Letters

The function and properties of letters.
A letter is a symbol or character (phonogram) that represents sound (phoneme). Several letters can be combined to represent even more sounds (For example, the "k" sound can be made by "ck" or "ch"). Some letters have several sounds (some phonograms have several phonemes). Some phonemes can be represented by several different phonograms.

Different alphabets have different symbols or characters, but they all represent sound. Once you learn the sound (phoneme) to associate with the symbol, you can read a language written in a different script.

Alphabet systems vary. The key difference in English and Persian alphabets is found in their script (Persian is "semi-cursive") and capitalization (English has it, and uses it to make reading easier.)

• International Phonetic Association
• Alphabet Card
• Alphabet
• Buddha, Benz and Being: a Meditation on Vowels
• Vowels
• Transliteration Simplified
• Read Persian from right to left
• Semi-Cursive Script

International Phonetic Association

?بینالمللی

Letters • Phonemes • Transliteration •
by Rezwan on 04/04 at 11:46 PM
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You may be wondering why this site chooses not to use the International Phonetic Association (IPA)'s notation to transliterate Persian text.

Alphabet Card

كارت الفبا

Letters • Alphabet • Products •
by Rezwan on 12/16 at 01:39 AM
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Everything you need to know to start bonding with the Persian alphabet!  The alphabet cards are included in the magnet kits, but if you want extras to hand out to people and spread the Joy of Persian Letters, these are the best.  It’s amazing how much information we crammed onto a compact 8” x 6” card.  The complex mysteries of the beautiful Persian alphabet clarified just for you!

Alphabet

الفبا

Letters • Alphabet •
by Rezwan on 12/15 at 02:56 PM
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Are you familiar with the Persian alphabet?  No?  Then you will be happy to know that ajabanzabAn.com has a handy alphabet guide packed with tips to give you a quick overview of the many features and quirks of the Persian alphabet.  Aside from that, this website has a few more indepth articles on the alphabet that you can read through.  Let’s start with the alphabet as it is usually shown.  A list of the letters in detatched form:

Buddha, Benz and Being: a Meditation on Vowels

بت، بنز و بودن: تفكر سر مصوّت

Letters • Vowels •
by Rezwan on 12/15 at 01:51 AM
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Here is an excellent meditation to help you get in touch with Persian vowel sounds and their appearance in writing.  Just say this mantra over and over in Persian:  Wind was. The willow was.  The Buddha on the Benz was.  (Yeah, Persian word order is a bit different).  How to say it in Persian?  Let’s explore:

Vowels

مصوّت

Letters • Vowels •
by Rezwan on 12/15 at 01:12 AM
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Good news and bad news about Persian vowels, zir-o-zebar, and a Buddha with a benz.  All in one convenient post!

Transliteration Simplified

حرف نويسى، حرف نگارى - ساده

Letters • Transliteration •
by Rezwan on 12/14 at 06:21 PM
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"Transliteration" refers to writing the words of one language in the alphabet of another. This website uses a simplified form of transliteration.

Our method is simple, easy, practical, and works great for text messaging.

If you are looking for the approved International Phonetic Association transliteration methodology, we don't use it. Here's why.

This post assumes you are already familiar with Persian words and sounds and is just an overview of our transliteration system:

Read Persian from right to left

زبان فارسى از راست به چپ خوانده مى شود

Letters • Script • Words • Spelling • Grammar • Word Order • Computer Age • Type •
by Rezwan on 12/12 at 09:41 PM
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To help you visualize, the line below is “Read Persian from Right to Left” written from right to left:

Semi-Cursive Script

خط فارسى

Letters • Script •
by Rezwan on 12/11 at 10:07 PM
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You may notice a discrepancy between the letters in the alphabet and the letters in Persian words. That’s because the letters in the alphabet are always shown in detached form, while the letters within words are in different forms depending on where they are in the word.  This is what happens when you have a semi-cursive script.