Persianlanguage

Persian language, commonly called Persian or Farsi (in Iran), Dari (Afghanistan), or Tajik (Tajikistan), is an Iranian language in the Western branch of the Indo-Iranian family. It is one of the major languages of literature and culture in the region and a lingua franca across Central and South Asia.

Historically, Persian descends from Old Persian of the Achaemenid period, which was written in cuneiform. Middle Persian developed under the Sasanian Empire. The modern form, known as New Persian, emerged in the medieval period and became the basis of the literary and administrative standard used in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

Script and writing: Modern Persian uses a version of the Perso-Arabic script, with additional letters. Dari and Iranian Persian share the same script, while Tajik uses Cyrillic script in Tajikistan. Persian orthography has a close correspondence between pronunciation and spelling, though pronunciation varies by dialect.

Geographic distribution and status: In Iran, Persian is the official language; in Afghanistan, Dari is one of the official languages; in Tajikistan, Tajik is the state language. The language is widely spoken in the Iranian diaspora and in neighboring communities.

Varieties and dialects: The three standardized varieties—Iranian Persian, Dari, and Tajik—are mutually intelligible but differ in phonology, vocabulary, and some syntax. Numerous regional dialects exist within each country.

Linguistic features: Persian generally follows a subject–object–verb word order and uses the ezafe construction to link nouns and adjectives. It has no grammatical gender, a rich verbal morphology with aspect and mood markers, and a relatively analytic syntax compared with some related languages.

Literature and culture: Persian has a long literary tradition, with classical poets such as Ferdowsi, Rumi, Hafez, and Omar Khayyam shaping the language's prestige. It remains a central vehicle for poetry, philosophy, science, journalism, and education.