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Semantic analysis of the words denoting the term "reason" in Persian

Dousti Niri Zukhre Mohammad-Ali

Postgraduate Student, Department of Russian Language and Literature, University of Tehran

1439813164, Iran, Tehran Province, Tehran, Karegar str., 1, of. Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature of Tehran University

druzh87@yandex.ru
Sheykhi Jolandan Nakhid

PhD in Philology

Assistant Professor, Department of Russian Language and Literature, University of Tehran

1439813164, Iran, Tehran region, Tehran, Karegar str., 1, Faculty of Foreign Languages of Tehran University

sheikhinahid@ut.ac.ir

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2023.7.43486

EDN:

TNAFKF

Received:

02-07-2023


Published:

04-08-2023


Abstract: The term "reason" refers not only to linguistics, but also to a number of other sciences, including philosophy and logic. In Russian and Persian there are different words denoting the cause. However, each of them has a specific shade of meaning that distinguishes it from the others. These words include: علت ( ellat), سبب ( sabab), and دلیل ( delilah), the reason, cause, etc. And there are also some cases when it is possible to replace these words, and in some cases it is impossible to replace them with each other. This work is devoted to the semantic properties of Persian words denoting the cause, as well as their relationship with similar Russian words. Here we briefly talk about the words that denote the term "reason" in Persian and their relationship, as well as the difference between them, and also compares them with Russian equivalents. This study will help Russian-speaking students who study Persian in understanding of different Persian words - synonyms, as well as help Russian and Iranian translators to choose an adequate words when translating texts from Russian into Persian and vice versa.


Keywords:

reason, Persian language, semantics, linguistics, footing, Russian language, synonym, causation, conditionality, implication

This article is automatically translated.

Both in Russian and Persian there are relatively many words that have the semantics of "reasons", but some of them are used more widely than other words. These words include: a (ellat), a (sabab), and a (dalil), reason, reason, occasion, etc. When analyzing the term cause, we also briefly talk about these words.

In both philosophical and logical dictionaries, the cause is represented as an event, a phenomenon that causes another (action, consequence). I. N. Kondakov's logical dictionary also speaks about the temporal relationship between cause and effect: "a cause is something that precedes another and causes it as a consequence." This dictionary also says that the knowledge of the causal connection of phenomena can help a person to set positive goals and prevent negative consequences of phenomena [1, p. 479]. The Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary 1983 combines the definition of cause and effect and presents them as "philosophical categories reflecting one of the forms of universal connection and interaction of phenomena." He considers the cause to be "a phenomenon whose action causes, determines, changes, produces or entails another phenomenon." [2, p. 531].

In the Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by S. I. Ozhegov, this word is presented in two meanings: "1. A phenomenon causing, conditioning another phenomenon. The reason for the rush is that there is not enough time. 2. The basis, the pretext for any action. Laugh for no reason" [3, p. 603].

Russian Russian linguistics, A. M. Amatov, referring to A. A. Potebnyu, writes that the word cause in Russian linguistics does not serve only as one word, but the Russian cause is the causative (nomagentis), the infliction (commission of an action), caused (committed, done); the reflection of the action on the subject is caused by the action of the subject [4, p. 5].

Negative connotation of the meaning of the word "cause"

Among the synonyms of the word "cause", you can see words that convey negative meanings. The dictionary of synonyms and antonyms of the modern Russian language gives the words "guilt, culprit, source" as a synonym for the word "cause" [5, p. 294].

"The concept of cause and causal relations is fundamental for the development of knowledge systems, formed under the pressure of anomalous facts. A person is looking for the causes of diseases and does not think about why he is healthy. The reasons seek to find out and eliminate. If we are talking about ensuring what is necessary to achieve positive goals, then we are not talking about the reasons, but about conditions: conditions are created, causes are eliminated. The verb to cause is combined with the designation of negative anomalous phenomena: harm (evil) is caused, and benefit (good) is brought.

The Russian word wine, along with its modern meaning, had the meaning of "cause". In the dictionary of V. I. Dahl, it stands in the first place and is interpreted as "the beginning, the reason. Source. An excuse, an excuse."

Such a negative meaning is inherent in words denoting the cause, not only in Russian, but also in other languages. The Greek word "cause" also meant guilt, responsibility for harm or evil. In philosophical and medical Greek, too, the word denoting the cause has a negative meaning. In addition, the root of the Latin word causa "cause" also means accusation.

To explain the reason often means to reduce an abnormal phenomenon to the norm or to discover something hitherto unknown (a new norm). No one asks why he arrived on time, but they may ask about the reason for being late. The latecomer himself is in a hurry to refer to extraordinary circumstances. Causelessness works for the accuser. The reason creates a mitigating circumstance [6, pp. 76-77]. According to Amatov, the reason is some kind of interference with the normal course of events [4, p. 8].

The same negative meaning is also carried by the Persian word (ellat), which is usually the first word that appears in the mind of a person-speaking person to denote the concept of cause. The word (ellat) denotes negative causes. In the explanatory dictionary of the Persian language Amid, we see words such as 1. illness, pain, suffering. 2. Preposition, 3. justification as the meaning of the word a ( (ellat) [7, p. 762].

" ".

(ellate omdeye in ta h rimh ? be bay?ne hoda gharbi h ? motevagef kardane m?shine jangie rustie bud )

The main reason for these sanctions, as the Western parties themselves admit, was to "stop the Russian military machine."

? ? ? .

(d?äñåò?íå á?êó gift h?ëå thehgig äàðá?ðåéå ellat VA àâ?ìëå Teror in íàì?éàíäå AST VA AZ ðåñ?íåh? õ?ñòå ò? hof Adso the Homan garmestani marbut BAA in h?äåñå ð? montaser naganand)

The Baku prosecutor, who is conducting investigations into the causes and factors of the deputy's murder, asked the media not to distribute non-documentary forecasts about this incident.

 In fact, the word "allat" is an Arabic word, the first meaning of which is disease. So we see among the Persian-speaking people in Iran that the disabled are called a (malul), which is considered a passive form of the word a (ellat). Also, the words (ellat) and (malul) are considered the main words that are accepted when expressing the concepts of cause and effect. That is, the Persian equivalent of the turnover "causal relations" is considered to be "@ ? " (rabete-ye ellat va maluli).

Words denoting the concept of causality in Russian and Persian

In addition to the word "reason" (ellat), which can be called the equivalent to the word reason, there are 2 more words in the Persian language that denote "reason": and "sabab". Less often the word is also used, and the word (delilah). All these words are borrowed from the Arabic language.

Although there are other words, such as (baes), (vasile), (mujeb), but the listed 3 words are considered the most popular.

The word a (sabab) has a more positive meaning along with the word a (ellat). Thus, it can be said that the word a (sabab) also has a broader meaning, which is the main word, which in Persian means the concept of a cause, i.e., a (ellat), since this word is also used when expressing a negative cause:

? .

(ball?éåòå sakht VA ãåéðåýíñ?íèå ïàí?häæóé?í gift îðóï? sabab the shoda ò? onh?äõ?éå beynalmilal of Nesbit øàð?éåòå mojud BAA BAA keshwarh?éå îðóï?è hîøä?ð YeshAndes)

The severe inhumane conditions of refugees in Europe led to the fact that international organizations warned European countries about the current situation.

? ? 1812 ? .

(ñàðá?ç?íå ýìïåð?òóðå ôàð?íñå á? tavada BAA çåìåñò?íå sahte Rosie á? goosney VA áèì?ðè the ruber of scodand VA or to ?ìåë sabab Chaudes ò? arteche napelon áîí?ï?ðò gift Octobre 1812 majbur BAA aghanashini the VA Chaudes the bedoun äàñò?âàðäå of masahashi tasmim BAA á?çãàøò begird)

Due to the harsh Russian winter, the forces of the French emperor faced famine and disease, and both factors were the reasons that forced Napoleon Bonaparte's army to retreat in October 1812 and decide to return without a certain achievement.

In the first example, it is possible to replace the word with the word (sabab) with the word (ellat), but in the second example it is impossible to replace it with this word.

The Persian word (sabab), which has an Arabic root, denotes both an occasion, a preposition, a means, a direction, an instrument, a path and an image [8, p. 648]. However, this word conveys both negative and positive causal meanings.

   ()

(bas begashtam ke beporsam sababe darde fer ? g, Mofti agl dar in masale l ? yagel bud.)

I searched a lot to ask someone the reason for the separation; the Mufti of the mind was not able to think about this question [9, p. 212]

   ()

(dos migoft ke fard? beda h am k?me delat; sababi s?z hod?y? ke passim?n nashavad)

Yesterday he said: "tomorrow I will fulfill your wish"; God grant (such a means) that he does not change his decision [9, p. 232]

?    ? ()

(?r?m o h?be hlge jah ?n r? sabab toi; z?n shod ken?re dide o del tekkg? h e to)

You are a contributing factor to the peace and sleep of all people in the world; therefore, I have placed you in my soul and eyes [9, p.418]

In the first sentence, the word "sabab" denotes the cause of an unfavorable event (separation), in the second case – a means, and in the third sentence it has the semantics of the cause of a favorable fact (rest and sleep of people). In the first sentence, you can replace the word with the word (sabab) with the word (ellat), but in the second and third sentences it is impossible to do this.

It should be noted that the Iranian ancient thinkers, religious scholars and sages, such as Mevlevi Rumi, named the cause as the "sabab", and the consequence as the "" (mosabbab) [10, p. 2]. Also P. Najafi and J. The Rahimians call the cause as the (sababs?z) and the consequence as the (sababpazir) [11, p. 26].

The Iranian linguist A. Shafai is convinced that the word (dalil) has a more extensive meaning than the word (sabab). In his opinion, the main meaning of the word "sabab" is the reason, motive, and the word "dalil" is the basis. Any of the actions (sabab) can also serve as actions (delilah), and there is no feedback. Shafai goes on to say that the (delilah) it may not lead to the consequence named in the main sentence. As an example, he cites 2 sentences [12, p. 475]:

.

(boland harf nazan bache bidar mishawad).

Don't speak loudly, the baby will wake up.

.

(boland harf nazan bache bidar mishawad).

The baby woke up because you were talking loudly.

The first sentence shows the connection of the (del?lat) (= implication), and the second sentence shows the (sababiat) (= causality). As the above examples show, there is such a semantic difference between the two concepts that an implicative sentence expresses the effect of an action in a conditional sentence, i.e. indicates the conditions under which the named consequence (potential, unreal) will take place, and a causal one indicates the cause of an already implemented consequence (real, real).

At the same time, in his Russian-Persian dictionary, G. A. Voskanyan immediately cites the word "foundation" as the Persian equivalent to the word "foundation" in the meaning of reason [13, p. 382]. Also in the Persian-Russian dictionary of Yu. A. Rubinchik, the word foundation is given as one of the equivalents to the word "reason" in the meaning of reason [14, p. 658].

The word is derived from the Arabic root (dalla), this root is also associated with the word (del?lat), which is considered the equivalent of implication, is also sometimes used in the meaning of reason, direction, argument, proof. This word expresses the meaning of motive, occasion. But it is not always possible to use this word in all sentences with the meaning of the reason, for example:

              ? ? ()

(be kuye eshg mane h bi dalile r? h gadam, kem an be hish nemudam sad e h temo nashod)

Do not start the path of love without a reliable guide, because I have made hundreds of attempts in my own way, but I have not achieved my goal. (Hafiz) [9, p. 172]

   ( )

(andarofti be ch? h e nd?ni, chon naibi besuye elm delil)

If you did not find a guide to knowledge, you would fall into the trap of illiteracy (Nasser Khosro) [15, p. 417]

Here we see that this word was used with the meaning of a leader. It also denotes values such as certificate, document, direction,

In addition, there are rare cases when the word (dalil) is used to express the meaning of the goal:

 

:

(íåò?íé?õó áàð?éå hAmla BAA felestin se Dalil ä?øò: ?ð?ì cardan ôàç?éå ä?õåëèå CE modehionesti, ìîã?áåëå á? mountainhh?éå ìîã?âåìàò, gostaresh Shahcancerh?)

Netanyahu had 3 goals in attacking Palestine: to calm the internal atmosphere of the Zionist regime, to confront resistance groups, and to expand settlements.

Also in the Russian language there is another word that calls this concept: foundation. The base is similar in lexical meaning to the Persian word.

.

(Rosie Adam ýòåì?äå ê?ìåë BAA TAhãèã?òå Mellie keshwarh? ð? Delilah äàðõ?ñò AZ øîð?éå amniote ñ?çì?íå melal áàð?éå àíäæ?ìå thehgig Dar house õàð?áê?ðè gift hut lulae Nordstrom áàé?í card)

Russia pointed to the lack of full confidence in the countries' national investigations as the basis for its appeal to the UN Security Council with a request to investigate the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

.

(Mackinder á? candidane â?ãåèàòå thehbits AZ har to gasmata h?ðòëàíäå Taksim Chaudes, gasmate Gardie ?í Yani ?ëì?í ð? áàð?éå áðèò?íè? õàòàðí?êòàð ä?íåñò ke albate äàë?éåëå jeddy áàð?éå ?í vojud ä?øò)

Having weighed the reality of the threat from both parts of the divided Heartland, Mackinder considered its western part, Germany, to be more dangerous for Britain, for which, of course, there were serious reasons.

In the first example, it is possible to replace the word a (delil) with the word A (ellat), but it is impossible to quote the word a (sabab) instead of the word a (delil). In the Russian translation of this sentence, the word "reason" can also be used:

.

(Rosie Adam ýòåì?äå ê?ìåë BAA TAhãèã?òå Mellie keshwarh? ð? slate äàðõ?ñò AZ øîð?éå amniote ñ?çì?íå melal áàð?éå àíäæ?ìå thehgig Dar house õàð?áê?ðè gift hut lulae Nordstrom áàé?í card)

Russia pointed to the lack of full confidence in the countries' national investigations as the reason for its appeal to the UN Security Council with a request to investigate the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

In the second example, it is impossible to replace the word (delilah) (bases) in the words of a (sabab) or a (ellat). And in the Russian sentence, it is also impossible to replace the word grounds with words such as reason.

Summing up what has been said, we can point out the following facts regarding the words denoting causality in the Persian language:

- In Persian, as in Russian, there are several words denoting causality.

- These different words may be similar in a number of semantic shades, but with some shades of their meaning they differ from each other, and although they can replace each other in a number of sentences, they cannot be replaced in some other sentences and contexts.

- The word "allat" is the main word in the Persian language, denoting causality. In most cases, this word has a negative connotation of meaning.

- The word "sabab" has a more positive meaning, but in some cases it means a "means" to achieve some goal

- The word (dalil) denotes the foundation. In some sentences, it can be replaced with the word a (ellat), but rarely when it has the same meaning as a (sabab). This word is also used in rare cases in the meaning of the goal.

References
1. Kondakov, I. N. (1975). Logical dictionary-reference book. Moscow, Russia: Nauka.
2. Ilyichev L. F., Fedoseev P. N., Kovalev S. M. & Panov V. G. (1983). Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow, Russia: Soviet Encyclopedia.
3. Ozhegov S. I. & Shvedova N. Yu. (1999). Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. 4th edition. Moscow, Russia.
4. Amatov A. M., (2010). Causality in linguistics as a reflection of the philosophical category of causality. Scientific departments. Humanities series, 12, 5-12.
5. Gavrilova A. S. (2014). Dictionary of synonyms and antonyms of the modern Russian language. Moscow, Russia: Adelant.
6. Arutyunova N. D. (1999). Language and the human world. 2nd edition. Moscow, Russia: Languages of Russian culture.
7. Amid H. (2022). Amid Dictionary. Tehran, Iran: Rah-e roshd.
8. Moin M. (2018). Moin Encyclopedic Dictionary. Tehran, Iran: Behzad.
9. Hafiz Shirazi. (2022). Collection of poems. Tehran, Iran: Payam Edalat.
10. Afzali B. & Golizade H. (2021). Sabab va mosabbab dar masnavie Moulavi [Cause and effect in the poetry of Rumi]. History of literary texts of the Eraki period, 2, 2-20.
11. Najafi P. & Rakhimian J. (2021). Sababiat dar zabane farsi (tahlili bar paye dasture naqsh va erja) [Causality in the Persian language (based on role and reference grammar)]. Journal of Grammar Research, 25-50.
12. Shafai A. (1984). Mabanie elmie dastoure zabane farsi [Scientific principles of Persian grammar]. Tehran, Iran: Novin.
13. Voskanyan. G.A. (2022). Russian-Persian Dictionary. Tehran, Iran: Farhang-e moaser.
14. Rubinchik. Yu.A. (2019). Persian-Russian dictionary in 2 volumes. Vol. 1. Moscow, Russia: Perska.
15. Nasir-Khosrow. (2022). Collection of poems. Tehran, Iran: Guyà Art and Literary House.

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The article "Semantic analysis of words denoting the term "reason" in the Persian language", proposed for publication in the journal "Litera", is undoubtedly relevant, due to the increasing interest in conducting comparative studies on the material of the Russian and Persian languages. The reviewed article examines the philosophical and linguistic understanding of the issue under consideration. It should be noted that there is a relatively small number of studies on this topic in Russian linguistics. The article is innovative, one of the first in Russian linguistics devoted to the study of such issues. The article presents a research methodology, the choice of which is quite adequate to the goals and objectives of the work. The author turns, among other things, to various methods to confirm the hypothesis put forward. The following research methods are used: logical-semantic analysis, hermeneutical and comparative methods. This work was done professionally, in compliance with the basic canons of scientific research. Theoretical inventions are supported by linguistic examples in Russian and Persian. However, the author does not provide data on the language corpus selected for the study. On what principles was the language material selected and how relevant is it in modern realities? The research was carried out in line with modern scientific approaches, the work consists of an introduction containing the formulation of the problem, the main part, traditionally beginning with a review of theoretical sources and scientific directions, a research and a final one, which presents the conclusions obtained by the author. It should be noted that the conclusions presented in the conclusion of the article do not fully reflect the conducted research. Conclusions need to be strengthened. The theoretical provisions are illustrated by textual material in Persian and Russian from the works under consideration, including accompanied by an author's translation (transcription). The bibliography of the article contains only 15 sources in Russian. We believe that turning to the research of foreign linguists would undoubtedly enrich the work. Unfortunately, the article does not contain references to fundamental works such as monographs, PhD and doctoral dissertations. In addition, when designing the bibliography, violations of the generally accepted GOST were revealed, namely, violation of the alphabetical principle of following sources. The comments made are not significant and do not detract from the overall positive impression of the reviewed work. The work is innovative, representing the author's vision of solving the issue under consideration and may have a logical continuation in further research. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of using its results in the teaching of university courses on the Persian language, as well as courses on interdisciplinary research on the relationship between language and society. The article will undoubtedly be useful to a wide range of people, philologists, undergraduates and graduate students of specialized universities. The article "Semantic analysis of the words denoting the term "reason" in the Persian language" can be recommended for publication in a scientific journal.