“The
Persian language has never had a comprehensive etymology
dictionary,” Professor Garnik Asatrian, the head of the
Faculty of Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University,
said in a lecture he delivered at the Iranology
Foundation.
“Although
Persian is the richest of the Iranian languages, it
doesn’t enjoy a comprehensive etymology dictionary,”
he added.
He
noted that the two-volume dictionary will contain all
literal and colloquial words’ etymologies and if a
word’s etymology can not be found, its semantics will be
explained instead.
He
expressed hope that Iranian scholars would also
participate in the project.
He
elaborated on the history of Iranology in Armenia, saying,
“The faculty was established in 1918 and began its
activities in 1921. It was headed by Professor Hrachia
Acharian until 1932.
However,
studies regarding Iranian and Indo-European languages in
general faced many hurdles after Stalin came to power.
Acharian’s activities were so limited during this period
that his students had to visit him at his house. But
international studies found a new impetus after Stalin’s
death in 1953.”
According
to him, about 500 Armenian words have been derived from
Persian words which are no longer used in any Persian
dialect. Hence, the study of these words would be
beneficial.
