Farsi (iranian) class at local library? are they offering it in your town?

My girlfriend and i are signing up to take a 10 hour farsi class at the local library...
I wonder if this is a timely offering... and i wonder who will be teaching it?

is this an effort to have the public be more aware of what is being said by iranians in public places? (recruiting public spies?)

or is it just a coincidental timing?

or maybe an effort to expand understanding by a Iranian American group.

For those that are unfamiliar with Iran
It is primarily Shia Muslim, but has decent populations of other religions...
It was one of the more moderate nations regarding adobted western freedoms and culture.

many of the iranian Americans presently here, have been here since the British controlled Iran...

Have you considered that it might just be farsi class? If it were italian or french or chinese it would be no big deal, but because it's farsi it's international espionage? Give me a break, stop watchin' so much news and go find some culture.

Originally posted by LazarusTheLong
My girlfriend and i are signing up to take a 10 hour farsi class at the local library...
I wonder if this is a timely offering... and i wonder who will be teaching it?

is this an effort to have the public be more aware of what is being said by iranians in public places? (recruiting public spies?)

And you're going to understand iranians after 10 hours farsi class. Good Luck

I remember taking a russian class a few yrs ago and boy, after one full sem, I could not even say HELLO.

the funniest post ever

RESPECT

I don't think 10 hours of Farsi is enough for anyone to understand it enough that they can "be more aware of what is being said by iranians in public places"....not aware enough to recognize any threats, imo.

Mybe a "hello" and a "thank you"...the basics. Which is still good, it's better than nothing.

I think it's a good idea. I try to learn the basics for as many languages as I can.....sometimes knowing and showing that you can say hello or bye or whatever can make a good impression on someone. I also hate to be the "stupid American" whenever I go somewhere.

Lazarus could be onto something here. Not certainly, but potentially.
I think it could have a lot to do with where you are from.

If this isn't just your typical everyday Farsi class (come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone offering a typical everyday Farsi class outside of certain colleges, because lets face it, the odds that anyone will EVER speak Farsi to the average American are probably mind-boggling) but anyway, if its not JUST a Farsi class, then it's probably one of three things, in my humble opinion:

1. A push for cultural understanding by an advocacy group.

2. An exile group looking to get 2nd+ generation Iranian-Americans who have sort of lost touch or sympathetic non-Persians to take an interest, so that they can protest and vote and all that great stuff when its time for G-dub to make another Iraq out of Iran.

3. ??? Any of a host of extremely unlikely covert possibilities. Training unwitting linguists to be drafted later? Shopping for CIA recruits? Shopping for Iranian Intelligence recruits?

4. There is of course the strange, but not entirely unlikely possibility that somebody out there just wants to teach other people Farsi for no practical reason to speak of. I'm not completely closed to that option. You'd think that nobody would bother to hold (or attend) a curling class, but they're getting these people for the olympics from somewhere. Sometimes people just do stuff because they can.


Edit to add: If it's a 10 hour class, you'll find out what they're up to real fast. If they skip the grammar and go right to teaching you how to call for artillery... LEAVE. lol

[edit on 3-3-2006 by The Vagabond]

Laugh all you want...
beleive me... I did the same when i saw the class listed...

But... and this is why i posted it.

10 hours of Farsi wont go far... (it is supposed to advance very fast)
it is offered at a midwest library...

the most exotic language i have seen it offer so far was conversational spanish (which makes sense in this state)
but not anything foreign otherwise...

timing is suspicious... even without my tinfoil hat...
My thought was whether this is being offered in other states, or maybe on a national scale...
so check your library schedules, and post back...

I will update after this weekends class, to let you know what angle it seems to come from.

But honestly... I dont know how much i will learn in 10 hours, but I want to know what is said by various foreigners (spanish is next). I think that it is not only respectful, but smart... (and culturally expanding)

Farsi is also spoken in parts of Afghanistan. I think that there are other langauges spoken in Iran too no? Sounds like an interesting class.

so check your library schedules, and post back...

I'll keep an eye out for it. Who is the teacher? A native speaker? Are they part of an organization?

Do you live inan area where there is a large Farsi-speaking group?
I mean, if you live in Dearborn, Michigan, it would make a lot of sense. Learning basic words would be downright helpful.

Part of my concern is that there is no obvious reason why they would teach this here...

Not a noticable population of Iranians
Not offered at local schools universitys
and not something that i will be able to use very often, with exception of one Iranian restaurant (extremely good) that i am familiar with on the other side of town.

this is the buckle of the bible belt... really...

Actually I wasn't laughing at you Lazarus. I was fairly serious when I said

Originally posted by The Vagabond
(come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone offering a typical everyday Farsi class outside of certain colleges, because lets face it, the odds that anyone will EVER speak Farsi to the average American are probably mind-boggling)

Of the possibilities I put out, I think I like 2 the best. If you're not in an area where local Farsi-speaking populations might explain it, and you're not in one of those self-styled intellectual hubs of the universe where people just like to have classes on obscure things that they can't make practical use of, then it is remotely possible that an exile group, or just right wing Americans have the idea in their head that maybe they'll find supporters for a "free Iran" movement if they give sort of a token class that can make people feel some kind of minor connection to Persian culture.

Just to be on the safe side though, I would pay attention to what they teach you. If you're learning to say "Hi, can I please have some chelow kababs and please no egg on the rice", that's great. If you're learning to say "down with the mullahs" or "I'm out of ammo", then you might want to just go buy Speaking Farsi for Dummies and stay out of that class.

Well, the conspiracy angle on this thread has now worn thin officially...
But the education angle shows much promise.

After taking the class on Farsi on Sunday, I can say i get the gist...

It is offered by the father of a library employee (American Iranian) who happens to have been a school teacher in Iran. He offers it to the children of other iranian immigrants, so that children being raised over here, can still speak the "language of the homeland".

It actually wasn't a class that goes just a month, but had been going for some time, but use of the library requires it to be offered to the public.

In short, the teacher does not speak english that great, but can teach Farsi very well outside that. He seems to be a normal Americanized individual, with a respective cultural quality, and wise intellect.
His daughter comes in to help with any poor understandings of translation once in awhile. (which there was only one).

No terrorists here... just funloving american kids learning the language of one or both parents. The class was 6yr olds - 15yr olds... and us... (there is a doctor that comes sometimes also). There were only 8 people in the class total.
The kids loved the idea that they could teach us something... (it was also a trip to hear the kids talking as school kids do... "so and so likes so and so").... it was great fun... felt like i was 12 again...

I was intrigued before... but now I am just amazed that Farsi is as easy to pick up as it is.
I look forward to learning more.

Originally posted by Nygdan
Farsi is also spoken in parts of Afghanistan. I think that there are other langauges spoken in Iran too no? Sounds like an interesting class.

It is, but it's a different type of Farsi. In Afghanistan it is known as Dari, rather than Farsi. Luckily, I had a chance to learn both, and I would say that learning Dari first will greatly help you learn Iranian Farsi a lot quicker, but not the other way around.