A Little Lesson in Farsi

Farsi is a fairly easy tongue for the Westerner to learn. It is Indo-European (i.e. part of the family of languages stretching from India to Europe) and as such, although syntax and inflection can be complicated, its grammatical forms and vocabulary are at least familiar. It is perhaps only the superimposition of the Arabic alphabet which deters the casual language scholar, and indeed that is the hardest part to master for anyone wishing to learn Farsi. There are pitfalls for the student of any language – the most common in Iranian is perhaps the difference between ‘Chetoree?’ and ‘Sheturee!’, the first being ‘How are you?’, and the second, ‘You are a camel!’ It is a language rich with potential ribaldry, and Iranians, while deeply appreciating anyone learning their language, are swift to hoot with laughter when ‘things go wrong’. And there is ‘performing parrot syndrome’, where your accent and phraseology are appalling, but because they are comical or endearing, nobody bothers to correct you.