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As with most first year language classes, the hardest part is building your vocabulary. Voca You have to cover the basics, the mundane, the everyday before abstract ideas. We have gone over food, household objects, clothes, and animals in the last month. Now, at the end of lessons, after I recite a paragraph she has prepared for me I also write one out myself using the vocabulary we have learned. Signing it shows her how comfortable I am with the vocabulary at the end of the lesson. And over time she can also see how I’m able to maintain the correct eyebrow positions while expressing myself, using the correct pattern for forming sentences, and moving my body to talk about multiple things at once. Writing everything out lets her check my ability to “gloss.” 

Glossing is the written English that follows the same grammatical word order as ASL so as to best put it on paper. It is a transcription not a translation. That is, there is no standard written language for ASL, despite the great strides taken by William Stokoe. Instead we are taking notes on ASL in another language: English. Glossing uses only CAPITAL LETTERS to visually distinguish it from English. Anything not signed, but necessary in the gloss are written in lowercase. 

“YESTERDAY me-HELP-him.”

I would not sign ME, HELP, and HIM in sequence to show that action. Instead the sign is one fluid movement where me and him are implied based on the direction of the sign. So, in a gloss we need to understand who was helped and by whom. The unsigned words necessary for comprehension are in lowercase and hyphenated to show the phrase is one sign with a specific meaning. 

It is also worth noting that English words do not have ASL equivalents. Rather ASL signs correspond to meanings. It is a symbolic language. There is not a sign for “to.” If you want to sign “I gave a gift to her” it would go “me-PRESENT-her.”  The meaning is the same, but you do not sign each individual word. 

Another difference between glossing and written English is that verbs do not change tense. Rather, you would sign the time that an event takes place at either the very beginning or the very end of your statement and that would indicate when the event occurred. 

YESTERDAY WE SWIM 

PAST me-WATCH THAT MOVIE

ONE-WEEK ME GO GALLAUDET 

Repetition of a single sign may change it’s meaning. If I sign TREE multiple times, that usually means FORREST. I can then write FORREST in a gloss and know to sign TREE multiple times. However, since I’m still getting the hang of glossing and growing my vocabulary, I usually take the time to write things out multiple times. It reminds me what I need to do when I recite things back to Kimmi. 

You can also write out non manual markers in parenthesis. So, if I need to turn my body to show difference in things I am listing or show that I changed actions or show that I was talking to different people, I can write that out (turn body)/(shift left)/(look up). Again, this is more common for beginners than professionals. 

When the glosser needs to indicate that they finger spelled a word they did not know how to sign or a new name, is is glossed in all caps with hyphens between the individual letters. 

M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T 

Here is an example of a gloss I wrote the other day: 

MY FAVORITE OUTFIT? HAVE BIKE PERSON-MARKER SHORTS, SHOES S-N-E-A-K-E-R-S. COLOR? BLACK HAVE STRIPES PINK. SOCKS - THICK (C Classifier?), WHITE. S-W-E-A-T SHIRT FROM MY SCHOOL NAME? UNIVERSITY RICHMOND. SHIRT HAVE SCHOOL NAME. I LIKE MY CLOTHES. WHY? WARM and (turn body) LOOK SAME PRINCESS D-I-A-N-A 

My instructor, Kimmi, is very organized. Her lesson plans for language acquisition are shared with me on a GoogleDoc. Each meeting she adds in the vocab and practice sentences that we will go over along with a YouTube video that demonstrates a grammatical concept we discuss. Kimmi is hearing, but a “heritage speaker” for ASL. This greatly helps her ability to explain deaf concepts to a hearing person while still feeling authentic. 

It also made it way easier for me to explain the injury I incurred over Halloween weekend that halted my instruction the first week of November. I broke my finger playing in a rugby tournament and overextended the brachial plexus nerve resulting in a sports injury called “stingers.” It was not only uncomfortable, but I was terrified that I would need surgery too. The soonest I was able to schedule a follow up appointment with orthopedics was the second week of November which meant I was unable to practice ASL (or do dishes, or pick things up really). I was straightforward with Kimmi about my injury and the pain, but made it clear that I still desired to practice. Nonetheless, she insisted that I wait until I heard back from the professionals so as not to further damage myself. 

She also told me about how many people in the deaf community have orthopedic issues, nerve damage, and arthritis from using their hands as their primary form of communication. In particular, there has been a push to limit movements that extend the wrist side to side as it can  accelerate nerve damage such as with the twisting motion when signing “HOW.” 

This was news to me, but it makes perfect sense. People get carpal tunnel from their jobs and using their phones, throw in an entire language based on hand motions and cramping is sure to follow. That being said, this accident reminded me of the importance of hand and wrist health especially as a college student when I spend most of my day staring at a screen and clicking away at a keyboard. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-SIHcDvRyfUZPh5jK5G0RiwhLBowZBNt/view?usp=sharing

Korean cuisine has been utilized for millennia to maintain the body's balance and offers a wealth of health benefits. Food and medication are frequently viewed as being the same. According to the concept that "health begins with food," medical treatment should be tried if no improvement is noticed after initially attempting to treat all ailments with diet. One of the key words to understanding traditional Korean food is fermentation, a metabolic process that helps food to “mature” so that it can be stored for a longer period. The foods that best represent the tradition of fermentation developed in Korea include doenjang (soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce), gochujang (chili paste), and jeotgal (fermented fish sauce). The fermentation can take anywhere from several months to several years. 

Doenjang된장 paste is a fermented soybean paste similar to miso. The fermentation process of the doenjang paste neutralizes the toxins and anti-nutrients that soybeans contain. Doenjang is salty in taste and is related to the kidneys and bladder. Doenjang is a cheap source of protein. Fermented soy paste, the most essential condiment of Korean cookery for more than 2000 years. It is rich in flavonoids, linolic acid, vitamins, minerals, and hormones. It is anti-cancer and prevents cardiovascular disease

Gochujang 고추장 is a traditional Korean condiment made by fermenting a mixture of soybean malt, salt, and chili pepper powder with a blend of powdered rice, barley, flour, and malted barley. The spiciness of gochujang is good for the lungs and large intestine and gives energy. Gochujang has been a part of traditional Korean cuisine since the sixteenth century. Gochujang aids digestion so is great to eat with meat or food that is harder for the body to digest. Capsaicin, a substance found in chili peppers, is known to reduce body fat. Gochujang is used in Korean dishes such as bibimbap (rice with vegetables), tteokbokki (rice cakes in hot sauce), gochujang stew, and bibimguksu (noodles with vegetables).

Kimchi 김치 is fermented spicy cabbage and is the most famous Korean dish. Well-fermented kimchi is sour, so is beneficial to the gallbladder and liver. Kimchi has vitamins A, B, and C, and it contains Lactobacillus, a probiotic similar to that found in yoghurt. Probiotics aid digestion, boost the immune system, help to efficiently use vitamins, and filter out bad bacteria or toxins. They are also linked to reducing cholesterol. In 2003, when(SARS) was spreading throughout the world, foreign media reported that the Korean people were safe from SARS because they eat kimchi, which triggered global attention to its efficacy. In 2006, Health Magazine, an American monthly, selected kimchi as one of the world’s five healthiest foods.

The Korean medicinal food culture has been coming from the idea of Yak Sik Dong Won 약식동원, meaning food and medicine share the same root. The Korean culinary culture preserves its aim of producing healthy food with traditional cooking methods, cooking technology, basic principles, and knowledge. In contrast to today’s foods which are said to be good for health with fabrication and vague rumors, the Korean culinary culture has a structure that is proven and supported by medical and scientific data.

خوش نویسی (khoshnevisi)

Last cultural post of the semester! If you have by chance read my Monthly Language Learning Journals, specifically the August post, you may skip this section as I will just be providing some brief context on PLO. For my Farsi studies, I am -- at the time this artifact is being posted -- using the website Persian Language Online to study (abbreviated as PLO from here on out. While reading PLO lesson 42 (in the "Intermediate" level), I came across a new term, خوش نویسی (kkoshnevisi). My language partner explained this as an ancient art form, the best translation being Persian calligraphy. I tried to find a rather short video (posted below), though feel free to play it at two times speed or skip around.

Etymology. خوش نویسی (khoshnevisi) stands for the actual art form of calligraphy, while خوش نویس (khoshnevis) -- without the suffix -ی (-i) -- is a calligrapher or the actual artist who is painting/writing the calligraphy. خوش نویس (khoshnevis) comes from خط نوشتن (khat neveshtan) meaning 'to write a script,' where خط (khat) literally means 'line,' and نوشتن (neveshtan) means 'to write.'

History. Much of the modern-day Iranian/Persian script is due to the 7th-century Arab Conquest of Persian (also called the Islamic Conquest of Persian). The major players were the Sasanian Empire ('the Persians') and the Rashidun Caliphate ('the Arabs'). Due to a laundry list of prior events that weakened the Sasanian Empire -- namely a civil war, the Rashidun Caliphate was able to annex the Sasanian Empire, leading to its eventual downfall.

In brief, this conquest changed many things about ancient Iranian culture, including but not limited to the -- rather forced -- transition from Zoroastrianism to Islam, increasing Arabic influence on legal code and culture, and (most importantly for this post) a change of script. The change of script was mainly due to the introduction of Islam, as with it came the Arabic alphabet. Over time, Persians adopted the alphabet and morphed it into their own, which is now known as the Persian alphabet or Perso-Arabic script. 

Nasta'liq. Around three hundred years later, Abū ibn Muqla Bayzavi Shirāzi would develop six different styles of Persian calligraphy, "Mohaqiq", "Reyhan", "Sols", "Naskh", "Toqi" and "Reqa." Historically, these are also known as the "six pens." of Nasta'liq, the most predominant style today, originates from another artist combining the styles "Naksh" and "Reqah." Khoshnevisi is the name for Persian calligraphy in general. 

Technique. Though I ventured a little bit into the different styles, there are many more that I neglected to mention. For brevity's sake, I will be focusing on Nasta'liq. Pens are generally made of reed, with an end cut to an edge. See the image to the right. The material is somewhat softer than a traditionally Western metal calligraphy pen, but unlike many metal tips, the width is not so much determined by the weight or pressure put on the pen when writing. Nasta'liq involves rotating the pen at various angles to achieve different thicknesses in strokes. These angle changes must be fluid, or else the appearance becomes choppy and does not look like one single fluid stroke. 

References

González E S, "The Art of Writing Beautifully," Getty. 26 May 2022. https://www.getty.edu/news/the-art-of-writing-beautifully-persian-calligraphy/

"Persian calligraphy wins UNESCO protected status," Tehran Times. 17 December 2021. https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/468158/Persian-calligraphy-wins-UNESCO-protected-status

Yūsofī Ḡ-H, "CALLIGRAPHY (continued)," ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA. 1 January 2000. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calligraphy-2

https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/weaving-of-mosi-fine-ramie-in-the-hansan-region-00453

For my last cultural artifact, I’ll be discussing the weaving of mosi (aka ramie) in the Hansan region. This act of weaving clothes has been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage and its history in Korea dates to the 9^th century. While it’s growing in popularity as a source in bioplastics to manufacture hybrid cars, it is not commonly used for textiles due to its labor-intensive process. The mosi is encased in resin and have a hairy exterior that need to be removed before obtaining the inner fibers. The Hansan region in particular in the western region of South Korea is known to have great conditions to grow the mosi. The mosi is harvested, processed, and weaved by incredibly skillful women. This process is traditionally a women-led family operation and encourages the daughters and daughters-in-law to join in.

The rough skins of the mosi is peeled off using a special knife. This knife cannot be too sharp, or else it can cut through and shorten the fibrous strands. The shoots are sundried until the mosi changes colors from green to brown. Afterwards, each strand of the plant is separated using the women’s front teeth. This method is much quicker than separating by hand because saliva is used to make the process easier. Unfortunately, because these women pass the strands across their teeth and against their lips, many of these professionals have frequently cut their lips to the point of building up calluses. After this separation, the strands are twisted into their desired length and are placed into a yard guide. Finally, the starching process allows the fibers to strengthen by brushing them over a burning flame.

Using a loom contraption, the women manually weave the strands to make larger square pieces of cloth. Ultimately, the cloth is used to make dress suits, military uniforms, mourning garments and bojagi (a wrapping cloth). These garments are extremely light-weight and are mainly worn during the summer. Due to its long process, only the elite were able to afford these clothes. Unfortunately, decades ago, many of the women who were skilled in creating this garment came from families of low socioeconomic status and were not even able to wear the garments they were trained to make.

There’s even a Hansan Mosi Museum located in Seocheong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province that hosts an annual Hansan Mosi Festival. It features a reenactment of Gilssam-Nori (a traditional Korean play) and other experiential programs. I think the coolest event is the fashion show that offers traditional and modern outfits created from mosi. This incorporation of using traditional garments, but in modern styles is quite interesting. I like how mosi weaving, although labor-intensive, is still kept alive. Even the dyeing process is done naturally to preserve the traditions. I don’t recall ever owning garment made out of mosi, but I hope to try one in the future so test if it really is that comfortable. Hopefully, I’ll have an excuse to visit Korea soon so that I can experience even more than my last times.

November

Preface

Last learning journal for the semester! Unfortunately, the internet shutdown in Iran is still a looming issue (see the September & October posts for more resources on the Mahsa Amini protests). As I mentioned in a previous learning journal, I think it might be beneficial to seek out a secondary language partner on iTalk over winter break for the coming semester. That being said, however, it seems that Microsoft Teams might turn out to be a more viable option than WhatsApp, Viber, or Signal (considering the current circumstances in Iran). This past month, my language partner and I have been switching between communication platforms in an effort to resume using video chat during our language learning sessions. Before the shutdown, video chat was a given, but now it is a coin toss on whether or not the call will drop if we use it. Though we have only been using Teams for a week, we have not yet had a call drop (fingers crossed!). 

PLO Lessons & Progress

If needed, please see the August post for further explanation of PLO & difficult levels; E# = Elementary Lesson #, I-# = Intermediate Lesson #). On my last journal, I had just finished E38, and I had two more lessons to go until finishing the Elementary level and continuing on to Intermediate (I-41 -- I-60). As predicted, now that I have started the Intermediate lessons, my progress has slowed down significantly. The jump from the Elementary level to Intermediate is steep, as the lessons are now much longer and more complicated. I am going through about one lesson a week, so 2-3 sessions per lesson. Currently, I just started I-43. 

Now that we have covered almost all the material for SDLC 105, I am feeling more prepared to tackle more of the complex grammar in Farsi. At this point, I am growing much more accustomed to the Subject-Object-Verb syntax in Farsi.

Now, I think the two things I am currently working on are the definitive article را (rā) and مورد (mowred). Out of the two, I understand rā much better. It is a definitive article, often used after a transitive verb. The closest English equivalent would be "the," but they are not quite the same, as rā only used when a verb is affecting a noun, e.g. "taking the book", not just "the book is red." Mowred, I have to admit, is giving me some trouble. It seems to be a sort of placeholder. In isolation, it is a noun, but what confuses me is when it is used in tandem with other modifiers. For example, mowred-e alāghe, which means favorite. 

Other than that, the main thing I am struggling with is just remembering more abstract grammar, which I assume will just come with time and repeated review. 

While I talked about my experiences, goals, and activities I’ve done in my previous journals, these past couple of weeks have been more information dense. So, let’s get into it!

While scrolling through my For You page on my social media, the algorithm suggested a short preview of a new Netflix series called Korea No. 1 featuring one of Korea’s top MC Yu Jae-seok, popular entertainer/actor Lee Kwang-soo, and Korea’s most famous volleyball player Kim Yeon-kyong. I began to watch it out of curiosity and quickly realized that for a variety show, it was incredibly informative. With the focus on the rich culture of Korea, the cast visits and learns from the best traditional masters and even helps them with the labor-intensive projects. Some of these projects included giwa (clay roof tile) molding, makgeolli (rice wine) brewing, and anchovy catching using methods that are over 600 years old. The episodes were hilarious and enjoyable to watch and I learned that many Korean idioms and proverbs stemmed from these traditional skills.

Additionally, in my history class (Art & Asia), we finally made our way to Korean art. Although I know the gist of Korea’s history and have learned from my parents over the years, this was my first time learning any sort of Korean history in a formal educational setting. We started from the first piece of historical artwork we discussed originated in 736 during the Unified Silla Period and we made our way all up to contemporary art in 2022 where we even discussed the K-pop group BTS and their impacts on spreading Korean culture. We also discussed the artwork of Shin Yunbok and Kim Hongdo who were known for their genre paintings that depicted the everyday lives of people. For some reason the names “Hongdo” and “Yunbok” sounded familiar and I later realized that those were the names of the characters of the twin medical students-turned-residents in the popular K-drama Hospital Playlist. I loved how the producers incorporated such historical figures in a 21^st century drama and now I can also notice and appreciate that too!

Lastly, I was able to meet my family and a close family friend this past week due to Thanksgiving break! The family friends stayed with us and because they mostly speak Korean, it was some good practice for me. They also had a 3-year-old son who had an impressive vocabulary bank, so we had some very interesting conversations about cars, animals, nature, and… the concept of patience and gratitude. He is a wise one for sure! My sister and her roommates also came, but we ended up talking more in English than in Korean. I thought this was quite interesting because while I am older, my sister had more Korean-speaking friends during our youth and therefore was much better at understanding Korean vocabulary than I have. But oh, have the tables turned because it only took a semester of college for her to forget to have a full conversation in pure Korean. So of course, Konglish was the way to go.

Overall, I really enjoyed this semester of learning Korean. I learned more about Korean culture, its rich history, and I also got to practice some skills I wasn’t as confident in during the beginning of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGhKwCq7SZk&ab_channel=Maangchi

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6893577/

In my last cultural post, I discussed the importance of onggi and mentioned that this earthenware was used as a storage container for kimchi and soybean paste. Today I’ll be focusing on the process of making Korean sauces. Recently, jang damgeugi, the making of sauces such as gochujang (red chili paste), doenjang (soybean paste), and ganjang (soy sauce), was noted as a cultural asset as it was chosen to be documented as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in South Korea. Specifically, fermented soybean paste has been around since the era of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and the customs of passing down this traditional method has since been going on for centuries.

To begin this process, workers boil down the soybeans and mash them into solid bricks. These bricks are referred to as meju. The technique used to dry the meju can be different depending on the region one lives, but essentially, they are naturally air-dried by hanging them up.  Once dried, the meju are carefully placed in an onggi such that they do not break apart and covered with brine (salt water) and chilis. As the mixture marinates, the fermentation process allows the brine to become ganjang while the meju later become doenjang. Although China and Japan uses fermented soybeans in their cuisine, the process in Korea is distinguished by its capability to make ganjang and doenjang simultaneously.

Some of Korea’s well-known condiments are ganjang, sesame oil, doenjang, and gochujang. I’m glad I researched more into this because I wasn’t aware of these processes and got to learn about them. I think that food is one of the most important things about a culture and it is always interesting to learn how my ancestors prepared food so that I’m aware of doing the same for my future descendants.

Although most people have used ganjang aka soy sauce when preparing food, doenjang is not commonly used in cultures outside of Korea. It possesses a strong, rich smell that cannot be missed and is used as the base of doenjang jjigae (stew). Flavor-wise, it is similar to miso soup but a bit more on the pungent side. If you’ve had Korean BBQ, doenjang was likely used in the ssamjang, aka the red dipping sauce as a flavor enhancer.

Furthermore, I’ve ran across a research paper related to doenjang. The scientists wanted to see whether doenjang caused health troubles due to its high salt content or had benefits because it is a fermented food. They experimented and found that although doenjang is high in salt, the intake improved (lowered) blood pressure and decreased renin and aldosterone levels in rats compared to high salt intake. The conclusion was that eating traditional fermented food does not directly tie in with hypertension and can even be beneficial for those are normally healthy. They also confirmed that kimchi also is not associated with anyone getting an increased risk for hypertension. This is wonderful news to me as I have just had some kimchi on the side during lunch.

Mahsa Amini Protests

On the 16th of September (2022), Mahsa Amini (known by her Kurdish name Jina Amini to her family) died in a Tehranian hospital. Though the Iranian government claims otherwise, Amini's family contests she had no prior health conditions, making the fatal stroke she suffered strange, to say the least. 

Some aspects of women's rights in Iran (and the 'morality police') must be explained in order to understand how these protests have come about. Shortly after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the new ruler (some might say dictator) decreed all Iranian women must wear a hijab in accordance with Islamic law, despite the woman's faith or background. For context, below is a depiction of the different types of Islamic headwear:

"Boris Johnson's burka jibe: Why do some Muslim women wear the veil?" BBC News

This distinction is important as different regions in the Middle East mandate different types of headwear (a common misconception about Middle-Eastern countries is that all women are forced to wear burkas or niqabs, which is not true). The Guidance Patrol (colloquially known as the 'morality police') -- which is a sect of the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (or FARAJA for short) -- enforces the mandatory dress code for women in Iran.

Amini was visiting her brother in Tehran. On the 13th of September, while out with her family, she was arrested by Guidance patrol; the police chief of Tehran would later make a statement attributing her arrest to overly tight paints and an improperly worn headscarf. She was transferred to the custody of Moral Security (another sect of FARAJA). There are eyewitnesses claiming Amini was beaten while still in the police van, though FARAJA denies this. Only two hours after being arrested, Amini's family was informed she had suffered a heart attack and a brain seizure, and was being transported to Kasra Hospital. Again, she was -- as described by her family -- a 22-year-old with no prior health conditions. Amini died, three days later, and was in a coma since her arrival at Kasra. 

Journalist Niloofar Hamedi covered Amini's coma (and eventual death), and the Iranian government, as a consequence, arrested him a short while after. Hamedi's coverage allowed the Iranian public to know of the circumstances around Amini's death; protests ensued later that day on September 16th (the day of Amini's death). 

Below is a video of tens of thousands of protesters gathering at Amini's death site, forty days after the tragedy occurred. 

If you have read any of my Monthly Language Learning Journals, you are already familiar with the Iranian government's response to these protests: a widespread shutdown of the internet and communication services -- the most intense one Iran has ever experienced. This was in an effort to disrupt protesters' abilities to gather, but it has far from silenced anyone. This is an ongoing situation, so, unfortunately, I do not have an ending to this historical event yet. Maybe one of my future cultural posts will be an update.  

References

BBC News. "Mahsa Amini: How one woman's death sparked Iran protests - BBC News." 5 October 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZMvrkU_eEY. 

Fassihi F, Engelbrecht C. "Tens of Thousands in Iran Mourn Mahsa Amini, Whose Death Set Off Protests," NYT. 27 October 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/world/middleeast/iran-protests-40-days.html. 

Skopeliti C. "'This Generation is really brave': Iranians on the protests over Mahsa Amini's death," The Guardian. 27 October 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/27/this-generation-is-really-brave-iranians-on-the-protests-over-mahsa-aminis-death

October

Preface: Mahsa Amini protests (again)

Wow, already two months+ into the semester -- time is really flying! I wish I had a good update from the September post, but alas, I do not. The internet blockade is still going. I suppose it has only been about a month or so, but this time feels different than the shutdown in 2019 (caused by a hike in gas prices). As I mentioned in the September journal, that one only lasted about a week, and the current internet shutdown is on week seven. The primary mode of communication we use, Whatsapp, is almost completely blocked out. If we meet early in the morning, it seems to work, but the quality has dropped. Instead of twice per week, my language partner and I are meeting three times a week, so at least that is an improvement from September.

I think over winter break I will try to find another language partner on iTalki, but I want to wait until classes have died down so I can adequately explain how I want to learn; so for right now, I am just going to keep talking with my father as my primary language partner. 

PLO Lessons & Progress

In the last journal, I had reviewed/learned up to E31 (E=Elementary, please see August post for further explanation). I just finished E38, so only two more lessons at the Elementary level (E39 & E40)! Though I am definitely not where I predicted in my learning plan, I still think I am making good progress despite the circumstances. Before this past summer, I had made it to the Intermediate level, so I am going to talk a little bit about what I anticipate for the upcoming month (and the last learning journal). The jump from Beginner to Elementary on PLO was significant, as the main texts got longer, more complex, and more difficult. The jump from Elementary to Intermediate was intense if I remember correctly. Right now, I am going through about one lesson per session, but when I get to Intermediate, this may (and probably will) slow down, as the lessons are much longer, and start discussing more abstract ideas (economy, lifestyle, etc.), so the vocab might be harder to remember. I am getting ahead of myself, though, as I have not started Intermediate yet -- I assume if I keep the current pace that I am at, I will begin the Intermediate level around this time next week. 

The decreased number of sessions per week is definitely an adjustment, as I think it is harder for me to remember the vocab from previous lessons. Currently, the best way I am counteracting this issue is by listening to the audio files/main text videos on PLO when I would normally have a session with my language partner. PLO has some sample questions after each lesson that I previously ignored, but now I am taking those quizzes in place of my language partner quizzing me. 

In SDLC 105 we have finally started grammar! I am very excited, as I think this area has -- by far -- been my biggest struggle in Farsi. Though in the Elementary lessons it has not proved much of a hindrance, I know the Intermediate level will be much more involved, so I feel like I will be more adequately prepared to dissect it this time. 

The Seven S's & Nowruz

Nowruz is the Persian/Iranian name for the Iranian/Persian New Year. Its meaning combines نو noh – meaning 'new' – and روز ruz – meaning 'day.' In a Tehrani accent/Farsi dialect, the pronunciation is [noːˈɾuːz]. It is rooted in Zoroastrianism, but it is wildly celebrated in Iran and other Islamic countries despite not practicing the Zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrianism was more or less the 'original' religion of Iran, before the 7th-century Arab conquests and the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It is an ancient monotheistic religion that has traces in other major religions today (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and even Buddhism). Because of this, the Zoroastrian roots in Nowruz can to a certain extent be seen as ancient Iranian culture. 

Nowruz begins on the spring equinox (its timing is more similar to the Chinese New Year rather than the Western New year on January 1st). Every year, the exact moment at which the sun crosses the equator is calculated into a precise time, and this time marks the beginning of Nowruz.

There are many different traditions and ceremonies leading up to and during Nowruz, but that is for another cultural post. For today, I will be focusing on هفت‌ سین (haft-sin), or the Seven S's. An example is shown below, which will be further explained. 

A custom for Nowruz is to prepare a table with seven items that all being with the letter س (sin), whose closest English letter equivalent would be 's.'  Here are some examples (any of these may be chosen, alongside other items listed in the paragraph below, as long as the total number of the items on the table ends up being seven):

• سبزه (sabze), sprouting grass, lentils, barley, or wheat
• سمنو (samanu), a sweet pudding made from wheat germ
• سنجد (senjed), a Persian olive
• سیب (serke), vinegar
• سیر (sib), apples
• سیر (sir), garlic
• سماق (somāq), sumac, which is a Persian spice
• سکه (sekkeh), coins 
• سنبل (sonbol), a hyacinth
• ساعت (sā'at), a clock

There are other things that may be placed on the table for the Seven S's that don't necessarily start with س (sin), like the following:

• ماهی قرمز (māhi-ye qırmız), goldfish (shown in the picture above in the middle)
• تخم‌مرغ رنگی (tokhm-e morg rangi), painted eggs (for fertility)
• آینه (āyina), a mirror (or a bowl of water)
• 'books of wisdom'
  • sacred texts like the
    • Quaran,
    • the Avesta (the sacred text of Zoroastrianism), and the Bible,
  • culturally/historically books like
    • the Shānāme of Ferdowsi -- an ancient Iranian epic that I will write a cultural post on this later as it deserves its own,
    • or the Divān of Hafez.

Each item has different symbolic roots in Nowruz, please comment if you are curious about any of the items. 

References

Shapur Shahbazi A, "HAFT SIN," Encyclopaedia Iranica. 1 March 2012. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haft-sin

United Nations, "International Nowruz Day." https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-nowruz-day

September

Preface: Mahsa Amini protests

The first full month of SDLAP has passed, and I feel like I was making great progress until about halfway through the month. Last week, on the 16th of September, the Mahsa Amini protests started. Before this point, I was meeting with my language partner almost every morning (ranging 5-7 times a week). This past week, we were able to meet twice. I don't know how the frequency of my lessons will affect my learning for the rest of the semester. We were still able to talk because my language partner is finding ways to circumvent the internet blockage with a VPN; that being said, however, this only works at certain points in the day, so the normal time we were meeting had to change, and it conflicts with the classes I take. 

Neither of us thinks it will last that long, maybe a few weeks. Protests not too dissimilar from this happened due to the increased gas prices in Iran (2019), and the internet blockage was only a week. I am a little apprehensive, though, because last time my dad (who is my language partner) was still able to use a VPN and avoid the blockage. This time it seems much more intense, but that is my opinion based on my past experience, not an article. 

I do want to note, for anyone that reads this, that a lot of the negative media about Iran is unrightfully generalized to include Iranians -- not just the government. So, although this has been a setback, I do not wish to reinforce any negative stereotypes about the country, or at least about the people that live in it. I just think this is an important aspect to appreciate about modern-day culture/politics in Iran, that there is a definite split between administrative affairs and then the actual opinions/beliefs of 'everyday' Iranians.

PLO Lessons & Progress

In my last post, I had made it up to Elementary Lesson 23 (please see August post for an explanation of PLO). Before the protests, we were averaging about 3-4 lessons a week, as some days we would do a new lesson, and others we would either continue the previous day's lesson or practice conversational speaking (using the topics of the previous lesson for some structure. By September 16th, we were planning to start E31, but had to postpone the session for a few days due to the political situation. Later last week, we finished E31, but that is as far as I have reviewed, considering the circumstances. 

Learning about articulatory phonetics in SDLC 105 is helping me contextualize/articulate some of the unique characteristics of Farsi. I am really excited to get more into points of articulation, as I think it might help with a few of the phones that trouble me. Nevertheless, I think my pronunciation in Farsi is one of my stronger sides, as I have grown up hearing the language.

I think my favorite lesson was E27, which was about the New Year. The lesson talked about Nowruz in Iran, the Spring Festival in China, and then the American New Year. It is a funny coincidence that I take Chinese at UR, so it was a sort of collision of worlds. I think I am getting a better grasp of the sentence structure, as the more lessons I learn/review, the more examples I have of different types of verbs.

For my concluding thoughts, I am just a little frustrated, as before the protests I finally felt like I was starting to return to the place I was at before the summer, only to have another setback. I hope everything cools down soon. 

Avestan & Zoroastrianism

In studying Farsi, especially in the context of Iran, religion & politics are nearly unavoidable due to Iran's history in the last 50 years. Iran, whose full name is the Islamic Republic of Iran, is not a secular country. The current legal system is heavily based on sharia (Islamic law). This includes, but is not limited to, mandating all women to adorn hijabs, despite their faith or background; a national prohibition on alcohol; and heavy censorship of media in efforts to only have pro-Islamic, 'modest' ideas. Islam's heavy influence on Iranian law and politics, at least in its modern form, is due to the 1979  Iranian Revolution. Now, I could write (and have) a 10-page paper discussing the intricacies of this revolution, so I will choose to focus on Zoroastrianism, the main religion in the region that would become modern-day Iran.

Zoroastrianism is debated to be one of the first monotheistic religions. It is more than three thousand years old (its origins date back even further), predating both Christianity and Islam by centuries. Its main ideas and beliefs can be seen throughout other major religions, such as Buddhism and Judaism (as well as Christianity and Islam). Zoroastrianism became the major religion of Persia, and remained so until the 7th century Arab Conquest, inducing a global Parsi -- the term for the Zoroastrian population -- diaspora. Zoroastrianism is deeply tied with ancient Iranian history, which can be seen throughout modern-day culture -- most notably, perhaps, in Nowruz, which is the widely celebrated Persian New Year. 

The origins of Zoroastrianism are not widely known. This might be due to the fact that it was orally passed down among Zoroastrian priests for more than a thousand years. Likely the first time the Avesta was written was in the Sasanian period. A special alphabet was devised to do so, forming the language/script Avestan, the language the Avesta is written in. The Avesta is the earliest (sacred) main text we refer to for knowledge about Zoroastrianism. 

Below is a digitized page from the Avesta (see here for more pages).

"Avestan," University of Oxford

The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, and the Indo-Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages. The Iranian languages are generally split up into three stages: Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian. Persian would be classified as a New Iranian language (alongside others like Pashto and Kurdish) -- just a note, I am specifically studying Farsi, which is a dialect of Persian, specific to Iran. 

Avestan, rather Old Avestan, would classify as an Old Iranian language, alongside Old Persian. Avestan is more specific to the Avesta and Zoroastrianism, while Old Persian was more widely used across the Sasanian Empire (an ancient Persian empire).

References

Crary, David. "Ancient but small in number, Zoroastrians confront depletion of their faith," PBS News Hour, 1 July 2022. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/ancient-but-small-in-number-zoroastrians-confront-depletion-of-their-faith#:~:text=Beliefs,words%20and%20do%20good%20deeds.

Malandra, William W. "Zoroastrianism i. Historical Review Up to the Arab Conquest," ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA FOUNDATION. 20 July 2005. https://iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrianism-i-historical-review

August

It has only been one week, but I am already so excited to continue learning Farsi! I have started off strong and met with my Language Partner for about an hour five times this week. Because I was really busy in the summer, I was not able to meet much, so this week we have mainly focused on reviewing old material, and we will probably continue to focus on just reviewing for a while. Both of us think it’s much more important to adequately learn the material, move forward, and then keep reviewing old material so as to cement the vocabulary.

I use the website Persian Language Online (abbreviated from here on out as “PLO”). It is a free resource made by the Iranian Heritage Foundation. I have been using PLO for about a year now, and it has provided a lot of needed structure in my Farsi learning journey. It is separated into three levels (in order of difficulty: Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate), with a total of sixty lessons (twenty lessons per level 一 B1-B20, E21-E40, and I41-I60). Elementary lessons have a main text and two dialogues; the main text uses more formal language, while the dialogues use more conversational language. 

Because my language partner lives in Iran, where the government heavily censors the internet, I made all the lessons on PLO into a pdf file (PLO Elementary 21-40.pdf). 

I am currently reviewing the Elementary lessons (E21-E40). This week, I reviewed the first three lessons, which I think is what I will focus on for the rest of this journal. For reference, here is the layout of a standard lesson (E21).

Lesson 21 (shown above) introduces some basic vocabulary about hobbies, school, friends, and music. I have done this lesson more times than I can count, so we only spent one session on it. I read through it, practicing speaking at a faster pace. My language partner then asked some basic comprehension questions, which I answered (in Farsi), and then we finished off with me reciting the lesson, but saying it from my perspective (e.g. instead of saying I am 17 years old, like the narrator in the lesson, I said I was 19). I think I struggled the most with this, as my biggest struggle right now is formulating sentences (in terms of grammar).

I am hoping taking SDLC 105 will help me have a better method for tackling some of the grammar that is making me struggle. In Farsi, the sentence structure follows a Subject-Object-Verb/SOV order (boy ball throws), while in English it is SVO (boy throws ball). I feel like there is more that is confusing me, but I don't think I know enough about grammar to articulate it. I think the strategies I am using now are sufficient for the amount I know about language; again, as SLDC 105 progresses, I am sure I will modify some of my techniques, or at least be able to articulate the aspects of Farsi that are confusing me.