Iranian leader bans usage of foreign words

[Machjo]

"in allseriousness...he is closing off his country from any type oof outside Influence in the hopes of omnipotent power."

What? On the contrary.By maintaining the inherent cohesion of the language, he's making it easier to learn, allowing people to learn it to a greater level of fluency in a shorter amount of time. This contributes to a higher success rate in the acquisition of literacy among the population, which thus allows for greater access to knowledge through the ability to acquire it from the printed page.


"He is a force that we will have to reckon with sooner or later...I would prefer sooner then give them the chance to get stronger later"

And what exactly does this have to do with language planning? Sorry, but I really don't see the relaitonship here.

 

[PACKY]

"in allseriousness...he is closing off his country from any type oof outside Influence in the hopes of omnipotent power."

What? On the contrary.By maintaining the inherent cohesion of the language, he's making it easier to learn, allowing people to learn it to a greater level of fluency in a shorter amount of time. This contributes to a higher success rate in the acquisition of literacy among the population, which thus allows for greater access to knowledge through the ability to acquire it from the printed page.


"He is a force that we will have to reckon with sooner or later...I would prefer sooner then give them the chance to get stronger later"

And what exactly does this have to do with language planning? Sorry, but I really don't see the relaitonship here.

its simple he is closing off his country and shutting off the people from any outside Influene other then his own
is that freedom?
is that the way people should be forced to live?
shouldnt people be allowed to judge for themselves what they deem best?

 

[Machjo]

its simple he is closing off his country and shutting off the people from any outside Influene other then his own
is that freedom?
is that the way people should be forced to live?
shouldnt people be allowed to judge for themselves what they deem best?

Yes, he is closing his country off to an extent, but not through this language policy of his. This language policy has no relationship whatsoever to closing his country off; that's something for another thread. As for judging for themselves, language is an exception. Just like weights and measures, a common denominator is essential in the operation of an efficient society. Remember, Iran is also composed of Arabs and Turks (its two biggest ethnic minorities). By maintaining the ease of the language, we can thus make it more accessible to the minority ethnic groups trying to learn it.

You keep bringing up how Ahmadinejad is an evil man. I don't see how that relates to the topic at hand. Here we're talking about language policy, not religious or political ideology. I just don't see the relationship at all.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

What? On the contrary.By maintaining the inherent cohesion of the language, he's making it easier to learn, allowing people to learn it to a greater level of fluency in a shorter amount of time. This contributes to a higher success rate in the acquisition of literacy among the population, which thus allows for greater access to knowledge through the ability to acquire it from the printed page.

If it changes the learning difficulty at all whatsoever, the ease of elarning will depend on the learner. The Farhangestan is eliminating loanwords coming from European languages, meaning that learning Persian as someone who natively speaks a European tongue would be an uphill battle. Additionally, the Reuters article notes that the "words created by the Farhangestan as replacements to European loan words often sound cumbersome or comic to Iranians," meaning it's possible that they won't get assimilated into everyday speech.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

Language does not exist to create jobs for philologists and other elites; it exists for the people!

I was joking.

Language without justice is nothing.

I'm not sure what's meant by this.

 

[Machjo]

If it changes the learning difficulty at all whatsoever, the ease of elarning will depend on the learner. The Farhangestan is eliminating loanwords coming from European languages, meaning that learning Persian as someone who natively speaks a European tongue would be an uphill battle. Additionally, the Reuters article notes that the "words created by the Farhangestan as replacements to European loan words often sound cumbersome or comic to Iranians," meaning it's possible that they won't get assimilated into everyday speech.

But Persian was not created for Europeans. In fact, this policy will make it easier to learn. For instance, imagine a Chinese and an American attending Tehran University to study Persian. Now both the Americna and the Chinese would be more or less on the same playing field as regards learning 'elastic' and 'bread'. But as for learnning Pizza, it's just one more word for the Chinese to learn. If instead of pizza, they use 'elastic bread', then that makes the languages that much easier for the Chinese, who would already have learnt the two words separately anyway, without making it any toughrer for the American anyway. You've got to try to look at it outside a Eurocentric viewpoint; the world is much bigger than that.

Now as for the words created by the academy not making it into daily jargon, who cares. Even if it's only used in official usage, it will still make it easier for people overall to understand it. After all, not all will necessarily know pizza, while everyone would know elastic and bread.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

But Persian was not created for Europeans.

If you're suggesting that these changes will make it easier for native Persian-speakers to learn Persian, then you're mistaken.

In fact, this policy will make it easier to learn. For instance, imagine a Chinese and an American attending Tehran University to study Persian. Now both the Americna and the Chinese would be more or less on the same playing field as regards learning 'elastic' and 'bread'. But as for learnning Pizza, it's just one more word for the Chinese to learn. If instead of pizza, they use 'elastic bread', then that makes the languages that much easier for the Chinese, who would already have learnt the two words separately anyway, without making it any toughrer for the American anyway. You've got to try to look at it outside a Eurocentric viewpoint; the world is much bigger than that.

It still seems like it would be more difficult in number of words used, since learners will most likely be required to learn both the official governmental word and the common word.

Now as for the words created by the academy not making it into daily jargon, who cares. Even if it's only used in official usage, it will still make it easier for people overall to understand it. After all, not all will necessarily know pizza, while everyone would know elastic and bread.

Daily jargon is what matters the most because it's the ground level mechanism. English mattered in 11th century England because that's what everyone spoke, save for the upper class and government officials using Norman French.