A Contrastive Study of Four Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between English and Persian

1. A Review of
A Contrastive Study of Four Cultural Differences in
Everyday
Conversation between English and Persian
By :
Akbar Afghari, Isfahan University, Iran
Amin Karimnia, Islamic Azad University Fasa Branch,
Iran
Review by :
Hadi Beigi, Islamic Azad University Shahreza Branch,
Iran

2.  culture refers to the entire way of life of a society, "the ways
of a people." The term 'culture' here refers to the total pattern
of beliefs, customs, institutions, objects, and techniques that
characterize the life of a human community.
 Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another,
that each culture is unique.
 As cultures are diverse, so languages are diverse.
 So it’s very important to study the cultural differences
between languages because geographical distance has been
greatly minimized as a result of the civil development of
mankind
 This paper is concerned with four cultural differences in
everyday conversation between English and Persian.
 greetings and farewells; terms of address; compliments and
praise; and other social amenities.

3. Greeting and farewell
Persian English
Salam - salamon aleikom Hello - Hello to you
Greetings that indicate the time of day
sobh be Xeir -asr be Xeir (not zohr be xeir
-bad az zohr be Xeir)
Good morning -Good afternoon -Good
evening (not good noon-good night)
Vaght be Xeir
meeting for the first time
Xoshvaghtam or Az ashenaee ba shoma
Xoshvaghtam (accompanied by body
language such as nodding, smiling and
shaking hands too )-(place their right
hands over their hearts and bow when
meeting someone for the first time )
I’m pleased to meet you –nice to meet
you-glad to meet you

4. Persian English
Kheili khosh amadid,
khoda negahdar, khoda
hafez, Zahmat nakeshid rah
ra baladam, hala tashreef
dashteed,
Good-bye , Bye-bye, See
you , It was nice meeting
you, It’s nice to have met
you,
Bazam be ma sar bezanid,
hala mimondid, aroom
berid, movazeb bashid, ba
deghat ranandegi konid.

5. Calling Addressed people Call by first name
English Persian
Family members
people meet for the first time
people of nearly the same age, but also of
different ages
a child calling a much older person
People of different social status
professors called by his students
people who work closely together

6. Examples
The audience English Persian
Occupation’s title Director Smith ,
Manager Jackson
Raees Karimnia ,
Modeer Khalaj
military terms
(it should be noted that in addressing military
officers in Persian and English the rank is used
and not the command or duties that he has been as
signed ) “Company Commander
Johnson
Captain Johnson , Sarvan Mohammadi
address in the teaching
profession
by his first name Mr. Karimnia , Mrs.
Mousavi
family structures (father
in law)
Mr. Smith , Bill ,
Granddad
amou , pedar
stranger or of a person
whose name we may not
know
Excuse me, Pardon me,
Hey , Hey you , clear
their throat loudly
Bebaxsheed, Ozr
meexam , Jenab, Agha ,
Hajji agha, Xanom ,
Hajji Xanom, Xahar,
Baradar,

7. Defination:
A compliment is a speech act which attributes credit to
someone other than the speaker, usually the person
addressed, for something good (possession,
characteristic, skill, etc.) which is positively valued by
the speaker and the hearer.

8.  Response to compliments there are
differences for American English and
Persian speakers. Americans tend to
accept the compliment while Persian
generally murmur some reply about not
being worthy of the praise.
 The communicative strategy and
frequency of compliments in Persian
differ fundamentally from those in
English

9. situation English Persian
minor favors Thank you, Please omitted
Replies to “Thank you” “Not at all, Don’t mention
it, You’re welcome
Xahesh meekonam,
Harfesh ham nazaneed,
Ghabeli nadasht
offering or urging another
person to be first in going
through a door or getting in
a car
After you, Here you are, Aval shoma-befarmayid
At the meal table Help yourself, take more of
the food
Az khodeton paziriyi konid
general term preceding a
request or interruption.
Excuse me Ozr meexam, Bebaxsheed,
showing concern Well done, Xaste nabasheed
Taarof
English Persian
a cultural phenomenon that consists of

10.  Learning a foreign language well means more than
merely mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words
and idioms. It means learning also to see the world as
native speakers of that language see it, learning the
ways in which their language reflects the ideas,
customs, and behavior of their society, learning to
understand their "language of the mind". Learning a
language, in fact, is inseparable from learning its
culture.
 Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one
another, that each culture is unique. As cultures are
diverse, so languages are diverse. Understanding is not
always easy. So it is very important to study the culture
differences between languages and the difference