During the past few weeks, the main task that I worked on was differentiating between formal and informal use of language. My language partner (Zari) assigned a few homework and lessons from the grammar book called Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook by Saeed Yousef. The second task that I completed was working on my typing in Persian. I spent most of my time analyzing the difference between the use of formal and informal written and spoken Persian then took the time to practice my typing on the keyboard.
What I hoped to accomplish this week was to improve my understanding of when to use formal language and when not to. As a native speaker, it’s very easy to find yourself speaking informally in a professional setting especially if all your practising is in an informal manner. So Zari and I took the time to understand and remember when it is necessary to use formal vocabulary. While in some languages, the difference between formality and informality may not be a big deal in language, in Afghanistan and Iran, it is a big sign of respect and etiquette. So regardless of where I live, it’s important to not lose a track of this topic. Here is an example of what I mean in regards to formal and informal use of language in Persian.
Meaning | Informal | Formal |
Myself Yourself | خودم [khodam] or [khodom] خودت [khodat] or [khode tu] | من خود [man khod] شما [shuma] |
Understanding such differentiations can be very helpful when meeting new people, people who are older than you or when you are speaking in a formal setting. For example, if you saw an elder person, it would be disrespectful to say خودت [khodat] or [khode tu] were referring to them as “you”. Instead, you should use شما [shuma]. While this rule is flexible for non-native Farsi/Dari speakers, it can be frowned upon if spoken by those from the culture. If you do end up using an informal word when it is necessary to use formal, one may reply saying “am I your child that you are speaking to me that way?” While this may sound funny, it actually is something to take in consideration. Certain formality rules also apply to when speaking to your parents. This again has to do with respect.
After the completion of the tasks in the grammar book, I spent about 2 hours typing in Persian. I tried typing all the keyboard letters from memory. This exercise was for me to just focus on my typing and try memorizing the keyboard in Farsi. I have noticed that I am getting better in recalling where certain letters are at. I am still challenged by my fingers wanting to type the Dari phrases in English but it has been a great process.
At the end of the week, my community partner and I narrowed some of our goals for the remainder of the year. We decided that we will work mostly on speaking and typing for the rest of the classes. We have come a long way from where I first started especially in regards to my typing and am set for the rest of the classes. The upcoming homework that I have been assigned is writing about a topic of interest on the computer. The strategies that we used during this week were mainly through the grammar book and typing in Persian. I will continue to work on my typing so I can (hopefully) memorize where all the letters are by May.
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