An Introduction to Persian (3rd Edition)

The reviews below make clear that different people have different reactions to this book. Having used a number of beginning textbooks of Persian over the years, here is another commentary that will hopefully put this book into perspective: It is a very complete and sophisticated handbook to the grammar of Persian, arranged in progressive lessons, but it does in many places demand a knowledge of English grammar (and grammatical terminology) that excees what most readers have these days. Frankly, I think that this book, and particularly the grammatical descriptions/explanations in it, would be very heavy going for a true beginner at Persian, especially someone working on his/her own without a teacher or class.For the true beginner, or the independent learner, I think the tried and true "Teach Yourself Modern Persian" by John Mace, (and NOT the new book by the same title written by Narguess Farzad) offers the easiest way to become aquainted with the Persian alphabet and language in easy stages in such a way that, even working on one's own, you can make good progress and get a good feel for the structure of the language.In my view, the Thackston book is a good follow-on book for someone who has already picked up the basics from Mace. Thackston's particular strength, in my opinion, is the way he has analyzed virtually all the aspects of the language and provided very clear-cut sample sentences, always in both Persian and English, to illustrate even the finest nuances of meaning. In this regard, it is outstanding, and the sentence-examples and their translations make the points sink in well even if the explanations are a bit abstruse in terms of grammatical teminology. But unless you already have a basic grasp of the fundamentals of Persian, you may not be able to benefit so much from Thackston.In short, I think Thackston's book is marvellous as a "follow-on" textbook for people who have already picked up a basic understanding of the way the language works, but is probably a bit heavy for those just starting out. I thus recommend it as your SECOND Persian book, and I think that if you approach it in this way you will value it very highly for the way it clarifies and solidifies what you have learned from Mace.

This book is an excellent introduction, and I found that, after studying it for about 2 hours a day, I was able to acquire basic conversational ability by the end of the book. He has a very accessible way of presenting elements of the language. Moreover, Thackston's appendices provide a useful and clear introduction to the particulars of Classical and colloquial usages, alongside texts from both Classical and modern authors. However, the book is only an introduction. What the Persian language gains in grammatical simplicity, it loses in stylistic complexity. If the learner wants to tackle the florid and roundabout prose of an Iranian newspaper editorial, Lambton is still the better option. While Lambton's grammar is not as user-friendly or conversational in its approach, its completion does guarrantee that the reader will be able to handle even the most baroque piece of Persian prose. Still, I would say Thackston is the best intorduction to spoken Persian availible.

For those who want to be able to read and write Persian, Thackston is essential. Wheeler M. Thackston has a masterful array of English grammatical terms at his disposal and he uses them wisely to give a precise understanding of Persian grammar. Each grammatical point is lavishly illustrated by several examples. The exercises at the end of each chapter sensibly use the vocabulary, and rigorously re-inforce the grammar, introduced in the same chapter. The technical language and grammatical approach may be off-putting for a beginner, but I managed to teach myself chapters 1 to 18 (out of a total of twenty-five)in about four months of constant study (a couple of hours most days)which allowed me to enter and subsequently complete a second year Persian course as part of an undergraduate degree. However, I was already familiar with the Arabic script and I did need a little English grammar book to explain the meaning of terms such as "predicate" and "copula".The tapes should help you to pronounce words correctly but I did not use them when I was teaching myself. The book does not feature many conversations to emulate and useful phrases appear in grammatical, but not necessarily subject, order. There are some useful thematic vocabulary sections such as food and clothing.If your primary objective is to speak Persian, look elsewhere. Completing this book will provide a platform from which the grammar necessary to read newspapers and simple literature is second nature. In addition, it should allow the spoken language to be rapidly acquired in a Persian speaking environment.

Really a great primer for just starting out in studying Persian. I'm not sure if this is o.k. to include, but this is the only text that the Middle Eastern Studies Department at U.C. Berkeley uses in their introductory level Persian language courses. What could be a better recommendation than that?

Out of about 6 books (one with tapes) teaching Persian, this ranks as the top. Thackston demonstrates an incredibly in-depth knowledge of the language and culture, and gives the detail needed for a student to "get the feel" necessary to utilize the power of Farsi/Persian. It is most-exquisitely approached from a foreign speaker's perspective - giving comfortable basics and progressing naturally through even the most intricate details.