NOURNEWS- It is negligence and simplification for someone to think that “Persian language” is just a language and noting more, or its value is only limited to its instrumental and communicative aspects. According to experts, the Persian language is a “super-language”; a system of words and signs that does not only have a communicative value, but first, carries the legacy of a historical civilization and cultural treasure, and secondly, which has created for its speakers a “bio-world” of moral and religious, and thirdly it has provided a single identity for a wide range of different ethnic groups. The Persian language is like the root of a tall tree, where many languages, dialects, and accents have grown and expanded on its stem and trunk and have reached maturity. Each of them has a separate shade and fruit, but they have been nourished by the strength of a single identity. This super language determines the nature of the broad identity prism of Iranians and gives unity to the ethnic and linguistic rainbow of the inhabitants of this cultural zone.
According to the estimation of linguists, there are approximately seven thousand language systems in the world, of which only one hundred languages have few or many speakers. The rest of these languages have either fallen into the abyss of complete silence or are marginalized as tribal and sub-languages and are finally isolated and in their weak state are waiting for their demise. From the said approximately one hundred current and common languages in the world, there are only a few that have a trans linguistic function and have become “super languages”. These super languages guarantee the preservation and strengthening of social and national identities. It is because of this Super language that in our own land, many ethnic and linguistic structures have been united and have strength under the banner of a coherent identity.
In the arena of global conflicts, identity conflicts have a special place and form a significant part of international competitions. Because of this reason, paying attention to the beauty and purity of the national language has been placed on the agenda of the policymakers and decision makers of the countries. Now, taking care of the national and native language system is not only a scientific and academic task, but rather, it has also become a part of the tasks of the governance systems, and the definition of “good governance” includes efforts for maintaining the purity and health of the national language. Super languages, including the Persian super language, are threatened from several aspects. The technological civilization and its new language, the domination of the globalization process, the desire of the modern discourse for cultural assimilation and ignoring abundance, are among the bottlenecks and entrances of this invasion, but apart from these theoretical foundations, there are more objective and detailed dangers for taking care of the national language, we must pay attention to these objective dangers:
First, the influx of unpleasant language that is processed in social networks and new media and replaces the original Persian lexical system in the form of new words and expressions.
Second, the penetration of foreign words that enter the Persian vocabulary recklessly and out of account in the process of globalization and facilitation of cultural communication and replace native words in the long run.
Third, unconscious entry of destructive syntactic structures that affect and sometimes disintegrate Persian grammar by taking from foreign languages.
Fourth, disruption in the correct teaching of Persian language in schools and universities in a way that makes young people unable to understand the literary and cultural heritage and disrupts the process of intergenerational cultural transfer.
Fifth, unwarranted interventions outside the framework of science and cultural standards in the field of Persian language education.
Sixth, the concentration of power-oriented political attitude towards the category of Persian language and its absolute change from a sociocultural issue to a strategic and geopolitical phenomenon.
Seventh, bureaucratization of administrative institutions such as the Academy of Persian Language and Literature or the Council for the Development of Persian Language and Literature and turning them into administrative and governmental centers.
These bottlenecks do not all have the same value and importance, but it is necessary to pay attention to all of them in order to preserve and maintain the purity and ability of the Persian language. However, for some reason, one or more factors among these above factors involve the collective mind of Iranians and cast a shadow over other factors.
The National Team of Persian Literature Faculties, the sensitivity of the academic community towards appointments and recruitments in higher education centers in general, is of compassion towards the institution of science and literature. Some criticisms mentioned in this context are not forced towards the scientific abilities of the chosen ones, but rather a strict demand towards the necessity of preserving the credibility and respecting the weight and scientific authority of the working professors, especially in the major universities. Dr. Yahya Mahdavi, the founder of the philosophy department at Tehran University, who always had an obsessive insistence to maintain the dignity of Tehran University as high as possible. It is quoted from him that Tehran University should be considered so respected and prestigious, and its students and professors should be chosen so rigorously and intelligently that whenever the word university comes into someone's mind, the first thing they think of must become Tehran University, and if someone mentions another university, the person must add its name to university to make his or her meaning clear. According to this great teacher, our planning, and management of Tehran University will be perfected when the name of the university is mentioned without a prefix or suffix, everyone will understand without explanation that the university means Tehran University!
Now, we have almost reached Professor Mahdavi's wish in attracting students. Entering the University of Tehran is only possible for a volunteer who successfully passes an extremely difficult and extremely competitive exam and enters this university with an excellent rank and score. But the question is, parallel to this justified rigor in recruiting students to attend Tehran University, are we also committed to the same level of accuracy and scientific rigor in recruiting professors and lecturers? In all these years, have we been able to cut off politics and orders in the composition of the faculty of the groups and block and blind the painful and unscientific shortcuts for membership in the recruitment and promotion process?
Also, when it comes to disciplines and areas such as literature, whose cultural continuity, identity stability, and national cohesion depend on their correct, scholarly, and methodical education, naturally, additional degrees of special obsessions are necessary. In a tangible metaphor, it can be claimed that Tehran University's Faculty of Literature is a national team of Persian writers and professors, who have been carefully selected from among countless researchers to convey the glory and sweetness of a proud literary and artistic history in the best and most professional way possible. It is far from fair not to admit that this consideration and care has been applied in many periods of contemporary history. The preservation and stability and purity of the “super language of Persian” depends on the scholarly education provided by the best, most creative and experienced professors of Persian language and literature, especially in reference and major universities. Any carefulness and even obsession and strictness in this arena will ultimately lead to the increase of Iran's power in the identity conflicts of the current chaotic world.
BY: Pooya Mirzaei
NOURNEWS