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A tiny bit of Farsi
Did you know that the official language of Iran has two names: Farsi and Persian? The origin of the word Persia goes all the way back to an ancient region of Iran named Parsa. The Greeks then took that name and called the area Persis. The word traveled through Europe and ended up in English as Persia, which was used to refer to the land as well as its people and language. The inhabitants of the area, however, referred to their land as Iran ("land of the Aryans") and their language as Farsi (from the word Parsi). As you know, Iran is now the official name of the country, but the language is called either Farsi or Persian by English speakers. Farsi has influenced languages such as Urdu, Turkish, and Uzbek, among others. For example, Urdu uses a modified Farsi alphabet and has borrowed many Farsi words. Some Farsi words have also found their way into the English language. Paradise, absinthe, and balcony, for instance, are all derived from Farsi. The Farsi alphabet has thirty-two letters, and is based on the Arabic alphabet. Hence, the script reads from right to left. Click here for more information on reading the Arabic alphabet. In Farsi, there are a few extra symbols for sounds that do not exist in Arabic, such as pe, če, že, and gaf. Tags: Arabic alphabet, Farsi, newsletter, Persian
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