Diglossia is the occurrence of two distinct varieties of a language. For instance, the most common is a “high” variety, which is taught at school, used in the media, at church, and at scholarly gatherings, and a “low” variety, which is used in informal settings, such as friendly conversations or at home. However, the definition does not stop here. In some languages, such as Persian and Arabic, the difference between the classical or written and the spoken variations may be considered a form of diglossia. In this site, we often refer to diglossia as formal or informal or colloquial.
Diglossia in Persian has certain basic rules. Some of these rules are observed by almost all speakers, while others are used in different levels, depending on who the speaker is. First, consider:
/ān/ | > | /un/ |
/ām/ | > | /um/ |
As a general feature in Persian, also shared by many other Iranian dialects, in most cases an /ā/ followed by the alveolar nasal /n/ becomes a long /u/ ([ān] > [un]):
house, home | [tag resources diglossia01001]خانه[/tag] xāne |
[tag resources diglossia01002] خونه[/tag] xune |
Tehran | [tag resources diglossia01003]تهران[/tag] tehrān |
[tag resources diglossia01004]تهرون[/tag] te:run |
bread | [tag resources diglossia01005] نان[/tag] nān |
[tag resources diglossia01006]نون[/tag] nun |
that, it | [tag resources diglossia01007] آن[/tag] ān |
[tag resources diglossia01008] اون [/tag] un |
bow | [tag resources diglossia01009]کمان [/tag] kamān |
[tag resources diglossia01010]کمون [/tag] kamun |
belonging or pertaining to women, feminine | [tag resources diglossia01011] زنانه [/tag] zanāne |
[tag resources diglossia01012]زنونه [/tag] zanune; such as [tag resources diglossia01013] کفش زنونه [/tag] kafše zanune ‘women’s shoe(s)’ |
In a limited number of words /ā/ before the bilabial nasal /m/ also becomes /u/, such as:
bath | [tag resources diglossia01020]حمّام [/tag] hammām |
[tag resources diglossia01021]حمّوم [/tag] hamum |
finished, ended | [tag resources diglossia01022] تمام[/tag] tamām |
[tag resources diglossia01023]تموم [/tag] tamum |
to come | [tag resources diglossia01024]آمدن [/tag] āmadan |
[tag resources diglossia01025] اومدن[/tag] umadan |
cupping, phlebotomy | [tag resources diglossia01026] حجامت[/tag] hajāmat |
[tag resources diglossia01027]حجومت [/tag] hajumat |