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Unit 3 · A first sound preview · Read
A first sound preview
Listen to the contrasts before learning their shapes.
بَدa: short and brightبادā: long and deep
Short a and long ā
Listen to a versus ā: bad, which means bad, and bād, wind. ā is long and deep, as in “father”; a is short and bright, as in “cat”.
بَد
bad
باد
wind
خrough kh: air rubs, no buzzغ قgh: deep, with a buzz
Rough kh and deep gh
Listen to خ versus the Tehran غ/ق sound. خ is the rough kh of German “Bach”. In Tehran Persian غ and ق sound the same: cave and sugar cube begin alike. Persian does not borrow all Arabic sound distinctions just because some letters have Arabic origins.
خانه
house
غار
cave
قَند
sugar cube
گُلo: lips roundedگِلe: lips spread
One vowel can change the word
گُل, gol, is a flower; گِل, gel, is mud. In normal print both are گل, so the word and its context tell you which vowel to read.
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