-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 I've been learning Middle Persian or Pahlavi (never Middle Farsi or Fahlabi!). The language is called Pārsīg (p'lsyk) at that period. The adoption of the spelling with F is an arabicisation during the Islamic period. Then, Arabic became the prestige language of Persia due to its religious and political dominance. Arabic has no P (you can drink Bibsi if you don't drink Kuka Kula), so the Arabic name of the language is Fārsī, and this spelling and pronunciation became standard in Persian (as noted by the 'Fârsi' in the title of the academy). However, the spelling and pronunciation Pârsi is sometimes used, often as a conscious de-arabicisation, and always (?) by Zoroastrians. Some in the Persian diaspora, particularly after the revolution, popularised the use of 'Farsi' as the name of the language internationally, but linguists, both within and without Iran, continue to use 'Persian' as the English name of the language at all stages of its history. Using 'Farsi' in English is a bit like talking about 'Français' or, as Vafa mentioned, 'Türkçe' (note spelling). As you can see, politics is a major determinant on language naming.
Gareth. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iD8DBQFN81aq9UDttp8yrx4RAulLAJ9hhazenLZl7qjP2LNxEKtYpcjZ3QCeNGCt vmgklB1OccqNOj9XQLF/4Gk= =N5ht -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -------------------------------------------------- Subscriptions, Archive, and List information, etc.: http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/xetex
