Language Studies

Abstract This article aims at analyzing and comparing Persian Pop Lyrics. In this research, a descriptive-analytic method is used, and the analysis is done according to Baker (2006) which is based on the integration of critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics. Independent variables are genre, gender of the lyricist, and time, and dependent variables are lexical differences including frequent words, keywords, and collocations. The hypotheses are as follows: there are significant quantitative and qualitative differences in lexical choices between two genres (social and love lyrics). Gender of the lyricist has a significant impact on lexical choices in the lyrics; Pre-revolution and post-revolution lyrics are significantly different regarding lexical choices. In order to answer these questions, a corpus of 1000 Persian Pop Lyrics has been analyzed by analytical tools of the corpus analysis software, Wordsmith, and SPSS. The results of this investigation are as follows: social and love lyrics have significant differences in terms of frequent words, keywords and collocations. Gender of the lyricist has a significant impact on the lexical choices in the lyrics. Also, the results show a significant difference between pre-revolution and post-revolution lyrics regarding the lexical choices. So, all of the hypotheses in this study are confirmed.

Abstract Pahlavi numbers written by Pahlavi alphabet and including from an impressing numeral system, although we do not have a symbol for zero and at first glance it is non-positional but writing in such a way that it’s easy to determine the order of each number. Our approach into calculus of these numbers show that in summing up these numbers do not need a especial algorithm, also the number of products which an ancient child was preserved compare with other ancient numerals was much less. Moreover some of the large numbers (greater than ten thousand) have more than one display and this indicates the ability of this system.

Abstract Ardeshir Babakan, the founder of Sassanid Empire, established a government in Iran in place of the feudal Parthian empire, which brought about the concentration in government, unity throughout the parts of Iran and determination of Zoroaster as the Iranians official religion.
In this research, it has been tried to investigate the literature and advices related to Sassanid era, following the study of Sassanid society structure in terms of social and religious factors. Additionally, it is intended to explore the contents of religious advices and Persian practical wisdom during the mid- Sassanid using examples, and the relation and effect of Sassanid kings and priests on the type and content of advices as well. Methodology of this research is Documentary – Library and the sample volume includes all the advices in Sassanid- Pahlavi language from which a number of samples were selected and translated. This article aims to prove the effect of Sassanid religious based society on the type of advices related to this era.

Abstract Khotanese language is considered as one of the Eastern middle Iranian language and is studied less than other languages. Study of Khotanese language effectively helps in understanding tradition, culture and beliefs of people of Khotan land, thus one can understand the cultural communalities between culture of ancient Persia and India. Along this, it is necessary to study of Khotanese scripts such as Zambasta which is fraught of interpretations and concepts of Buddhist faith and include teachings of important school of this faith, namely, Mahāyāna. Twelfth chapter of this book is an educative chapter and is devoted to Samvara (ethical continence) which is the first step of reaching to redemption, and it alludes to sins that cause waning of Samvara. These sings are divided into small and major sins and each one has many sins. Avoiding these errors causes that one increase his merits and attains Nirvana which is aim of this training. This study examines the do᾿s and don᾿ts of Buddhism based on twelfth chapter of Khotanese book of Zambasta.

Abstract Human experiences of the environment can produce conceptual structures in mind which are used to organize thought and then language across a range of more abstract domains. Johnson (1987) calls these structures “Image Schemas”. These schemas are proposed as a more primitive level of cognitive structure underlying metaphor and provide a link between bodily experience and higher cognitive domains such as language. These schemas are divided into three groups: Containment, Path and Force schemas. As our standard language in Iran is Persian, Other dialects are exposed to be extinct. Taleshi is one of these dialects which has some similarities with old Persian. In this article, we studied Johnson’s image schemas in Taleshi’s proverbs and measured each schema’s frequency. The data were gathered through interviews with Taleshi native speakers, especially the illiterate ones and also examining the proverbs in  some Taleshi’s books. The result showed that the frequency of containment schema was more than the others.

Abstract This study aims to investigate the extend of final consonant deletion of words in the speech of male and female students at grade one of elementary schools across Tehran and Share Rey. In fact, the study has taken into account the type of language used by the two low and high social classes and based on Brandeis index, social class is an index. To determine the students social class, cultural, social, economic factors as well as factors such as place of residence, parents’ education and their jobs were taken into consideration. A descriptive analytic approach with a sample of 200 male and female students from both lower and higher class areas was used. Therefore, the independent variables are class and gender, and dependent variable is the non-verbal language. Data were collected using a 60 item questionnaire and were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings revealed that final consonant deletion of words were more sensible among students from lower social classes. It was also found that males from both social classes had more final deletions than females.

Abstract  
The present study investigates the acquisition of four kinds of spatial time metaphors in Farsi-speaking children. In this research 121 children of age 3 to 7 and 46 adults as control group are evaluated in order to find whether there is any difference among them in acquisition of these kinds of metaphors. The results show that the age of understanding of spatial time metaphors depends on the kind of metaphor. Increasing the number of elements involved in the metaphor mapping leads to greater complexities in learning. Furthermore, when two metaphors have the same number of metaphorical mappings, the embodiment determines which one is easier to learn.

Abstract The Kushan Empire was one of the greatest powers in the ancient world, which dominated key swathes of Central Asia and North India from the early first to the mid-fourth century AD. Thanks to its proximity to powerful political states and religious traditions, this Empire had developed a multicultural environment and become a fertile ground for the flourishing of various artistic masterpieces, which were a valuable collection of religious, artistic, and cultural elements.
In this collection, we can discern the influence of Iranian traditions and beliefs, which is best manifested on coins as one of the most important types of Kushan art. On these coins, the images of a large number of deities worshipped by Kushanian are depicted along with their Bactrian names. Most of the names of these deities can be found in Zoroastrian sources and—despite their iconography, which derives from the Graeco-Roman deities and also reflects the Indian influence—understood in accordance with their descriptions therein. Therefore, Kushan coins, as a valuable and unique collection of the names and images of Zoroastrian deities, play an important role in Iranian studies, especially in the study of Zoroastrianism in the east of Iran. Given the scarcity of pictorial sources in the west of Iran and the overall shortage of information from the east, this resource becomes of vital importance in such a way that without them, it would have never been possible to have recognized the pictures of many Zoroastrian deities we have come to know today.