Arabic elements in Persian

[BLACKEAGLE]

The proportion of Arabic words in Persian was about thirty percent in the 4th/10th century and reached some fifty percent in the 6th/12th.

The profound influence of Arabic in Iran can be traced to its social, religious, and political significance in the wake of the Muslim conquest, when it became the language of the dominant class, the language of religion and government administration, and by extension, the language of science, literature, and Koranic studies. With the fall of the Sasanian dynasty and the eclipse of the Zoroastrian religion and clergy, the literary, Middle Persian language, Pahlavi, lost its two main promoters. By the time that Darī Persian (the spoken language of the Iranian capital—darī, lit.: “of the court”—and the northeastern province of Khorasan) was promoted to the rank of the written language in the 3rd/9th century, most of the Pahlavi scientific, literary, and administrative terms were no longer used and were replaced by their Arabic equivalents. After the 6th/12th century, the frequent use of adorned and rhymed style in Persian prose led to the introduction of numerous Arabic words. The proportion of Arabic words in Persian was about thirty percent in the 4th/10th century and reached some fifty percent in the 6th/12th (Lazard, “Les emprunts,” p. 61). These lexical elements were followed by a number of Arabic grammatical elements, the high frequency of which in turn affected the Persian phonological system. Little is known of the real nature and extent of these influences on classical Persian; written documents do not reveal whether the Arabic grammatical and lexical elements met with in classical Persian texts are part of the spoken language or merely learned additions. In contemporary Persian, however, various layers of influence can be discerned.

1. Phonological elements. In contemporary Persian two phonemes are essentially met with in Arabic words: the glottal stop (from Arabic alef and ʿayn) and the uvular stop (Arabic q). The glottal stop is distinctive at the beginning, middle, and end of words, whether following or preceding consonants or coming between vowels: (1) masʿūd “fortunate” cf. maṣūn “kept safe;” baʿd “afterwards, after” cf. bad “bad.” (2) eʿāda “to repeat, to cause to return” cf. efāda “giving profit.” (3) sūʾ “badness, evil” cf. sū “direction, side;” ǰozʾ “part, portion” cf. ǰoz “except, besides.”

The Arabic post-velar stop q is pronounced in Persian like the Arabic and Persian ḡ: initially as a voiced velar stop, and after vowels as a voiced velar fricative. In Islamic sources q is described as a post-palatal voiced stop while it is traditionally pronounced by modern Koran reciters as a velar voiceless stop, corresponding to the old pronunciation of the bedouin and town-dwellers respectively. The two phonemes q (stop) and ḡ (fricative) are still kept separate in certain southeastern districts of Iran, especially in Kermān and part of Fārs.

Other Arabic phonemes are rendered in Persian as follows: s, s¡, and ṯ as s, a voiceless sibilant; z, ż, z¡, and ḏ as z, a voiced sibilant; t and ṭ, as t, a voiceless dento-alveolar stop; h and ḥ as h, an aspirate. The remaining Arabic phonemes are realized like their Persian equivalents.

2. Grammatical elements. Arabic plural forms: (1) -āt. The use of this ending is limited to the very many Arabic nouns and participles borrowed into Persian. Persian-speakers also use it with several Arabic nouns and participles where it is not used by the Arabs, e.g. wāredāt “imports” and ṣāderāt “exports.” In the course of time this ending has become more generalized, and occurs even in such geographical terms as Šemīrānāt, Eṣṭahbānāt, Bawānāt. The exclusively Persian ending -ǰāt is restricted to a number of words ending in a vowel; it seems to have originated in the plurals of arabicized words with singular in -a, from Mid. Pers. -ag: mīvaǰāt “fruits,” rūz-nāmaǰāt “daily-report books,” ʿamalaǰāt “workmen” (from Arabic ʿamala, plur. of ʿāmel ), šīrīnīǰāt “sweets,” sabzīǰāt “vegetables.” Another Persian form derived from -āt not found in Arabic is -īyāt, originally the plural of Arabic-īya(t). In contemporary Persian -īyāt has acquired a certain degree of autonomy, its use being mostly restricted to specifying various forms and styles of poetry, e.g. pandīyāt “moral poems” (from pand “advice”), robāʿīyāt “tetrastichs” (sing. robāʿ&#299. (2) Broken plurals. Arabic broken plurals are used mostly in the written language. In the spoken language they are sometimes counted as singulars or as weak plurals and may receive the Persian plural ending -ha*@. Such repluralization occurs frequently in classical and archaic Persian. Words of Persian origin have occasionally been given broken plurals, e.g. asātīd “professors, masters” (sing. ostād ), ronūd “sagacious people” (sing. rend).

Nunation. This Arabic syntactic element was introduced into Persian through its accusative form used adverbially. Adverbs of Persian origin constructed in this manner are rare (and stigmatized by purists): nāčāran “unwillingly, helplessly,” ǰānan “wholeheartedly,” nežādan “ethnically.”

Article al-. This element is commonly used in compounds borrowed from Arabic, where it functions to form various types of compounds: kaṯīr al-entešār “of vast circulation,” sarīʿ al-enteqāl “shrewd,” literally, “of quick intelligence,” amīr al-moʾmenīn “Commander of the faithful,” ḥaqq al-taʾlīf “book royalty,” be’l-nesba “relatively,” be’l-ʿaks “vice versa.”

The noun of intensity. Arabic adjectives of the form faʿʿāl, which add to the primary meaning of an adjective the idea of intensity or habit, are frequently used in Persian, as in Arabic, to indicate professions and trades: bannā “builder,” naǰǰār “carpenter.” At times this form has generated words used solely in Persian: ṯabbāt (from the Arabic root ṮBT “an employee who registers letters,” żabbāṭ (from the Arabic root ŻB&#7788 the same meaning; kaffāš (from Persian kafš “shoes”) “shoemaker.”

3. Lexical elements. Phonetic changes. Arabic words and morphemes in Persian have undergone the following changes:

Assimilation. (1) Assimilation of vowels to vowels: a > ā: nahār “lunch” > nāhār; e > ā: lehāf “quilt” > lāhāf (colloq.); e > a: demāḡ “nose” > damāḡ; o > ū uuu: borūz “appearance” > būrūz; šoʿūr “tact” > šūʿūr (colloq.). (2) Assimilation of vowels to consonants. a > e before and after s, z, š, ǰ: haǰr “separation, cut” > heǰr; šakl “form” > šekl; ḏabḥ “sacrificing” > ḏebh¡; satr covering” > setr.

Dissimilation. With few exceptions, a changes to e when in a second, open, and unstressed syllable: ḥarakat “movement” > ḥarekat; maʿrafat “knowledge” > maʿrefat; maʿdarat “apology” > maʿḏerat.

Syncope. This change sometimes takes place in cases where an unstable vowel, especially a, occurs in a medial syllable before a stressed one: saraqat “theft” > sa/erqat; zohara “Venus” > zohra; ḥayawān “animal” > ḥaywān.

Change of ā to u @ before a nasal. This change, restricted to the spoken language, affects both genuine Persian and Arabic words: ḥaywān > (pronounced) heyvūn; ḥammām “bath” > ḥam(m)ūm ; dokkān “shop” > dok(k)ūn.

Analogical changes. The pronunciation of certain plural nouns is modified to follow the pronunciation of their singulars: neqāṭ “points” is changed to noqāṭ after its singular noqṭa. The same is true of the plural form of nokta “subtle saying,” properly nekāt but changed to nokāt. Certain nouns (or adjectives) derived from adjectives (or nouns) are likewise shaped after their base forms: šaǰāʿat “bravery” is changed to šoǰāʿat under the influence of the form šoǰāʿ “brave.”

Grammatical changes. These include nouns and adjectives that are used as adjectives in Persian: ǰamʿ “brought together,” zīād “too much, many,” ḵalāṣ “liberated,” masḵara “ridiculous, droll, absurd.” Certain Arabic verbs—with or without their modifiers—are also used at times as adjectives or adverbs: lam-yazraʿ “arid,” lā-yanḥal “indissoluble,” lā-yanqaṭeʿ “unceasingly,” yaḥtamel “probably.” A number of Arabic conjunctive pronouns and the verbs determining them are used as nouns: mā-ǰarā “event, adventure, thing past,” mā-ḥaṣal “result.”

Semantic changes. The sporadic nature of these changes in meaning makes it difficult to classify the examples. The lexical elements themselves may be divided as follows: (1) Words of religious significance. These words retain their original meanings in Persian: āya “Koranic verse,” sūra “Koranic chapter,” ǰehād “holy war,” ḥaǰǰ “pilgrimage to Mecca.” This group also includes proper names such as Ḥosayn, ʿAlī, Fāṭema, taken from the names of Shiʿite saints. (2) Words with administrative and political content, borrowed as a result of the Arab political domination: ḥākem “ruler,” moḥtaseb “police superintendant,” ḵalīfa “caliph,” solṭān “sovereign,” amīr “commander.” (3) Scientific terms borrowed after the composition of scientific and literary works in Persian. These Arabic loanwords dominate the terminology of Persian scientific writings. (4) Literary devices, words introduced for the sake of rhyme and meter, avoidance of repetition, or stylistic embellishment. Examples include such Arabo-Persian doublets as sen(n)/sāl “age, life span,” ʿomr/zendagī “life, age,” ǰahd/kūšeš “effort.” Arabic broken plurals and such morphological forms as the present and past participles and intensifiers probably fall in this category also. (5) Everyday expressions, words introduced into Persian as a result of direct contact between the Arabs and the Iranians: salām “greetings, salutation,” ʿalaf “hay, grass,” ḡaḏā “food,” ḵabar “news.”

Chronologically, the introduction of Arabic lexical elements can be divided into three phases. Religious and common words, together with certain administrative terms, were borrowed with the initial contact between Arabs and Iranians. Scientific terminology was adapted with the composition of scientific works in Persian during the 4th/10th and 5th/11th centuries. Literary language, including abstract words and the majority of Arabic infinitives (maṣdar) and verbal nouns (esm-e maṣdar), was first utilized during the 5th/11th and 6th/12th centuries.

ARABIC LANGUAGE i. Arabic elements in Persian ? Encyclopaedia Iranica

 

[Surenas]

The mullahs have increased Arabic words in daily conversations, but you can expect a major decrease of Arabic words in Iran's society when this regime is gone. You already have nationalists who deliberately leave Arabic out of their conversations. It will be like Ataturk's nationalization of Turkish, or Pahlavi's nationalization of Persian. You can count on that.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

The mullahs have increased Arabic words in daily conversations, but you can expect a major decrease of Arabic words in Iran's society when this regime is gone. You already have nationalists who deliberately leave Arabic out of their conversations. It will be like Ataturk's nationalization of Turkish, or Pahlavi's nationalization of Persian. You can count on that.

It shows the Arabic influence to your language, dress, names, culture...almost everything, and yet you hate Arabs. That's strange. I have just noticed how close Arabic to Farsi language and searched about it, then found out it's greatly influenced by Arabic. One of the sites I checked was talking about Arabic ruining Farsi language, like the writer doesn't know that Arabic is one of the richest in vocabulary and most integral language in the world, I think he was insinuating that Bahlavi language which Farsi people used to speak is better than Arabic which they adopted latter making the modern Farsi language.

 

[Serpentine]

It shows the Arabic influence to your language, dress, names, culture...almost everything, and yet you hate Arabs. That's strange. I have just noticed how close Arabic to Farsi language and searched about it, then found out it's greatly influenced by Arabic. One of the sites I checked was talking about Arabic ruining Farsi language, like the writer doesn't know that Arabic is one of the richest in vocabulary and most integral language in the world, I think he was insinuating that Bahlavi language which Farsi people used to speak is better than Arabic which they adopted latter making the modern Farsi language.

It's not influence of 'Arabs', it's influence of Islam.Can you tell me why Muslims, in furthest points in far East, can read Quran in Arabic? Is it because 'Arabic culture' or Islam?
Besides, having influence on other languages is natural in this world.Did you know that English is borrowing 70% of its vocab directly or indirectly from Old French? Does that mean the 'Great influence of Franks on British'? Do you see it today?


PS: I don't know why you have created this thread in a defence forum. You should also take a look at influence of 'Arabs' on Iran in modern era.It's almost zero.If that was about your culture, it wouldn't be zero, right?

 

[Surenas]

It shows the Arabic influence to your language, dress, names, culture...almost everything, and yet you hate Arabs. That's strange. I have just noticed how close Arabic to Farsi language and searched about it, then found out it's greatly influenced by Arabic. One of the sites I checked was talking about Arabic ruining Farsi language, like the writer doesn't know that Arabic is one of the richest in vocabulary and most integral language in the world, I think he was insinuating that Bahlavi language which Farsi people used to speak is better than Arabic which they adopted latter making the modern Farsi language.

You make a couple of mistakes. The influence of Arab culture in Iran's society isn't that much. The biggest of course is language, but since language is dynamic, and we have the experience of nationalizing our language throughout our history, you can expect a dramatic decrease of Arabic words in Farsi after this mullah regime is gone. Cultural influence is exaggerated, or like Bernard Lewis put it:

"Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam, eventually adding a new element even to Islam itself. Culturally, politically, and most remarkable of all even religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in Arabic made a very significant contribution. In a sense, Iranian Islam is a second advent of Islam itself, a new Islam sometimes referred to as Islam-i Ajam. It was this Persian Islam, rather than the original Arab Islam, that was brought to new areas and new peoples: to the Turks, first in Central Asia and then in the Middle East in the country which came to be called Turkey, and of course to India. The Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna...''

Besides that, you overlook the fact that we Persians invented Arabic grammar. Or as Ibn Khaldun put it:

"Thus the founders of grammar were Sibawaih and after him, al-Farisi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar…great jurists were Persians… only the Persians engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus the truth of the statement of the prophet becomes apparent, 'If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it"…The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians, left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians and Persian countries, Iraq, Khorasan and Transoxiana (modern Central Asia), retained their sedentary culture.''

And you overlook our influence on Islam too. Watch this:

To conclude, as Richard Frye says:

''Arabs no longer understand the role of Iran and the Persian language in the formation of Islamic culture. Perhaps they wish to forget the past, but in so doing they remove the bases of their own spiritual, moral and cultural being...without the heritage of the past and a healthy respect for it...there is little chance for stability and proper growth.''

Our culture is much as Arab as water is fire.

 

[raptor22]

It shows the Arabic influence to your language, dress, names, culture...almost everything, and yet you hate Arabs. That's strange. I have just noticed how close Arabic to Farsi language and searched about it, then found out it's greatly influenced by Arabic. One of the sites I checked was talking about Arabic ruining Farsi language, like the writer doesn't know that Arabic is one of the richest in vocabulary and most integral language in the world, I think he was insinuating that Bahlavi language which Farsi people used to speak is better than Arabic which they adopted latter making the modern Farsi language.

Are you drunk? First of all our language is Farsi not Arabic, I hardly can understand one single Arabic word as many of my friends, if you think your language and Farsi are same please read some parts of the Shahname and explain them to me. majority of Iranian are Muslim to do their religion ritual they need to know some Arabic words and it's not the influence of Arabic but influence of Islam.

There is no similarity btw our dress and yours, where the hell did you find it?
Our culture and yours are galaxy away from each other.

 

[Surenas]

There is no similarity btw our dress and yours, where the hell did you find it?

He probably meant the use of the chador in Iran.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

It's not influence of 'Arabs', it's influence of Islam.Can you tell me why Muslims, in furthest points in far East, can read Quran in Arabic? Is it because 'Arabic culture' or Islam?
Besides, having influence on other languages is natural in this world.Did you know that English is borrowing 70% of its vocab directly or indirectly from Old French? Does that mean the 'Great influence of Franks on British'? Do you see it today?


PS: I don't know why you have created this thread in a defence forum. You should also take a look at influence of 'Arabs' on Iran in modern era.It's almost zero.If that was about your culture, it wouldn't be zero, right?

Just post it to read your thoughts. As for modern era, I assure you that Arabs have no interest in Iran whatsoever, Iranians are still influenced till today but using it their own way. I think nothing easier than instigating minorities in Iran especially Arabs in Al-Ahwaz, but they didn't because they aren't looking for troubles, they only push you back. They realize that this region has always been the center for world powers wars and troubles, and they are done while Iranians still not getting that. I mean look at Europe, they slaughtered millions from eachothers and have always been fighting eachother throughout history but it took from them few years after WW2 to realize that they either get perished or live together. Iran has to stop interfering in others business because it is making it much worse and even worse for Shia who used to live in peace side by side Sunnis for centuries. You could say, the Sunnis are the ones who kill Shia while it's well known that they are not Sunnis and Sunnis were the first to fight them and were the first targets of those people.

 

[Serpentine]

Just post it to read your thoughts. As for modern era, I assure you that Arabs have no interest in Iran whatsoever, Iranians are still influenced till today but using it their own way. I think nothing easier than instigating minorities in Iran especially Arabs in Al-Ahwaz, but they didn't because they aren't looking for troubles, they only push you back. They realize that this region has always been the center for world powers wars and troubles, and they are done while Iranians still not getting that. I mean look at Europe, they slaughtered millions from eachothers and have always been fighting eachother throughout history but it took from them few years after WW2 to realize that they either get perished or live together. Iran has to stop interfering in others business because it is making it much worse and even worse for Shia who used to live in peace side by side Sunnis for centuries. You could say, the Sunnis are the ones who kill Shia while it's well known that they are not Sunnis and Sunnis were the first to fight them and were the first targets of those people.

Can you tell me why Iranian Arabs stood against Saddam invasion? It's a very simple question, with a meaningful answer.

Iran is not interfering in Arab affairs, this is politics.Iran has proposed to form a defence pact with Arab countries against terrorism in ME dozens of time, but it was rejected.We all know what the reason is.

Iran is to Arabs, what Soviet Union was to Turkey and Iran in 1970s, and U.S gained the most from it, just as it's doing it today.I wish some day, Arabs wake up and understand Iran is not their enemy, even if they have disagreements.Unfortunately, it's more like a dream.

 

[SOHEIL]

TROLLEAGLE strikes back

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

You make a couple of mistakes. The influence of Arab culture in Iran's society isn't that much. The biggest of course is language, but since language is dynamic, and we have the experience of nationalizing our language throughout our history, you can expect a dramatic decrease of Arabic words in Farsi after this mullah regime is gone. Cultural influence is exaggerated, or like Bernard Lewis put it:



Besides that, you overlook the fact that we Persians invented Arabic grammar. Or as Ibn Khaldun put it:



And you overlook our influence on Islam too. Watch this:

To conclude, as Richard Frye says:



Our culture is much as Arab as water is fire.

Iranians contribution to Islam is significant, true, but regarding the Arabic grammar and Persians invented it has never been true, Quraish Arabs were the most eloquent Arabs, and their poets used perfect Arabic grammatically and syntactically, we study Arabic grammar based on their poetry and Quraan verses, so if Persians did sth, they only organized grammar in one book maybe. I studied Arts (extensive Arabic study) at high school, so I know what I am talking about.

Are you drunk? First of all our language is Farsi not Arabic, I hardly can understand one single Arabic word as many of my friends, if you think your language and Farsi are same please read some parts of the Shahname and explain them to me. majority of Iranian are Muslim to do their religion ritual they need to know some Arabic words and it's not the influence of Arabic but influence of Islam.

There is no similarity btw our dress and yours, where the hell did you find it?
Our culture and yours are galaxy away from each other.

Read the original post.

 

[Hack-Hook]

Are you drunk? First of all our language is Farsi not Arabic, I hardly can understand one single Arabic word as many of my friends, if you think your language and Farsi are same please read some parts of the Shahname and explain them to me. majority of Iranian are Muslim to do their religion ritual they need to know some Arabic words and it's not the influence of Arabic but influence of Islam.

There is no similarity btw our dress and yours, where the hell did you find it?
Our culture and yours are galaxy away from each other.

Don't be hard on him , for me its enough if he can understand a single paragraph of keyhan newspaper without the help of google translate

 

[kollang]

اقا مگه درد بي درمون داريد كه تو اين تاپيك ها كامنت ميزاريد؟
هر چي ميكشيم از خودمونه(

 

[bozorgmehr]

Another cry for attention from another inferiority ridden racial supremacist. As long as we exist there will be Arabs who will take offence at us drawing breath. Their fight is not with our politics or specific actions. Even if we draw the curtains, lock the doors and build a 10 feet wall all around Iran, they will find some reasoning for their hateful views and invent some kind of justification to subject us to violence.

Their fight is not with what we do. It's with who we are. They are against our race, against our culture, against our history, against our name... Our jealous and insecure Arab supremacist friends will try to fight us physically when they feel manly enough and the odds are stacked unmistakably in their favor, and they will fight us behind the scene the rest of the time. Even an historic name like the Persian Gulf bothers these insecure souls...

We must forever be vigilant and ready to decisively and promptly deal with the physical aggression and political schemes of these modern day country road bandits. Fortunately, unlike most Iranians, they do respect and bow down to power.

However, the good news is that a great number of Arabs don't feel or think the same way as these people do. They have no fight with Iran, its culture and history. They respect us and they are worthy of respect and friendship. I've been lucky enough to know many of them through my life and I would sincerely say I consider them as my brothers. We must not judge all Arabs by the actions of the basest and most backward members of their global community. We must reach out to them to reinforce the feelings of mutual respect and cooperation and isolate the racist mental midgets.

 

[INDIC]

He probably meant the use of the chador in Iran.

What made Turko-Mongols adopting Persian language instead of promoting their own or Arabic