Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

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Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby dicey » Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:11 pm

Any opinions on whether or not Tajikistan would be a good (intentionally left undefined) place to study (in terms of dialect, scripts, etc.)? University recommendations? Living in Dushanbe?
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby nowonmai » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:07 am

dicey wrote:Any opinions on whether or not Tajikistan would be a good (intentionally left undefined) place to study (in terms of dialect, scripts, etc.)? University recommendations? Living in Dushanbe?


University of Bournemouth is pretty fucking cushty I hear.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby RYP » Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:02 am

the ancient centers of Tajik learning are actually in Uzbekistan now. Bukhara, Samarkhand and Khiva.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby vagabond » Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:11 am

I'm sure Tajikistan would be fun (and more immersive) but you could also study Farsi in LA. UCLA Extension has classes (https://www.uclaextension.edu/pages/Cou ... ?Reg=U9503) and you can live in Tehrangeles and practice, if that's your wont.

Mentioned this on another thread but Arizona State also has programs for studying 'critical languages' and you might be able to get a scholarship. Depends on how formal you want to be.

http://cli.asu.edu/persian

This is assuming you're American, which I would, because otherwise why not go to Iran. Even as an American, if you're in grad school, you are able to go to Iran. It would also depend on your goals as well I would assume. I would assume the version of Farsi spoken in Tajikistan as well as Azerbaijan (if that's an option for you) are a bit different and more localized than that spoken in Iran.

Of course, you could always save some money, get pirated Rosetta Stone and other language learning tools and just travel Tajikistan for fun.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby Hotstepper » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:57 pm

I would go for it! I can't give you any real advice, I have just heard that a lot of US government people do it as they can't study in Iran.

Look around online. The key is probably not to go through programs like the one below unless you get a grant as they are probably expensive:

http://www.aceurasiaabroad.org/node/12

Instead, find out who runs the program in Dushanbe and get in touch with them directly.

Have you lived in the former Soviet Union before? That can be a challenge, especially Central Asia. I lived in Tashkent for a year, but I was learning Russian, not Uzbek or Farsi, because of career goals, etc.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby RYP » Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:18 pm

Tajikisan is preferably to Uzbekistan. There is also Iran and Afghanistan. Both fascinating places. Tajikistan has some beautiful scenery. But Iran is where the mother tongue should be learned.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline ... ehran.html
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby dicey » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:12 pm

Thank you all for the leads. Some really good stuff there. I stupidly failed to mention that I am trying to channel remaining GI Bill benefits into this endeavor (therefore, American, and unfortunately Iran is out of the question). In order to do this I have to find a program issuing a degree comparable to one obtainable in the states (I am considering UCLA and Berkeley, and will take a closer look at ASU soon, but studying overseas sounds like more fun). The GI Bill website shows American University of Central Asia in Bishkek as already approved, but it seems I am going to have to persuade another university, one with a good/decent “near east” program, to submit the necessary paperwork for me to take advantage of my remaining benefit. If you know of a program that might meet these requirements in Central Asia or Azerbaijan, or elsewhere, I am all ears.

I am also looking for formal programs in India, having called it home for years now. There must be something in Punjab (would like to avoid Delhi and Varanasi, if possible), but I haven't made much progress in that search. On that note, perhaps I can complicate things, derail my own thread a bit, and ask the board their opinions on which language offers the most door-opening potential in the near future, Farsi, Urdu, or Punjabi? Studying Urdu/Punjabi alongside Farsi would not be a stretch for me (I've got a bit of Urdu and Punjabi under my belt already) and a program that allowed for that and taking some easy filler classes would probably be ideal. This seems possible at Berkeley. Bottom line, I missed the boat for Afghanistan and want to get set up for gainful adventure/employment.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby vagabond » Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:49 pm

Are you looking for a full degree overseas or just study abroad opportunities?
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby dicey » Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:17 pm

Hey Vagabond, I need a full degree program. The more I think about this, the more I see Delhi as a good situation. Perhaps JNU (DU's language programs, from my skimming, seem to be at the north campus and if I have to be in Delhi I want to be further south). I could really use a break from India though.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby vagabond » Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:37 am

If you're going to grad school you should really get a grad degree here in the US if you ever want to be taken seriously stateside. For your Farsi skills, look at intensive language studies programs that offer a lot of study abroad. A friend of mine (PhD candidate to be exact) recently spent a year and a half in Istanbul doing research, learning modern and Ottoman Turkish, and taking part in the daily life over there. Yes, immersion is a great way to gain language skills but if you are spending money getting a grad degree you should do so (as an American, who might want to have a job in the US some day) getting one from an American or, if foreign, UK degree program that's fully accredited. If you just want language skills, just go Takikistan or whateverthefuckistan you want to gain those skills. I wouldn't burn a free ride like the GI Bill on a university in a 3rd world country. Go to UCLA (I'll buy you a beer even though I don't usually travel to the Westside), Berkeley, or ASU etc.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby vagabond » Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:28 pm

Oh yeah, you should just PM Fansy. From what I've gathered, this might be a subject area he can help you out in.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby thewalrus » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:17 am

dicey wrote:Any opinions on whether or not Tajikistan would be a good (intentionally left undefined) place to study (in terms of dialect, scripts, etc.)? University recommendations? Living in Dushanbe?


Tajikistan has a pretty weird accent and unusual slang as compared to Kabul standard Dari. It's even weirder and stranger than Iranian farsi, or what they speak in Herat, which is heavily Iranian farsi influenced and accented.

As a comparison: Tajikistan Persian is as different from Tehran-standard Farsi as... The Scottish English language & slang they speak in some small village in Scotland compared to the english they speak in Birmingham, Alabama.

Another thing to consider is that educated Tajiks generally write their language using Cyrillic script, you will only find the Persian character set used in religious settings and for poetry. The Russians forcibly converted the Tajiks to write in Cyrillic more than 80 years ago through the Russian education system. So you may learn Tajik-accented Persian language but you'll be screwed for reading or writing in Iranian-standard script unless you study in Iran itself or somewhere in Afghanistan.

If you want someplace relatively cheap & safe to study that is not in Iran itself I would recommend Herat.
Last edited by thewalrus on Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby thewalrus » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:18 am

RYP wrote:the ancient centers of Tajik learning are actually in Uzbekistan now. Bukhara, Samarkhand and Khiva.


yes but he wants to learn modern standard Persian (Farsi), not Uzbek. Uzbek is quite a different language than Persian and is written using Cyrillic script.
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby dicey » Wed Sep 04, 2013 1:58 am

Hey guys/gals, thanks again. Herat certainly wasn't on my radar until now. Definitely something to think about.

Vagabond, I wrapped up an MA (Religious Studies, U of Chicago) a couple of years ago and don't really see myself doing a PhD. I used to wonder who the hell would do a second BA, but now I find myself drifting that way. If it were in my budget I would just enroll in some sort of intensive language program and skip the other formalities (this would be ideal). Unfortunately that isn't possible at the moment. The little GI Bill money I have left changes the entire picture. As it is, I've learned over the years that I need, or at least benefit greatly from the structure of a formal environment and just traveling around....well, I'm too easily distracted!
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Re: Tajikistan for studying Farsi?

Postby nowonmai » Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:43 pm

alright, you're getting boring now
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