St. Clair-Tisdall W. Modern Persian Conversation-Grammar with Reading Lessons, English-Persian Vocabulary and Persian Letters

Julius Groos, 1902. — 406 p.Persian, the Italian of the East, has long been recognized as one of the most euphonious, expressive and important of Oriental languages. Unfortunately, however, to most Englishmen who have spent any time in India, Persian is known only in its antique form and pronunciation, which are still in large measure retained on the Afghan frontier and in other parts of India.The aim of this Volume is to provide the Student with a thoroughly practical and up-to-date Introduction to the study of the Modern Persian Language. Therefore everything obsolete has, whenever it could not be profitably omitted, been admitted only in such a manner as to shew
clearly the changes which have occurred in the language in process of time, and to warn the student against using too antiquated words and
employing modes of expression which are not now used, or are used in a different sense.The Reading Lessons subjoined at the end of this book are taken in part from the Sad Hikayat, and in part from the Journal of the late Shah's Third Visit to Europe. The former book is well known, in India especially; but its style is somewhat antiquated, and not a few of the words used in it are now obsolete. Therefore it was rewritten by Mirza Asadu'llah, with the object of bringing its style and phraseology into complete accord with the best modern standard. The first sixteen Stories are given as Exercises in the Grammar itself, in the usual printing type; and the rest, to the end of Story 34, are lithographed in the Naskh charakter in the Reading lessons. The style in which the Shah's Journal is composed, at once free and elegant, may be said to have now become the model for such compositions in Persian. The extracts from it are given in the
Nasta'liq character. Until the Student can read these Extracts freely, he should not attempt to read the Persian Letters contained in Appendix F. The Shikasteh hand in which they are for the most part written is somewhat difficult to decipher, and the Key should here be carefully consulted by the Learner, in order to test his success in solving the enigmas which will plentifully present themselves in this part of his course of study. These Letters are a selection from those actually received from various Persian friends. The variety of the handwriting has been carefully reproduced, but the necessity of obliterating certain proper names etc. has produced some erasures here and there in them, for which the reader's indulgence is requested. It will be noticed that the Reading Lessons are paged as is usual in Persian books, and begin at the end of the Volume.It is unnecessary to add to the bulk of this volume by appending a Persian-English Vocabulary, as Palmer's Smaller Persian-English Dictionary will supply all that the beginner will require. The advanced student will find Steingass' Persian Dictionary needful.