{"id":3310,"date":"2021-12-18T12:24:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T12:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitlocalturkey.com\/?p=3310"},"modified":"2024-02-27T11:34:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T11:34:48","slug":"turkish-vs-persian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visitlocalturkey.com\/turkish-vs-persian\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish vs Persian (Farsi) Language: Similarities and Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this article, I will explain the similarities and differences between Persian (Farsi) and Turkish and provide insights only a Turkish local would know.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My international friends usually think the Turkish language is somehow related to the Persian Language. By the way, Persian is also known as Farsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some also believe Turkish or Persian languages are different dialects of the same language. As a Turkish, I want to clarify this misconception because the reality is very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though centuries of cultural exchanges created many loanwords, Turkish and Persian are distinctly different languages.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persian and Turkish languages have different grammar structures, vocabulary, and sounds.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkish belongs to the Altaic and Turkic language groups, and Persian belongs to the Indo-European language group. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurdish people in Turkey speak Kurdish, which is similar and closely related to the Persian language. On the other hand, Azerbaijani people in Iran speak a language that is mutually intelligible with Turkish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persian vs. Turkish Languages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>Persian \/<\/strong> Farsi<\/strong> <\/strong><\/td>Turkish<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Language Family<\/strong><\/td>Indo-European and Indo-Iranian<\/td>Turkic and Altaic<\/td><\/tr>
Similar to<\/strong><\/td>Mutually Intelligible<\/strong> with Dari and Tajik
Closely related and have some degree of mutual intelligibility with<\/strong><\/strong> Zaza, Kurdish, <\/strong>Luri, Balochi, Pashto<\/td>		Similar to <\/strong>Azerbaijani
Closely related and have some degree of mutual intelligibility with<\/strong> <\/strong><\/strong>Turkmen, Uzbek, Uyghur, Tatar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz <\/td><\/tr>
Number of Speakers<\/strong><\/td>110 million Persian native speakers (native and non-native). Source<\/a><\/td>88 million Turkish native speakers. Source<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Similarities between Turkish and Persian <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turkish and Persian originated in different parts of the world, and they are not the same language or dialects of each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkish is a Turkic language belonging to the Altaic language family, whereas Persian is an Indo-Iranian language belonging to the Indo-European language family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkish and Persian languages have some loanwords from each other, but there is no similarity between their grammar and pronunciation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, some scholars propose Persian lost its typical grammatical features and grammatically became similar to Turkish due to cultural exchanges between Iranian and Turkic people. Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most loanwords in Persian languages are from Arabic and Turkish. Yet, even with the shared words, the understandability between Persian and Turkish is very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, around 1% of Turkish words have a Persian origin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for my personal experience, Turkish native speakers have near zero mutual intelligibility in Persian languages, but I can understand some words due to cultural exchanges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Azeri speakers, which constitute around %16-24 percent of the Iranian population<\/a>, enable Turkish speakers to communicate with Iranians easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will explain more about that below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.1 Turco-Persian Tradition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turkish people are descendants of Central Asian Turkic people and indigenous people of Anatolia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group that makes up over half the population of Iran and are indigenous to Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persians and Turks have different languages and cultural and ethnic roots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, it is undeniable that Persians and Turks have interacted many times in history and have blended more than most.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Mughal Empire that constructed the Taj Mahal was a Turkic Dynasty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Since the Middle Ages, Turkic Empires created and led by rulers of Turkic ancestry embraced governing traditions that are Persian and Iranian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Turkish dynasties used Persian as the language of the palace and as a language of literature. This fusion created a unique culture called Turco-Persian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safavid, Mughal, and (to some degree) Ottoman empires are examples of Turco-Persian tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mughal Empire, which dominated Iran and India, was a Turkic dynasty heavily influenced by Persian culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, their beautiful architectural creations like the Taj Mahal are a fusion of Islamic, Persian, Turkish, and Indian architectural elements. Source<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.2 Persian Influence in the Ottoman Empire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turkish scholars and the government used Ottoman Turkish in the Ottoman Empire between 1299 and 1922. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ottoman Turkish had around 80% Arabic and Persian loanwords. This led to Persian influence in the Turkish language, arts, and government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, unlike other Turkic dynasties, I believe that the Persian language was limited in the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mainly due to two factors. One of them was Ottoman Turkish was primarily used in government and academic circles, and the Turkish population continued to speak the ordinary Turkish language similar to modern Turkish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, unlike other Turkic dynasties, the Ottoman Empire was also influenced by other cultures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arabic, French, Italian, English, and Greek are the primary cultures that affected the Turkish language besides the Persian Language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yet, it should be noted that the Persian language in the Turkish language may be lessened after the reforms taken by the Turkish Republic around 1920-1930.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suggested Reading: Check on my guides Turkish vs Greek<\/a> and Turkish vs Arabic<\/a> Languages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Differences between Turkish and Persian<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After centuries of cultural exchanges, the Turkish and Persian languages have evolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, Turkish and Persian languages have very different paths of evolution, creating a fundamental barrier between languages that is very hard to break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Persian language is part of Indo-European Languages. On the other hand, Turkish and other Turkic languages were born and evolved in Central Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many theorize that Turkish is a part of Transeureasian Languages and has the same ancestral origin as Korean, Japanese, Siberian, and Finnish languages. Source<\/a> Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.1 Origins of the Persian Language<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Map of Indo-European Languages Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Indo-Iranian language is the largest and southeasternmost branch of the Indo-European language family. This branch has around 1.5 billion native speakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persian, with its 110 million native speakers, is one of the most spoken Indo-European Languages.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Iranian Languages are a sub-group of Indo-European Languages. Wiki<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

All Indo-Iranian languages, including Persian, are believed to have evolved from a proto-language about 5 thousand years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The maps below may help you understand the difference between the geographies of native speakers of Turkic languages and Iranian languages.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Languages in Indo-Iranian Language Family Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

2.2 Origins of the Turkish Language<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Turkic Languages and sub-branches of Turkic languages.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

All Turkic languages come from Proto-Turkic, and Turkish is about 3000 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ancient Turkic language evolved into Turkish, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Uyghur, Tatar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkish has its origins in Central Asia. Even then, Turkish had its unique alphabet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 4 main subgroups of Turkic Languages. These are,<\/p>\n\n\n\n