Language Studies

Abstract The present article represents the translation and study of a Sogdian text regarding the life and actions of John of Dailam, Syriac Christian saint, who lived in Iraq and Iran in the late seventh and early eighth century A.D. The Sogdian text which was found along with some other Christian texts in Turfan oasis is now deposited in Berlin State Library. Not having been well-preserved, the text has been damaged over the centuries. Nevertheless, it contains some uniquely historical details which reflect the social, historical, religious and linguistic conditions of that time. Moreover, the text mentions some of his significant actions in Iraq and particularly in Iran. With respect to some linguistic evidence, the text which has been studied by some scholars such as Sims-Williams demonstrates the latest version of Sogdian. Since this text has not been hitherto translated to Persian, the researcher has made efforts to literally translate it to Persian based on the afore-said Sogdian text. Furthermore, efforts have been made to compare it with the other extant Sogdian texts, especially Syriac ones, and also to write notes on the issues included in the text.

Abstract This study endeavors to show the dominant values, ideology and modality of “The Pear Tree”. Values, ideology and modality within the discourse is interrelated, and modality can be useful to analyze the production of values. Value analysis in this short story is related to three distinctive fields. First, social reality representation within discourse is value laden. That is, each conceptual system is full of values which implicitly affect people. Second, speakers with positive identities can create values. Third, implicit values in context evoke emotions. These values are identified within discourse of the narrative. Moreover, values, attitudes and power relationships beyond them are depicted within this short story. Therefore, contextual analysis is combined with intertextual forms to analyze values. Then the related motivational values are illustrated as binary counterparts.

Abstract This study examins the effect of social status on politness in apologetic discourse based on politeness model of (Brown & Levinson 1987-1978). The research method was quantitative and qualitative and data collection was done by sending a questionnaire electronically to students. The Questionnaire (DCT) assessed apology strategies for 12 common mistakes in the community. Research participants included a limited number of students from Al-Zahra Campus, Elmi Karbordi University of Jihad and Khaneh kargar in Zanjan. Analyzing the collected responses of 44 female and 62 male students, the results showed that, people use more negative politeness strategy in expressing apology. Analyzing the effect of social status on using politeness strategies showed in all three positions of social status; Equally, higher position and lower position, people use more negative politeness strategy. The results also showed that the use of politeness strategies in compensating for mistakes depends on the type of mistake made and people use the best apology strategy that can compensate the mistake made. The results of the study did not show a significant difference between gender and the use of politeness strategy.

Abstract This article is a comparative study on the relation between the Prototype Theory and historical-philological semantics in Iranian languages. Regarding the actual entailments in the framework of the Prototype Theory (Rosch: 1978), in which words considered to be the central and peripheral members of a semantic category, in correlation with a morpho-phonological study on two Persian words, RUX and RŪY, a number of diachronic samples of radial categorization (Lakoff: 1990) are going to be proposed, considering the Old Iranian   as the prototype of a particular semantic network, kept in the corpus of the word. From a general perspective, this article sets out the function of the Prototype Theory and its consequences in Iranian etymological and literary studies.

Abstract Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts consist of vast and precise moral precepts mostly found in Zoroastrian gnomic treatises, the most comprehensive of which is the Dēnkard, Book VI. The significance of morality in Zoroastrian religion is embedded in its relationship with cosmology and eschatology. Morality is intended to empower human to deliver his expected duties, to reinforce goodness front and consequently, to contribute to the progress of Ohrmaz’s aim of creating the world. Is it possible to recognize certain criteria for Zoroastrian Morality? Can these criteria support enhancement of the goals expected of morality in Zoroastrian framework? To find out answers to the above questions, we have focused our study on the Middle Persian gnomic treatises introduced in The History of Persian Literature before Islam, incorporating descriptive-analytical method. Examining the domain and depth of the moral themes and contents of these treatises, we have found them based on two general criteria: first fairness and justice, second, altruism and mercy. These criteria are compatible with the myths of origin and end in Zoroastrianism, and contribute to fulfillment of human’s duty, reinforcement of goodness in the world, and realization of Ohrmazd’s goal of creation.

Abstract the theory of the the text world was basically formed as an analytical framework in the study of cognitive poetry. and by providing details of the structuring of knowledge in conceptual structures it provides a suitable ground for study of literary discourse. this study tries to show by analytical description and composition of six stories from both real and surreal style how the tools of this theory work in creating space and moving between narrative text spaces. for this purpose paragraph the beginning of the text is chosen as a representation of style and focus-view and the elements of the world are decomposed in terms of time place character and objects used in it. finding indicate that the real style uses the specific names of places and persons and definite temporal expressions functional advancing propositions and referential sub worlds to create the space of the story text while the surreal style is associated with dreamy temporal and spatial dispersion it often uses objects action -event propositions and epistemic and attitudinal sub-worlds.

Abstract   Abstract The Babylonian Talmud consists of six divisions (Shisha Sedarim) that are as follows: Zeraim (seeds), Moed (festivals), Nashim (women), Neziqin (damages), Qodashim (holies) and Tohorot (purities). Each of these main sections contains several masechtot called a tractate in English. Tractate Berachot (blessings) is the first tractate of the first division of the Babylonian Talmud. This article examines 24 Middle Persian words attested in the tractate mentioned above. Each word’s usage in the context is demonstrated, and the realm every word belongs to such as cultural, social, and political areas is indicated. Moreover, the Middle Persian equivalent of each word -if used in the existing Middle Persian texts- is provided. Keywords: Babylonian Talmud, Aramaic, Middle Persian, Berachot, Talmudic Aramaic, Pahlavi.   Introduction The subject of loanwords is of assistance in studying historical sociology, cultural relations of societies, and the influence of societies on/from each other. Yoonjung Kang, in his essay "Loanwords" (2013),states: "Loanwords are studied from many different perspectives, touching upon different subfields of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, and semantics, as well as sociolinguistics and historical linguistics." According to the above definition, it can be inferred that the research on the words entered from Middle Persian to the Babylonian Talmud can benefit the studies of the history and structure of the Persian language. On the other hand, it can provide a window into the correlation history between the two religious communities of Sasanian Iran in terms of cultural, social, and historical relations. Examining loanwords in the target language can show the power and agency of the donor language in the fields related to those words.   Materials and Methods The method used in the following article is library research based on original texts. The article focuses on Persian loanwords in the Babylonian Talmud which is considered philological research in historical linguistics. The original material of the study is the Babylonian Talmud.   Discussion and Result In the present article 24 Talmudic words are being examined for their Iranian roots. The examined words are as follows: גּוּשְׁפַּנְקָא , פַּרְסִיִּים, פַּרְסָה, דִּינָר, פַּרְגּוֹד, פְּשִׁיטֵי, כְּעָבִין, כסִָּּניִן, רִיסתְְּנאָ, שָׁבוֹר, אַפַּדְנָא, הַרְמָנָא, פְּרִיסְתָּקָ, בֵּי שָׁבוֹר, דִּגְלַת, שַׁבִּיסְתָּנָא, בַּר פַּחְתֵּי, טְִריתָא, זִמְנָא, רִסְתְּקָא, זַיִת, אַבְרוּטִי, דּוּבְשָׁא, המיינא. The words are provided in their respective sentences. Subsequently, since the Talmud has never been translated to Persian, the Persian translation of each Talmudic sentence is provided. Afterwards, the Talmudic words’ transcriptions, and equivalent Iranian terms are specified. There are Talmudic Persian words that are not attested in the existing Middle Persian texts, however their Iranian roots are plausible. Words are classified into 10 categories namely administration and politics, geography, food, social culture, clothing, Iranian mysticism, proper nouns, architecture and urban planning, unit of measurement, and name of ethnic groups. Every word is examined in terms of cultural and social backgrounds, attestation in Iranian languages –mainly Middle Persian- and possible etymology. Although a number of middle Persian words of the Babylonian Talmud are not new words to Iranists, the type of their usage and also the difference in their pronunciation with the common and well-known Iranian pronunciations can pave the way for studies in the field of historical linguistics and the evolution of the Persian language.   Conclusion As the first attempt to categorize and determine the frequency of Persian words in the opening mesachat of the Babylonian Talmud, this article is the initial attempt to pursue this research path. The following classification is employed in order to sorting loanwords in the present article.  Including Dinar and Pashiz (currency units) 6 words in the field of governance and politics, 6 words regarding food, a mystical term (Parde -ye Ghaib), 1 proper noun (Shapur), two Units of measurement (Farsang and Zaman), an ethnic name (Persian), 3 geographical names (Tigris, Beit Shapur, and Shabstan Bridge), two terms regarding architecture and urban planning (Apadana and Rustaq), an unknown term concerning popular culture (Ristana or Dastana) ) and one word concerning clothing (Hamiyan) are examined. If all the Iranian words and terminology of the Babylonian Talmud are recognized and categorized , the scope of linguistic, religious, cultural, and social exchanges between Jewish and non-Jewish (mainly Zoroastrian) communities of Sassanian Iran can be revealed to some extent.

Abstract Abstract This study, grounded in Cognitive Linguistics and Cognitive Lexical Semantics, uses a graph-theoretical approach to analyze the semantic network of high-frequency Persian verbs as understood by non-native learners. It builds on 50 foundational Persian verbs from Jamshidi et al. (2022) and involves 101 non-native Persian speakers from Imam Khomeini International University. Participants, whose native language is not Persian, used a culturally adapted version of Schur’s (2007) semantic association questionnaire to graphically represent perceived semantic relationships among the verbs. The data were modeled and visualized using co-occurrence graphs built with Java and Python. The analysis reveals a semantic network comprising various lexical-semantic relations, including synonymy (7.27%), converse antonymy (31.32%), polysemy (2.21%), entailment (24.67%), hyponymy (22.46%), meronymy (2.21%), and collocation (34.49%). Among these, collocational patterns, antonymic contrasts, and entailment relations were most frequent. These results provide insights into the mental lexicon of L2 Persian learners, highlighting conceptual schemas and relational patterns. The study offers pedagogical implications for creating cognitively aligned teaching materials, addressing lexical acquisition gaps, and promoting cluster-based approaches in Persian as a Foreign Language curriculum development. Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics, Lexical-Semantic Networks, Graph Theory, Second Language Acquisition, Persian as a Foreign Language (PFL)   Introduction This article investigates and analyzes the semantic network of basic Persian verbs in the mental lexicon of non-Iranian learners of Persian. The study aims to identify how these learners—who have acquired Persian after their first language and beyond the critical period (as defined by Friederici, Steinhauer & Pfeifer, 2002, as ending around age twelve)—structure semantic relations among high-frequency Persian verbs. The research is framed within cognitive linguistics and lexical (cognitive) semantics. The experimental design is grounded in graph theory, utilizing Java and Python for graph construction and SPSS for statistical analysis.
Positioned within the domain of Persian language education, this study seeks to examine the conceptual and intra-linguistic relations among fifty high-frequency Persian verbs as structured by foreign learners. The significance of the research lies in its effort to compare the structural-semantic similarities of these learners’ mental lexicons with those of native speakers. The verbs were previously selected in Jamshidi et al. (2022), and the same experimental task used in that study was replicated here to enable a comparative analysis, aiming to uncover learning gaps among foreign learners. Since accurate mapping of semantic networks plays a crucial role in discourse coherence, the findings could inform methods to align foreign learners’ semantic networks more closely with those of native speakers.  
The main objective is to examine how learners conceptualize relations such as synonymy, antonymy, semantic entailment, collocation, and causality among these verbs, and how these relations manifest in their mental lexical networks. The study integrates perspectives from cognitive linguistics, lexical semantics, and computational linguistics while employing the analytical tools of graph theory to model and interpret the semantic connections formed by learners.
This study is guided by two principal research questions:    
1. What types of conceptual and intra-linguistic relations characterize the graph patterns constructed by non-native Persian learners?          
2. What are the structural features of their semantic networks for Persian basic verbs?

Materials & methods The research adopts a field-based methodology using a questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. A set of fifty verbs was selected through a comparative approach from the validated lists provided by Ebadi et al. (2014), Bijankhan et al. (2014), and Sahraee et al. (2017). Emphasizing frequency, as highlighted in these studies and also in Schur (2007), high-frequency verbs were randomly selected and presented to participants in the form of a questionnaire. Participants were instructed to identify semantic relationships among verbs. The collected data were then analyzed through graph visualization and interpretation.  
Discussion The findings reveal that the semantic networks constructed by non-native learners feature the following relational distributions: synonymy (7.27%), reversed antonymy (31.32%), polysemy (2.21%), semantic entailment (24.67%), hyponymy ("type of") (22.46%), meronymy ("part of") (2.21%), and collocation (34.49%). Among these, collocation, antonymy, and entailment occurred most frequently.       
Comparing the semantic graphs of native and non-native speakers shows that verbs such as raftan (to go), gereftan (to take), fahmidan (to understand), dādan (to give), and harekat kardan (to move) had the highest average degree in non-native learners’ graphs. In contrast, the highest-degree verbs in native speakers’ networks were anjām dādan (to do), fahmidan (to understand), raftan (to go), harekat kardan (to move), and resāndan (to deliver). The verbs fahmidan, raftan, and harekat kardan are shared among both groups, indicating partial overlap in semantic structuring.
Result Step-by-step comparison of the semantic graphs of native speakers and foreign learners illuminated both their similarities and differences, highlighting strengths and weaknesses in learners’ mental lexicons. These insights suggest that incorporating semantic networks and conceptual schemas into educational materials for Persian learners can address persistent vocabulary learning challenges and improve verb substitution strategies. The study also identifies weaker areas among learners, such as polysemy, synonymy, meronymy, and causality, recommending deeper instructional focus on these relations in curriculum design.     
Pedagogical Recommendations          
1. To approximate the semantic networks of non-native learners to those of native speakers, workbook sections should include varied exercises demonstrating multiple senses of polysemous verbs, reinforced through repetition and contextual use.
2. When encountering negative transfer from the first language, instructors should employ contrastive analysis between Persian and the learners’ L1, using implicit corrective feedback strategies.
3. Greater emphasis should be placed on verb synonymy in Persian textbooks. Visual network mapping in classroom settings may leverage visual memory to reinforce learning and retention.

Abstract Abstract The Clay Seals or the trace of the Clays are the Seals from the Prehistoric times to the First Centuries of the Islamic Era which are the important Archaeological Documents. Although the ground for their destruction is ready, what remains of them is very useful in recognizing the material and spiritual life of the past people. Sassanid Clay Seals are one of the most important works left from this rich cultural-historical period. These works are one of the most important sources of Archeology and the study of Iran, as well as researches related to art history, history of Calligraphy and knowledge of administrative Geography, proper names and titles of responsibility of individuals. Seal Impression both in administrative affairs, in political affairs and in trade were used. The purpose of this research is to study and read the inscriptions and also to study the role of the ingredients of these clay seals. The method of collecting information is field-library and the reading of the inscriptions was done by the author of this article. It should be noted that the clay seals of this collection are from a private collection and do not have a birth certificate of the place of discovery, so it is not possible to date them precisely. Keywords: Clay Seal, Sassanid, Inscription, Seal Impression, Archaeological Documents  Introduction The clay seals or the clay background of the works which taken from seals have always been considered very important archaeological documents from prehistoric times to the first centuries of the Islamic era. Although the basis for their destruction is ready, the amount of them remain important and useful in recognizing the material and spiritual life of the people of those times. One of the periods in which clay seals are of great importance is the Sassanid era (Nowruzzadeh Chegini, 2005, p. 13) Sassanid seal clays are clay blocks with various sizes that were made during sealing documents and goods, and while still wet and soft, a number of seals were affixed to them in specific ceremonial and legal arrangements and in various sizes. If these clay blocks were left raw, they would soon be destroyed, and if they were baked, they would be more stable and durable. Examples have been show that these clay seals were baked, but it is not clear when and how they were baked. A study of the ancient sites where these clay seals were found to show that widespread fires occurred in warehouses and storage areas in ancient times. However, there is no clear answer as to whether these fires occurred consciously or unconsciously (ibid., p. 14). A large number of Sassanid clay seals have been found in Iran from various provinces, most of which have been studied and published by Western researchers (Gignoux §Gyselen, 1987). The seals were made of raw clay, kneaded by hand, and were mostly round, and it is believed that they were tied to the goods with string to identify them. In a large catalog, most of the seals are the same in terms of shape and color. Among the largest collections of Sassanid seals, we can mention the treasure found in Takht-e-Solomon (Dariush Akbarzadeh et al., 2019, 141). Materials & Methods The strategy of this research is to introduce, document, read the inscriptions, and examine the images of these clay seals. The method of collecting materials for writing this article is field-library, and the reading of the inscriptions was done by the authors of this article. It is worth mentioning that all these clay seals are from a personal collection, and unfortunately, they are without an identification document of the place of discovery, so it is not possible to make an accurate chronology on them. Discussion & Result This study was conducted using clay seals from Takht-e-Solomon, which were examined and processed from Sassanid clay seals, which were excavated in 1963 and 1964 by the German Archaeological Foundation at the Takht-e-Solomon archaeological site.   Conclusion  Seals open a new way to address the difficulties of studying Sassanid seals. The seal impressions on the seals and their themes as a result and legacy left over from the past, the dynamic process and evolution of seals and seal making and their use in the bureaucracy, are of great value. The study of these seals raises questions related to the group of owners of the seals left over of the ancient times, who, where and what status the sealer held, the question of the estimated framework of the themes of the lost documents and their relative value according to the seals used, their number and mix, the nature and size of the storage place, and finally the question of chronology, prevails over everything.