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This FSI Farsi course is an introduction to the Persian language. With it as a foundation the student may continue with either further conversational practice or with reading. It is being published in this tentative form to meet the immediate need felt for a beginning text in Persian. The authors feel very strongly that a thorough revision is necessary. incorporating different types of drills and using the shorter unit approach.
This course is the first step toward learning the Persian language. All of the lessons are in the spoken language. They represent Persian as illustrated by conversations based on everyday situations. After a thorough grounding in pronunciation and in basic grammatical features, the student should learn the writing system of Persian. Since Persian is not written in the ordinary spoken style (just as English is not), another style of speech must be learned for reading. Some of the basic differences between the ordinary spoken style and the written or formal style are explained in this Unit and in Unit 2. Reading may be begun very early, but learning to read should not keep the student from the primary goal of learning the language. Progress in the language may be hindered by trying to read too soon.
Some obvious facts concerning any language must be kept in mind by the learner. In the first place, there is no one correct way of speaking Persian or any other language. Minor differences of pronunciation, form, vocabulary and usage are found among speakers of the standard language. The student should expect these and follow the usage of his tutor. If the tutor's normal speech varies from that in the book, his or her manner of speaking should be followed.
The best way to learn any language is to listen to a native speaker of that language and then imitate exactly what he says. This course is designed to help you to imitate intelligently and efficiently. Each unit consists of essentially three parts: new material to be learned (Basic Sentences), explanation (Hints on Pronunciation, Notes) and drill (Grammatical Drill, Variation Drill, Substitution Drill, Narrative, Questions and Answers).
Persian is the predominant modern version of Old Persian, a southwestern Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan (officially known as Dari since 1958 for political reasons), and Tajikistan (officially known as Tajiki Persian since the Soviet era for political reasons), and some other regions which historically came under Persian influence. The Persian language is classified as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanid Persia, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Persian is a pluricentric language and its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages. Persian is also so called due to its origin from the capital of the Achaemenid empire, Persis (Fars or Pars) hence the name Persian (Farsi or Parsi). There are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. For centuries Persian has also been a prestigious cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia by the various empires based in the regions.
Persian Farsi is spoken in: Iran, Afghanistan
Persian Farsi is also called: Farsi, New Persian, Parsi, Iranian
