An Introduction to Persian

by Wheeler M. Thackston

An Introduction to Persian is intended to serve as an introduction on the elementary level to the modern Persian language. Each lesson is provided with specific exercises and drills for the major grammatical and syntactical points introduced therein. Vocabulary are included at the end of each lesson are intended for active acquisition. Specialized supplementary vocabulary lists are also scattered throughout the book. In part two of the grammar, the outstanding differences between modern and classical usage are given. In part three the distinguishing features of ordinary colloquial Persian are given. A set of 9 audio CDs which helps in learning pronunciation is available for the book (ISBN 978-1-58814-043-2).

Genres: Language, Linguistics, Reference, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Wheeler M. Thackston, Jr. (born 1944) is an Orientalist and distinguished editor and translator of numerous Chaghatai, Arabic and Persian literary and historical sources.
Thackston is a graduate of Princeton's Oriental Studies department, where he was a member of Princeton's Colonial Club, and Harvard's Near Eastern Studies department (Ph.D., 1974), where he was Professor of the Practice of Persian and other Near Eastern Languages since 1972. He studied at Princeton under Martin Dickson and at Harvard with Annemarie Schimmel. Thackston retired from teaching at Harvard in 2007.

Reviews

[Anna C · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my profs worked with Thackston at Harvard and called him "the last of the Old School philologists." I'm an English major and English teacher and didn't know half the grammar terms in this book. Literally, the Persian is easier in this book than the English. That's not even a joke. I'd read Thackston's explanation of a grammatical concept, not get it, work through the Persian examples, get it, go back and work through the English again and *maybe* only then get what he was talking about.

Unsurprisingly everyone in my Persian study group quit, including the professors.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Thackston gets a bad rap in Persian language classrooms, but I spent about a year and a half learning Persian before I went to class with just this and the Lonely Planet Persian phrasebook, and I found a lot to like about both of them. It's true, however, that this one won't get you very far in terms of shooting the breeze with native speakers. But then, even a classroom doesn't really prepare you for that. In any case, if you're a beginner and don't have access to a classroom or a couple of really patient native speakers, download the Pimsleur Persian just as an intro to how the language sounds and then get Lonely Planet for grammar and stuff. If I did it, you can.

[Farrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

He knows what he's talking about.

[Jason G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very good book for a language that does not have a wide range of available textbooks. Thackston is very technical and heavy on the grammatical descriptions and this is not for everyone. I would say this is a great grammar to have if you are serious about learning Persian, but you will need other courses in addition to this one in order to learn to speak the language.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book for someone with a basic foundation in the Persian language seeking to learn the grammar.