A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
AND TRANSCRIPTION

The transliteration of Persian into Latin characters is a continual problem for scholars since no standardized system exists. Arabic transliteration modes, such as utilized by the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and other specialist journals have the virtue of representing an unambiguous transliteration of Arabic script in Latin letters but provide little in the way of commonsense representation of the sounds of Persian.

The present volume has a particular set of problems because it is a linguistic study, involving transcription of spoken Persian as it is pronounced, as well as an anthropological study, dealing with historical and cultural material, where Persian words are transliterated. The conventions for transcription and transliteration are different and occasionally inconsistent. Therefore in rendering Persian into Latin text I have chosen a middle way, using a set of conventions tailor-made for the requirements of this book. They are admittedly less than satisfactory. Both Iranologists and linguists will find the system too inexact, and other readers will doubtless find it pedantic.

I have chosen to use a single character œ to represent the Persian “short a” and let an unmarked “a” represent the Persian “long a.” Other works commonly represent both sounds with the same letter, with no diacritical mark to distinguish them, or represent “long a” as ā and leave “short a” unmarked. No distinction is made in the transliteration of Arabic ﺫ, ذ, ض, and ظ. All are transliterated as z. Arabic س, ص and ٽ are transliterated as s. Arabic ت and ط are transliterated as t. Arabic ھ and ح are transliterated as h. I have preserved one orthographic distinction throughout the work where text has been transliterated which has no basis in phonological realization. Arabic “ ‘æyn” (ع) is transliterated as “ ‘ ” (e.g., ‘ozr), whereas Arabic “hæmzeh” (hamzah) (ء) is transliterated as “ ’ ” (e.g., ra‘is) in non-phonological discussions. These two sounds are the same in modern Persian. In Chapter 5, which concerns phonology, only one orthographic symbol is used to represent both in phonemic and phonetic transcription: /’/ or [’]. A similar convention is used for Arabic “ghæyn” (غ) and “qaf” (ڧ). In phonetic transcription in Chapter 5, both are rendered, when appropriate, as [ġ]. “Qaf” has another phonetic transcription in certain cases, [q]. In other parts of the book, when “ghæyn” is transliterated, gh is used. “Qaf” is transliterated as q. Initial Arabic “alef” ( ﺍ ) is indicated only for its vowel quality and not as a hæmzeh (’) (e.g., ested‘a not ’ested‘a). A fuller discussion of the sound system of Persian is contained in Chapter 5, especially in Tables 1 and 2.

Many common words not normally rendered with diacritics, such as common place names, names of well-known historical and literary figures, and some literary works, are presented as they normally are in English, with standard English orthography when contained in discussions of Iranian history and culture (e.g., Pahlavi, not Pæhlævi). A superscript ^v is used in transliteration to indicate an unpronounced orthographic symbol preserved in modern Persian in some words, such as x^v astœn.