Editing Languages of Iran (section)

== Language policy and planning of Iran ==
The current language policy of Iran is addressed in Chapter Two of the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran]] (Articles 15 & 16).<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Constitution |url=https://en.parliran.ir/eng/en/Constitution |website=Islamic Parliament of Iran |publisher=Parliran.ir |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027004409/https://en.parliran.ir/eng/en/Constitution |url-status=dead }}</ref> It asserts that the Persian language is the [[lingua franca]] of the Iranian nation and as such, required for the school system and for all official government communications. In addition, the constitution recognizes the [[Arabic]] language as the [[Arabic in Islam|language of Islam]], giving it formal status as the language of religion and regulating its spread within the Iranian national curriculum.<ref name=":3" />

Due to the nation's social and ethnic diversity,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://iranatlas.net/|title=Atlas of the languages of Iran|publisher=Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC) at [[Carleton University]], Ottawa, Canada, and [[Shahrekord University]], Iran. |editor=Erik Anonby |editor2=Mortaza Taheri-Ardali|display-editors=etal|date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ossetic-studies.org/icil7/data/uploads/abstracts/27%20Anonby%2C%20Taheri-Ardali.pdf|title=Linguistic diversity and language contact in Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari Province, Iran|work=Erik Anonby (Carleton & Bamberg) & Mortaza Taheri-Ardali (Shahrekord)}}</ref> the constitution also acknowledges and permits the use of minority languages in the mass media as well as within the schools, in order to teach minority-language literature. The minority languages of Iran do not receive formal status and are not officially regulated by the authorities.<ref name=":0">Riazi, Abdolmehdi. '''[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angel_Lin/publication/234705882_Decolonisation_Globalisation_Language-in-Education_Policy_and_Practice_New_Perspectives_on_Language_and_Education/links/0046353b491da6f274000000.pdf#page=117 The Four Language Stages in the History of Iran.]''' In: Martin, Peter W; Lin, Angel (Eds.). ''Decolonisation, Globalisation: Language-in-education Policy and Practice''. (Buffalo: Multilingual Matters, Ltd. 2005). pp. 98-114.</ref>

The first legislation which granted the Persian language its status was initiated by [[Qajar dynasty]] in 1906, as part of an electoral law that positioned it as the official language of the state of Iran, its government, its political institutions and its legal system. Over time, this enactment was followed by others, which eventually led to a monolingual policy by the Iranian regime.

Perceiving multilingualism as a threat to the nation's unity and territorial integrity, and seeing the need to restrict minority languages’ use and to advance the Persian language's hegemony, Iran's language policy consists of a non-translation outline as well: all government, administration and educational settings are obliged to use only Persian for any written communication. This applies to political institutions (i.e. the Iranian Parliament), official bureaucratic communication (forms, signage etc.) and schooling (all children from the age of six are exposed only to Persian as the language of teaching and learning and of textbooks within the public school system). In other words, the Iranian authorities hold that minorities need to learn the Iranian vernacular to an extent that will allow them to communicate with state institutions.<ref>Haddadian-Moghaddam, Esmaeil; Meylaerts, Reine. '''[https://www.academia.edu/8451057 What about Translation? Beyond "Persianization" as the Language Policy in Iran.]''' ''Iranian Studies'', Vol. 78, No. 6 (2015). pp. 851-870.</ref>

Among the institutions accountable for advancing Iranian Language Planning (e.g. Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science, Research and Technology) is the [[Academy of Persian Language and Literature]], which was established on 1935, under [[Reza Shah Pahlavi]]. Constantly seeking to revise and elaborate the nation's official language, this institute focuses on the linguistics of the Persian language and on the internal aspects of Language Planning, rather than on the use of minority languages within Iranian society. Other Language Planning aspects (e.g. sociolinguistic or functional literacy) have not been assigned to a formal institute and are currently handled free of any official master plan by the educational ministries.<ref name=":0" />