Rita Mae Brown once said “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” Every language contains countless unique words, ideas, and philosophies. Language is absolute, you either understand what is being said, or you don’t.
The beauty of languages is that they are significant to different people and varying cultures across the globe. While all languages are truly special, let’s narrow our focus to the Persian language. If you’re a linguist or language fanatic of sorts, this topic covering Persian language facts will surely interest you.
History of the Persian Language
The Persian language, otherwise called the Farsi language is one of the oldest languages spoken in the world. Of the Iranian family of languages, Farsi is the longest surviving spoken language. The Farsi language takes its roots from the Old Persian language, which was first recorded between 522 and 486 BCE. For the last thousand years, the language has been effectively preserved.
The Persian language is the official language of Iran. Iran’s old name, Persia, inspired the language’s name. Iran was known as Persia until 1935 when the government asked that it be renamed Iran rather than Persia since Iran is the name of the country in Farsi.
Modern Persian (Farsi) Speakers
The Farsi language is spoken by over 130 million people, the majority of whom live in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. It is, however, extensively spoken in many other nations, including Israel, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates, and has traditionally been a more generally understood language in territories spanning from India to the Middle East.
The Persian language is the first language of over half of Iran’s people. It is the official language of the government, the media, and public education. The remainder of Iran’s population speaks Western Iranian languages as well as Arabic, New Aramaic, Armenian and Turkic languages.
Dari-Persian
Dari is one of Afghanistan’s two official languages. It is the official language and Afghan dialect of the modern Persian language. It is also known as Eastern Persian. The language is spoken by almost one-third of Afghanistan’s population. Dari is also spoken by around 2.5 million people in Iran, Pakistan, and neighboring countries. Despite variations in pronunciation and grammar, Farsi and Dari are mutually understood. As a result, whether spoken or written, Farsi may be understood by a Dari speaker and vice versa.
Persian Literature
Phonetically, Persian is one of the most soothing languages to date. The language has a thriving literary legacy that includes poetry, films, and a wide range of other artistic and textual expressions. Poetry is particularly significant to the Persians. Renowned life sayings and lines of their great poets are repeated in everyday life.
Persian Literature is undoubtedly among the oldest in the world, it spans thousands of years, and has inspired the literary works of many other cultures around the globe.
The “Shahnameh” is a work that merits credit for its influence on the Persian language. The renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi Tusi wrote this famous epic of the Kings. Not only is it a tour de force of Persian literature, but several people, including prominent scholars, believe that it shaped the revival of the Persian language after the collapse of the Sassanian empire.
Persian Calligraphy
The Persian language isn’t limited to its noteworthy literature and films; there are other expressions upon which the language prides itself. Let’s look at Persian calligraphy. Calligraphy has a long history that dates back to around the year 1500. However, experts believe that this Persian work of art originated long before the 7th century, with the development of Arabic writing.
Persian language artists have helped to transform literature into a more fluid style in which splendor and consonance play an important role. Nastaleeq is the most often used model in stylish Persian Arab script. This model uses more natural-looking curves, as opposed to the Arabic forms which are typically geometrical.
To Wrap it All Up
Who knew there was so much history to unpack about the modern Persian (Farsi) Language? Every language is indeed one of a kind. Learning about new languages, where they originated and the people who speak them are fun! It opens up a whole world of possibilities, learning, understanding, and communicating with different people all over the globe.
Learning new languages and wanting to experience new cultures all over the globe is something we encourage everyone to go after! At Day Translations, we are dedicated to connecting you with the rest of the world by providing you with fast, professional translation services for all your translation needs.
Let’s help you to enhance your international communication through our accurate and reliable localized translations. We’re in this together!