Dari Basic Course Semester 1 Study Notes (Lessons 1-4)

Program Administration and Course Context

  • Course Title and Edition: Dari Basic Course, Semester 1, Lessons 1–4. This is the Validation Edition published in June 2005 by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC).
  • Copyright and Permissions: Material used for nonprofit educational purposes includes photographs and text from various sources:
    • Photographers: Luke Powell, Rahmatullah Omid, Homayoun Seddiq, Wida Ahmad, Najib Rezai, Kiyoshi Inoue, Robert W. Kranz, Keith Cook, Mustafa Rasuli, John Patton, Dominic Medley, Jude Barrand, Gary W. Bowersox, Shahab Azim, Ellyn Cavanaugh, Rosemary Stasek, Kerry Saner, and Christina Manuel.
    • Institutions/Collections: American Geographical Society Library (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Saudi Aramco World / PADIA / Aramco Services Corporation (Thome Anderson), UNESCO, UNEP, and GlobalSecurity.org (John Pike).
    • Publications and Media: Management Sciences for Health (Moumina Dorgabekova), Omaid Weekly (Aseem Koshan), Afghan-Iranian Yellow Pages (Ryan Azimi), Afghan Yellow Pages (Nick Noori), Northern California Iranian Yellow Pages (Shahbaz Taheri), TASVIR Persian American Yellow Pages (Ali Parvin), Afghan Yellow Pages of California (Assad Manely), and Dard-e-Dil-e Afghan (Serajuddin Wahaj).
    • Government/Public Domain: US Department of Defense (defenselink.mil), US Marine Corps (usmc.mil), US Navy (navy.mil), DoD Media (dodmedia.osd.mil), DefendAmerica.mil, and USAID.

Daily and Weekly Instructional Cycle

  • Daily Schedule (0755–15300755 \text{--} 1530):
    • 07550755: Homework is checked.
    • 0755–0845 (Period 1)0755 \text{--} 0845 \text{ (Period 1)}: Narrative models are presented with a focus on formal grammar.
    • 0855–0945 (Period 2)0855 \text{--} 0945 \text{ (Period 2)}: Narrative variations provide practice with related vocabulary.
    • 1000–1050 (Period 3)1000 \text{--} 1050 \text{ (Period 3)}: Exchange models focus on conversational forms.
    • 1100–1150 (Period 4)1100 \text{--} 1150 \text{ (Period 4)}: Exchange variations involve further vocabulary practice.
    • 1300–13301300 \text{--} 1330: Special assistance sessions.
    • 1340–1430 (Period 5)1340 \text{--} 1430 \text{ (Period 5)}: Extended practice based on lesson models.
    • 1440–1530 (Period 6)1440 \text{--} 1530 \text{ (Period 6)}: Analysis of authentic material and quiz feedback.
  • Weekly Milestones:
    • Monday through Thursday: Follow the structured period sequence.
    • Friday: Includes homework turn-in, a weekly written review quiz (0755–08450755 \text{--} 0845), an oral review quiz (0855–09450855 \text{--} 0945), culture hour (1340–14301340 \text{--} 1430), and a preview of the upcoming lesson.

Instructional Methodology and Assessment

  • Basic Unit of Learning: Each day consists of one narrative and one set of exchanges. Narratives serve as the vehicle for formal grammar, while exchanges are verbatim transcripts of conversational Dari.
  • Language Acquisition Tools:
    • Three-Way Grids: Used for narratives to link grammar feature names, sounds, and Dari script. For exchanges, they link sounds, Dari script, and English meaning.
    • Transliteration: Capturing syllable sounds in English spelling is emphasized in early lessons before transitioning to target language script (transcription).
    • Authentic Texts: These may include tickets, menus, or announcements from Afghanistan. They often contain non-standard constructions, spelling errors, or English/Persian loanwords and are not meant for translation but for lexical/structural discovery.
  • Assessment Framework:
    • Daily Homework: Checked but not graded; involve reading English notes and transliterating vocabulary.
    • Weekly Review Tasks: Graded; involve transcribing scrambled recorded dialogue into a logical sequence and converting it to narrative form.
    • Exams: Weekly oral/written quizzes, midterms, and finals testing listening, reading, speaking, and job-related skills.

Lesson 1: People and Places

  • Foundational Sentence Structure: Dari follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. The verb always appears at the end.
    • Example: .است نازی اين (/een naa-zee ast/) - "This is Nazi."
  • The Verb "To Be" (بودنبودن - /boo-dan/): This irregular verb uses the stem /AST/ in formal Dari and /HAST/ for physical location or "there is."
    • Conjugations:
      • 1st1^{st} Person Sing.: استم من / هستم من ("I am")
      • 2nd2^{nd} Person Sing. (Informal): استی تو / هستی تو ("You are")
      • 3rd3^{rd} Person Sing.: است او / هست او ("He/She/It is")
      • 1st1^{st} Person Plur.: استيم ما / هستيم ما ("We are")
      • 2nd2^{nd} Person Plur. (Formal): استيد شما / هستيد شما ("You are")
      • 3rd3^{rd} Person Plur.: استند آنها / هستند آنها ("They are")
  • Formal vs. Conversational "To Be":
    • 3rd3^{rd} Person plural استند/هستند (/aan-haa has-tand/) becomes استن/هستن (/oo-naa has-tan/).
    • 2nd2^{nd} Person plural استيد/هستيد (/shu-maa has-teyd/) becomes استين/هستين (/shu-maa has-teyn/).
    • When the preceding word ends in a vowel, the initial 'alef' of the verb is dropped (e.g., کی است becomes کيست /keest/).
  • Personal Pronouns:
    • I: من /man/ (conversational: مه /ma/)
    • You (Informal/Sing.): تو /too/
    • He/She/It: او /o/ (conversational: /oo/)
    • We: ما /maa/
    • You (Formal/Plur.): شما /shu-maa/
    • They: آنها /aan-haa/ (conversational: اونا /oo-naa/ or اونها /oon-haa/)
  • Negation: The stem نيست (/NEYST/) is the negative form for both /AST/ and /HAST/.
    • Example: نيستم من (/man NEYST-am/) - "I am not."
  • Interrogatives: Formed by rising intonation at the end. Question words like کجا (/ku-jaa/ - "where") and کی (/kee/ - "who") typically follow the subject and precede the verb.

Lesson 2: Afghans and Their Families

  • The Verb "To Have" (داشتنداشتن - /daash-tan/): An irregular verb that does not take the present tense prefix می (/mey/).
    • Present Stem: دار (/daar/).
    • Formal vs. Conversational Forms:
      • "I have": دارم (/daa-ram/) vs. دارُم (/daa-rum/).
      • "He/She/It has": دارد (/daa-rad/) vs. داره (/daa-ra/).
      • "They have": دارند (/daa-rand/) vs. دارن (/daa-ran/).
  • Compound Verbs: Formed by combining a noun with a helping verb like کردن (/kar-dan/ - "to do").
    • Example: کردن زندگی (/zen-da-gee kar-dan/) - "to live."
    • Only the second part (the helping verb) is conjugated: ميکنم زندگی من ("I live").
  • Ezafat (Noun Connector): Used to show possession or relationship (equivalent to 'of' or apostrophe 's').
    • If the first noun ends in a consonant, /e/ is pronounced but not written (e.g., شريف کتاب - /ke-taa-be sha-reef/).
    • If it ends in a vowel, /ye/ is added and written as ی or ء (e.g., ناهيد کاکای - /kaa-kaa-ye naa-heed/).
  • Plurals: Formed with suffixes like ها (/haa/), ان (/aan/), or جات (/jaat/). Nouns following a numeral do not take a plural suffix (e.g., دو خواهر - "two sisters").
  • Adjective Placement: Adjectives follow the nouns they modify, linked by the /e/ or /ye/ sound.
    • Example: فاميل کلان (/faa-mee-le ka-laan/) - "big family."

Lesson 3: Afghans' Daily Life

  • Present Progressive Tense: In Dari, the simple present tense is used to express actions currently in progress. There is no separate progressive form.
  • Regular Verb Conjugation Formula:
    • Prefix می /mey/ + Present stem of the verb + Personal ending\text{Prefix می /mey/ + Present stem of the verb + Personal ending}
    • Example (To cook - پختن - /pukh-tan/): پزم می غذا من (/man ghe-zaa mey-pa-zam/) - "I cook food" or "I am cooking food."
  • Verb Stems and Infinitives:
    • Go: رفتن (/raf-tan/); Stem: رَو (/raw/).
    • Eat: خوردن (/khor-dan/); Stem: خور (/khor/).
    • Pray: نمازخواندن (/na-maaz khwaan-dan/); Stem: خوان (/khwaan/).
  • Idioms: سرکار (/sa-re kaar/) means "at work" when used with the verb 'to be' and "to work" when used with the verb 'to go.'
  • Conversational Deletions: Prepositions such as به (/ba/ - "to") and در (/dar/ - "at/in") are frequently dropped in spoken Dari.
    • Formal: .بازارميروم به من
    • Conversational: .بازارميرم

Lesson 4: Mealtime in Afghanistan

  • Imperative Verb Forms: Formed by adding the syllable ِب (/be/) to the present stem.
    • Example: !بنوش (/be-nosh/) - "Drink!" (addressing one person informally).
    • Formal/Plural: !بنوشيد (/be-no-sheyd/). Conversational: !بنوشين (/be-no-sheyn/).
    • Negative Imperative: Syllable ِب (/be/) is replaced with َن (/na/) (e.g., !ننوش /na-nosh/).
  • The Particle را (/raa/): Marks the definite direct object. It is placed immediately after the object affected by the subject.
    • Conversational Logic for را:
      • If the object ends in a consonant: را becomes /a/ (written as ه).
      • If the object ends in a vowel: را becomes /ra/ (written as ره).
  • Word Stress Rules:
    • Infinitives: Stress on the last syllable.
    • Conjugated Verbs: Stress on the first syllable.
    • Imperatives (Affirmative/Negative): Stress on the first syllable.
    • Nouns: Stress on the last syllable.
  • Specific Vocabulary of Hospitality:
    • Bread: نان خشک (/naa-ne khusk/)
    • Morning meal (breakfast): چای صبح (/chaa-ye sub/)
    • Apples/Fruit: ميوه جات (/mey-wa-jaat/)
    • Vegetables: سبزیجات (/sab-zee-jaat/)

Comprehensive Vocabulary & Glossary

  • Family Terms: پدر (father), مادر (mother), برادر (brother), خواهر (sister), پدرکلان (grandfather), مادرکلان (grandmother), شوهر/شوی (husband), خانم/زن (wife).
  • Professions: داکتر (doctor), معلم (teacher), پروفيسور (professor), مامور (government employee), دهقان (farmer), کارگر (laborer), تاجر (businessman), فروشنده (seller).
  • Locations: خانه (home), مکتب (school), مسجد (mosque), بازار (market), کار (work).
  • Times of Day: صبح (morning), ظهر/چاشت (noon), بعد ازظهر (afternoon), شام (evening), شب (night), حالا/حالی (now).
  • Adjectives: کلان/بزرگ (big), خورد/کوچک (small), پولدار/غنی (rich), فقير/غريب (poor), خوشحال/خوش (happy), گرسنه/گُشنه (hungry), تشنه (thirsty).
  • Common Names: Hamid, Wali, Khaled, Sharif, Saleh, Nasima, Nahid, Nazi, Maryam, Asad, Farid, Laila, Shahla, Hassan, Salim, Shugoofa.
  • Verbs: بودن (to be), داشتن (to have), زندگی کردن (to live), رفتن (to go), کردن (to do), پختن (to cook), خوردن (to eat), درس خواندن (to study), تلویزیون دیدن (to watch TV), نمازخواندن (to pray), خوابيدن/خواب بودن (to sleep/be asleep), کارکردن (to work), نوشيدن (to drink), سگرت کشيدن (to smoke), خواستن (to want), خوش داشتن (to like), گرفتن (to take/consume).