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Compensatory Lengthening: `ayn (glottal
stop) deletion in Spoken Persian |
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| Listen to the pairs of words below. In each pair, the same word is pronounced in Written/Formal style and in Spoken/Colloquial style Persian. In Written/Formal style, the letter `ayn is usually pronounced as a glottal stop. In Spoken/Colloquial style, the `ayn/glottal stop is usually replaced by a lengthening of the previous vowel. To be more precise, the `ayn/glottal stop is deleted and then the previous vowel is uttered for a slightly longer duration. Note that words are very rarely seen written in Persian the way they are actually pronounced. You will only see words "mis-spelled" without the `ayn in a very few cartoons or an occasional dialogue in a story or novel. You should avoid this usage while being aware of it. It is rarer than writing "gonna", for example in English. | |||
| 1 | apology | ||
| 1a | Written: ma`zerat (the `ayn is pronounced as a glottal stop) | معذرت | |
| 1b | Spoken: ma: zerat (the `ayn is deleted and replaced with a lengthened /a/) | مذرت | |
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| 2 | beginning | ||
| 2a | Written: shoru` (the `ayn is pronounced as a glottal stop) | شروع | |
| 2b | Spoken: shoru: (or even shuru: ) (the `ayn is deleted and replaced with a lengthened /u/) | شرو | |
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| 3 | ceremony | ||
| 3a | Written: ta`ārof (the `ayn is pronounced as a glottal stop) | تعارف | |
| 3b | Spoken: tā: rof (the `ayn is deleted and replaced with a lengthened /ā/) | تارف | |
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| 4 | removal of defect | ||
| 4a | Written: raf`-e naqs (the `ayn is pronounced as a glottal stop) | رفعِ نقص | |
| 4b | Spoken: ra:f-e naqs (the `ayn is deleted and replaced with a lengthened /a/) | رفِ نقص | |
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| 5 | interpretation | ||
| 5a | Written: ta`bir: (the `ayn is pronounced as a glottal stop) | تعبیر | |
| 5b | Spoken: ta: bir (the `ayn is deleted and replaced with a lengthened /a/) | تبیر | |
| This list is also available as a drag and drop exercise. | |||
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