Persian vocabulary

Persian is very powerful in word building and versatile in ways a word can be built from combining affixes, stems, nouns and adjectives. Having many affixes to form new words (over a hundred), and the ability to build affixes and specially prefixes from nouns,Such as سگ (dog) in سگ‌مست (stoned, drunk) as well as خر (donkey) in خرمست and سیاه (black) in سیاه‌مست with the same meaning. The Persian language is also claimed to be{{cite web |url=http://js.mshdiau.ac.ir/jpl/index.php?option=com_tfjornal&task=downloadarchive&Itemid=0&id=e0a8567c3334f42da5d9b50babcd633059129c2c3f71fbe12ab61eed46c2f1296b2&doc=pdf |title=Index archive |publisher=Mashad |accessdate=15 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132933/http://js.mshdiau.ac.ir/jpl/index.php?option=com_tfjornal&task=downloadarchive&Itemid=0&id=e0a8567c3334f42da5d9b50babcd633059129c2c3f71fbe12ab61eed46c2f1296b2&doc=pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2008/06/080602_an-bateni-article.shtml |title=فرهنگ و هنر ; فارسی زبانی عقیم، مقاله ای از دکتر باطنی |publisher=BBC |date=2 June 2008 |accessdate=15 November 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lingoistica.com/articles/57/%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%9F |title= 色戒汤唯免费在线观看(中国)股份有限公司|website=www.lingoistica.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219124642/http://www.lingoistica.com/articles/57/%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%9F |archive-date=December 19, 2011}}{{Cite web| title=Examining the relationship between derivational constructions and linguistic taxonomy in the phenomenon of bilingualism | language=fa | url=http://www.sid.ir/fa/VEWSSID/J_pdf/34813894404.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228164326/http://www.sid.ir:80/fa/VEWSSID/J_pdf/34813894404.pdf | archive-date=2013-12-28}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news-8213.aspx |title=همشهری آنلاین: اهمیت زبان فارسی در عصر دهکده جهانی |publisher=Hamshahrionline.ir |accessdate=2013-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322223216/http://hamshahrionline.ir/news-8213.aspx |archive-date=2012-03-22 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |author=Behnegarsoft.com |url=http://www.ibna.ir/vdcayyn6e49nw61.k5k4.html |title=خبرگزاری کتاب ايران (IBNA) – زبان فارسي زباني اشتقاقي است |publisher=Ibna.ir |date=8 May 2011 |accessdate=2013-11-15 |archive-date=2012-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417215405/http://www.ibna.ir/vdcayyn6e49nw61.k5k4.html |url-status=dead }} and demonstrated{{cite web|url=http://forum.hammihan.com/thread15609.html |title=زبان Ů Ř§ŘąŘłŰŒ ŮƒŘ§Ů...Ů"ا ŮžŰŒŮˆŮ†ŘŻŰŒ Ůˆ ŘŞŘąŮƒŰŒ 30% ŮžŰŒŮˆŮ†ŘŻŰŒ(اŮ"تؾاŮ'ŰŒ) است! |publisher=Forum.hammihan.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-15}}{{Cite web| url=http://www.hessaby.com/tavanaye_zaban.htm | title=وانایی زبان فارسی | language=fa | trans-title=Vanai Persian language | access-date=2011-05-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609192126/http://www.hessaby.com/tavanaye_zaban.htm | archive-date=2011-06-09 | url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fareiran.com/?content=DetailsArticle&id=381 |title=توانمندی زبان فارسی در برابر زبان تازی ( عربی ) |publisher=Fareiran.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-15}}{{cite web |url=http://www.iskv.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=1 |title=Deutsch-Iranischer Sozial & Kultur Verein e.V |publisher=Iskv.org |date= |accessdate=2013-11-15 |archive-date=2012-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309181100/http://www.iskv.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=1 |url-status=dead }} as an agglutinative language since it also frequently uses derivational agglutination to form new words from nouns, adjectives, and verbal stems. New words are also extensively formed by compounding – two existing words combining into a new one, as is common in German, Sanskrit and hence most of the Indian languages. The Persian dictionary consists of 343,466 words and Persian language is able to make 225 million words.{{cite web |url=http://www.allesan.org/Default.aspx?DeskMod=Bloger&Id=15 |title=جمعیة اللسان العربی الدولیة |publisher=Allesan.org |accessdate=2013-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309181100/http://www.allesan.org/Default.aspx?DeskMod=Bloger&Id=15 |archive-date=2012-03-09 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ariarman.org/Persian_Arabian_Language.htm |title=Archived copy |website=www.ariarman.org |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201143233/http://www.ariarman.org/Persian_Arabian_Language.htm |archive-date=1 December 2009 |url-status=usurped}}

An example set of words derived from a present stem combined with some of available affixes:

An example set of words derived from a past stem combined with some of available affixes:

Loanwords in the Persian language mostly came from Arabic, French, and Turkic languages; though the extent of Turkic influence differs greatly by dialect. Recently, some English loanwords have entered the language as well.

Persian has likewise influenced the vocabularies of other languages, especially Arabic,{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/faresiyat |title=FĀRESĪYĀT – Encyclopaedia Iranica |publisher=Iranicaonline.org |date=1999-12-15 |accessdate=2013-11-15}} Armenian,{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/armenia-iv|title=ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. Iranian influences in Armenian Language|accessdate=2 January 2015}} Georgian,{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/georgia-v-|title=GEORGIA v. LINGUISTIC CONTACTS WITH IRANIAN LANGUAGES|accessdate=2 January 2015}} Indo-Iranian languages and Turkic languages. Many Persian words have also found their way into the English language.

The Arab conquest of Iran lasted for two centuries, from the 7th to the 9th CE. During this period, Arabic words were imported into the Persian language, and a number of Persian words found their way into Arabic. Persian words of Arabic origin especially include Islamic terms. Arabic has had an influence on the Persian lexicon, but it has not affected the structure of the language. The morphological process used to obtain these lexical elements has not been imported into Persian and is not productive in the language.

These Arabic words have been imported and lexicalized in Persian. So, for instance, the Arabic plural form for ketāb (كتاب) ["book"] is kotob (كتب) obtained by the root derivation system. In Persian, the plural for the lexical word ketâb is obtained by simply adding the Persian plural morpheme hā: ketāb+hā → ketābhā (كتاب‌ها). Also, any new Persian words can only be pluralized by the addition of this plural morpheme since the Arabic root system is not a productive process in Persian. In addition, since the plurals formed by the Arabic morphological system constitute only a small portion of the Persian vocabulary (about 5% in the Shiraz corpus{{what|date=June 2024}}), it is not necessary to include them in the morphology; they are instead listed in the dictionary as irregular forms.

In fact, among Iranians there have been sporadic efforts as far back as the Safavid Empire to revive a purer version of Persian by diminishing the use of Arabic loanwords in their language. Both Pahlavi Shahs supported such efforts in the 20th century by creating the academy of Persian Language and Literature. In 1934, Reza Shah ordered to rebuild tomb of Ferdowsi, who is regarded as the savior of Persian language, and set up a ceremony in Mashhad, celebrating a thousand years of Persian literature since the time of Ferdowsi, titled Ferdowsi Millenary Celebration ({{langx|fa|جشن هزاره فردوسی}}).

Academy of Persian language and literature after the Iranian revolution continued its striving to protect the integrity of the Persian language. However, the attention of the academy has been turned towards the persistent infiltration of Persian, like many other languages, with English words, as a result of the globalization process. Since the 1980s, the academy constantly campaigns for the use of the Persian equivalents of these new English loanwords. It also has the task of linguistically deriving such words from existing Persian roots if no such equivalents exist, and actively promoting the adoption of these new coinages instead of their English equivalents in the daily lives of the Persian-speaking people in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Speakers of Turkic languages and Iranian language have been in contact since pre-islamic times; as such there are notable Turkic forms (including Mongolian borrowings through Turkic) that have entered the Persian language.Doerfer: G. Doerfer, Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen. Vols. I-IV. Wiesbaden 1963–1975 Throughout history, the Persian-speaking realm was ruled by a succession of dynasties of Turkic origin, notably Ghaznavid, Seljuk, the Sultanate of Rum and Timurid which have patronized Persian culture and literature. With the exception of certain official designations within the government, trade and military, many of the Turkic borrowings in Persian have a more informal, homely flavour,John R. Perry, "Persian in the Safavid Period", Pembroke Papers 1996 (4), pp. 269–283. and therefore, to many Persian native speakers these words do not feel like foreign: e.g. āqā 'mister', dowqolu 'twin', komak 'help', tumān 'official currency of Iran' (but riāl < Portuguese), yābu 'pack nag', qešlāq 'winter quarters', yeylāq 'summer quarters', qeyči 'scissors'. The usage of Turkic loan words varies by dialect; generally, eastern dialects such as: Tajik, Dari, and Hazaragi have more Turkic influence than Iranian Persian.{{Cite journal |last=Perry |first=John |date=2001 |title=The Historical Role of Turkish in Relation to Persian of Iran |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4030859 |journal=Iran & the Caucasus |volume=5 |pages=193–200 |doi=10.1163/157338401X00224 |jstor=4030859 |issn=1609-8498}}

Over the past couple of centuries, Persian has borrowed many loanwords from European languages (mainly French).Prevalence of French influence varies by Dialect. A lot of these loanwords were originally French and use French pronunciation, also other common words mainly come from English, Italian, German, and Russian (example: samovar) as well.

The table below shows some examples of common French/Persian words.

{{wiktionary|Indo-Iranian Swadesh lists}}

• List of French loanwords in Persian
• List of English words of Persian origin
• Academy of Persian Language and Literature

{{Persian language}}

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Category:Lexis (linguistics)

Vocabulary

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