TEHRAN – The 7th National Conference on “Iranian Languages and Dialects” gathered scholars and cultural figures at Tehran’s Centre for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia on Tuesday to highlight the important role of Persian language in promoting unity and solidarity among Iranians.
Emphasizing the importance of Iran’s linguistic heritage, experts highlighted that Iranian language has historically served as a bridge to connect diverse nations in the region and strengthen cultural ties and shared identity, the IRNA reported.
Seyed Mohammad Qasem Musavi Boynordi, president of the Great Islamic Encyclopedia Centre, emphasized the role of Persian language as a fundamental element of unity and unity among the Iranian people. He emphasized that the Iranian range has historically served as a bridge connecting the countries of the region.
In his speech, he said that Iranian language and dialects embodied documents of their national, religious and cultural identity. Therefore, the study, preservation and dissemination of these invaluable treasures is the most important duty of all lovers of Iranian civilization and culture.
“We would like to remind you that the widespread use of Turkish and Arabic among many of our fellow nations enrich the cultural and academic structure of Iranian and continually improve its value.”
“Essentially, Persian is considered as one of the key elements of unity among all Iranians, as an official language. It has a huge cultural, literary and scientific treasure trove of historically ties with Iranians and unbreakable bonds that have never lost their power,” he added.
“The purpose of this conference is to accustom participants to the latest research findings in the field of Iranian language and texts, and to examine the range of Iranian languages as a unifying factor in regional states. It also seeks to encourage young researchers to take on a critical investigation into Iranian linguistics.
On her part, Yari Amousegar, a member of the Great Islamic Encyclopedia Centre, said, “Our common concern is Iran itself, and these days we are more aware of it.
“Discovering dialects is similar to revealing archaeological locations. You need to save the dialect to prevent their loss of failure,” she explained.
“It is important to respect dialects. I pray that God preserves Iran and Persian languages, because we take pride in being nothing more than our language. In Iran, we share a common love for it,” she concluded.
Another member of the centre, Ali Ashraf Sadeki said, “UNESCO emphasizes the importance of preserving endangered languages.
“Many Iranian dialects have disappeared over the centuries. Today, for example, we know little about the languages of Hafez and Saadi in the 7th and 8th centuries. The official language was Dali. Even before that, in the Sassanid era, Dali was the language spoken, and during middle age there were language butlers like courtrooms like Mirza Medi Medi Kung Estri.
“The language was simplified during the constitutional revolution, and the first academy founded by Muhammad Ali Forwai was a sophisticated word-forming practice that has been neglected for centuries. To this day, the Academy of Persian and Literature has produced around 80,000 scientific terms,” he said.
“Every language contains regional languages, and the existence of borrowed words is not a flaw. You should not think that Arabic language is a burden on Persian language. They are part of our language, and for over a millennium, our scholars have written all in this language, and reformers aimed at purifying the language have failed,” he explained.
“Even Arabic scientific terms are the spiritual constructs of Iran. The Iranian spirit is embedded in Arabic, and sticking to the erroneous concepts of language purity and nationalism risks destroying cultural continuity.
A significant portion of Persian language other than Iran’s political boundaries
Mahmoud Jafari Dehaki, the conference’s science secretary, said, “Iranian is a branch of the Indo-Iranian family and belongs to the Indo-European language group.”
Persian, the official language, remains an important component of unity among Iranians. He argued that its enormous cultural, literary and scientific heritage connected Iranians across history, making separation impossible.
“Today, we believe that Persians are not only an Iranian heritage, but also a shared heritage of Middle Eastern countries. It belongs to Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and many other people.
“With the support of linguists and scholars from Iran and around the world, we can take new steps in the introduction and protection of Iranian language and dialects,” he said.
After the opening session, a series of academic presentations were given, including reports on various dialects, linguistic analysis and regional language studies, culminating in the book’s unveiling ceremony, “Collecting articles from the 6th National Conference on Iran’s Languages and Dialects.”
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