Language Studies

Abstract Any scientific study about the process of the development of Persian poetry requires the consideration of ancient literary history of Iran, including the existing works from middle era. Among them, Ayādgār-i Zarīrān, due to its poetic and epic characteristics, is a unique source of information. Ayādgār-i Zarīrānis a middle Persian text of ancient Iranian epic poetry and is a valuable remnant of the Parthian heritage that reveals the properties of the Iranian poetics in that era. Comparing it with post-Islamic Persian poetry, especially Shahnameh, will indicate the similarity of some literary and rhetorical features between two eras. Literary techniques and devices, used in Ayādgār-i Zarīrān, originally belong to the pre-Islamic oral literature that could also be traced in later periods. The paper was aimed to indicate the similarities between Shahnameh and Ayādgār-i Zarīrān, by the help of narratology, epithet and literary properties such as hyperbole and repetition. In addition, the imagery of the poem including simile, metaphor and circumlocution has also been studied.

Abstract  
Being a hub of theological, political, economic, and business opportunities, the province of Pars in Southern Iran was considered as the most important province in Iran during Sassanid period (226–651). Its proximity to the Persian Gulf made Pars an important zone for transportation and trade by both land and sea, and its main products such as cotton and silk fabrics, hand-woven carpets, and pearls used to be exported to China and other distant countries. In addition, the high volume of coins found in this province has demonstrated the importance of mint houses in this region.
The current paper has studied the mint houses of Pars region in Sassanid period. The findings of the current study confirmed the speculations about WLC designation. According to most coin experts WLC has remained unknown to date; however it has been suggested that it may refer to the city of “Borazjan” in Southern Fars; the idea that has been confirmed by the current paper.

Abstract  
Ancient Iranians used letter writing as one of the most important methods of communication. The earliest surviving evidence of official correspondence in Pre-Islamic Iran is a collection of letters from the Achaemenid period. Undoubtedly, the existence of correspondence in Iran could be studied diachronically.
Among the remaining texts from Middle Iranian languages, the earliest surviving evidence for correspondence in the Sogdian language is a collection of texts written in the form of correspondence. The study of such letters is significant not only because of their linguistic value but also because they are the primary source of information to study the early history of the Sogdian people. The Sogdian language was spoken in Eastern Iran, from Black Sea to Western China, from approximately 100-1200 C.E.
In 1907, Sir Aurel Stein found these Ancient Letters in a watchtower near the Great Wall of China. These letters, now called “The Ancient Letters”, are the oldest Sogdian document on paper. Letter number one, is from a daughter to her mother in which she has talked about her life.
The aim of the current paper was to interpret and translate the Ancient Letter number one. The researcher has also carried outan etymological survey on selected words and also has analyzed the style of the letter.

Abstract  
The current paper has tried to analyze the sign-semantics of the verses Qīyāmat and Ma’ād in Surah Qīyāmat, according to Semiotic Studies of Greimas. The aim was not to interpret the Quranic verses but to introduce different levels of the text including deep structure of discourse, narrative discourse and phenomenological aesthetics. The researchers have studied the semantic system of Quran in the light of semiotics. The research was designed in a descriptive-analytic manner. The textual data, consisted of some of the verses of Surah Qīyāmat, were analyzed by the theoretical principles. The results showed that the analysis of sign-semantics of the verses Qīyāmat and Ma’ād and Semiotic Studies of Greimas, especially the concept of semiotic square, were in congruence. It has also became apparent that Greimas theory on narrative discourse is applicable on the stages of the spiritual evolution (nafs) and the aesthetics of the verses Qīyāmat and Ma’ād could be described by phenomenological aesthetics.

Abstract  
The current research has explored the schematic basis of the metaphors in the proverbs of Eastern Guilan within the framework of cognitive semantics, based on Evans and Green’s schematic model (2006). Cultures along with social identities are well reflected in the proverbs and therefore studying proverbs are of focal importance in linguistics. Studying the discursive use of proverbs in a given culture diachronically will reveal their cognitive -and sociological- function. Moreover, image schemas are dynamic patterns in cognitive semantics which are not studied thoroughly in Iranian dialects; in fact there are only few studies on the subject. The present study was designed in a descriptive- analytic manner to study mentioned concepts.Upon the analysis of data, it became apparent that the general types of image schemas provided by Evans and Green such asspace schema, containment schema, locomotion schema, force schema, unity schema, balance schema, identity schema and existence schema could be traced in the proverbs of Eastern Guilan.

Abstract  
User satisfaction has unfortunately been neglected in the compilation of Persian dictionaries. This paper was aimed to study five general monolingual Persian dictionaries, namely Dehkhoda, Mo’in, Amid, Farhang-e Farsi-ye Emrooz and Sokhan in terms of user satisfaction. A questionnaire, based on Assi’s (1995) research project, has been designed and users were asked to answer the questions. Some of the participants were also randomly interviewed. The collected data were analyzed statistically, and tests such as the chi-square significance test, were applied. The objectives of this study were to identify the users' needs along with the relationship between their needs and social variables such as their age, level of education and also field of study. Upon analysis, it became clear that the users' field of study was the only determining factor in the amount of dictionary use, the success rate in finding information and in user’soverall satisfaction.

Abstract  
The present paperhas considered speaking in language teaching and studied both traditional and modern teaching approaches. The researcher has focused on teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers from elementary to advanced levels and has emphasized the significant differences of spoken and written Persianin the course of learning. The paper has presenteda list of the most common phonemic, syntactic and morphological differences between spoken and written Persian, focal in teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers.
The data have been mainly obtained from the two research projects the Persian Language and Spoken Persian (Saffar Moqaddam, 2008 & 2012),conducted in The Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies and they were compiled by the help of library resources. Since most of the foreign and Iranian teachers are not fully competent in the theories of linguistics, the researcher has tried to avoid intricacies and technical jargon as far as possible.
The findings of the current paper were truly illuminating in designing any courseof study in teaching spoken Persian to Non-Persian speakers. Thus, it was aimed to facilitate teaching Persian and to improve the status of Persian Studies in non-Persianuni versities and research centers.

Abstract Five manuscripts of the Wise Ōšnar’s advice book have been found so far (K20,P33,M90,R410,C165). The manuscripts have a similar content and manuscripts R410 andC165 consist of 22 stanzas of the other three. The present study has introduced a new manuscript (TD26),which was attributed to the Wise Ōšnar. TD26 is quite different from the other manuscripts; it does not include as many pieces of advice; and instead it has some new ones, composed in the same manner, and therefore the researchers are certain that the current manuscript is an extract of the original Ōšnar’s advice book.

Abstract  
The relation between language and thought has been studied from different perspectives. Analytic philosophy with language as its core subject, considers the mentioned relation as the main subject of analysis, which is clearly traceable in the speech of the individuals who have deficiency either in their thought or in their language. Hence, the speech of those schizophrenic patients who have no problem in their language, but have thought disorders could be an appropriate choice. This paper was aimed to present an analysis based on analytic philosophy, on the relation of language and thought in such patients, indicative in their Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVHs) and delusions. The framework was the philosophy of mind, which considers the nature, state and functions of mind, and also discusses the foundation of the Theory of Mind (ToM). Disorders of ToM will lead to auditory verbal hallucinations and delusional speech, both based on inner speech.