Page:The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 (1910).djvu/30

xxiv Welsh or German ch, Spanish j or x, or modern Greek , never like k), z, zh (French j, or the z in “azure’’), s, sh, k, g (always hard, as in “garden”), gh (like modern Greek, something like the Northumbrian r or French r grasseyé), q (much harder and produced much more deeply in the throat than k), f, r (always trilled, as in Italian, and never affecting the quality or quantity of the preceding vowel, as in English), l, m, n, w (inclining to v when placed between two vowels), and y. Of these sounds the gutturals kh, gh and especially q are the only ones which present any difficulty to an Englishman, and a correct pronunciation of these is most important if it be desired to avoid some very grotesque and awkward confusions of words. It is best for one who cannot master the correct pronunciation of these letters to pronounce kh like h, not like k; and gh and q like hard g, as in “gold,” but these are, of course, only approximations. The aspiration of the h in the middle and at the end of words also needs attention.

Something must also be said concerning Persian names and titles, which are very confusing to foreigners. There are in Persia no surnames, and the number of names in general use is not very large, the commonest being those of the Prophet and the twelve Imáms; the same with a prefix or suffix indicating “servant of” (e.g. Ghulám ‘Alí, ‘Alí-qulí, Ḥusayn-qulí, Mahdi-qulí, etc.); the combination of ‘Abd (servant or slave) with one of the Names or Attributes of God (e.g. ‘Abdu’lláh, ‘Abdu’r-Raḥmán, ‘Abdu’l-Wahháb, etc.); some names of months (e.g. Ramaẓán, Ṣafar, Rajab, generally in combination with a name like ‘Alí, such as Rajab ‘Alí, Ṣafar ‘Alí); and some old Persian names, like Rustam, Isfandiyár, Bahrám, Bahman, etc. Thus the number of Persians bearing names like Muḥammad ‘Alí, ‘Alí Muḥammad, Muḥammad Ḥasan, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, etc., is so large that further distinction is essential, and this is effected partly by prefixing such titles as Ustá, Áqá, Mírzá (which, however, if it follows the name instead of preceding it, means “Prince”), Mullá, Sayyid, Ḥájji, Karbalá’i, Mashhadí, and the like; partly by adding after the name an epithet indicating the town to which the person in question belongs (as Iṣfahání, Shírazí, Yazdí) or the trade which he follows (as Kitáb-furúsh, “the