Welcome to the FAQ
about the website
Frequently Asked Questions
 
1.  What is this website all about?

It is a Persian short-story by Houshang Morādi Kermāni with some extra features for intermediate or advanced level learners of Persian.  The story is one of the collection of "Majid stories" of which a boy named Majid is the hero.  Majid is very well known in Iran since most of these stories have appeared in a television series.  Mr. Morādi Kermāni and family generously contributed to the making of this website making it a one-of-a-kind electronic story and Persian language learning tool.

2. Does Mr. Morādi Kermāni have any idea just how grateful we Persian students are that such a famous and important author is personally taking interest in our plight making the story accessible to those who would like to be able to read it the most but lack the means to do so?

He does!  And he has written these few words just for you:

   The best thing we can do with a story is read it and if we like it, recommend it to others.          بهترین کاری که می‌شود با قصّه کرد، این است که آن را بخوانیم و اگر خوشمان آمد خواندنِ آن را به دیگران توصیه کنیم.

  
  The worst thing that one can do with a story is tell everything that's in the story and take away the pleasure of discovering that which is in it from the reader.     بدترین کاری که می‌توان با قصّه کرد این است که در باره‌اش همه چیز را بگوئیم و لذّتِ کشفِ چیزهائی که در آن است از خواننده بگیریم.

  
  Now with such a conviction, it would be a shame for me to go and say too much about Nāzem. (The Vice Principal)     حالا که این عقیده را دارم حیفم میاد که دربارهٔ قصّهٔ «ناظم» چیزهائی بگویم که شاید لازم نباشد.

  
  All I can say is that I wrote this story in 1975-1976.     فقط می‌توانم بگویم این قصّه را در سالِ ۱۳۵۴ نوشته‌ام. 

 
  Back then, I used to write memoirs in the form of short-stories for a family program they had on Iran Radio every Friday.     آنوقت‌ها هر پنجشنبه در برنامهٔ خانوادهٔ رادیو ایران، خاطراتی به صورتِ قصّه می‌نوشتم.

  
  The main character in them was a young man by the name of Majid who lived with his grandmother.     شخصیتِ اصلیِ آنها نوجوانی به نامِ مجید بود که با مادربزرگش زندگی می‌کرد.

  
  Most of these stories were taken from my own memories of growing up in Kermān.     بیشترِ این قصّه‌ها برگرفته از خاطراتِ نوجوانیِ خودم در کرمان بود.

  
  Later, I chose 38 of them to publish, one of them being Nāzem which was also made into a film by the Iranian director Kiyomars Pur-Ahmad and which was the subject of much acclaim.     بعدها از میانِ اینها ۳۸ قصّه برای چاپ در کتاب انتخاب کردم که یکی از آنها همین قصّهٔ «ناظم» هست که فیلمی هم کارگردانِ ایرانی به نامِ کیومرث پوراحمد از روی آن ساخت که بسیار موردِ توجّه قرار گرفت.

  
  I'm happy that the students of Persian language have themselves chosen Nāzem for this website.     خوشحالم که دانش‌آموزان زبان فارسی خودشان «ناظم» را برای این سایت انتخاب کرده‌اند.

  
  I want to dedicate the story Nāzem to them since they have worked hard to translate and present it on the website and have given so much scrupulous attention to detail.     دوست دارم قصّهٔ «ناظم» را به آنها تقدیم کنم چون برای ترجمه و ارائهٔ آن زحمتِ فراوان کشیده و دقّت و وسواس به خرج داده.

  
  I hope the readers and listeners of this story will enjoy it in Persian and English and I apologize if I didn't do a good job on the audio recording!     امیدوارم خوانندگان و شنوندگانِ این قصّه به زبان‌های فارسی و انگلیسی از آن لذّت ببرند و اگر نتوانستم خودم آن را خوب بخوانم، شرمندم!

  
  The best thing we can do with a story is read it.     بهترین کاری که می‌توان برای یک قصّه کرد این است که آن را بخوانم.

  
  Houshang Morādi Kermāni
18 August 2005
Tehran		     هوشنگ مرادی کرمانی
۲۷ مرداد ماه، ۱۳۸۴
تهران		  
 

3.  That is very inspiring but I really don't know how to begin.  How should I start?

Well, the author has done the hard part.  He has created a very absorbing and engaging story which everyone can relate to.  As he says, your job is to READ it.  Let it draw you in so that your thirst to know "what happens next" forces you to learn the Persian.  But be sure to experience each twist and turn IN PERSIAN first, no matter how slow you go.  Do not discount the importance of "the enjoyment factor" in mastering any new skill, especially learning a new language.  Do yourself the favor of resisting the temptation to consult the English translation too much.  Do not turn such a charming story into a mechanical exercise by relying too much on the supplementary aids.  Use them, don't abuse them.

4. Am I at the right level for this story?

At this time, the greatest need for Persian instructional materials is at the intermediate or advanced level and so our target audience is students who have had one or two years' worth of Persian.  If you are an absolute beginner, you may get frustrated here.  You may want to instead check out the free and supportive environment over at easypersian.com first and come back later when you "graduate" from there!

5.  Are there any access restrictions on this website?

Nope.  Everyone is welcome to use the website. 

6. What sort of features does it have?

*The webdevelopers have broken the story up into 17 manageable parts to make it a little easier on the language learners.

*The story has been read and recorded by the author himself. Listen to/Download the entire story or each part separately.

*Each part can be viewed in normal, everyday, natural handwriting as well as the computer font.

*Mouseover each and every word of the story and see the English translation and hear a recording of that word pronounced in isolation.

*Flashcards with Persian, English and Pronunciation for each word.

*Flashcards with idiomatic phrases in English and Persian.

*Flashcards with spoken vs. written styles of Persian.

*Slideshow of objects mentioned in the story.

*Video on the life of the author.

*Complete English translation.  View the entire translation or each part separately.

*Printer-friendly versions available in .doc, .pdf or .html formats.

7.  Why can't I see the Persian script? I see boxes in some places instead of letters.

Your computer is perhaps not able to handle unicode.  Persian (unlike Arabic) is a unicode-only language.  This website is 100% standards-compliant in utf-8 unicode and designed for a complete Persian unicode font.  For best results, WinXP & Internet Explorer 6 or Mac OS X with Firefox browser are recommended.

8.  I don't like a few things about the website.  Will you listen if I take the time to tell you about them?
We will be happier than you can imagine to get feedback of any kind.  Please email all your suggestions, questions and comments:  webmaster@persianintexas.org
 

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