Persian vs Farsi

[cjibhstcszjb]

Is there a difference? What would a native speaker prefer?

[linguoboy]

"Persian" is a broader term. "Farsi" is most commonly used in English for modern Iranian Persian in contradistinction to other variants, such as Dari or Tajiki.

[eskandar]

I disagree. The distinction is that "Persian" is the prescriptively correct English term and "Farsi" is what the language is called in Persian, as German is called "Deutsch" in German or French is called "Français" in French. Only in the last few decades has the term "Farsi" begun to be used in English, due to an influx of Persian-speaking immigrants to Anglophone countries who were largely unaware that "Persian" was the correct name for their language in English.

In Persian itself, "Farsi" has not historically referred just to the Persian of Iran, nor does it today. Afghans also call their variety of Persian "Farsi" and they use it interchangeably with "Dari", just as there are older Persian texts written within the borders of today's Iran that refer to the language as "Dari" and "Tajiki", though in today's Iran the latter two terms are not commonly used.

In short: "Persian" is used in English (eg. "Persian is the official language of Iran") whereas "Farsi" is used in Persian (eg. "farsi zaban-e rasmi-e iran ast"). Some people use the word "Farsi" when speaking English, but they are operating under a misunderstanding, as would be Italian immigrants calling their language "Italiano" when speaking English.

[linguoboy]

I disagree. The distinction is that "Persian" is the prescriptively correct English term and "Farsi" is what the language is called in Persian, as German is called "Deutsch" in German or French is called "Français" in French. Only in the last few decades has the term "Farsi" begun to be used in English, due to an influx of Persian-speaking immigrants to Anglophone countries who were largely unaware that "Persian" was the correct name for their language in English.

Whatever the origins of this usage, it's spread well beyond the limits of the immigrant community. I'm describing the usage that I encountre from American English-speakers who speak no Persian and have little if any contact with the Persian-speaking community. Most of them don't even know that Persian is commonly spoken elsewhere outside Iran so when they say, "She speaks Farsi" I can be almost 100% sure they're talking about a speaker of Iranian Persian.

[eskandar]

Unfortunately that is true. I think it's partly due to an obnoxious phenomenon whereby some people consider anything that sounds more exotic to have more cachet, or to somehow be more correct - thus also resulting in the common (less accurate) pronunciations of Beijing and Azerbaijan with a [ʒ] rather than [dʒ] , or the insufferable trend a decade back of Americans correcting each other on their pronunciations of the word "Iraq". (And, as long as I'm ranting, I'd like to include in this category those people who say "Southeast Asia" when referring to countries like India, Japan, or Korea, because they think it sounds smarter than "Asia" despite being inaccurate.)

[Yasna]

(And, as long as I'm ranting, I'd like to include in this category those people who say "Southeast Asia" when referring to countries like India, Japan, or Korea, because they think it sounds smarter than "Asia" despite being inaccurate.)

I'm glad I've never heard this one because I'm pretty sure I'd blow a fuse if someone said it in all seriousness.

[linguoboy]

Unfortunately that is true. I think it's partly due to an obnoxious phenomenon whereby some people consider anything that sounds more exotic to have more cachet, or to somehow be more correct - thus also resulting in the common (less accurate) pronunciations of Beijing and Azerbaijan with a [ʒ] rather than [dʒ] , or the insufferable trend a decade back of Americans correcting each other on their pronunciations of the word "Iraq".

The difference being is that Farsi at least seems to have originated with the usage of native speakers, unlike Bei[ʒ]ing et al. which fall into a more general category of hyperforeignisms. (Cf. [ʃ] for ch as in Chávez, bruschetta, or Chandigarh.)