THE RISE OF THE NEW PERSIAN LANGUAGE

New Persian literature, like that of many other countries, begins with poetry. Phonetically and grammatically, the degree of evolution from Old Persian to Middle Persian is considerable, the differences being comparable with the differences between Latin and French, for example. The emergence of the New Persian language and literature presents considerable historical problems. In an account passed down by the Fihrist, Ibn al-Muqaffac describes the linguistic situation in Iran at the end of the Sāsānian period. The Iranians, he says in effect, have five languages, including pahlavī, darī, pārsī, suryānī, and khūzī. The emergence of Persian literature involved the elevation of a widely distributed oral language, darī, to the rank of a language of general culture. Persian poetry is indebted both to Arabic literature and to the Iranian tradition. Since Persian poetry originated in courts for the glorification of Iranian princes, lyrical poetry was the first genre to appear.