Iranian Language Research Articles

Relationship between Multiple Intelligence, Reading Proficiency, and Implementing Motivational Strategies: A Study of Iranian Secondary Students

There exist many factors, affecting reading ability. Multiple intelligence and motivational strategies are among the factors that seem to make significant contribution to the reading process. Thus, the present study probed the probable significant relation between Iranian language learners' multiple intelligences and reading ability. The study also probed the effectiveness of implementing motivational strategies and language learners' reading ability. Finally, it probed the significant correlation with implementing certain motivational strategies and reading ability. The design of this study is correlational design since the relationship between dependent and independent variables were investigated through correlation coefficient. The participants were females in the final year of the secondary education level. Using treatment and the two questionnaires of motivational strategies and multiple intelligences, the findings demonstrated significant correlation between verbal/linguistic intelligence and reading ability as well as the significant correlation between implementing certain motivational strategies and reading ability. In addition, the essence of teaching motivational strategies was confirmed through the significant difference between the results of pretest and posttest as the result of teaching the participants certain motivational strategies by the researchers. The findings have pedagogical implications for language teachers to improve the reading ability of the students substantially. Keywords: Motivational strategies; reading ability; verbal intelligence; multiple intelligence

Ermanarichs arctoi gentes (Jordanes Getica, 116)

The well-knowm fragment from Jordanes Getica (116) containing the list of northern peoples allegedly conquered by the Gothic king Ermanarich is reconsidered taking into account the long history of studies, data of other late antique and early medieval sources and onomastics of Finno-Ugric, Iranian and North Caucasian languages. The list is considered to be originally a Gothic poetical memorandum similar to other Germanic thulas (as, e.g., in “Widsith”) introduced into Latin text and partly latinized. The beginning of the list is determined after the syntax of the sentence where it is included and later interpunction of manuscripts. Beginning with the Gothic word thiudos ‘peoples’ (Acc. pl.) the list is reconstructed as enumeration of ethnic groups and territories along the way from the Baltic over the Ladoga Lake to the upper Volga and down the Volga River up to its mouth and the North Caucasian steppe up to the Black Sea and, probably, Crimea. This must have been a way discovered by a Gothic expedition in the middle of the 4th c., when the Goths were very active in the Volga basin as it may be seen from the archaeological materials. All the names of the list are localized and interpreted with minimal emendations since they have either good parallels in historical sources or modern onomastics or may be understood as fragments of Gothic text. The results are shown on the map (Fig. 3).

Parvin Mahmoudveysi, Denise Bailey. The Gorani language of Zarda, a village of West Iran.

Both books are the results of the DoBeS project “Documentation of Gorani, an endangered language of West Iran” from 2007 to 2012. They represent descriptions of two similar dialects of a highly endangered language the authors call ‘Gorani’ (simply called ‘Kurdish’ by the speakers) and which show close connections to Hawrami and heavy influence from Sorani and so-called ‘Southern Kurdish’ (I. K. Fattah, Les dialectes kurdes meridionaux, 2000, (Acta Iranica 37)). The transcribed texts together ...

Parvin Mahmoudveysi, Denise Bailey, Ludwig Paul, and Geoffrey Haig. The Gorani language of Gawraǰū, a village of West Iran

Both books are the results of the DoBeS project “Documentation of Gorani, an endangered language of West Iran” from 2007 to 2012. They represent descriptions of two similar dialects of a highly endangered language the authors call ‘Gorani’ (simply called ‘Kurdish’ by the speakers) and which show close connections to Hawrami and heavy influence from Sorani and so-called ‘Southern Kurdish’ (I. K. Fattah, Les dialectes kurdes meridionaux, 2000, (Acta Iranica 37)). The transcribed texts together ...

Khowar

Khowar (ISO 639-3: khw) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by 200,000–300,000 (Decker 1992: 31–32; Bashir 2003: 843) people in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly North-West Frontier Province). The majority of the speakers are found in Chitral (a district and erstwhile princely state bordering Afghanistan, see Figure 1), where the language is used as a lingua franca, but there are also important pockets of speaker groups in adjacent areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Swat District as well as a considerable number of recent migrants to larger cities such as Peshawar and Rawalpindi (Decker 1992: 25–26). Its closest linguistic relative is Kalasha, a much smaller language spoken in a few villages in southern Chitral (Morgenstierne 1961: 138; Strand 1973: 302, 2001: 252). While Khowar has preserved a number of features (phonological, morphological as well as lexical) now lost in other Indo-Aryan languages of the surrounding Hindukush-Karakoram mountain region, it has, over time, incorporated a massive amount of lexical material from neighbouring or influential Iranian languages (Morgenstierne 1936) – and with it, new phonological distinctions. Certain features might also be attributable to formerly dominant languages (e.g. Turkic), or to linguistic substrates, either in the form of, or related to, the language isolate Burushaski, or other, now extinct, languages previously spoken in the area (Morgenstierne 1932: 48, 1947: 6; Bashir 2007: 208–214). There is relatively little dialectal variation among the speakers in Chitral itself, probably attributable to the relative recency of the present expansion of the language (Morgenstierne 1932: 50).

The Ergative System in Balochi from a Typological Perspective

For the Western Iranian languages the transition from the Old Iranian to the Middle-Iranian period is characterised by – among other things – the loss of word-final syllables. This loss had a far-reaching impact on the nominal and verbal systems since it caused the loss of categories which had been expressed by suffixes. The consequences include the emergence of the so-called ergative system. Although descriptions of the ergative construction in Balochi do exist, there is no treatment yet which takes into account the material of the different dialects. Furthermore, the ergative construction in Balochi has been compared with data from Old Iranian, but not with data from Middle Iranian languages, and the development from the Middle Iranian stage to the different types found in present-day Balochi has also not yet been studied. The aim of this paper is therefore to present the data from the Balochi dialects as far as they are known today and to update, complete (and in some points, correct) previous descriptions of the matter.

The place and role of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in the state system of Tajikistan

The paper suggests a description of the place occupied in Tajikistan by the largest and less populated territory of the republic, namely Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, inhabited mostly by relative to Tajiks Pamiri peoples that possess ethnic and confessional identity of their own and speak about a dozen of Easter Iranian languages. A part of the region is also inhabited by a small number of nomadic Kyrgyz clans. The role of the region and its population in the history, economic and political development of Tajikistan, especially in post-Soviet period, as well as its future potential and possible threats to its peoples are considered at some length.

Notes on the Nominal System of Bashkardi

AbstractThis article studies the nominal system and noun phrase of Bashkardi, a language of the Iranian family spoken in Southern Iran in the region of Bashakerd. Bashkardi is a very little studied language, and is in particular need of being documented because it is a minority language endangered by heavy influence from Persian. The article is based on recordings made by Ilya Gershevitch in 1956. In discussing the Bashkardi nominal system, I compare it to that of geographically or historically neighbouring languages such as Balochi, spoken nearby in the province (and also in the form of the Koroshi dialect spoken in Fars province to the west). From a historical perspective, Middle Persian and Parthian, the only two Western Iranian languages attested from Middle Iranian times, are adduced to elucidate the development of the Bashkardi nominal system. I argue that the nominal system of Bashkardi agrees with Persian and other Western Ir. languages in having lost the distinction between direct and oblique case (preserved in Kurmanji, Balochi, etc.), but that a trace of the oblique case might be present in the possessive marker‐ī. Like Middle Persian, Bashkardi employs adpositions to mark syntactic relations, but none of these is used in a systematic way as of yet.

Names of substances belonging to professional lexis in Khorezmian dialects borrowed from Iranian languages

Names of substances belonging to professional lexis in Khorezmian dialects borrowed from Iranian languages

Association Between Fatigue and Occupational Physical Trauma Among Male Iranian Workers in the Copper Extraction Industry

BACKGROUND: Fatigue may lead to several consequences and principally produces occupational physical trauma among the workforce. Objectives: This study was designed to explore the relationship between work-related physical trauma and fatigue in the copper extraction industry. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 male workers employed in the copper extraction industry in Kerman, Iran. The validated Persian version of the Piper Chronic Fatigue Scale was used for the data collection. An additional self-administrated questionnaire was prepared to obtain demographic and occupational data, including age, work experience, smoking, and history of physical trauma in the workplace. Results: The results showed that 28.5% of the participants had experienced work-related physical trauma during the past three years. Severe fatigue was most commonly reported on the subscale for life and emotions (14.79%). A higher rate of work-related fatigue was associated with physically strenuous activities and an inappropriate work place. The mean fatigue scores for subjects both with and without physical trauma experiences were 3.75 ± 0.98 and 2.86 ± 0.79, respectively (P = 0.005). Conclusions: General fatigue and its subscales had a significant relationship with workplace physical trauma among miners. Workplace physical trauma can be reduced by managing fatigue with different programs, including decreasing the workload, scheduling rest breaks at the facilities, and possibly providing welfare and entertainment opportunities for the workers. Keywords: Fatigue; Occupational Physical Trauma; Copper Extraction Industry; Iran Language: en

Iranian Women’s Strategies for Coping with Domestic Violence

BACKGROUND: Behavioral coping strategies may lead to either increased or reduced violence or associated stress, while also affecting psychological outcomes. To help abused Iranian women cope better with domestic violence and to provide better care for them, it is crucial to investigate their strategies for coping with domestic violence. Objectives: This qualitative study explores strategies used by Iranian women to cope with domestic violence. Materials and Methods: This study uses a qualitative design, based on a content analysis approach. The participants comprised 24 married women, selected from parks, health centers and two colleges located in Tehran, Iran. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to gather data. Results: During data analysis, a situation management theme emerged together with two categories, comprising the strategies of violence and the strategies of distress control. The results show that participants try to control violence and distress it causes by managing abusive situation. Conclusions: Unlike common stereotypes that reveal women to be submissive and passive in face of violence, results show that participants in this study cope with violence using consciousness and creativity, and by relying on available resources. An understanding of coping strategies used by abused women should help health staff to provide better care for such women and encourage them to use more effective strategies. Keywords: Coping; Strategies; Intimate Partner Violence; Domestic Violence; Wife Abuse; Iran Language: en

Workplace Violence Against Medical Students in Shiraz, Iran

BACKGROUND: Violent behavior in the workplace, or workplace violence (WPV), is considered a serious threat to the mental and physical health of employees. WPV ranges from verbal abuse to physical assaults and even sexual harassment. Objectives: Every medical student may be repeatedly exposed to violence in hospitals due to direct contact with the public and patients. This study investigates the prevalence of all types of WPV against medical students. Patients and Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on 275 medical students in the educational hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The survey questionnaire used was a modified version of a WPV questionnaire translated into Farsi. The questionnaire included demographic information and types of violence experienced including physical violence, verbal violence and sexual harassment. Standard descriptive statistics were used to report the frequency of events. The associations between categorical variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Results: Of 193 respondents, 24.9% reported experiencing physical violence, 85.5% reported being verbally threatened and 26.1% reported being sexually harassed. Males were more likely to be exposed to physical violence and females to sexual harassment. Patients' relatives were the most frequent perpetrators of physical and verbal violence while physician colleagues were the main source of sexual harassment Conclusions: As the emotionally stimulated companions of patients were found to be the most frequent perpetrators of physical and verbal violence, providing special training for medical students on how to deal with such incidents, increasing the number of nursery personnel and increasing the quantity and quality of hospital guards is necessary to minimize the prevalence of violence against medical students. Keywords: Workplace Violence; Medical Students; Sexual Harassment; Verbal Violence; Physical Violence; Iran Language: en

The Problems of Iranian Language Learners in Correctly Using German Prepositions

<p>Due to their various types and forms in different languages, prepositions are assumed as a difficult issue in teaching foreign languages. Thus the authors of the present article carried out a field test with the goal of analyzing the use of prepositions by elementary learners of German. The findings of the test confirm the problems students have in using German prepositions. This article is an attempt to compare Persian and German prepositions. The comparison reveals that prepositions in two languages are in no one-to-one relationship with each other. The findings of this research show that German and Persian prepositions are different on three levels: 1. Meaning 2. Grammatical function 3. Sentential position. Furthermore, German prepositions are so various in form and content that it is almost impossible for a learner to make correspondence between the prepositions of the two systems.</p>

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Learning Strategies among Iranian EFL Learners

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' emotional intelligence and their use of learning strategies. In so doing, one hundred English advanced learners of Iran Language Institute (ILI) at Shiraz branch (30 males and 70 females) were selected to participate in this study. The Bar-On (1980) Emotional Quotient Inventory questionnaire (EQ-I), and the Strategy Inventory for language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) were administered to determine the significance of the relationship between emotional intelligence and learning strategies. The results of correlation showed that there were positive significant relationships between some components of the two variables. The intra personal skill had positive correlations with memory strategies (r=.000, p<.05), cognitive strategies(r=.000, p<.05), metacognitive strategies(r=.006, p<.05), and social strategies(r=.02, p<.05).which showed that learners with intra personal skill use different learning strategies. There were also a positive correlation between social strategies with adaptability (r=.009, p<.05), and stress management (r=.004, p<.05). A positive correlation was also seen between memory strategies and stress management (r=.04, p<.05). The results of this study clearly depicts that among the emotional intelligence variables, intra personal skill got the highest relationship with components of learning strategies. This study has some pedagogical implications for researchers, teachers, policy makers, and educators.

The Phonology of Marvdashti Dialect

Phonology is one of several aspects of a natural language and it is the study of sound systems of languages. The purpose of this article is to study and describe the phonemic system of the dialect of Marvdashti. Marvdashti dialect belongs to the southwestern branch of New Iranian languages. The article deals with an inventory of Marvdashti dialect sounds and their features and it covers the phonological rules which specify how sounds interact with each other. This study first introduces and examines the consonants and vowels of Marvdashti dialect, and then explores phoneme arrangement, syllable structure and phonological processes such as assimilation, dissimilation, alteration, epenthesis, deletion and methathesis.

The Influence of Ḥāfiẓ on Muḥammad Taqī Bahār

Looking through the eyes of Persian culture, we see that man is not all noetic; he is not driven by intellect or consistent in his use of reason. On the contrary, he is most moved by emotion. A perfect example: Persian philosophy is most commonly uttered in both poetry and prose. This is, I believe, where the brilliance of Persians rests, in the beauty of its language and the expression of its culture. The endurance of Iranian literature and language over two and a half millennia is remarkable and thus deserving of both thorough research and an in-depth study. Here, I attempt to demonstrate the influence of Ḥāfiẓ, one of the greatest classical poets of Persia who ever lived, on the thoughts, poetic language, and philosophy of the gifted nineteenth-century Persian poet Muḥammad Taqī Bahār, otherwise known as Malik al-Shu‘arā . I will accomplish this feat through close readings of the parts of Ḥāfiẓ’s poems and juxtapose them with Bahār’s poems. My contention here, is to demonstrate any direct or indirect influence Ḥāfiẓ had on Bahār, and to also measure the extent of Ḥāfiẓ’s reception during Bahār’s period. With some modifications, the translations of Ḥāfiẓ’s ghazal s used herein follow those of Peter Avery, while other translations throughout the book are my own, unless otherwise stated. Keywords: Persian literature, languages, Persian contemporary and classical poetry, Hafiz, Styles and manners

Using Podcasts to Improve Second Language Comprehension in Iranian Language Classrooms

<p>The present study aims at investigating the influence of podcasts (POD) on language comprehension of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered to 60 male and female university students. The participants were considered as pre-intermediate learners and were divided into two groups (one experimental group and one control group). During the fifteen sessions of the treatment, thirty podcasts were presented to the two groups. The experimental group received just the audio file of the POD, and the control group received a different treatment which was the transcript file of the same audio podcast file of the experimental group. The results of the t-tests revealed that there was no significant difference in language comprehension scores across the posttest between two groups. Based on the interview results after the post-test, all of the participants (100%) agreed that both audio and the transcripts (written texts) were useful for them and claimed that it is a good method of improving language comprehension.</p>

Vocabulary Learning Strategy Use by Iranian EFL Learners across Proficiency Levels

<p>Given the importance of vocabulary as well as vocabulary learning strategies in the context of ELT, the present study sought to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies employed by Iranian intermediate and advanced learners. Several English language institutes in Yazd cooperated with the researchers by providing them with a list of intermediate to advanced learners. After arrangement with institutes’ administrators and getting students’ consent to participate in the study, students took a TOEFL and based on the obtained scores, 55 learners were chosen as intermediate and 50 as advanced students. Participants with TOEFL score range of 481-506 were classified as intermediate and those with TOEFL range of 507-600 were classified as advanced students (Phillips, 1991). Next, students completed VOLSI by choosing one of the options (1) never, (2) seldom, (3) sometimes, (4) often, and (5) always. The results of statistical analyses revealed that both advanced and intermediate language learners used mental linkages, memory strategies and auditory strategies as the most frequent vocabulary learning strategies respectively. On the other hand, both advanced and intermediate language learners used strategies for self-motivation, strategies involving authentic language, and strategies involving creative activities as the least frequent. It was also found that advanced and intermediate language learners were significantly different from each other in all categories of vocabulary learning strategies except strategies involving creative activities. Moreover, Iranian language learners with different levels of language proficiency used vocabulary learning strategies with varying frequency of use. </p>

Social Capitals and English Language Learning in an Iranian Language Institute

This study aimed to 1) explore the social capitals of students who had registered in the three branches of Khorasan Language Institute (KLI) to learn English, 2) establish their factorial validity and 3) explore their relationship with English language achievement. To this end the 40-item Social Capital Scale (SCS) developed by Khodadady and Alaee (2012) and validated with grade three senior high school students in Mashhad was modified and administered to 493 female English language learners (ELLs) in the KLI. The application of Principal Axis Factoring and Varimax with Kaiser Normalization to the collected data showed that the SCS consisted of seven factors, i.e., Social Attachment, Parental Supervision, Parental Expectation, Helpful Others, Social Contact, Religious Activities, and Parent Availability. When the SCS was correlated with the ELLs’ scores on oral and written examinations, no significant relationship could be found between social capitals and English language achievement. Out of seven factors, only Helpful Others correlated significantly but negatively with ELLs' English achievement. The results are discussed from both empirical and theoretical perspectives and suggestions are made for future research.

THREE TYPES OF COMMENTS ON CONTENT: TEACHER VS. PEER FEEDBACK

This study was conducted to examine the effect of three types of comments, i.e. imperatives, questions, and statements, with different communicative purposes, i.e. giving information and making a request, given by an ELT teacher and peers on students’ revision of their writings. Sixty-four female students, between 16 and 26 years old studying at high-intermediate level of English language proficiency in Iran Language Institute (ILI) participated in this quasi-experimental study. They constituted four intact classes, two of which received feedback on their writing from their teacher, and the other two received peer feedback. One hundred and twenty eight pairs of students’ drafts including 672 instances of revisions of their writings based on teacher or peer comments were collected and analyzed based on the rubric designed by Ferris (1997). It was found that questions and statements provided by the teacher with the purpose of making a request, and statements given by the peers with either one of communicative functions all bring about the best results in students’ writings. On the other hand, the analysis of the revisions made by the students showed that statements provided by the teacher for the purpose of giving information has the least positive effect on the students’ modifications. Surprisingly, questions provided by the teacher and peers with the purpose of giving information were found to have negative effects on the students’ writing.