Redboy64
07-20-2012, 07:28 PM
Dr. Azita Afrashi (born 1972) is an Iranian linguist who is an assistant professor at the Linguistics Department, Center for Humanities and Cultural Studies. She has three books on language and semantics and many research articles in national and international journals to her credit. She is also on the board of directors at Iran's Linguistics Association, the Iranian Studies Association and also a founding member of Iran-India Center for Culture in Bareily, India. Afrashi who can speak English, French and Turkish was voted the best researcher of the year at the Center for Research on Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism in 2009.
In an interview with Maryam Ala Amjadi she discusses English language and learning foreign languages in Iran.
Below is the abridged version of the interview translated by the interviewer.
Maryam Ala Amjadi: How far can English language learning in Iran be traced back in history?
Azita Afrashi: Well, English became the language of science and education for Iranians after French. Previously, France and other French speaking countries were primary options for the educated or those who went abroad for further studies. It was much later that Iranians started learning English language as we see it today. Not only for Iranians but also for almost non-English speaking countries in the world, this language was brought to the limelight when methods of English teaching were systematized at the beginning of the 20th century with the advent of the structuralism school pioneered by .
Leonard Bloomfield in the United States. But I can say it was during the Pahlavi period (1925-1979) that Iranians became more familiar with English and before that French was popular.
MAA: Yes, some people still use the word, "Merci" (pronounced Mersi in Iran) when they want to say thank you. But what was the motivation back then for learning the English language?
AF: Reasons ranged from individual to social. First and foremost was education. Iranians love education and they attach a lot of importance to learning and going to the university. Then there was travelling and the desire to see other parts of the world. We must also not overlook the impact of translators whose good work enticed readers to seek out the original language texts and inspired them to learn more about that language. Also, trade could have been another incentive but English learned solely for that purpose would be formal and pedantic.
MAA: English came to some countries as a result of not very pleasant experiences such as colonialism, war and… Despite its ever increasing popularity, English is not really a common language in Iran. What is the reason behind this?
AF: I think you have to attribute that to the power of Persian language and its supremacy. Iran was invaded in different periods by various ethnicities speaking different languages like Arabic and Turkish. But the Persian language was never conquered by these languages. I think it is remarkable that despite their desire to learn languages, Iranians still want to preserve their mother tongue. This has its own advantages but perhaps sometimes aversion to a foreign language could become an obstacle in learning that language.
MAA: What challenges do Iranians face when they start learning English?
AF: Language structures of English and Persian are different. The most tangible difference is evident at the phonetics and lexical level. I think even at the highest level of proficiency, Iranians are still challenged when it comes to pronunciation. I don’t have a confident reason why this happens. The greatest challenge is to master the phonetic system of a language, know where to pause, where the stress falls and how deal with intonation. Also the most common complaint is about rules of the language. Sometimes English transcends rules and principles, particularly when it comes to formal and colloquial differences and this is a challenge to Iranians students who want learn by heart or memorize. Next levels are semantics and pragmatics.
MAA: Which fall mostly into the realm of culture.
AF: Yes. As someone who has been in the field of semantics for about 17 years, learning about the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_semantic_metalanguage) theory was a new chapter in my research. Previously, it was believed although all languages are different at the superficial level, they are similar in terms of semantics. But the NSM theory which originated in Australia, a multilingual country, proposed otherwise. The assumption is since the core of meaning is similar in all languages, then we should all be able to communicate but the present platform shows the contrary. The semantics of each language is not only different when it comes to culture as in what marriage means in one culture or the other but it can also become quite complicated when it comes to simple instances. For example, what we know as "hand" is not similarly defined in another language. Exactly to what extent is this part of the body called "hand"? Where does it become an "arm" for a non-English speaking person? Similarly, what we know as the concept "tree" may have many different designations peculiar to another culture (young tree, old tree, short tree). These are just simple instances and when you deal with emotions and cultural issues, these complications become tenfold. So, English and Persian are also different in terms of semantics and pragmatics.
In an interview with Maryam Ala Amjadi she discusses English language and learning foreign languages in Iran.
Below is the abridged version of the interview translated by the interviewer.
Maryam Ala Amjadi: How far can English language learning in Iran be traced back in history?
Azita Afrashi: Well, English became the language of science and education for Iranians after French. Previously, France and other French speaking countries were primary options for the educated or those who went abroad for further studies. It was much later that Iranians started learning English language as we see it today. Not only for Iranians but also for almost non-English speaking countries in the world, this language was brought to the limelight when methods of English teaching were systematized at the beginning of the 20th century with the advent of the structuralism school pioneered by .
Leonard Bloomfield in the United States. But I can say it was during the Pahlavi period (1925-1979) that Iranians became more familiar with English and before that French was popular.
MAA: Yes, some people still use the word, "Merci" (pronounced Mersi in Iran) when they want to say thank you. But what was the motivation back then for learning the English language?
AF: Reasons ranged from individual to social. First and foremost was education. Iranians love education and they attach a lot of importance to learning and going to the university. Then there was travelling and the desire to see other parts of the world. We must also not overlook the impact of translators whose good work enticed readers to seek out the original language texts and inspired them to learn more about that language. Also, trade could have been another incentive but English learned solely for that purpose would be formal and pedantic.
MAA: English came to some countries as a result of not very pleasant experiences such as colonialism, war and… Despite its ever increasing popularity, English is not really a common language in Iran. What is the reason behind this?
AF: I think you have to attribute that to the power of Persian language and its supremacy. Iran was invaded in different periods by various ethnicities speaking different languages like Arabic and Turkish. But the Persian language was never conquered by these languages. I think it is remarkable that despite their desire to learn languages, Iranians still want to preserve their mother tongue. This has its own advantages but perhaps sometimes aversion to a foreign language could become an obstacle in learning that language.
MAA: What challenges do Iranians face when they start learning English?
AF: Language structures of English and Persian are different. The most tangible difference is evident at the phonetics and lexical level. I think even at the highest level of proficiency, Iranians are still challenged when it comes to pronunciation. I don’t have a confident reason why this happens. The greatest challenge is to master the phonetic system of a language, know where to pause, where the stress falls and how deal with intonation. Also the most common complaint is about rules of the language. Sometimes English transcends rules and principles, particularly when it comes to formal and colloquial differences and this is a challenge to Iranians students who want learn by heart or memorize. Next levels are semantics and pragmatics.
MAA: Which fall mostly into the realm of culture.
AF: Yes. As someone who has been in the field of semantics for about 17 years, learning about the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_semantic_metalanguage) theory was a new chapter in my research. Previously, it was believed although all languages are different at the superficial level, they are similar in terms of semantics. But the NSM theory which originated in Australia, a multilingual country, proposed otherwise. The assumption is since the core of meaning is similar in all languages, then we should all be able to communicate but the present platform shows the contrary. The semantics of each language is not only different when it comes to culture as in what marriage means in one culture or the other but it can also become quite complicated when it comes to simple instances. For example, what we know as "hand" is not similarly defined in another language. Exactly to what extent is this part of the body called "hand"? Where does it become an "arm" for a non-English speaking person? Similarly, what we know as the concept "tree" may have many different designations peculiar to another culture (young tree, old tree, short tree). These are just simple instances and when you deal with emotions and cultural issues, these complications become tenfold. So, English and Persian are also different in terms of semantics and pragmatics.