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Welcome to ajabanzabAn! Here's our secret agenda:
Mission Statement
AjabanzabAn is dedicated to the preservation, currency and
advancement of Persian (a.k.a. Farsi) language and
culture with an Iranian+American twist.
Preliminary Goals
Coming soon: We itemize our goals and reveal the step by step plan to get all the Iranian-Americans (and other
types of Americans, heck: everyone!) out there blathering in Persian like bolbols (a.k.a. nightingales). Principles
We believe that underlying language is a universal urge to think, feel, experience and communicate, and that language is a bridge (not the
only one)
between the physical and mental and even spiritual realms (read some Rumi).
We believe logic is cool. So is poetry. So is nonsense. And all are expressed by language.
We believe you can get as fancy or as simple as you want with language.
We believe that good understanding of grammar and
the structure of language can help in
speaking it, but the goal is not to speak "right", if speaking "right" means speaking like
someone else. The goal is to find your own voice, so that
you can speak YOU-ish in either English or Persian. The words are tools and you use them to reveal your
soul, your vision, your uniqueness. It may be that no one has said anything the way you are about to. Don't let
anyone tell you "we don't say that/have that expression." You are a new creation. Go ahead and make a new
expression. The rest of us will be all, "what the heck?" But that's our problem!
We love enabling "free-thinking" in individuals. We believe there is some sort of universal logic underlying
all languages that transcends any specific language. But we also
recognize that the specific languages come to rest around the community of people that speak them. Thus we believe
that the urge to "get it right" with language isn't just about an individual expressing a thought with the
greatest accuracy, but
also about that individual belonging to a group and understanding its ways and customs. It's a way for the group
to pass on those ways and customs and ensure some kind of continuity between members of the group - a way
to make the individuals larger than the sum of them. We notice there is often tension between
wanting to fit in and wanting to innovate but the good thing is, the dialogue this generates is good for language,
individuals and community.
We believe in humor and whimsy.
We believe in the power of creation.
We believe in the good vibration.
We believe we need to sit down and think this section through a bit. Coming soon!
A more relevant "Principles of Fun with Language"
section.
And finally: we believe in getting simorq-anized.
Motivation - why we are doing this
Why we are doing this has a lot to do with who we are. This site was founded by
an Iranian+American who
suffered, as many Iranian+Americans do, from Assimilation Anxiety.
Well, OK, maybe I didn't suffer that much. In the States, everyone's a something-American, so they work hard to
make assimilation painless. You get the feeling you are being soothed and lulled out of your
identity that side of the hyphen.
Soon, it all feels vestigial (ornamental, for show).
Something you pull out from the attic
on certain holidays. Soon, the other national identity becomes an amusing
sidekick, a
parlor trick, a mild conversation
starter.
Meanwhile, in Iran, there
isn't much suffering either.
Although I did get called "two-veined" a lot (see right panel).
I was OK with this. And also with being told
I have an accent when I speak Persian (For the record, it's not
an accent. It's an affectation.
I talk funny in English as well: I have these mannerisms, see. You
can tell
by the way I write.)
In light of all this, um, anaesthetized suffering, I was nevertheless happy to do absolutely nothing. I was happy to let the Persian language and identity
just fade away.
In this, I am normal. They say A heritage language
is lost in the United States within three generations. I'm second generation on
my Father's side. Mom is American, so divide by two,
Aha! This means I'm the equivalent of 4th generation. No? Even
less incentive to keep up the Persian.
But then suddenly, my
sister had some children. And she, having read
the same statistic about the Heritage
language, wasn't going to take it
lying down. "Look, xAle Rezi," she said, "you're going to have to speak
Persian to your nephews and read them
cool Persian stories, and while you're
at it, could you write a few?"
Read? Write? Persian? Me?
"You're a writer, aren't you? You like language, don't you?
And yes, I've looked everywhere, there aren't nearly enough cool books and stuff
made for children in Persian. My adorable children are drawn to the English stuff just because there is so
much more selection, such a dazzling amount of lush children's books to choose from. The Persian stuff isn't quite
up to the same competitive level. We need to get cracking."
And she was very serious about this. We even drafted a proposal together to try
and get money from the US Government to promote Persian literacy in grades K-6. The brilliant strategy was to
leverage military spending
to finance the writing of children's books.
So, long story short, this project all started with a baby. It has to do with the arrival of the next generation, and the sudden realization
that we have to pass on some sort of useful legacy to
the adorable little tykes.
Vision - What will success look like?
When will we be able to say we've achieved what we set out to do? I suppose
it's when we notice everyone out there blathering in Persian like
bolbols. When Persian households
are filled with fun language related things -
games, stories, objects - that
compel activity along the lines of
speaking Persian, interacting with one another in Persian, laughing,
connecting, pondering (seriously and whimsically) in Persian,
having deep thoughts
and so forth. Oh, and also, when
even non-Iranians are drawn to the language - when Persian words,
phrases and concepts penetrate the mainstream. Yes, when the cool
catch phrases in the global community
have a Persian linguistic origin, we'll know we had an impact. Let's
start with "ajab." Yeah, OK, it's kind of Arabic, but it's so cool! Everyone should
be saying it. Arnold Schwarzzeneggar
should be saying "Ajab! I'm back."
OK, but I do see your point. You want a more "pure" Persian global catch phrase. Well, OK. Think about it. I
also love "extiAr dArid." Is that Arabic? You know, it's not so bad if it is. You think English is English? No!
English is really Latin and lots of other things.
OK, I've got it! We get the phrase "let's get simorqanized!" into pop culture.
Yay!
Anything else? If you have comments, suggestions or feedback, please contact
us!
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