying reading texts in many textbooks seems unclear. If such exercises intend to test
learner comprehension of Persian sentences, might not the exercise of reading sentences aloud sometimes
accomplish the same purpose insofar as all but the simplest Persian sentences are problematic to read aloud if the
reader does not know how their parts relate to one another and to the whole?
*****
If beginning students of Persian are introduced to Persian reading letter-by-letter with letters illustrated in
unfamiliar words chosen to illustrate a letter in question, that process seems not to parallel the ordinary business of
elementary reading, which is to recognize already known words by discerning their written representation. Now, it
so happens that beginning students of Persian already know the meaning of several thousand Persian words,
loanwords from French and English. Mohammad Mo’in’s Persian Dictionary has entries for 5,000 such words
divisible into two groups: words that contain only written vowel sounds and words that contain short, unwritten
vowel sounds. Words in the former group are pronounced as written, while readers have to know beforehand or to
guess the short vowel sounds in many words in the latter group.
Taking advantage of the existence of thousands of French and English loanwords in Persian, beginning Persian
reading instruction/learning can take place with a word-method approach, according to which alphabet letters are
introduced in the context of words whose meanings learners already know.50 The following descriptions and
exercises illustrate one process or method of teaching/learning the Persian alphabet in the context of useful, already
familiar words and the development of reading skills in the context of groups of words and words that contain
unwritten short vowels.
Mini-lesson #11. The following descriptions and exercises illustrate a method of teaching/learning the
Persian alphabet in the context of useful, already familiar words and the development of elementary
reading skills such as scanning in the context of groups of words and words that contain unwritten short
vowels.
§11.1. All of the letters in the Persian alphabet are conventionally considered to represent
consonant sounds. However, the three letters aléf, vāv, and yeh, when not the first letter of a word,
may represent, respectively, the vowel sounds /ā/, /u/, and /i/. And the letter «‫»ھـ‬, usually called
héh-ye do cheshm [two-eyed heh] often represents the sound /é/ when it is the last letter of a word
(written «‫ »ـﮫ‬or «‫)»ه‬.
Except in the case of Arabic loanwords beginning with the letter ‘ayn (described in a later unit), if
a word begins with the vowel sounds /ā/, /u/, or /i/, it is written as follows.
Asia āsiyā ‫آﺳﯿﺎ‬ free āzād ‫آزاد‬ ‫ا =آ‬+‫ا‬ ā

August ut ‫اوت‬ he/she, him/her u ‫او‬ ‫ و = او‬+ ‫ا‬ u

Italy itāliyā ‫اﯾﺘﺎﻟﯿﺎ‬ this in ‫اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ ى = اى‬+ ‫ا‬ i
When the letter aléf begins a word, it is considered a consonant, representing a soundless pause
called a glottal stop. Thus, the word «‫»آﺳﯿﺎ‬, pronounced /’āsiyā/, begins with two aléfs, one written

25
vertically and the other over it horizontally, representing /’/ followed by /ā/.

When the letter ye begins a word, it represents a /y/ sound.

‫ﯾﻮﻧﺎن‬ . ‫ﯾﺎس‬ . ‫ﯾﺎد‬ . ‫ﯾﺎ‬
Greece jasmine memory or
The letter ye in the middle or at the end of a word can represent /i/, /y/, or /ay/ (as in the words
“day” and “hey” ). For example:

chemistry shimí ‫ﺷﯿﻤﻰ‬ . chic shik ‫ﺷﯿﻚ‬ /i/

truck kāmyún ‫ﻛﺎﻣﯿﻮن‬ . Asian āsiyāyí ‫آﺳﯿﺎﯾﻰ‬ /y/

when? kay ‫ﻛﻰ‬ . cake kayk ‫ﻛﯿﻚ‬ /ay/

When medial aléf precedes yeh in the same syllable, the yeh represents /y/ and combines with aléf
to produce the sound /āy/ [as in the English word “sigh”]. For example, the Persian word for "tea"
is «‫»ﭼﺎى‬, pronounced /chāy/.
When the letter vāv begins a written word, it represents a /v/ sound.

‫وﯾﺰﯾﺖ‬ . ‫واﻧﯿﻞ‬ . ‫وﯾﻼ‬ . ‫وﯾﺰا‬ . ‫وﯾﺴﻜﻰ‬ . ‫وﯾﺘﺎﻣﯿﻦ‬

visit (to a doctor) vanilla villa visa whiskey vitamin
/viskí/
The letter vāv in the middle or at the end of a word can represent /u/, /v/, /o/ [as in the word
“tote”], and /ow/ [as in the words “mow,” “row,” and “tow”]. For example:

hair mu ‫ﻣﻮ‬ . museum muzé ‫ﻣﻮزه‬ /u/

demon, devil div ‫دﯾﻮ‬ . kiwi (fruit) kiví ‫ﻛﯿﻮى‬ /v/

two do ‫دو‬ . hot dog sosís ‫ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺲ‬ /o/

wave mowj ‫ﻣﻮج‬ . soda water, soda sowdā ‫ﺳﻮدا‬ /ow/

Read this list of European loanwords aloud. Each word features a «‫ »و‬letter pronounced /o/ (as in
the words "so" or "go"). Then listen to a reading or audio recording of the list.
• ‫ﺗﺎﻧﮕﻮ • دﯾﺎﻟﻮگ • ﺳﻮدا • ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺎﻟﯿﺴﺖ • ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺎﻟﯿﺴﺘﻰ‬

• ‫ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺎﻟﯿﺴﻢ • ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺲ • ﺳﻮﻧﺎ • ﺳﻮﻧﺎت • ﮐﺎﻣﯿﻮن • ﻛﯿﻮﺳﻚ • ﮔﺎرﺳﻮن • ﺟﻮك‬

‫ﻣﺎﻧﺪوﻟﯿﻦ • ﻣﯿﻠﯿﻮن • ﯾﻮﮔﺎ • ﯾﻮﯾﻮ • ﺗﻮﻧﯿﻚ‬

English equivalents. Line 1 (from right to left): tango, dialogue, soda (water), socialist,
socialistic. Line 2: socialism, hot dog, sauna, sonata, kiosk, waiter /gārsón/ joke. Line 3:
mandolin, million /miliyūn/, yoga, yo-yo, tunic/tonic.

§11.3. Scanning European loanwords that exhibit only written vowels in Perso-Arabic script.
In each of the following groups of words, match the Persian term to the right with the
appropriate English description or synonym to the left.

26
 ___ modern art style ‫ ﻛﺎﭘﯿﺘﺎﻟﯿﺴﺖ‬16 racist political policy ___ ‫ آﭘﺎرﺗﺎﯾﺪ‬1
___ investor in business ‫ ﺻﻮﻓﻰ‬17 wound application ___ ‫ ﺟﻰ‬.‫ ﭘﻰ‬.‫ آر‬2
___ vehicle type ‫ ﺟﯿﭗ‬18 meal set out on a table ahead of time ___ ‫ ﺑﺎﻧﺪاژ‬3
___ Muslim mystic ‫ ﻣﺎزوﺧﯿﺴﺖ‬19 military weapon ___ ‫ ﺑﻮرژوا‬4
___ person with mental disorder ‫ ﻛﻮﺑﯿﺴﻢ‬20 middle-class person ___ ‫ ﺑﻮﻓﮫ‬5

§11.4. Select the English vocabulary subject or category from the list below that best identifies
each of the rows of Persian vocabulary items beneath it. A sample answer is given.
1. Animals 2. Art 3. Athletics/Sports
4. Clothing 5. Food 6. Geography
7. Health (Mental) 8. Music 9. Nationalities
10. Politics 11. Science 12. Technology
13. Transportation 14. War 15. Weather/Climate

..……..………animals...……………… ‫ ﮔﻮرﯾﻞ‬- ‫ راﻛﻮن‬- ‫ ﻛﻮآﻻ‬- ‫ ﭘﺎﻧﺪا‬- ‫ﻻﻣﺎ‬ .١

..……….……………………………… ‫ ﺳﺎﻻد‬- ‫ دوﻧﺎت‬- ‫ ﻣﺎﻛﺎروﻧﻰ‬- ‫ﭘﺎﺳﺘﺎ‬ .٢

..………….…………………………… ‫ ﻣﯿﺘﯿﻨﮓ‬- ‫ ﻛﺎﺳﺖ‬- ‫ ﭘﺎرﺗٮﯿﺰان‬- ‫ﻛﺎﻧﺪﯾﺪ‬ .٣

. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‫ ﻣﺎزوﺧﯿﺴﻢ‬- ‫ ﻣﺎﻟﯿﺨﻮﻟﯿﺎ‬- ‫ ﺳﺎدﯾﺴﻢ‬- ‫ﭘﺎراﻧﻮﯾﺎ‬ .۴

. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‫ راﮔﺒﻰ‬- ‫ ﺑﯿﺲ ﺑﺎل‬- ‫ ژﯾﻤﻨﺎﺳﺘﯿﻚ‬- ‫ﻻﻛﺮوس‬ .۵

........ ........................ ‫ ﻛﺎﻣﯿﻮن‬- ‫ ﺟﯿﭗ‬- ‫ ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ‬- ‫ ﻣﻮﺗﻮر‬- ‫رﯾﻜﺸﺎ‬ .۶

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‫ ﻓﯿﻠﻢ‬- ‫ ﺳﻮﻧﺎر‬- ‫ ﻓﯿﻮز‬- ‫ ﻓﺎﻛﺲ‬- ‫دﯾﻜﺘﺎﻓﻮن‬ .٧

................................. ‫ ﭘﺎرﯾﺲ‬- ‫ ﻟﯿﺒﻰ‬- ‫ روﺳﯿ ﮫ‬- ‫ ﻛﺎﻧﺎدا‬- ‫ آﻻﺳﻜﺎ‬- ‫ﭼﯿﻦ‬ .٨

................................ ‫ ادﯾﻮﻟﻮژى‬- ‫ ﺑﯿﻮﻟﻮژى‬- ‫ ﺷﯿﻤﻰ‬- ‫ﻓﯿﺰﯾﻚ‬ .٩

. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‫ ﺳﻮﻧﺎت‬- ‫ دﯾﺴﻜﻮ‬- ‫ ﺳﺎﻣﺒﺎ‬- ‫ ﺳﺎﻟﺴﺎ‬- ‫ راك‬- ‫ ﺟﺎز‬.١٠

§11.5. The following matching exercises (#1-6 and #7-12) show that guessing the meaning of
many words with unwritten short vowels need not prove daunting when words appear in context
(e.g., in a text or on a list of words or phrases with English equivalents). In the first exercise, a
subscript mark shows the consonant after which appears a pronounced unwritten vowel.

___ kind of political system ‫ﺟﻐﺮاﻓﯿﺎﯾﻰ‬ 7 Middle Eastern city ___ ‫ ﺗﺮوﻣﻦ‬1
• • •
___ military rank ‫دﻣﻮﻛﺮاﺳﻰ‬ 8 American president ___ ‫ ﺗﺰار‬2
• •
___ much-liked flavor ‫ژﻧﺮال‬ 9 Russian leader ___ ‫ ﺗﻜﻨ ﻮ ﻟ ﻮژى‬3
•• •
___ European country ‫ﺳﻤﺒﻞ‬ 10 type of mass media ___ ‫ ﺗﻞ آوﯾﻮ‬4
• • •
___ having to do with space/place ‫ﺷﻜﻼت‬ 11 modern applied science ___ ‫ ﺗﻠﻮﯾﺰﯾﻮن‬5
• • ••
___ sign for something else ‫ﺻﺮب‬ 12 Asian country ___ ‫ ژاﭘﻦ‬6
• •

27
 Answer key. (1) Truman /terumán/, (2) czar /tezār/, (3) technology /teknolozhí/, (4) Tel
Aviv /telāvív/, (5) television /televiziyón/, (6) Japan /zhāpón/, (7) geographic(al) /
joghrāfiyāyí/, (8) democracy /demokrāsí, (9) general /zhenerāl/, (10) symbol /samból/,
(11) chocolate /shokolāt/, and (12) Serbia /serb/.

Mini-lesson #12. Using European loanwords to illustrate the ‫ ﮐﺴﺮه ی اﺿﺎﻓﮫ‬kasré-ye ezāfé construction.
§12.1. English adjectives usually precede the nouns they qualify, as in the phrases "the big
book" and "a red house." The same holds true for possessives used with the things possessed, as in
the phrases "my book" and "your car." But in Persian phrases the noun usually comes first and the
adjective, possessive pronoun, or other modifier follows. In addition, an unstressed /e/ sound
(pronounced as the "e" in the word "fed") appears between the noun and following modifier. The
phrase kasré-ye ezāfé [short /e/ sound added] is the Persian term for this pattern. Here follow
examples of the unstressed /e/ sound pronounced between nouns and following modifiers.

‫ﺗٮِﻢ ﻓﻮﺗﺒﺎل‬ • ‫س ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ‬

ِ ‫ِﻛﻼ‬ • ‫ﻣﺎﺷﯿِﻦ ﻛﺎدﯾﻼك‬
/tim-e futbāl/ /kelās-e fārsi/ /māshin-e kādilāk/

‫ﻓﯿﻠِﻢ اﯾﺮاﻧﻰ‬ ‫پ ﺗِﻨﯿﺲ‬

ِ ‫ﺗﻮ‬ ‫ُﻣﺒِﻞ ﺷﯿﻚ‬
/film-e irāni/ /tup-e tenis/ /mobl-e shik/
Iranian movie tennis ball chic sofa/upholstered chair
§12.2. In phrases such as these, use of the kasréh-ye ezāfé between a noun and its modifier(s) is
essential for the relationship between the two to be understood. In other words, failure to
pronounce the sound /e/ between the modified word and its modifier(s) can confuse a listener.
In the following two exercises (#1-8 and #9-16), match modified words in the right columns
with modifying words in the left column. Then read the resulting phrases aloud, making certain
to pronounce an unstressed /e/ sound between the two words in each pair. Verify your choices
and pronunciation by listening to the relevant audio file.

‫___ ﺳﻮﺳﯿﺲ‬ ‫ﻓِﺴﺘﯿﻮاِل‬ 9 ‫___ ﺗِﻠِﻔُﻦ‬ ‫ُﻛِﺪ‬ 1

‫___ دﯾﺠﯿﺘﺎل‬ ‫ِرﺳﺘﻮراِن‬ 10 ‫___ ﻟﻮﻛﺲ‬ ‫ﺗِﻠِﻔُِﻦ‬ 2

‫___ ﺷﯿﺮازى‬ ‫ﭻ‬

ِ ‫ﺳﺎﻧِﺪوﯾ‬ 11 ‫___ ﺗِﺮاﻧﺰﯾﺴﺘﻮرى‬ ‫ت‬
ِ ‫ﻛﺎر‬ 3

‫___ اِﺳﻜﻰ‬ ‫ﺐ‬

ِ ‫ﺑُﻤ‬ 12 ‫___ ﻣﻮﺑﺎﯾﻞ‬ /sowích/ ‫ﭻ‬
ِ ‫ﺳﻮﯾ‬ 4

‫___ ﺷﯿﻚ‬ ‫ﭗ‬

ِ ‫ﭘُﻤ‬ 13 ‫___ ﻓﯿﻠﻢ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻧﺴﻮِر‬ 5

‫___ اَﺗُﻤﻰ‬ ‫ﺗِﻠِﻮٮﯿﺰﯾﻮِن‬ 14 ‫___ ﭘُﺴﺘﻰ‬ ‫ﭘِﺮوِژﻛﺘﻮِر‬ 6

‫___ ﻓﯿﻠﻢ‬ ‫ﺖ‬

ِ ‫ﭘﯿﺴ‬ 15 ‫___ اِﺳﻼﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺎﺷٮﯿِﻦ‬ 7

‫___ ﺑِﻨﺰﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻻِد‬ 16 ‫___ ﻣﺎﺷﯿﻦ‬

‫ رادﯾِﻮ‬8
§12.3. When the first or qualified word in a phrase, such as those presented above, ends in a
consonant sound, the kasré-ye ezāfé is an unstressed sound /é/ and is not written. When the
qualified or modified word ends in a vowel sound, the kasré-ye ezāfé is pronounced /ye/ and must
sometimes be represented in writing. For example, when the first or qualified word in a phrase
ends in the sound /i/, the kasré-ye ezāfé is pronounced /ye/, and nothing is written. But when the

28
 qualified word ends in /ā/ or /u/, the kasré-ye ezāfé is pronounced /ye/ and represented by the letter
«‫»ى‬. When the qualified word ends in the vowel sound /é/, represented by the letter heh-ye do
chéshm («‫ه‬...»), kasré-ye ezāfé is pronounced /ye/ and need not be represented in writing, but it can
appear in writing either as an independent «‫ »ى‬or as a hamzé-like character «‫ »ء‬called sár-e ye
[the top of ye]. Here follow examples of the cited possibilities.

‫ﻣﺎﯾﻮى دو ﺗﻜﮫ‬ ‫ﺗﺎﻛﺴِﻰ آژاﻧﺲ‬ ‫ﻗﺎﻟِﻰ اﯾﺮاﻧﻰ‬

māyó-ye do tekké tāksi-ye āzhāns qāli-ye irāni
two-piece bathing suit telephone taxi service Persian carpet

ِ ‫اَﻟِﻔﺒﺎ‬
‫ى ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ‬ ‫ى ﺗﻮرﯾﺴﺘﻰ‬
ِ ‫وٮﺰا‬ ‫ى ﻻﺗﯿﻦ‬
ِ ‫آﻣﺮٮﻜﺎ‬
alefbā-ye fārsi vizā-ye turisti āmrikā-ye lātin
‫ى ِﺟﺖ‬
ِ ‫ھَﻮاﭘَﯿﻤﺎ‬ ‫ى اِﺳﻤﯿﺖ‬
ِ ‫آﻗﺎ‬ ‫ى ﻛ ﺎ ﻧ ﺎ دا ﯾ ﻰ‬
ِ ‫داﻧِﺸﺠﻮ‬
havāpaymā-ye jet āqā-ye esmít dāneshju-ye kānādā'i
jet airplane Mr. Smith Canadian college student
‫اداره ﺗِﻠِﻔُﻦ‬ ‫اداره ى ُﮔﻤُﺮك‬ ‫اِدارۀ ﭘُﻠٮﺲ‬

edāré-ye telefón edāré-ye gomrók edāré-ye polís

telephone company customs office police department (lit: office)

§12.4. In the following two exercises (#1-8 and #9-13), match the modified words in the right
columns with modifying words to the left. Then read the resulting phrases aloud, making certain to
pronounce an unstressed /ye/ sound between the two words in each pair. Verify your choices and
pronunciation by listening to a reading or the accompanying audio file. Note that Items 9-13 feature
prepositions that take kasre-yé ezāfé.

‫___ ﭘﺎرك‬ [for] ‫ى‬

ِ ‫ﺑَﺮا‬ 9 ‫___ دﯾﭙﻠُﻤﺎﺗﯿﻚ‬ ‫ى‬
ِ ‫آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎ‬ 1

[table] ‫___ ﻣﯿﺰ‬ [on/on top of] ‫ى‬

ِ ‫رو‬ 10 ‫___ آژاﻧﺲ‬ ‫ى‬
ِ ‫آﺳﯿﺎ‬ 2

‫___ ُﺷﻤﺎ‬ [about/concerning] ‫َدرﺑﺎره ى‬ 11 ‫___ ﻻﺗﯿﻦ‬ ‫ﺗﺎﻛﺴِﻰ‬ 3

‫___ ﻓَﻠَﺴﻔﮫ‬ [inside] ‫ى‬

ِ ‫ﺗﻮ‬ 12 ‫___ ﺑِﺮﯾﺘﺎﻧﯿﺎ‬ ‫ى‬
ِ ‫ﺳﯿﻨِﻤﺎ‬ 4

[house] ‫___ ﺧﺎﻧﮫ‬ [facing/opposite] ‫ى‬

ِ ‫روﺑِﺮو‬ 13 ‫___ اﯾﺮاﻧﯿﺰه‬ ‫ى‬
ِ ‫وﯾﺰا‬ 5

‫___ آوان ﮔﺎرد‬ ‫ﻣﻮزه ى‬ 6

[central] ‫___ َﻣﺮَﻛﺰى‬ ‫آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎﯾِﻰ‬ 7

‫___ ﻟﯿﺒِﺮال‬ ‫اﯾﺮاﻧِﻰ‬ 8

*****
As a pre-reading, pre-listening, or pre-speaking activity, students outside of class might read charts
contextualizing language features and forms that the next class session’s unit will treat, and they might refer to
and reread such charts regularly thereafter. For example, in planning for a class that involves simple past tense verbs,
students could read a chart presenting all Persian tense and mood forms (e.g., Mini-lesson §9.2).

29
 Even at an advanced level of Persian study, English-speaking learners exhibit occasional uncertainty about the
pronunciation of certain letters and combinations of letters and about the transcription of certain sounds. Here is a
partial list of potentially problematic pronunciation and transcription issues: (1) pronouncing unfamiliar words which
contain unwritten vowel sounds, (2) placing word stress or accent either on a word’s last syllable or on another
syllable, (3) confronting multiple letters representing the same sounds in the cases of /t/, /h/, /s/, /z/, and /’/, (4)
pronunciation of the letter vāv «‫ »و‬in written texts, (5) pronunciation of the letter ye «‫ »ى‬in written texts, (6)
pronunciation of the letter alef «‫ »ا‬in written texts, (7) shifting back and forth from bookish/written [‫ﻧﻮﺷﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ﮐﺘﺎﺑﯽ‬or
literary [‫ ]ادﺑﯽ‬Persian to colloquial/spoken Persian, and (8) using kasré-ye ezāfé in noun phrases (kasré = zir = ..ِ..).
Resolving doubts about what a specific written feature in Persian means and/or how to pronounce and/or use it
can often be a simple matter of reviewing a sufficient number of representative examples of that feature or
phenomenon to reach a tentative inductive conclusion about it. A suggested plan of attack with respect to some of
the issues cited above might involve writing down and continually cataloging examples of a feature or form and then
reviewing one's list to see if a common denominator or a descriptive rule for it becomes apparent. Some of the cited
issues relate directly to vocabulary acquisition.
Mini-lesson #13. A review of uses of the letter yeh «‫ »ى‬in word-final position, where it is pronounced: / í/ with
a word stress or accent, /i/ without a word stress, /y/ with a preceding a or following /e/ sound, or /ā/.
§13.1. The letter ye (‫ )ى‬routinely appears in word-final position pronounced /í/ with the word
stress or accent falling on the word’s last syllable in the case of nouns and adjectives that end in
«‫ی‬...».
ship ‫ِﻛﺸﺘﻰ‬ game, playing bāzí ‫ﺑﺎزى‬
empty ‫ﺧﺎﻟﻰ‬ kettle ‫ِﻛﺘﺮى‬
nature – natural َ - ‫طﺒﯿَﻌﺖ‬
‫ط ﺒ ﯿﻌ ﻰ‬ َ meaning ‫َﻣﻌﻨﻰ‬
In the case of words that end in «‫ى‬...» pronounced /...í/, replacing the noun ending /...át/ with
«‫ى‬...» produces an adjective. The pairs of words in Group 4 are loanwords from Arabic in which
such adjective-producing forms are common. The addition of a stressed «‫ »…ی‬/...í/ suffix to
nouns and adjectives in Persian is the most common way to produce nouns from adjectives and
adjectives from nouns. The following groups of words illustrate possibilities.

America – American ‫ آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎﺋﻰ‬،‫ آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎﯾﻰ‬- ‫آﻣﺮﯾﮑﺎ‬ bad, evil (adj) – evil (n) ‫ ﺑﺪى‬- ‫ﺑَﺪ‬
expressing; putting on airs (n) – haughty ‫ اِﻓﺎده اى‬- ‫اِﻓﺎده‬ witty – joke ‫ ﺷﻮﺧﻰ‬- ‫ﺷﻮخ‬
house – domestic ‫ ﺧﺎﻧِﮕﻰ‬- ‫ﺧﺎﻧﮫ‬ dirt, earth – dusty; down-to-earth ‫ ﺧﺎﻛﻰ‬- ‫ﺧﺎك‬
France – French (person) ‫ ﻓَﺮاﻧَﺴﻮى‬- ‫ﻓَﺮاﻧﺴﮫ‬ wood – wooden, made of wood ‫ ﭼﻮ ﺑﻰ‬- ‫ﭼﻮب‬
paper (n – adj) ‫ ﻛﺎَﻏﺬى‬- ‫ﻛﺎَﻏﺬ‬
American automobile ‫ﻣﺎﺷﯿِﻦ آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎﺋﻰ‬ photographer – photography ‫ َﻋّﻜﺎﺳﻰ‬- ‫َﻋّﻜﺎس‬
French food ghazā-ye farānsavi ‫ى ﻓَﺮاﻧَﺴﻮى‬
ِ ‫َﻏﺬا‬ painter – painting ‫ ﻧَﻘّﺎﺷﻰ‬- ‫ﻧَﻘّﺎش‬
homemade wine ِ ‫َﺷﺮا‬
‫ب ﺧﺎﻧِﮕﻰ‬ psychologist – psychology ‫ َرواﻧِﺸﻨﺎﺳﻰ‬- ‫َرواﻧِﺸﻨﺎس‬
temporary wife (in Shi'ite societies) siqe’í ‫َزِن ﺻﯿﻐﮫ اى‬
worth seeing ‫دﯾَﺪﻧﻰ‬
Word-final «‫ى‬...» also appears with an unstressed /...i/ pronunciation, as in the second-person
singular (you-1 or «‫ )»ﺗﻮ‬verb forms. Note that the pronunciation of the you-1 ending «‫ى‬...» above

30
 changes from /i/ to /y/ if the last letter of the present stem which precedes it is alef (‫)ا‬, pronounced
ā, in accordance with the rule that two letters both representing vowels do not appear next to one
another. A letter «‫ »و‬or «‫ »ى‬next to a medial «‫ »ا‬is pronounced /v/ or /y/, respectively.
A second sort of unstressed word-final /...i/ suffix appears at the end of the word «‫ »ﭼﯿﺰى‬chízi
[something, anything] as a sign of indefiniteness. Here follow other examples.
by the hour sā'áti ‫ﺳﺎَﻋﺘﻰ‬ book – a book ketābi ‫ ِﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ‬- ‫ِﻛﺘﺎب‬
per day rúzi ‫روزى‬ (some) books ketābhāyi ‫ ِﻛﺘﺎﺑﮭﺎﺋﻰ‬- ‫ِﻛﺘﺎﺑﮭﺎﯾﻰ‬

each week hafté’i ‫ھﻔﺘﮫ اى‬ country – a country keshvári ‫ ِﻛﺸَﻮرى‬- ‫ِﻛﺸَﻮر‬
per month māhi ‫ﻣﺎھﻰ‬ (some) countries keshvarhāyi ‫ ﻛﺸﻮرھﺎﺋﻰ‬- ‫ِﻛﺸَﻮرھﺎٮﻰ‬
thing – a/some thing chízi ‫ ﭼﯿﺰى‬- ‫ﭼﯿﺰ‬
(some) things chizhā'i ‫ ﭼﯿﺰ ھﺎﺋﻰ‬- ‫ﭼﯿﺰ ھﺎﯾﻰ‬
person – a person kási ‫ ﻛﺴﻰ‬- ‫َﻛﺲ‬
some people ‫ﮐﺴﺎﻧﯽ‬
person – a person shákhsi ‫ َﺷﺨﺼﻰ‬- ‫َﺷﺨﺺ‬

some persons ashkhási ‫ اَﺷﺨﺎﺻﻰ‬- ‫اَﺷﺨﺎص‬

program – a program barnāmé'i ‫ ﺑَﺮﻧﺎﻣﮫ اى‬- ‫ﺑَﺮﻧﺎﻣﮫ‬

some programs barnāme'hā'i ‫ﺑﺮﻧﺎﻣﮫ ھﺎﺋﻰ‬

an old man mard-e mosénni ‫َﻣﺮِد ُﻣِﺴﻨّﻰ‬
several moments ‫ﻟََﺤﻈﺎﺗﻰ َﭼﻨﺪ‬

tiring days (some) ‫روزھﺎﯾﻰ َﻣﻼل اَﻧﮕﯿﺰ‬

irrelevant statements (some) ‫ﭼﺮﺗﻰ‬

ِ ‫ى‬
ِ ‫َﺣﺮف ھﺎ‬
incurable illnesses (some) ‫ﺑﯿﻤﺎرى ھﺎﯾﻰ ﻻِﻋﻼج‬
awful/useless people (some) ‫ى ُﻣَﺰﺧَﺮﻓﻰ‬
ِ ‫آَدﻣﮭﺎ‬
outstanding writers ‫ﻧِﻮٮَﺴﻨِﺪﮔﺎﻧﻰ ﺑَﺮَﺟﺴﺘﮫ‬
‫ ﺳﺎﻟﻰ َﭼﻨﺪ؟‬- ‫ﺳﺎﻟﻰ‬
annually – How much per year

‫ﭼﮫ َﺷﺨﺼﻰ؟‬
What person? che shákhsi

What a beautiful day !‫ﭼﮫ روِز ﻗََﺸﻨﮕﻰ‬

What book ‫ﭼﮫ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﻰ؟‬
What an awful movie !‫ﭼﮫ ﻓﯿﻠِﻢ ُﻣَﺰﺧَﺮﻓﻰ‬ In what year ‫در ﭼﮫ ﺳﺎﻟﻰ؟‬
What a mistake I made !‫ﭼﮫ اِﺷﺘِﺒﺎھﻰ ﻛﺮدم‬ What relationship ‫ﭼﮫ راﺑِﻄﮫ اى؟‬
What a trick he/she pulled! hoqqé'i !‫ﭼﮫ ُﺣﻘّﮫ اى زد‬ What sort of government? now', no ‫ﭼﮫ ﻧُﻮْْع ُﺣﻜﻮَﻣﺘﻰ‬

31
 §13.2. An unstressed /...i/ sound represented by «‫ى‬...» also appears at the end of words that
function as antecedents for relative and other subordinate clauses introduced by «‫»ﻛــــﮫ‬, as the
following phrases and examples illustrate.
the person who kási ke ‫َﻛﺴﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
when (at the time which) váqti ke ...‫َوﻗﺘﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
the people who ...‫َﻛﺴﺎﻧﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
while ...‫در ﺣﺎﻟﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
the words which ...‫َﻛﻠَﻤﺎﺗﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
in the event that ...‫در ﺻﻮَرﺗﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
the programs which ...‫ﺑﺮﻧﺎﻣﮫ ھﺎٮﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
as long as, until ...‫ﺗﺎ َزﻣﺎﻧﻰ ﻛﮫ‬
despite the fact that bā vojúdi ke ...‫ﺑﺎ ُوﺟﻮدى ﻛﮫ‬
the chair which ...‫ﺻﻨَﺪﻟﻰ اى ﻛﮫ‬
َ

§13.3. In the so-called ezāfé construction ‫َﻛﺴــﺮه ی اِﺿــﺎﻓــﮫ‬, the letter «‫ »ى‬pronounced /y/ appears
at the end of words ending in «‫ا‬...» /...ā/ or «‫و‬...» /...u/ followed by a modifier. In the case of words
ending in «‫ه‬...» /...é/, some writers use the letter «‫»ى‬. The following examples illustrate the
possibilities.

(a) good book ketāb-e khúb ‫ب ﺧﻮ ب‬

ِ ‫ِﻛﺘﺎ‬ .1

(an) easy chair sandalí-ye rāhatí ‫ﺻﻨَﺪﻟِﻰ راَﺣﺘﻰ‬

َ .2

Latin America āmrikā-ye lātin ‫آﻣﺮﯾﻜﺎى ﻻﺗﯿﻦ‬ .3

superior college student dāneshjú-ye momtāz ‫ى ُﻣﻤﺘﺎز‬

ِ ‫داﻧِﺸﺠﻮ‬ .4

on the subject of/about war dar bāréh-ye jang ‫َدرﺑﺎره ى َﺟﻨﮓ‬ .5

dar bāré-ye jang ‫َدرﺑﺎرۀ ﺟﻨﮓ‬

dar bāré-ye jang ‫َدرﺑﺎره ﺟﻨﮓ‬

*****
Mini-lesson #14. It used to be that university students serious about the study of the Persian language got
directed to courses in the Arabic language that would presumably help them deal efficiently with the Arabic element
in Persian. In my view, however, only Persian students interested in reading texts such as medieval Persian prose
and verse needed to learn Arabic. Otherwise, Persian instructional materials developers could design syllabi that
introduce the Arabic element in Persian and arrange that element to identify descriptive categories and rules for it.
This mini-lesson illustrates that approach.

§14.1 Among the most common are Arabic-loanword verbal nouns of which there are nine chief
verbal noun patterns or forms in Persian, along with parallel active and passive noun/adjective
patterns. The simplest words are in the first or base pattern and are three-letter words such as
«‫[ »ِﺷْﻜﻞ‬shape], «‫»ُﻋْﻤﺮ‬

32
 [life(time)], and «‫[ »َوْﺟﮫ‬aspect]. In patterns for the 2nd through 9th levels, words consisting of a root
system of three consonants exhibit usually unvarying forms. Variants of such forms obtain for root
systems that contain the letters aléf, vāv, and/or ye.

14.2. The following chart, to be read from right to left, presents sample words for nine levels of
Arabic loanword verbal nouns and parallel, active and passive noun/adjectives.

passive noun/adjective pattern active noun/adjective pattern verbal noun pattern levels 1–9 verbal nouns
example….paradigm example….paradigm

reasonable rational ‫ﻣﻌﻘﻮل‬.…‫َﻣﻔﻌﻮل‬ wise ‫ﻋﺎﻗِﻞ‬.…‫ ﻓُﻌﻞ و ِﻏﯿﺮه ﻓﺎِﻋﻞ‬،‫ﻓَﻌﻞ ﻓِﻌﻞ‬ reason, brain ‫ َﻋﻘﻞ‬١

well-arranged ‫ُﻣَﺮﺗﱠﺐ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔَﱠﻌﻞ‬ student ّ‫ُﻣَﺤ ﱢ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔَﱢﻌﻞ‬

‫ﺼﻞ‬ ‫ﺗَﻔﻌﯿﻞ‬ academic education ‫ﺗَﺤﺼﯿﻞ‬ ٢

person addressed ‫ُﻣﺨﺎطَﺐ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔﺎَﻋﻞ‬ speaker ‫ُﻣﺨﺎِطﺐ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔﺎِﻋﻞ‬ ‫ُﻣﻔﺎِﻋﻠِﮫ‬ conversation ‫ ُﻣﺨﺎِطﺒﮫ‬٣

doubled, two-fold ‫ُﻣﻀﺎَﻋﻒ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔﺎَﻋﻞ‬ traveler ‫ُﻣﺴﺎﻓِﺮ‬ ‫ُﻣﻔﺎِﻋﻠَﺖ‬ travel ‫ُﻣﺴﺎﻓَِﺮت‬

strong, firm ‫ُﻣﺤَﮑﻢ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔَﻌﻞ‬ possible ‫ُﻣﻤِﻜﻦ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔِﻌﻞ‬ ‫اِﻓﻌﺎل‬ possibility ‫ اِﻣﻜﺎن‬۴

conceivable َ َِ‫ُﻣﺘ‬.…‫ُﻣﺘَِﻔَﱠﻌﻞ‬
‫ﺼﱠﻮر‬ aware ‫ُﻣﺘََِﻮﱢﺟﮫ‬.…‫ُﻣﺘَِﻔَﱢّﻌﻞ‬ ‫ﺗَﻔَﱡﻌﻞ‬ attention ‫ ﺗََﻮﱡﺟﮫ‬۵

customary ‫ُﻣﺘَِﻌﺎ َ ِرف‬.…‫ُﻣﺘَِﻔﺎَﻋﻞ‬ well-proportioned ‫ُﻣﺘَﻨﺎِﺳﺐ‬.…‫ُﻣﺘَِﻔﺎِﻋﻞ‬ ‫ﺗَﻔﺎُﻋﻞ‬ proportion ‫ ﺗَﻨﺎُﺳﺐ‬۶

reflected ‫ُﻣﻨَﻌِﻜﺲ‬.…‫ُﻣﻨﻔَِﻌﻞ‬ ‫اِﻧﻔِﻌﺎل‬ reflection ‫ اِﻧِﻌﻜﺎس‬٧

respectable ‫ُﻣﺤﺘََﺮم‬.…‫ُﻣﻔﺘََﻌﻞ‬ believing in ‫ُﻣﻌﺘَﻘِﺪ‬.…‫ُﻣﻔﺘَِﻌﻞ‬ ‫اِﻓﺘِﻌﺎل‬ belief ‫ اِﻋﺘِﻘﺎد‬٨

the future ‫ُﻣﺴﺘَﻘﺒَﻞ‬.…‫ُﻣﺴﺘَﻔَﻌﻞ‬ welcoming ‫ﻣﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ‬.…‫ُﻣﺴﺘَﻔِﻌﻞ‬ ‫اِﺳﺘِﻔﻌﺎل‬ welcoming, greeting ‫اِﺳﺘِﻘﺒﺎل‬ ٩

§14.2.1. Each of the cited derived (#2-#9) patterns of Arabic loanword verbal nouns
communicates a specific verbal mode or aspect, e.g., intensity (#2, #4), reciprocity (#3, #5,
causality (#2, #4), reflexivity (#3, #5), and passivity (#7). For example, the «‫ »اِﻧـــﻔِﻌﺎل‬enfe'āl pattern
(#7, above) communicates passive meanings, which accounts for why it does not exhibit a passive
noun-adjective form.

§14.3. Find words in the foregoing chart that illustrate the following patterns (in which “1” = the
1st root letter, “2” = the 2nd root letter, and “3” = the 3rd root letter, while the English
transcription reflects the Persian letters and/or sounds added to root letters to produced words
derived from base-level or level #1 words).
e12ā3 = ______________________ mo1a22e3 = ______________________
este12ā3 = ______________________ ta1a22o3 = ______________________
1ā2e3 = ______________________ e1te2ā3 = ______________________
ta1ā2o3 = ______________________ ma12u3 = ______________________
mo1ā2e3 = ______________________ en1e2ā3 = ______________________

§14.4. Refer to Mini-lesson §6.1 and identify the forms or patterns of words listed there in the

33
 «‫ »ﺣﮑﻢ‬family of Arabic loanwords.

Mini-lesson #15. This self-contained lesson focuses on vocabulary acquisition and maintenance in reading a
ghazal poem by premier Persian lyric poet Hāfez (c.1320-c.1390).

§15.1. Read the following questions and, without looking at the text of Hāfez’s ghazal or its translation
below, listen to a reading or recording of it for answers to the questions. If this exercise takes place in class,
the questions are posed and answered in Persian.
1. What sort of end rhyme scheme does the poem have?.__________________________
2. How many people say things in the poem? ___________________________________
3. Is the setting (time/place/circumstances) of the poem initially about the past, the
present, or the future? ___________________________________________________
4. What words in the poem verify that it is a love poem? __________________________
______________________________________________________________________

§15.2. Listen to a second reading of the poem to verify answers to the foregoing questions.

§15.3. In the text, find Arabic loanwords in the given patterns related by consonantal root
system to the following words. (1 = 1st root letter, 2 = 2nd root letter, and 3 = 3rd root letter, those
root letters represented in Perso-Arabic script by [from right to left] ‫ ل‬+ ‫ ع‬+ ‫) ف‬. Check the chart
of Arabic loanword patterns to visualize the paradigmatic context of the word forms in this
exercise.
lover ______________ :[1ā2e3] ‫ﻓﺎﻋِﻞ‬ love ‫ﻋِﺸﻖ‬ .١

infidel ______________ :[1ā2e3] ‫ﻓﺎﻋِﻞ‬ apostasy ‫ُﻛﻔﺮ‬ .۲

ascetic ______________ :[1ā2e3] ‫ﻓﺎﻋِﻞ‬ asceticism ‫ُزھﺪ‬ .۳

Hāfez, keeper ______________ :[1ā2e3] ‫ﻓﺎﻋِﻞ‬ protecting, preservation ‫ﺣﻔﻆ‬

ِ .۴
[preserver, one who knows the Koran by heart]

sad ______________ :[1a2i3] ‫َﻓﻌﯿﻞ‬ sadness ‫ﺣﺰن‬

ُ .۵

wine ______________ :[1o23] ‫َﻓْﻌﻞ‬ wine headache ‫ﺧُﻤﺎر‬ .۶

gift ______________ :[1o23e] ‫ُﻓْﻌﻠﮫ‬ gifts ‫ﺤﻒ‬

َ ‫ُﺗ‬ .۷

repentance ______________ :[1o23e] ‫َﻓْﻌﻠﮫ‬ penitent ‫ ﺗﺎﯾِﺐ‬.٨

Because Arabic loanwords in Persian exhibit consonantal root systems, unlike native Persian
vocabulary that exhibits prefixes, suffixes, stems, and compounding, a specific Arabic word may
remind readers of other words related by consonantal root system and other words exhibiting the
same pattern. For example, if the words «‫ »ﻋﺎﺷِﻖ‬and «‫ »ﻋﺎرِف‬appear in the same short text, readers
might hear a sort of pattern rhyme in them and also sense the presence of the related words «‫ﻋﺸﻖ‬ ِ »
and «‫»ﻣَﻌﺮِﻓَﺖ‬. Parenthetically, Item #8 illustrate sorts of Arabic loanword root systems not
discussed in this mini-lesson, root systems that feature the letters aléf, vāv, and/or ye. Such root
systems exhibit variations in their derived-word patterns vis-à-vis the patterns presented in §14.2
(above).51

34
 §15.4. Find pre-modern forms in Hāfez’s ghazal for these modern forms:
________________ don't criticize ‫ﺧﺮده َﻧﮕﯿﺮ‬
ُ ١
________________ last night ‫ﺸﺐ‬
َ ‫دﯾ‬ ٢
________________ he/she sat (down) ‫ِﻧﺸَﺴﺖ‬ ۳

________________ he/she/it is ‫ﻣﻰ ﺑﺎﺷَﺪ‬ ۴

________________ it broke ‫ﺷَﻜﺴﺖ‬
ِ ۵

§15.5. Find words in Hāfez’s poem consisting of a noun combined with a verb present stem with
the following meanings:
1 "ghazal-singing" : ............................................

2 "drinkers to the bottom of the glass" : ............................................ (+ /ān/ = plural sign)

3 "alas-saying" : ............................................ (+ ān = verb sign)

4 "nocturnal"; ‫ﺻﺒﺢ زود‬ : ............................................

5 "wine-worshipping" : ............................................

6 "twisted," “knotted” : ............................................

§15.6. Find words in the text referring to alcoholic beverages [‫ت َاﻟــــُﻜـﻠـﻰ‬
ِ ‫ ]َﻣـﺸــــﺮوﺑــــﺎ‬with these
meanings:

1 two words for "wine": ____________ ____________

2 "heavenly wine" (i.e., inspiring wine that may not have alcoholic content): ____________

3 "intoxicating wine" (i.e., wine that human beings make): ____________.

4 three words for "wine cup": ____________ ____________ _____________

5 "glass wine pitcher": ____________

§15.7. Read Hāfez’s ghazal several times while listening its recording.
/... zólf āshofté-vo/ ‫ﻒ آُﺷﻔﺘﮫ و ﺧﻮى ﻛﺮده و َﺧﻨﺪاْن ﻟَﺐ و ﻣﺴﺖ‬
ْ ‫ُزﻟ‬

ُ ‫ﭘﯿﺮھَﻦ ﭼﺎك و َﻏَﺰﻟﺨﻮان و‬

‫ﺻﺮاﺣﻰ در دﺳﺖ‬
1 Tresses in disarray, perspiring, smiling, and intoxicated,
shirt torn, singing a ghazal, and a wine-pitcher in hand,
/... arbadé-júy-o/ ‫ﻧَﺮِﮔَﺴﺶ َﻋﺮﺑَﺪه ﺟﻮى و ﻟﺒﺶ اَﻓﺴﻮس ُﻛﻨﺎن‬

‫ﺐ دوش ﺑﮫ ﺑﺎﻟﯿِﻦ ﻣﻦ آﻣﺪ ﺑِﻨَِﺸﺴﺖ‬

ْ ‫ﻧﯿﻢ ﺷ‬
2 Narcissus eyes bellicose and lips mouthing "alas,"
midnight last night he came to my bedside and sat down.
/āvard-o/ ِ ‫ﺳْﺮ ﻓَﺮاﮔﻮ‬
‫ش ﻣﻦ آورد و ﺑﮫ آواِز َﺣﺰﯾﻦ‬

(‫ )ﻛﺎى = ﻛﮫ ِاى‬/kay/ ‫ﻖ دﯾﺮﯾﻨﮫ ی ﻣﻦ ﺧﻮاﺑﺖ ھﺴﺖ‬

ِ ‫ﮔﻔﺖ ﻛﺎى ﻋﺎﺷ‬
3 He brought his head to my ear and in a sad voice said:

"O, my old lover, are you asleep?

35
 ‫ﻋﺎﺷﻘﻰ را ﻛﮫ ُﭼﻨٮﻦ ﺳﺎَﻏِﺮ َﺷﺒﮕﯿﺮ دھﻨﺪ‬

‫ﻛﺎﻓِﺮ ﻋﺸﻖ ﺑَُﻮد ﮔﺮ ﻧَﺒَُﻮد ﺑﺎده ﭘََﺮﺳﺖ‬

4 A lover given such a nocturnal cup is an infidel to love
if he is not a wine-worshipper."
‫ﺑُِﺮو اِى زاھﺪ و ﺑﺮ ُدردﻛﺸﺎن ُﺧﺮده َﻣﮕﯿﺮ‬

‫ﻛﮫ ﻧﺪادﻧﺪ ُﺟﺰ اﯾﻦ ﺗُﺤﻔﮫ ﺑﮫ ﻣﺎ روِز اَﻟَﺴﺖ‬

5 Be gone, o ascetic, and do not scorn drinkers of the dregs;
for no gift but that was given us at the day of the covenant between God and humankind.
‫آﻧﭽﮫ او رﯾﺨﺖ ﺑﮫ ﭘِﯿﻤﺎﻧﮫ ی ﻣﺎ ﻧﻮﺷﯿﺪﯾﻢ‬

/... khamr-e behésht-ast-o gár/ ‫اﮔﺮ از َﺧﻤِﺮ ﺑﮭﺸﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﮔﺮ از ﺑﺎده ی ﻣﺴﺖ‬
6 What He poured into our cup we drank,
be it heaven's wine or intoxicating wine.
/máy-o/ ِ ‫ﺧﻨﺪه ی ﺟﺎِم ِﻣﻰ و ُزﻟ‬
‫ﻒ ِﮔﺮه ﮔﯿﺮ ﻧِﮕﺎر‬

.‫اِى ﺑَﺴﺎ ﺗُﻮﺑﮫ ﻛﮫ ﭼﻮن ﺗﻮﺑﮫ ی ﺣﺎﻓﻆ ﺑِِﺸَﻜﺴﺖ‬

7 The wine cup's smile and the beloved's curled tresses,
o how many repentances such as Hāfez's have they broken!

§15.8. Refer to the foregoing text to find answers to these questions about Hāfez's ghazal.

ِ ‫ ﺑﻘﻮ‬۱
……….……………………………………………… ‫ او دﯾﺸﺐ ﻛﺠﺎ ﺑﻮده اﺳﺖ؟‬،‫ل ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪه ی ﺷﻌﺮ‬
.............................................. ‫ع اوِل ﻏﺰل ِذﻛﺮ ﺷﺪه؟‬ ِ ‫ﺻﻔَﺖ در وﺻ‬
ِ ‫ﻒ »ﻣﮭﻤﺎن ِ« ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪه در ِﻣﺼﺮا‬ ِ ‫ ﭼﻨ ﺪ‬٢
..................................... ‫در ﻣﺼﺮاع ِﺳُﻮم؟‬ ............................................. ‫ع ُدُوم؟‬
ِ ‫در ِﻣﺼﺮا‬
............................... ‫ع اَﱠول در ﺧﻮاﻧﻨﺪه ُﻣﻤﻜﻦ اﺳﺖ ﭼﮫ ﺗﺄﺛﯿﺮى ُﮔﺬاَرد؟‬
ِ ‫ﺻﻔﺎت در ﺳﮫ ﻣﺼﺮا‬
َ ‫ ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ دادِن‬٣
‫ ﺑﻨﻈِﺮ ﺷﻤﺎ دﯾﺪاِر ُﻣﻮرِد وﺻﻒ در ﻏﺰل واﻗِﻌﺎ ً اِﺗﱢﻔﺎق اُﻓﺘﺎده ﯾﺎ اﯾﻨﻜﮫ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪه دﯾﺪاررا در ﺗََﺨﱡﯿﻼت و ﯾﺎ در ﺧﻮاب دﯾﺪه‬۴
‫اﺳﺖ؟‬

...................... ٢ .......................... ١ :‫ در ﻏﺰل ﭼﮭﺎر واژه ﺑﺎ ﻣﻔﮭﻮﻣﮭﺎى َﻣﺬھَﺒﻰ ﭘﯿﺪا ﻛﻨٮﺪ‬۵

..................... ۴ .......................... ٣

‫ ﺑﻨﺎﺑﺮاﯾﻦ در ﻣﺼﺮاع ِ »آﻧﭽﮫ او‬،‫ﺶ آدم ﻣﻰ ﺑﺎﺷﺪ‬ ِ ِ‫ت »روِز اَﻟَﺴﺖ« اِﺷﺎره ﺑﮫ روِز آﻓَﺮﯾﻨ‬
ِ ‫ ﺑﺎ ﺗﻮّﺟﮫ ﺑﮫ اﯾﻨﻜﮫ ﻋﺒﺎر‬۶
...................................... ‫رﯾﺨﺖ ﺑﮫ ﭘِﯿﻤﺎﻧﮫ ی ﻣﺎ« ﻣﻨﻈﻮِر ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪه از ﻛﻠﻤﮫ ی »او« اِﺣﺘِﻤﺎﻻً ﻛﯿﺴﺖ؟‬

§15.8. Hāfezian ghazals appeal to Iranians today because of their lyricism or musical qualities
and because of their sometimes complicated and philosophical suggestiveness. The following
questions highlight aspects of that suggestiveness.
1. What kind of love do you think this Hāfezian ghazal depicts? Physical, romantic
love? Spiritual love? Love of God? ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Suppose one assumes that a connection exists between the visitor carrying the
wine pitcher in Couplet 1 and the pouring of wine in Couplet 8? ______________
__________________________________________________________________
3. What implications might the word «‫ »دﯾﺮﯾﻨﮫ‬in Couplet 3 have in the context of the

36
 allusion in Couplet 5 to the Day of the Covenant between God and humankind?__
__________________________________________________________________

*****
Although I read Hafez’s “Visitation Ghazal” in Arberry’s Fifty Ghazals of Hafiz over and over again in
Mashhad, it wasn’t until after Mashhad, when I started learning about how Arabic loanword forms work in Persian,
that it dawned on me that word «‫ »ﻣﺸﮭﺪ‬mashhad denotes a place where a «‫ »ﺷﮭﯿﺪ‬shahid [martyr] is buried and that a
shahid gives one of two sorts of «‫ »ﺷﮭﺎدت‬shahādat [martyrdom, testimony]. It was also after those days in Mashhad
that I learned why the words «‫ »بیابان‬biyābān [desert] and «‫ »بَست َنی‬bastani [ice cream] meant what they did. I had
just memorized the words, whereas I could have looked at them the first time and seen bi and āb and ān in the
former and bast and an and í in the latter and saved parietal lobe space for «‫ »قارچ‬qārch [mushroom] or «‫»خر‬
[donkey (4- or 2-legged)] or any other one-part word not in a family of words or recognizably cognate with or from
English or French.
Since those days, I’ve spent a lot of time in class and in print describing Persian in such fashion as to help other
students of Persian save their memory work and space for other things while short-cutting their way through lots of
Persian vocabulary, just as I learned to shake hands with thousands and thousands of other Persian words and
remember them right away and permanently once I recognized «‫[ »ِمرسی‬thanks, thank you], «‫[ »ا َلو‬hello (on the
phone)] and several thousand other loanwords from French and English and learned the meanings behind 40+ forms
that Persian noun/adjectives from Arabic exhibit, and appreciated the 15+, non-rocket-science ways in which
Persian makes many of its own multi-part words.

* A draft manuscript for publication in The Routledge Handbook

of Persian Second Language Acquisition, edited by Pouneh
Shabani-Jadidi (London and New York: Routledge, 2020).

Endnotes
1
Mohammad Ali Jazayery’s audio-lingual Elementary Lessons in Persian: Experimental Edition (1965). Heir to
Jazayery’s audio lingual manual is Donald Stilo, Kamran Talattof, and Jerome Clinton’s Modern Persian: Spoken
and Written, 2 volumes (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005), which exhibits the careful step-by-step and
signature progression familiar from earlier Stilo materials. Modern Persian asserts that it takes “students from
beginning to intermediate levels with a mastery of modern Persian...and with an understanding of colloquial
Persian.” It makes use of an English transcription system for Persian statements and drills throughout, offering its
first text in Perso-Arabic script on page 276 of Volume 1, which does not introduce or practice any Persian past
tenses or introduce vocabulary in subject-matter groups. Its first substantial dialogue appears on page 283. It does
not introduce Persian dictionaries or practice their use.
2
L.P. Elwell-Sutton, Elementary Persian Grammar (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1963); and Ann
Lambton, Persian Grammar (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1953 [reprinted with corrections in
1957], and later printings). Wheeler M. Thackston’s An Introduction to Persian (Bethesda, MD: Ibex Books, 2009,
first published in 1993) is heir to earlier grammar-translation manuals and focuses exclusively on the bookish/
written [‫ﻧﻮﺷﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ﮐﺘﺎﺑﯽ‬register of Tehran Persian, presumably because Thackston’s Persian language courses have

37
aimed to train students to read classic and classical Persian texts. An Introduction to Persian features 35 pages of
vocabulary lists and concluding Persian-English and English-Persian glossaries. Because most of the illustrations of
Persian language phenomena and features in An Introduction to Persian and almost all of the exercises are artificial,
which is to say, self-consciously produced to illustrate a language feature, they may neither offer readers models
useful in everyday reading nor serve to develop or enhance specific language skills on their part. For example,
exercises calling for the translation of artificial English statements into Persian or artificial Persian statements into
English may not help students better accomplish any real-world Persian language tasks. An Introduction to Persian
does not treat the colloquial/spoken [‫ﮔﻔﺘﺎری‬/‫ ]ﻣﺤﺎوره ای‬register of the language in its 25 lessons on "The Grammar of
Modern Persian" (1-186), but rather relegates it to a brief separate section to it called "Colloquial
Transformations" (199-207). The Arabic element in Persian, which Lambton treats at length in Persian Grammar,
goes untreated in An Introduction to Persian.
3
Solayman Haïm, Farhang-e Yekjeldi-ye Farsi-Engelisi [The New One-Volume Persian-English Dictionary]
(Tehran: Berukhim, 1961). For information on recent editions of Haïm’s dictionaries, see Footnote 22.
4
Although one of two assumptions behind this essay, that vocabulary acquisition is a chief chore for English-
speaking learners of the Fārsi Persian language, derives mostly from personal experience as a student and teacher of
Persian, the other assumption, that mastery of vocabulary is a core element in development of foreign language
competence, has behind it the views presented in Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Rationale for
Pedagogy, edited by James Coady and Thomas N. Huckin (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, 1997, p.
x, illustrated edition, online edition 2012), quoted and echoed by Hillmann in “Preface,” Persian Vocabulary
Acquisition–A Guide to Word Forms and The Arabic Element in Persian: Second Edition (Hyattsville, MD:
Dunwoody Press, 2003, pp. i-xiii), a textbook and reader that discusses and illustrates the rationale for an emphasis
on vocabulary acquisition in Persian instructional materials.
5
See Michael Craig Hillmann, “Fārsi Persian Instructional Materials for Adult Speakers of English: A Select and
Partially Annotated Bibliography,” www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
6
Corey Miller and Karineh Aghajanian-Stewart, A Frequency Dictionary of Persian by (Routledge, Routledge
Frequency Dictionaries, 2017), 376 p.
7
Four-letter words in Persian that begin with «‫ »ت‬/t/ and then feature three consonant letters that identify the word
as an Arabic loanword and exhibit the form ta+1+ a + 22+ 3 /tafa‘‘ól/, a verbal noun often communicating a
reflexive idea vis-à-vis its related base-level word in a variant of a 123 pattern, in this case «‫ »َﺣﻤﻞ‬/haml/ that
becomes «‫ »تََحُّمل‬/tahammól/.
8
From «‫ »ِﻣﻠﱠﺖ‬remove the «‫ت‬...» and add «‫ی‬...», and from «‫ »ِﮔﺮاﯾﯿﺪن‬extract its present stem «‫ »ﮔﺮا‬and add «...‫»ی‬
= nation – national + to incline – inclining – state of inclining: nationalism.
9
Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, Media Persian Bilingual Edition by (Edinburgh University Press, Essential Middle
Eastern Vocabularies series, 2011, 2014), 128 p.
10
E.g., Mas‘ud Barzin, Farhang-e Estelāhāt-e Ruznāmeh’negāri-ye Fārsi [Dictionary of Persian Journalistic
Expressions] (Tehran: Behjat, 1987/8); ‘Abbās‘ali Mohājrri, Vazheh’nāmeh-ye ‘Olum-e Matbu‘āt va
Ruznāneh’negāri [Glossary of Print Media Sciences and Journalism] (Tehran: Dāneshju, 1996/7), 608 p.
11
Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi, What the Persian Media Says: A Coursebook (Routledge, 2015), 270 p.

38
 12
Mini-lesson #1 is adapted from the first of forty-seven lessons (accompanied by a comprehensive glossary, text
transations, and audio files) for intermediate/advanced Persian students in Michael Craig Hillmann with Ramin
Sarraf, Persian Newspaper Reader: Second Edition (Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press, 2000, 234, 77 p), pp. 3-4.
According to the author, “The approach to Persian newspaper reading which Persian Newspaper Reader has
presented in lessons revolving around its texts...suggests that readers spend more time trying to learn vocabulary in
context than looking up words in...[its] glossary or in dictionaries“ (p. 231). Sample PNR units are available online
at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
13
Colin Turner, A Thematic Dictionary of Modern Persian (Routledge, 2004, 2010).
14
E.g., Mehrān Mohājer and Mohammad Nabavi’s Vāzhgān-e Adabiyāt va Goftemān-e Adabi Engelisi-Fārsi
Fārsi-Engelisi [A Lexicon of Literature and Literary Discourse: English-Persian Persian-English] (Tehrān:
Enteshārāt-e Āgāh, 2003), 223 p (English Persian) and 240 p (Persian-English).
15
Davar Dehghani, Lonely Planet Farsi (Persian) Phrasebook and Dictionary, 3rd edition (Footscray, Victoria,
Australia: Lonely Planet, 2014), 260 p. As for learner’s dictionaries, Dehghani’s Persian-English/English-Persian
Learner’s Dictionary (Bethesda, MD: Ibex Books, 2008) offers 8,400+ headwords in its Persian-English section and
6,400 in its English-Persian. Such coverage would make the book a useful threshold reading, listening, and speaking
vocabulary resource had the author, who offers no rationale for headword selection, made use of a frequency list of
Persian words or adapted existing frequency lists of the 5,000 or so most common English words. Not having done
so, the dictionary does not include among its headwords words such as: computer, digital, google (vt), internet,
media, online, and terrorism/terrorist. Moreover, because the author thinks Perso-Arabic script “can be a major
barrier in the early stages of learning the [Persian] language,” he uses an English transcription system, which he
calls “transliteration,” and English alphabetical ordering of headwords in the Persian-English section. Examples
such as “jensgerayi” ‫[ ﺟﻨﺲ ﮔﺮاﯾﯽ‬sexism] also suggest that he did not verify translations by consulting reliable
English-Persian dictionaries. For vocabulary acquisition purposes, use of general Persian-English, English-Persian,
and Persian-Persian dictionary may prove more effective than use of glossaries and learner’s dictionaries for reasons
suggested in this essay.
16
Reza Nazari, Easy Persian Phrasebook: Essential Expressions for Communicating in Persian (CreateSpace

Independent Publishing Platform, 2014), 174 p.

17
Jane Adelson-Goldstein and Norma Shapiro, with translations reviewed by Ramin Eshtiaghi, English/Farsi
Oxford Picture Dictionary: Second Edition (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009, Kindle edition 2015),
xi, 305 p. Corrctions of errors in the Persian translations of English definitions of objects and actions appear on a
list available at www.Academie.edu/MichaelHillmann.
18
Patrick R. Moran’s Lexicarry: Pictures for Learning Languages (Brattleboro, VT: ProLingua Associates, 2015,
3rd revised edition), 160 p. An English-Persian guide to Lexicarry is available online at www.Academia.edu/
MichaelHillmann.
19
Mini-lesson #1 is adapted from “Classroom Listening: Audio Motor Units” in Michael Craig Hillm Persian
Listening (Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press, 2008), pp. 33-36. Vocabulary lists on (1) listening, (2) jokes, (3)
listening and speaking, (4) telephone calls, (5) radio broadcasts, (6) music, (7) poetry, and (8) movies accompany,
respectively, 100+ texts in eight chapters called (1) Hearing Persian, (2) Persian Jokes, (3) Persian Monologues,
(4) Persian Telephone Calls, (4) Persian Radio Broadcasts, (6) Persian Songs, (7) Persian Poems, and (8) Persian

39
Films. Chapter 1: “Persian Listening” and sample lessons from other chapters appear online at
www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
20
For a list, see See Michael Craig Hillmann, “Fārsi Persian Instructional Materials for Adult Speakers of English:
A Select and Partially Annotated Bibliography” (2020) at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
21
Michael Craig Hillmann, “Colloquial/Spoken and Bookish/Written Registers of Tehran Persian,” Persian
Grammar and Verbs (Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press, 2012), pp. 61-74, reviews the subject. Persian Grammar
and Verbs is available online at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
22
S[olayman] Haïm, The One-Volume English-Persian Dictionary (Tehran: Farhang Moaser, 1997; New York, NY:
Hippocrene Books, 4th printing, 2002 [1st paperback edition], 1993. 700 p.). Abbas and Manoochehr Aryanpur
Kashani’s New Persian-English and English-Persian Dictionary, The Combined New Persian-English and English-
Persian Dictionary by Abbas and Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1986 One-
Volume English-Persian Millennium Dictionary by Ali Mohammad Haghshenas et al., and Pooya English-Persian
Dictionary, Two Volumes in One by Mohammad Reza Bateni and assistants.
23
S. Solayman Haïm, The One-Volume Persian-English Dictionary (1997, 2002).
24
Abbas and Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani, The Combined New Persian-English and English-Persian Dictionary
by (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1986)
25
Karim Emami, Kimia Persian-English Dictionary (Tehran: Farhang Moaser), 2006).
26
For a list, see Hillmann, “Fārsi Persian Instructional Materials for Adult Speakers of English: A Select and
Partially Annotated Bibliography,” www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
27
Khosrow Keshani, Dictionnaire inverse de la langue persane/Farhang-e Fārsi-ye Zānsu [Reverse Order/Sort
Persian Dictionary] (Tehran: Presses Universitaire d’Iran/Markaz-e Nashr-e Daneshgahi, 1993), xi, 438 p.
28
Sayyed Mohammad Nahvi, Farhang-e Risheh'i-ye Vām'vāzeh-hā-ye ‘Arabi yā Loghāt-e ‘Arabi-ye Mosta‘mal
dar Fārsi [Dictionary of the Roots of Arabic Loanwords or Arabic Words Used in Persian] (Tehran: Enteshārāt-e
Eslāmi-ye Irān, 1989), 453 p.
29
Data from word lists and texts in this essay can suggest the importance for Persian students of control over the
Arabic vocabulary in Persian. 23 of 43 words in section §1.1 are from Arabic, 44 of 70+ words in §4.1 are from
Arabic, 39 of 55 words in section §5.1 are from Arabic, and 15 of 105+ words in the text in section §15.7 are from
Arabic.
30
Arabic loanwords in Persian are the subject of Chapters 46 to 58 (pp. 331-412) in Hillmann, Persian Grammar
and Verbs (Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press, 2012). PG&V is available online at www. Academia.edu/
MichaelHillmann.
31
‘Ali Akbar Dekhodā, Loghat’nāmeh, number of volumes depending upon binding of fascicules (Tehran:
Dāneshgāh-e Tehrān, 1956-197?, and printed and revised since); and Mohammad Mo‘in, Farhang-e Fārsi
(Motavasset) [An Intermediate Persian Dictionary], 6 volumes. (Tehran: Amir Kabir, 1965-1973). Both dictionaries
are available online.
32
Hasan Anvari, et al. Farhang-e Bozorg-e Sokhan [Sokhan Comprehensive Dictionary] 8 volumes (Tehran:
Sokhan, 2002/3).
33
Gholāmhosayn Sadri Afshār, Nasrin Hakami, and Nastaran Hakam, Farhang’nāmeh-ye Fārsi: Vāzhgān va
A’lām [Persian Encyclopedical Dictionary: Lexicon and Proper Names], 3 volumes (2009/10, 3,021 p). by i

40
 34
Idem, Farhang-e Mo‘āser-e Fārsi [Contemporary Persian Dictionary], 4th edition (Tehran: Farhang Moaser,
2004).
35
A mini-lesson on the Sokhan Comprehensive Dictionary entry for «‫[ »ﺗَﻮاﻧِﺴﺘَﻦ‬to be able] appears in Hillmann,
Persian Grammar and Verbs, p. 268, available online at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
36
E.g., Hillmann, “Persian Grammar Terms and Concepts,” Persian Grammar and Verbs, pp. 17-20, available
online at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
37
Najafi, Abolhasan, Farhang-e Fārsi-ye ‘Āmiyāneh [Colloquial/Slang Persian Dictionary], 2 volumes (Tehran:

Enteshārāt-e Nilufar, 1999/2000), xxviii, 1,523 p. Also useful is Mansur Sarvat and Rezā Enzābi’nezhād, Farhang-e
Loghāt-e ‘Āmiyāneh va Mo‘āser: Shāmel-e Loghāt-e ‘Āmiyaneh va Vāzheh-hā-ye No(w) va Motadāvel dar Āsār-e
Nevisandegān-e Mo‘āser [Dictionary of Colloquial/Slang and Contemporary Words: Consisting of Colloquial/Slang
Words and New and Common Words in the Works of Contemporary Writers], second edition (Tehran: Enteshārāt-e
Sokhan, 1998), an expanded version of the 1987/8 edition; intended as an update of Mohammad ‘Ali Jamālzādeh’s
Farhang-e Loghāt-e ‘Āmiyāneh [Vocabulaire du persan populaire/Dictionary of Colloquial/Slang Words], edited by
Mohammad Ja‘far Mahjub (Tehran: Ketābforushi-ye Ebn-e Sinā),1963), 481 p.
38
Mahdi Samā’i, Farhang-e Loghāt-e Zabān-e Makhfi [A Persian Dictionary of Argot (lit: secret language)]
(Tehran: Nashr-e Markaz, 2003, and subsequently reprinted). Because Sama’i defines zabān-e makhfi [secret
language] as verbiage used by a group to engage in private discourse among themselves, A Persian Dictionary of
Argot does not include slang terms and phrases not filling this purpose as argot. A list of Persian slang glossaries and
dictionaries appears in “Fārsi Persian Instructional Materials for Adult Speakers of English: A Select and Partially
Annotated Bibliography,” www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann. On the subject of slang dictionaries in general,
Ramin Sarraf, “Designing a Persian Slang Dictionary” (Ph.D. dissertation at The University of Texas at Austin,
2008, available online at www.learningace/com/doc/2236406/eb2c56a2bb9fe3c8391199d7c99fc570/sarrafr59881),
is a good review and the first step in Sarraf’s in-progress Dictionary of Persian Slang.
39
Gholāmrezā Ensāfpur, Kāmel Farhang-e Fārsi [Comprehensive Persian Dictionary] (Tehran: Enteshārāt-e
Zavvār, 1994).
40
For a list of Persian textbooks, manuals, and grammars, see “Fārsi Persian Instructional Materials for Adult
Speakers of English: A Select and Partially Annotated Bibliography” at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
41
E.g.: Abdi Rafiee, Colloquial Persian: The Complete Course for Beginners (2001, first edition; 2015, 3rd
edition); A.A. Hairdari, A Modern Persian Reader (2004); Colin Turner, A Thematic Dictionary of Modern Persian
(2004, 2010); Simin Abrahams, Modern Persian: A Course-Book (2005); Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi and Dominic
Parviz Brookshaw, The Routledge Introductory Persian Course: Farsi Shirin Ast, Book 1 (2010); Saeed Yousef and
Hayedeh Torabi, Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (2012); Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi and Dominic Parviz
Brookshaw, The Routledge Intermediate Persian Course: Farsi Shirin Ast, Book Two (2012); Pouneh Shabani-
Jadidi, What the Persian Media Says: A Coursebook (2014); Saeed Yousef, assisted by Hayedeh Torabi,
Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (2014); Corey Miller and Karineh Aghajanian-Stewart, A
Frequency Dictionary of Persian (Routledge Frequency Dictionaries, 2017); Saeed Yousef, Persian: A
Comprehensive Grammar (2018); and Abbas Aghdassi, Persian Academic Reading (2019).

41
 42
Readers who think that any of the quoted statements accurately reflects the features of Persian they describe can
contact the author at mchillmann@aol.com for examples demonstrating the inaccuracy of statements.
43
The Routledge Introductory Persian Course: Farsi Shirin Ast, Book 1 (Routledge, 2010) by Pouneh Shabani-
Jadidi and Dominic Parviz Brookshaw. The course continues with The Routledge Intermediate Persian Course:
Farsi Shirin Ast, Book Two (2012).
44
Anousha Shahsavari with Blake Atwood, Persian of Iran Today Book One (Austin, TX: Center for Middle
Eastern Studies, 2015). The syllabus continues with Book Two of Persian of Iran Today Book Two (2015).
45
Peyman Nojoumian, Persian Learner Part One: Persian for College Students. Volume 1; Persian Learner Part
Two: Elementary Persian for College Students (Volume 2); Persian Learner Part Three: Elementary Persian for
College Students (Volume 3): Nojoumian, Peyman. Persian Learner Part Four: Elementary Persian for College
Students (Volume 4) (Irvine, CA: UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies, 2017-2018), 800+ pages. Persian
Learner’s description of itself appears in lieu of annotation by this author because the publisher, in response to a
request for a review copy of one of its volumes, recommended that I purchase the series at www.amazon.com.
46
Saeed Yousef and Hayedeh Torabi, Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge, 2012), p. 215.
47
Saeed Yousef, assisted by Hayedeh Torabi, Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge, 2014).
48
See Footnotes 38 and 39.
49
“Colloquial/Spoken and Bookish/Written Registers of Tehran Persian,” Persian Grammar and Verbs, pp. 61-74,
offers a sample discussion.
50
A word-method approach to beginning Persian reading is illustrated in Hillmann, “Chapter 1: The Persian
Writing System,” Persian Reading and Writing (Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press, 2012), pp. 1-62, available
online at www.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann.
51
For a discussion of Arabic loanword root systems in Persian featuring aléf, vāv, and/or ye, see Hillmann, Persian
Vocabulary Acquisition: Second Edition, pp. 144ff.

42