History of the Persian Language

[Becky Walker]

History of the Persian Language:The language is dated back to the 6th Century BCE. Since then it has been separated into three different overarching categories: Old Persian, Middle Persian and Modern Persian. Old Persian was written in a style of cuneiform. Persian was the most prominent language during the Achaemenid Era, the first Iranian Empire. This form of Persian is said to be exclusively inflective, with number and gender both existing within the language. It is believed the written and spoken Old Persian greatly differed from one another. Old Iranian is represented by Avestan, a scriptural language.The transition between Old Persian and Middle Persian is hard to determine. It can be dated as far back as the fall of the Achaemenid Empire to the middle of the Sassanid era (pre-Islamic Iranian Empire). The grammar of Middle Persian is far less complex than Old Persian. It’s use however, died out shortly after the Arab conquest in the 7th century.Modern Persian is a fusion of the older versions of Persian along with adopted words and saying from various other languages (such as Arabic and French). It developed during the 9th century and adopted a perso-arabic script (Arabic script with alterations—such as the inclusion of more letters). Its grammar is far simpler than either Old Persian or Middle Persian.Sources:http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219007en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language