Over 1,700 Persian words in Bosnian language: Professor

Bosnia has adopted over 1,700 words from the Persian language, which is known as the language of poetry in Bosnia, a professor says.

Persian words have been used in Bosnia since the Ottoman rule, having mostly entered the Bosnian language through Turkish, the public relations office of the Sa`di Foundation quoted Bosnian Professor of Persian language and literature at the University of Sarajevo Dr. Janita Khavrych as saying.

“In Bosnia, not only the students but the general public are interested in Persian language, as during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Persian language was commonly used in our country and was known as the language of poetry,” Khavrych said.

She went on to add that the Ottomans gathered in mosques and Sufi circles and read and interpreted Persian works, including those of ‘Golestan’ by Saadi Shirazi and ‘Baharestan’ by Jami as well as composed and wrote poems in Persian.

Today, interested students from various countries in the region have the opportunity to come to study the Persian language and literature at the University of Sarajevo, noted Khavrych, who is also the head of East Studies Department at the university.

“The Oriental Department of Sarajevo University began working since the beginning of its establishment in three fields of Persian language and literature, Arabic language and literature, as well as Turkish literature and formally started to accept students,” Khavrych stated.

The University of Sarajevo is the only center in Yugoslavia that offers Persian language and literature courses and formally teaches them at the university level.

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