Romanization of Persian
Persian alphabet |
---|
ی |
Perso-Arabic script |
Romanization or Latinization of Persian (Persian: لاتیننویسی فارسی, romanized: Lâtin-Nevisiye Fârsi, pronounced
Romanization is familiar to many Persian speakers. Many use an ad hoc romanization for text messaging and email;[1] road signs in Iran commonly include both Persian and English (in order to make them accessible to foreigners);[2] and websites use romanized
Romanization paradigms
Because the Perso-Arabic script is an abjad writing system (with a consonant-heavy inventory of letters), many distinct words in standard Persian can have identical spellings, with widely varying pronunciations that differ in their (unwritten) vowel sounds. Thus a romanization paradigm can follow either transliteration (which mirrors spelling and orthography) or transcription (which mirrors pronunciation and phonology).
Transliteration
Transliteration (in the strict sense) attempts to be a complete representation of the original writing, so that an informed reader should be able to reconstruct the original spelling of unknown transliterated words. Transliterations of Persian are used to represent individual Persian words or short quotations, in scholarly texts in English or other languages that do not use the Arabic alphabet.
A transliteration will still have separate representations for different consonants of the Persian alphabet that are pronounced identically in Persian. Therefore, transliterations of Persian are often based on transliterations of Arabic.[3] The representation of the vowels of the Perso-Arabic alphabet is also complex, and transliterations are based on the written form.
Transliterations commonly used in the English-speaking world include
Non-academic English-language quotation of Persian words usually uses a simplification of one of the strict transliteration schemes (typically omitting
Transcription
Transcriptions of Persian attempt to straightforwardly represent Persian phonology in the Latin script, without requiring a close or reversible correspondence with the Perso-Arabic script, and also without requiring a close correspondence to English phonetic values of Roman letters.
Main romanization schemes
- DMG (1969), a strict scientific system by the German Oriental Society (Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft). It corresponds to Deutsches Institut für Normung standard DIN 31635.[4]
- ALA-LC (1997), the ALA-LC romanization.[5]
- BGN/PCGN (1958), the BGN/PCGN romanization.[6]
- EI (1960), the system used in early editions of Encyclopædia Iranica.[4]
- EI (2012), its contemporary modification.[7]
- UN (1967), the Iranian national system (1966), that was approved by the
- UN (2012), its contemporary modification.[8][10]
Comparison table
Unicode | Persian letter |
IPA | DMG (1969) | ALA-LC (1997) | BGN/PCGN (1958) | EI (1960) | EI (2012) | UN (1967) | UN (2012) | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U+0627 | ا | ʔ, ∅[a] | ʾ, —[b] | ʼ, —[b] | ʾ | _____ | ||||
U+0628 | ب | b | b | B as in Bob | ||||||
U+067E | پ | p | p | P as in pet | ||||||
U+062A | ت | t | t | T as in tall | ||||||
U+062B | ث | s | s̱ | s̱ | s̄ | t͟h | ṯ | s̄ | s | S as in sand |
U+062C | ج | dʒ | ǧ | j | j | d͟j | j | j | J as in jam | |
U+0686 | چ | tʃ | č | ch | ch | č | č | ch | č | Ch as in Charlie |
U+062D | ح | h | ḥ | ḥ | ḩ/ḥ[c] | ḥ | ḥ | ḩ | h | H as in holiday |
U+062E | خ | x | ḫ | kh | kh | k͟h | ḵ | kh | x | Spanish J (as in jalapeño) |
U+062F | د | d | d | D as in Dave | ||||||
U+0630 | ذ | z | ẕ | ẕ | z̄ | d͟h | ḏ | z̄ | z | Z as in zero |
U+0631 | ر | r | r | R as in rabbit | ||||||
U+0632 | ز | z | z | Z as in zero | ||||||
U+0698 | ژ | ʒ | ž | zh | zh | z͟h | ž | zh | ž | S as in television
or G as in genre |
U+0633 | س | s | s | S as in Sam | ||||||
U+0634 | ش | ʃ | š | sh | sh | s͟h | š | sh | š | Sh as in sheep |
U+0635 | ص | s | ṣ | ṣ | ş/ṣ[c] | ṣ | ṣ | ş | s | S as in Sam |
U+0636 | ض | z | ż | z̤ | ẕ | ḍ | ż | ẕ | z | Z as in zero |
U+0637 | ط | t | ṭ | ṭ | ţ/ṭ[c] | ṭ | ṭ | ţ | t | t as in tank |
U+0638 | ظ | z | ẓ | ẓ | z̧/ẓ[c] | ẓ | ẓ | z̧ | z | Z as in zero |
U+0639 | ع | ∅ | ʿ | ʻ | ʼ[b] | ʻ | ʻ | ʿ | ʿ | - as in uh-oh |
U+063A | غ | ɢ~ɣ | ġ | gh | gh | g͟h | ḡ | gh | q | somewhat resembling French R |
U+0641 | ف | f | f | F as in Fred | ||||||
U+0642 | ق | ɢ~ɣ | q | ḳ | ḳ | q | somewhat resembling French R | |||
U+06A9 | ک | k | k | C as in card | ||||||
U+06AF | گ | ɡ | g | G as in go | ||||||
U+0644 | ل | l | l | L as in lamp | ||||||
U+0645 | م | m | m | M as in Michael | ||||||
U+0646 | ن | n | n | N as in name | ||||||
U+0648 | و | v~w[a][d] | v | v, w[e] | v | V as in vision | ||||
U+0647 | ه | h[a] | h | h | h[f] | h | h | h[f] | h[f] | H as in hot |
U+0629 | ة | ∅, t | — | h[g] | — | t[h] | h[g] | — | — | |
U+06CC | ی | j[a] | y | Y as in Yale | ||||||
U+0621 | ء | ʔ, ∅ | ʾ | ʼ | ʾ | |||||
U+0623 | أ | ʔ, ∅ | ʾ | ʼ | ʾ | |||||
U+0624 | ؤ | ʔ, ∅ | ʾ | ʼ | ʾ | |||||
U+0626 | ئ | ʔ, ∅ | ʾ | ʼ | ʾ |
Unicode | Final | Medial | Initial | Isolated | IPA | DMG (1969) | ALA-LC (1997) | BGN/PCGN (1958) | EI (2012) | UN (1967) | UN (2012) | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U+064E | ـَ | ـَ | اَ | اَ | æ | a | a | a | a | a | a | A as in cat |
U+064F | ـُ | ـُ | اُ | اُ | o | o | o | o | u | o | o | O as in go |
U+0648 U+064F | ـوَ | ـوَ | — | — | o[j] | o | o | o | u | o | o | O as in go |
U+0650 | ـِ | ـِ | اِ | اِ | e | e | i | e | e | e | e | E as in ten |
U+064E U+0627 | ـَا | ـَا | آ | آ | ɑː~ɒː | ā | ā | ā | ā | ā | ā | O as in hot |
U+0622 | ـآ | ـآ | آ | آ | ɑː~ɒː | ā, ʾā[k] | ā, ʼā[k] | ā | ā | ā | ā | O as in hot |
U+064E U+06CC | ـَی | — | — | — | ɑː~ɒː | ā | á | á | ā | á | ā | O as in hot |
U+06CC U+0670 | ـیٰ | — | — | — | ɑː~ɒː | ā | á | á | ā | ā | ā | O as in hot |
U+064F U+0648 | ـُو | ـُو | اُو | اُو | uː, oː[e] | ū | ū | ū | u, ō[e] | ū | u | U as in actual |
U+0650 U+06CC | ـِی | ـِیـ | اِیـ | اِی | iː, eː[e] | ī | ī | ī | i, ē[e] | ī | i | Y as in happy |
U+064E U+0648 | ـَو | ـَو | اَو | اَو | ow~aw[e] | au | aw | ow | ow, aw[e] | ow | ow | O as in go |
U+064E U+06CC | ـَی | ـَیـ | اَیـ | اَی | ej~aj[e] | ai | ay | ey | ey, ay[e] | ey | ey | Ay as in play |
U+064E U+06CC | ـیِ | — | — | — | –e, –je | –e, –ye | –i, –yi | –e, –ye | –e, –ye | –e, –ye | –e, –ye | Ye as in yes |
U+06C0 | ـهٔ | — | — | — | –je | –ye | –ʼi | –ye | –ye | –ye | –ye | Ye as in yes |
Notes:
- ^ a b c d Used as a vowel as well.
- ^ a b c Hamza and ayn are not transliterated at the beginning of words.
- ^ a b c d The dot below may be used instead of cedilla.
- ^ At the beginning of words the combination ⟨خو⟩ was pronounced /xw/ or /xʷ/ in Classical Persian. In modern varieties the glide /ʷ/ has been lost, though the spelling has not been changed. It may be still heard in Dari as a relict pronunciation. The combination /xʷa/ was changed to /xo/ (see below).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i In Dari.
- ^ a b c Not transliterated at the end of words.
- ^ a b In the combination ⟨یة⟩ at the end of words.
- ^ When used instead of ⟨ت⟩ at the end of words.
- ^ Diacritical signs (harakat) are rarely written.
- ^ After ⟨خ⟩ from the earlier /xʷa/. Often transliterated as xwa or xva. For example, خور /xor/ "sun" was /xʷar/ in Classical Persian.
- ^ a b After vowels.
Pre-Islamic period
In the pre-Islamic period Old and Middle Persian employed various scripts including Old Persian cuneiform, Pahlavi and Avestan scripts. For each period there are established transcriptions and transliterations by prominent linguists.[11][12][13][14]
IPA | Old Persian[i][ii] | Middle Persian (Pahlavi)[i] |
Avestan[i] |
---|---|---|---|
Consonants | |||
p | p | ||
f | f | ||
b | b | ||
β~ʋ~w | — | β | β/w |
t | t | t, t̰ | |
θ | θ/ϑ | ||
d | d | ||
ð | — | (δ) | δ |
θr | ç/ϑʳ | θʳ/ϑʳ | |
s | s | ||
z | z | ||
ʃ | š | š, š́, ṣ̌ | |
ʒ | ž | ||
c~tʃ | c/č | ||
ɟ~dʒ | j/ǰ | ||
k | k | ||
x | x | x, x́ | |
xʷ | xʷ/xᵛ | ||
g | g | g, ġ | |
ɣ | ɣ/γ | ||
h | h | ||
m | m | m, m̨ | |
ŋ | — | ŋ, ŋʷ | |
ŋʲ | — | ŋ́ | |
n | n | n, ń, ṇ | |
r | r | ||
l | l | ||
w~ʋ~v | v | w | v |
j | y | y, ẏ | |
Vowels | |||
Short | |||
a | a | ||
ã | — | ą, ą̇ | |
ə | — | ə | |
e | — | (e) | e |
i | i | ||
o | — | (o) | o |
u | u | ||
Long | |||
aː | ā | ||
ɑː~ɒː | — | å/ā̊ | |
ə | — | ə̄ | |
əː | — | ē | |
iː | ī | ||
oː | — | ō | |
uː | ū |
Notes:
A sample romanization (a poem by Hafez):
Persian Rūmi | Perso-Arabic script | English |
---|---|---|
Yusefê
gomgaşte báz áyad be Kanân qam maħor kolbeye ahzán şavad ruzi golestán qam maħor |
یوسف گم گشته باز آید به کنعان غم مخور کلبهی احزان شود روزی گلستان غم مخور |
The lost Joseph will get back to Canaan, don't be sad The hut of madness will become a garden one day, don't be sad |
Other romanization schemes
Baháʼí Persian romanization
Baháʼís use a system standardized by
A detailed introduction to the Baháʼí Persian romanization can usually be found at the back of a Baháʼí scripture.
ASCII Internet romanizations
Persian | Fingilish |
---|---|
ا
|
a, ā |
ب
|
b |
پ
|
p |
ت
|
t |
ث
|
s |
ج
|
j |
چ
|
ch, č |
ح
|
h |
خ
|
kh, x |
د
|
d |
ذ
|
z |
ر
|
r |
ز
|
z |
ژ
|
zh, ž |
س
|
s |
ش
|
sh, š |
ص
|
s |
ض
|
z |
ط
|
t |
ظ
|
z |
ء
|
a, e, ā |
غ
|
gh, q |
ف
|
f |
ق
|
gh, q |
ک
|
k |
گ
|
g |
ل
|
l |
م
|
m |
ن
|
n |
و
|
o, u, v, w |
ه
|
h |
ی
|
i, y |
It is common to write Persian language with only the
Tajik Latin alphabet
The
A a | B ʙ | C c | Ç ç | D d | E e | F f | G g | ƣ |
H h | I i | Ī ī |
/a/ | /b/ | /tʃ/ | /dʒ/ | /d/ | /e/ | /f/ | /ɡ/ | /ʁ/ | /h/ | /i/ | /ˈi/ |
J j | K k | L l | M m | N n | O o | P p | Q q | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t |
/j/ | /k/ | /l/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /p/ | /q/ | /ɾ/ | /s/ | /ʃ/ | /t/ |
U u | Ū ū | V v | X x | Z z | ƶ |
ʼ | |||||
/u/ | /ɵ/ | /v/ | /χ/ | /z/ | /ʒ/ | /ʔ/ |
Variation proposed by Mir Shamsuddin Adib-Soltani
A variation (that is sometimes called "Pârstin") proposed by linguist Mir Shamsuddin Adib-Soltani in 1976[19] has seen some use by other linguists, such as David Neil MacKenzie for the transliteration of the Perso-Arabic scripture.
The letters of this variation of the Latin alphabet are the basic Latin letters: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Xx, Yy, Zz, plus the additional letters to support the native sounds: Ââ, Čč, Šš, Žž (the latter three from Slavic alphabets, like the
Besides being one of the simplest variations proposed for the Latinization of the Persian alphabet, this variation is based on the Alphabetic principle. Based on this principle, each individual speech sound is represented by a single letter and there is a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and the letters that represent them. This principle, besides increasing the clarity of the text and preventing confusion for the reader, is specifically useful for representing the native sounds of the Persian language, for which there are no equivalents in most other languages written in a Latin-based alphabet. For instance, compound letters used in the other variations, such as kh and gh, in addition to sh and zh are respectively represented by x, q, š and ž.
See also
- Persian alphabet
- Persian phonology
- Romanization of Arabic
- Romanization of Syriac
- List of English words of Persian origin
References
- ^ Akbari, Mohsen (2013). "A preliminary linguistic analysis of Romanized Persian SMS messages". Journal of Novel Applied Sciences.
- ^ Beam, Christopher (2009-06-17). "Why do Iranian police uniforms say "police" in English?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
- ISBN 1560245204.
- ^ a b Pedersen, Thomas T. "Persian (Farsi)" (PDF). Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts.
- ^ "Persian" (PDF). The Library of Congress.
- ^ "Romanization system for Persian (Dari and Farsi). BGN/PCGN 1958 System" (PDF).
- ^ "Transliteration". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- ^ a b "Persian" (PDF). UNGEGN.
- ^ Toponymic Guidelines for map and other editors – Revised edition 1998. Working Paper No. 41. Submitted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. UNGEGN, 20th session. New York, 17–28 January 2000.
- ^ New Persian Romanization System. E/CONF.101/118/Rev.1*. Tenth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. New York, 31 July – 9 August 2012.
- ^ Bartholomae, Christian (1904). Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Strassburg. p. XXIII.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Kent, Roland G. (1950). Old Persian. New Heaven, Connecticut. pp. 12–13.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 9781136613951.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 3-85124-652-7.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 0-87743-166-3.
- ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of 'lishes': The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 10. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
- ^ Pedersen, Thomas T. "Tajik" (PDF). Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts.
- ISBN 9789004143234.
- ^ Adib-Soltani, Mir Shamsuddin (1976). An introduction to the writing of the Persian script. Tehran, Iran: Amirkabir Publications.