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53 Farsi In English you say “Persian,” not “Farsi.” (My eighth-grade English teacher taught Farsi.) Arabs couldn’t pronounce the “P” in “Pars.” Persians should say it “Parsi,” not “Farsi.” Trope of letters for a bird on a wave In English looks like “bird/wave: dot/Farsi.” American tourist ad for Iran: Persian woman licking lips: “Got Farsi?” My Persian sucks. In translation, I sound Like this: “Me not speaking a lot Farsi.” “I took this Persian girl back home last night. She whispered in my ear some hot Farsi.” “Roger, please don’t mock my cousins’ fighting. It’s called family drama, not farce, see?” ...

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