Literary Interdisciplinary Research

The Pronunciation Presentation Pattern of Entries in Borhān-i Qāti’: Some Useful Implications Some Useful Implications

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Behrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari 1
Masoumeh Mehrabi 2

1 department of performing arts. Tehran University

2 Associate Professor, Department of Literature, I.A. Boroujerdi University

10.30465/lir.2025.49414.1894
Abstract
Among the authoritative dictionaries of Persian language, Borhān-i Qāti’ (lit. ‘Conclusive Proof’) is considered a turning point in the field of dictionary production, and  it provides attractive data for applied linguistics studies in the field of lexicography. Borhān-i Qāti’, compiled in India in the 17th century by Moḥammad-Ḥosayn Khalaf Tabrīzī, is remarkable in several respects, but one of its features which does not seem to have received a proper attention, is its method of providing the pronunciation of its entries. In this reference, almost half of the entries have been given a pronunciation based on analogy, in which the entry word is echoed with a second-well known one, having the same phonotactics (distribution and arrangement of vowels and consonants), and distribution of vowels, and prosody pattern. This method was successfully practiced later on in another important but unfinished reference: Āsaf al-Loghāt (1906-1921). In This article, this pattern of presenting pronunciation is introduced and explained. Also it   provides the readers with a list of the reference words which have been used to recognize the pronunciation of the other words, and the frequency of them will also be given and analyzed. The final list of this article presents those words which were believed to be “basic” or “core” by the compiler of Borhān-i Qāti’.

Keywords

Borhān-i Qāti&‌rsquo
lexicography
Persian
analogy
dictionary

Subjects

‘Āssi, M. (1400/2021). Modern Persian lexicography with a look at its historical background. Journal of Encyclopedia Research, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IHCS). Vol. 1, No. 1.
Crystal, D. (2008). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. (Sixth edition). Blackwell Publishing.
Dabirsiaghi, Mohammad. (1368/1989). Farhang-hā-ye Fārsi, Tehran: Spark Publishing
Da'i al-Islam, Seyyed Mohammad ‘Ali. (1362//1983).Farhang-e Nezām. Tehran: Faros. second edition .
Gentner, D.  (2005). ‘The Development of Relational Category Knowledge.’ Building Object Categories in Developmental Time. Eds. L. Gershkoff-Stowe, and D. H. Rakison. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 245–75.
Gentner, D and J. Colhoun. (2010).  ‘Analogical Processes in Human Thinking and Learning.’ On Thinking: Vol. 2. Towards a Theory of Thinking. Series Eds. A. von Mu¨ller, and E. Po¨ppel, Vol. Eds. B. Glatzeder, and V. Goel, A. von Mu¨ller. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.35–48.
 Gentner, D.  and J. Medina. (1998). ‘Similarity and the Development of Rules.’ Cognition 65: 263–97.
Gick, M. L. and K. J. Holyoak.  (1980). ‘Analogical Problem Solving.’ Cognitive Psychology 12: 306–55.
Goertel, R. A. (2013). Prosodic Elements to improve Pronunciation in English Language; a short report. Applied Research on English Language: 2(2) .
Joveyni, Muhammad. (1382 / 2003). Tārikh Jahāngoshā-ye Jovini, Edited by Mohammad Qazvini; Tehran: Jahān-e Ketāb.
Lewis, J. W. and Mees, I. M. (2017). A Brief Historical Overview of Pronunciations of English in Dictionaries. Linguistics.57.1. 343-356.
Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz and Salimian, Somayye. (1393/2014). Famous words in decisive argument and their writing style. Proceedings of the 9th International Meeting of the Association for the Promotion of Persian Language and Literature. jump Payam Noor university. 6325-6293.
Mansouri, Majid. (1389/2010). Correcting some distortions reading decisive evidence from Jahangiri dictionary. Farhang Nevisi. N. 4.
Mansouri, Majid. (1388/2009). "Thinking about some combinations of decisive proof". Literature study 9 :321-332.
Mansouri, Majid. (1390/2011). Analysis of two words and fictitious combination in Jahangiri and Borhān-i Qāti’ . Literary techniques (scientific-research) University of Esfahan. N. 1 .
Moʿīn, M. (1384/ 2005). Pordavud's note, Sa’id Nafisi's article entitled "About some Persian vocabulary", Tehran: Asātir.
Nooteboom, S. (1997). The Prosody of Speech: Melody and Rhythm, in W. Hardcastle & J. Laver, (Eds.), The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences, (pp. 640-673). Blackwell.
Soltani, A. (1386/2007 ). Examining the lexicography methods in some authentic Persian dictionaries. Nāme-ye Farhangestān. V. 2. N. 9. 
Tabrizi, Muhammad Hussein bin Khalaf. (1376/1998). Decisive proof (Borhān-i Qāti’), edited by Mohammad Moin, Tehran: Amir Kabir.
Literary Interdisciplinary Research
Volume 7, Issue 15 - Serial Number 15
September 2025
Pages 189-202

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us