Language Research

Abstract Bactrian was the language of Bactria in northern Afganistan. This language is considered as one of the Eastern Middle Iranian Languages which was used from the first to the ninth century. The remaining materials from this language include coins, seals, inscriptions and documents. In 1990s, many Bactrian documents were found amongst which the letters were of most importance as they gave much more information about the Bactrian language. These letters were mostly written on leather and cloth.In the present article, one of these letters named as “The Letter of Borzmihr” will be analyzed. This letter was written in thirteen lines and on very fine leather. First, the letter will be transcribed and translated into Persian and then a full etymological analysis will be presented.
Keywords:Bactrian Language, Letter, Document, Borzmihr, Correspondence Techniques.

Abstract The main goal of this research is to study, through the Minimalist Program, the mechanism of checking phi(φ)-features (person & number) and nominative Case in Persian sentences. Different syntactic structures are examined in this paper. It is shown that verb raising is overt in Persian and that the uninterpretable φ-features of the finite tense head are valued & checked by the interpretable φ-features of the subject noun/pronoun. The subject noun/pronoun is assigned nominative Case by the finite tense head. In other words, checking φ-features and nominative Case in Persian sentences are in line with the universal Checking Theory. Also, it is shown that accusative Case is valued and checked by the transitive head.

Abstract The present study clarifies the difference between orthographic words and their phonological correspondents in Persian writing system via computing orthographic depth of Persian writing system. In this article, first, the relationship between orthographic forms of the words and their phonological correspondents is formalized by using context free and context sensitive grapheme-phoneme rules. Then, the phonological bases of diacritics are studied. Finally, a method for computing orthographic depth of Persian writing system is introduced regardless of linguistic knowledge. The results indicate that it is possible to reduce the depth of Persian writing system by phonological, morphological and syntactic knowledge of the native speakers.  

Abstract Object indexation is a grammatical phenomenon in which a clitic pronoun, co-referential with the free nominal object, appends to the verb. Optionality of indexation in Persian leads us to consider the role of pragmatic and discoursal factors such as definiteness, specificity, and identifiability in its occurence. The present study aimed at investigating the influence of definiteness hierarchy on direct object indexation in Persian. In order to have a relatively full picture of this process, we examined 455 cases of indexation in colloquial Persian. The high frequency of definite direct object indexation confirms the role of definiteness. Interestingly, in more than 90 percent of the cases the object is definite and just about 3 percent of the cases are indefinite nonspecific ones. More accurate investigations in the framework of Role and Reference Grammar show that only cognitively identifiable objects can be indexed. Hence, the basic requirement in direct object indexation in Persian is identifiability of its referent. Consequently, there is a convincing explanation for indexation of a few nonspecific objects in this language. The last point that merits consideration is the fact that all indexed objects, regardless of being definite or indefinite, go together with "Rā". Accordingly, "Rā" cannot be considered as definite or specific marker.

Abstract This article investigates the syntactic structure of numeral classifiers in Persian DPs within the minimalist program. Numeral classifiers are morphemes by which nouns are numerated by a number category. The morpho-syntactic analysis of classifiers in comparison to the other constituents of DPs like number, based on Cheng and Sybesma (2005), Ishii (2000), Li(1998, 1999), Tang (2004), Simpson (2005), Borer (2005) reveals that contrary to Gholaamali Zaade (1374), Samaayi (1387), and Sahraayi (1389) classifiers are in  fact the head of a separate phrase referred to  as CLP, which  in turn acts as a complement for the adjacent number head. Then, following Abney (1987) we demonstrate that the head of this CLP is not a lexical head; rather it is a functional one. Regarding the function of this head, we show that not only does it have the [quantification] feature, as mentioned by Darzi and Yaarahmadzehi (1390), but also this feature is valued as [absolute], and consequently the real function of this head is to individuate the modified nouns.

Abstract With the emphasis of Minimalist program on functional categories as having an equal  or more prominent status than  lexical ones, decision on the nature of the categories has attracted more investigations in recent studies. One of the basic categories the presence of which beside other lexical categories of verb, noun and adjective has been in question, is Preposition. It seems that the functional behavior of this category has cast doubt on its lexical nature. In this paper, using some criteria to diagnose the type of the category, it was found that, while prepositions in Persian are rich in both areas, their lexical nature cannot be ignored and they are correctly placed beside lexical categories. However, it is claimed, not all the items in this category behave in the same way: some have more functional and some more lexical load. In this regard, a continuumis proposed in which the short, old prepositions are placed at one end, and locative prepositions at the other end, still other prepositions in between. It is concluded that taking a fuzzy approach and leaving clear cut borders of functional or lexical categories, leads to the settlement of the debate.

Abstract Whether or not there is a verbal passive construction in Persian has been ‎highly controversial. Traditional grammarians and most linguists have ‎argued that there is a structural passive construction in Persian, similar to ‎that observed in English. Within the framework of the Minimalist ‎Program, but more in the spirit of Emonds’s (2006) division of analytic ‎passives into verbal and adjectival, it will be argued that the Persian ‎so-called verbal passive construction is just an instance of adjectival ‎passive, or indeed, unaccusative CPr with a past participle serving as ‎its NV element. In line with what holds for verb movement in simplex ‎and complex predicates, it will be discussed in detail that Modern ‎Persian lacks verbal passive constructions and hence passive ‎projections, and in contrast to the grammatical verb budan ‘to be’ ‎which can be used either as a light verb in complex predicates or as a ‎perfect auxiliary in present/past perfect tenses, the grammatical verb ‎šodan ‘to become’, which is traditionally considered as a passive ‎auxiliary, is indeed a light verb hosted by an NV element. According ‎to this line of analysis, in Persian adjectival passives, the head [A-en] is ‎present in both LF and PF and the past participle is obligatorily ‎interpreted as an adjective.

Abstract The definition and typological description of the category of voice can be provided in two ways: i) at the level of semantic arguments (or semantic roles), ii) at the level of grammatical relations (or syntactic functions). The most important theoretical concept that is determined in terms of these two levels of representations and enables one to capture the rich variety of voices is that of diathesis. Diathesis is defined as a pattern of mappingsemantic arguments onto syntactic functions. In the present research, we explore the typology of diathesis and voice in Kurdish language on the basis of Kulikov’s work (2011). The results of the research show that Kurdish has these diatheses: passive (agentless, absolute and impersonal), conversive, 2/3 permutation, causative (transitive and intransitive), antipassive, reflexive, reciprocal, and anticausative. Of these, only passive, causative and conversive have morphological realization on the verb. Therefore, based on this analysis, one can say that Kurdish has only three voices: passive, causative and conversive.

Abstract Once DS is abandoned in the Minimalist framework and structure building is carried out by merge, multiple root syntactic objects in a single derivational step are not only allowed in principle, but must indeed be employed in some derivations in order for the extension condition to be satisfied. The crucial aspect of this theoretical model is that it permits instances of sideward movement, whereby a given constituent moves from a syntactic object K to an independent syntactic object L. Following Hornstein and Nunes (2014), the present study examines the sideward movement of the subject in the Persian past participle clauses assuming that these non-finite adverbial adjuncts hang below the vP of main clauses. As in these structures the subjects of the adjunct clauses are understood as being the same as the subjects of the matrix clauses, it will be argued that the head T in this language has a strong EPP feature that triggers movement of an overt or covert subject into its Specifier. Based on these assumptions, a DP has to move sideways from the subject position of the participle clause to merge with the main vP allowing the external theta-role of the matrix verb to be discharged. In the next step, the same DP moves upward to the Specifier of TP to satisfy the EPP feature of the main clause. Sideward movement also provides an escape hatch for the subject to have its case checked. Were this constituent not to move, the derivation would crash at LF as it could not get its uninterpretable case feature checked within the adjunct clause.

Abstract This paper analyzes verb-preposing in yes-no questions in Persian within the Minimalist framework (Chomsky, 1995, 2000a-b). Raghibdoust (1993), in line with Karimi (1989), considers these constructions as the result of the extraction of the subject to the post-verbal position. As opposed to Raghibdoust (1993), therefore, in this paper, we employ some pieces of evidence including the impetus for the movement of constituents in grammar, the distinguished nature of the fronted verb compared to other fronted elements in structures with multiple fronted constituents, and the impossibility of fronting the light verb alone in compound verbs, hence leaving the nonverbal element in situ, to show that verb-preposing in yes-no structures in Persian is to be analyzed as the result of fronting of the verb rather than the extraposition of the subject. Following that, evidence is provided against Karimi’s (1994) idea that the head of CP should be taken as the position for the moved verb. Instead, using some evidence, we argue that the head of the FocusP obtains a better landing site for the preposed verbal element. If this analysis is on the right track, we then propose that the [-Q] feature on the head of the CP as the Probe is matched through the Agree mechanism with the [+Q] feature on the preposed verb as the Goal to get checked and valued, hence satisfying the yes-no question interpretation.
 

Abstract The syntactic expression of sentential negation has given rise to a lot of research in most linguistic frameworks. During the last few decades of research in generative grammar, studies on negation focus on a range of topics, including the position of Negation Phrase. Indeed, not only do languages vary with respect to the form of negative elements, but the underlying position of these functional elements is also subject to cross-linguistic variation. Within the framework of Distributed Morphology (Halle & Marantz 1994), the present study investigates the position of NegP in Farsi. Contrary to the claim in the literature, it will be argued - both on theoretical and empirical grounds - that in this language NegP immediately dominates TP and verbal elements absorb the functional head of Negation Phrase via a post-syntactic process, called morphological merger. Moreover, the syntax of negation is connected to the phenomenon of negative polarity, i.e. items whose distribution is limited to a number of negative contexts. So, this article examines the conditions which license the occurrence of N-phrases (N-words) in indicative structures. Clearly, studying N-phrases provides more insight not only into the nature of such context-sensitive elements, but also into the syntactic nature and position of sentential negation itself.

Abstract The impact of power in the criminal court discourse and the interrogation process is manifested in many factors such as context-specific conditions and differences in social position between a police investigator and the accused. This study intends to use politeness strategies by Brown and Levinson (1987) to explore and describe the role of politeness in the interrogation process. The aim of this study is to describe the relationship between power and politeness in promoting the interrogation process because politeness is embedded in power relations. Corpus consisted of eleven transcripts of the hearing randomly selected from criminal cases in public justice administration in Bushehr. The results showed that with the observance of politeness (Brown and Levinson's strategies), the interrogation route could not be well advanced, because the defendants refrain from answering questions due to lack of pressure and threat. But with pressure and harshness of the signs of power, the interrogation route can be well advanced.

Abstract Semantic comprehension of compound nouns is one of the subjects discussed in theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics. Compound nouns are divided into four groups based on the semantic relation of its components. According to the criterion of existence or absence of a semantic head, two main groups of endocentric and exocentric compound nouns are investigated in this study. A list of these nouns was collected as a library research from different texts and used to test this research. After examining multiple language comprehension tests, definition-word pairing test was used and in the form of an application on smart phones on Persian-learners of the middle level in Teaching Persian as a Second Language (TPSL) of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad was performed. Totally, 888 data were obtained from the test (37 subjects paired 24 definitions with compound nouns) described and analyzed by standard statistical tests. Finally, T and Pearson tests showed that due to the semantic head in endocentric compound nouns, the level of semantic comprehension of Persian-learners of endocentric compound nouns is greater than that of exocentric compounds. Besides, comprehension of Persian learners from Persian endocentric compounds is faster than exocentric compounds. Also, there is a correlation between the comprehension of Persian learners of endocentric and exocentric compound nouns. Therefore, the existence of a kind of relationship in endocentric compound nouns is understood more quickly than exocentric compound nouns. Therefore, the theory of Competition among Relations in Nominals (CARIN) is confirmed.

Abstract Secondary predicates are among the syntactic structures that have been neglected by the traditional Persian grammarians, but in the course of the last four decades of studies in generative grammar, almost all kinds of this structure have been explored. Secondary predicates are of two major kinds: the so-called depictive predicates and resultatives. A depictive predicate attributes a property to its subject which holds of that subject all the time that the event denoted by the matrix verb is going on. Resultatives attribute a property to their subject which holds of that subject at the point that the event denoted by the matrix verb ends or culminates. In the present study, following Rothstein (2006), I show that the Persian depictive and resultative predicates can be distinguished from each other just by semantic properties; they have no syntactic differences. Moreover, I will discuss that depictives can be subject- or object-oriented, while resultatives can only be object-oriented. Both subject- and object-oriented secondary predicates are adjunct small clause, the former adjoins to the vP and the latter to the VP (or more correctly, to the main PredP) and the argument modified by the second predicate, sideward moves from the adjunct clause to the main clause leaving a PRO in its base position.

Abstract This paper investigates intonational characteristics of yes/no questions in contrast to statements in Persian. Based on Tilt model, acoustic variables including duration, pitch amplitude and tilt are compared between these two sentence types. Since studies (Eslami, 2000; Mahjani, 2003; Mahootiyan, 1997; Sadat Tehrani, 2007) have shown the difference between yes/no question and statement is in the last intonational event, the goal is to determine which acoustic parameters are conceptually important in identifying the type of the sentence. To achieve this, at first, in the production stage, we used statistical analyses in relation to different levels of duration, pitch amplitude and tilt in questions and statements. Then, in the perception stage, first, we manipulated   acoustic variables (duration, pitch amplitude and tilt), then perceptual tests were used to measure the success of work. In the production stage, 40 yes/no questions and their corresponding and statements were read by five Persian speakers, and then through Praat software, the data were analyzed and the acoustic parameters measured. In the next step, by means of Student^'s t- test, we compared the mean of different variables in the questions and statements. The results of our statistical analyses showed that the average of duration and pitch amplitude except tilt variable were higher in final peak in questions. In the next stage, we manipulated the target points, including: edge f0, final peak, rightmost valley and penultimate valley in order to change the question to statement. Perceptual salience of these acoustic cues was investigated through questionnaire identification tests. The perception tests indicate that only the utterance-final edge F0 is a strong perceptual cue to make a distinction between question and statement. And simoltaneovs manipulation of all target points showed greatest effect on identifying the type of sentence.

Abstract All languages in the world use different ways to create new words. One of these ways is Compounding. In many languages, Compounding (also called composition) is the most frequently used way of making new lexemes. Its defining property is that it consists of the combination of lexemes into larger words. Compounds are words that are composed of two (or more) bases, roots, or stems. In other word, compounding consists of the combination of two words, in which one word modifies the meaning of the other, the head. This means that compounds have a binary structure. The productivity of compounding in many languages is largely due to its semantic transparency and versatility. When a new compound is formed, we already know the meaning of its constituents, and the only task we face is to find out the semantic relation between the two parts. In Persian, compounding and derivation are the most frequently used way of making new words. Many Iranian linguists have written articles about compounding. Classification of compounds has been and still is a much-debatable issue in the linguistic literature. In this article, we will review other classifications and then introduce a new classification which is based on a morphosyntactic approach and focus on the structure of words. According to this new classification, there are two types of compounds: root compounds and synthetic compounds. Synthetic compounds have v element in their structure but root compounds don’t have this element. Presence of v element in the structure of the compounds creates a dual situation which logically doesn’t have a third option and this is not reputable. Indeed it cannot be violated.

Abstract The environmental crisis is one of the most important issues of the 21 st century. Eco linguistics explores the causes of this crisis in language. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective linguistic factors in the eco - unfriendliness, to explore human interaction with nature, in Persian proverbs, which have high frequency in everyday conversations. The research was conducted using analytical, descriptive and library methods. In the first step, 373 proverbs, randomly and based on Morgan's table, as a suitable statistical society, from the total population of 10, 000 cases, were educed from the e-book “Ten thousand Persian proverbs and twenty five thousand equivalents”, the compilation of Dr. Ibrahim Shakour zadeh Bolouri. Then, the two concepts of anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism, based on the Eco linguistics criteria, were examined. The results of the research showed that the majority of the studied samples transmitted the anthropocentric concept, with negative affective meaning. anthropomorphism, is sometimes referred to as a way to avoid anthropocentric insight to nature, but this study showed that in Persian proverbs, human beings in the attribution of their own characteristics to nature allocate negative ones to non-human species. This insight to nature divides the world into “us” and “others” poles. The bipolar view of the world in this age may be the source of many important global issues. Part of the proverbs referred to other concepts, except for the two above- mentioned concepts, such as specialism, eco centrism, and environmental metaphors, which were used in statistical sections. Using the same pronouns for human and non-human beings, collocations of verbs such as (know, believe, etc) with non-human species and the concept of eco centrism with positive affective meaning, were observed in Persian proverbs. The use of proverbs of this kind can have a positive effect on human attitude toward nature. Language speaker should consider negative dimensions of language use. Therefore, it can be said that speakers need to identify the harmful aspects of using language and be careful in using it.

Abstract Based on Foucault's discourse analysis approach, this study examines participants' discourse perceptions of historical-political words and tries to find the answer to the question of how different historical-discourse formulations and their changing nature is expressed in words as a referent of discourse truth (constructed discourse) and reproduced and  recalled by words. In other words, how is the "word" itself a discourse that can be analyzed? This research was conducted in two stages and two questionnaires with 110 and 135 participants. The method of this research is qualitative-quantitative and based on description and analysis. The second questionnaire in 5 groups of questions evaluates the connection of the word with historical periods and discourses, the difference between the discourse of the word in each period, and the individual discourse of the participants. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in the form of statistics and graphs. Quantitative analysis of data from 21 items by SPSS software confirmed a significant relationship between "words" and "historical periods and discourses". The results showed that some words, such as historical-political words, are to some extent formed in discourse and are tied to specific historical discourses. And reciprocally,  independently and disregarding any background and verbal context, they can represent and induce that discourse and reconstruct the components related to that discourse in the mind of the addressee. Thus, although the words have their own lexical meaning in the language, according to different contexts, conditions of occurrence, different minds, and finally different discourses, they show different perceptions, influences, and relative meanings and carry different discourses, and the concept  they have in the mind is a historical  one that has been formed in history. This study concludes that words reflect the reorientation of the discourse formulations and articulations of history and they alone can be studied in discourse analysis and ethnology.

Abstract Rhythmic characteristics of speech based on consonantal and vocalic intervals as well as syllabic intervals vary between speakers of the same language. Nonetheless, the rhythmicity of a speech signal is not solely dependent on the durational variability of phonetic intervals but it is also associated with the variability of the intensity patterns as well. Acoustic parameter of intensity is largely determined by the articulatory behaviors of the speech organs such as lip movement or mouth aperture. Therefore, it is plausible that speaker idiosyncrasy in movement of speech articulators and anatomical differences in individual’s vocal tracts may influence the energy distribution across a speech signal which subsequently leads to the variability in the values of the intensity measures. Using experimental phonetics tools and from an explicitly speaker-specific perspective, the present research attempts to explore potential speaker-specific acoustic parameters of speech rhythm which are extracted from the intensity contours across Persian speakers. This research aims to discover whether intensity-based measures of speech rhythm are able to discriminate between speakers in Persian. Two types of acoustic rhythmic measures based on the mean syllable intensity (stdevM, varcoM, rPVIm, nPVIm) and peak syllable intensity (stdevP, varcoP, rPVIp, nPVIp))  were selected for this study. Speech data from 12 Persian male speakers were recorded non-contemporaneously in laboratory environment on two different occasions separated by one to two weeks. Speech tokens were acoustically measured with PRAAT version 5.2.34 and statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS version 21 and R version 3.3.3. Results of the study indicated that speech rhythm measures based on intensity fluctuations play an important role in between-speaker rhythmic variability. In addition, discriminatory power of intensity-based measures is not affected by the language-dependent characteristics of Persian. The results also showed that the peak syllable intensity measures carry more speaker-specific information compared to the mean syllable intensity measures

Abstract This research investigates and analyzes the speech samples of three Persian speaking children, 4-5-years-old girls, who are suffering from Developmental Language Disorder (Specific Language Impairment). The theoretical framework of the research is the expanded model of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Based on this model that proposed by Kovecses (2020), metaphor processing takes place in four levels that have a schematic hierarchy. These schematic levels from depth to surface include image schema, domain, frame and mental space. In metaphor processing, the mapping between the source and destination domains is done simultaneously in all four mentioned levels. Among these levels, the outer level is mental space and its processing is done online in the working memory. The other three levels (image schema, domain and frame) are located in long-term memory and are processed offline. The method of conducting this research is descriptive, and analytical. The data of this research was collected by the Speech Therapist through the Told-P3 Language Development Test from three children who have referred to the speech therapy center. The collected data is at the single word level.  During the execution of the test, the examiner has checked both comprehension and expression of single words and has classified the data based on the answers of the subjects. The collected data are only descriptive and analytical, and no comparison has been made between the subjects. The results of this research show that this model can be used in examining and analyzing the speech of people with language disorders. Also, these children did not have comprehension and conceptual problems to produce words and had more problems in oral language. Therefore, the analysis of the speech of these children based on this model shows that in order to teach these children the vocabulary of expressive language, instead of going directly to the teaching of the phonetic label of the words, we should have a level of education that is related to strengthening the metaphorical understanding of the words. Especially, it seems that first of all, if domain and frame levels, which are intermediate levels in the metaphorical processing of words, are strengthened by means of teaching methods, the results can be more impressive and the child's access to phonetic label could be Facilitated

Abstract This study investigates the phenomena of aspect and coercion in Persian through the lens of Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & Foley, 1980; 1984) and Cortes-Rodriguez’s (2014) approach, focusing on the predicate level and the syntactic layers of nucleus, core, and clause.  The study aims to identify aspectual categories of the verbs, determine the operators influencing coercion and aspectual shift, and present a hierarchy of these operators in shaping the final aspectual interpretation of the sentence based on the chosen theoretical framework.The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data are collected through fieldwork from daily conversations, magazines, newspapers, and interviews with native Persian speakers. First, the paper introduces examples of Persian verbs corresponding to various aspectual classes (states, activities, accomplishments, achievements, and semelfactives at the nucleus layer, and activity-accomplishment classes at the core layer). It then explicates the properties of each class using syntactic-semantic tests, such as the application of different grammatical operators and adverbial modifiers within sentences. The tests are employed to illustrate the aspectual nature of the verbs. Subsequently, the study examines the roles of various operators like perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect, perfect operator, directional prepositions, the referential nature of internal arguments, and different types of adverbs (durative, completive, frequency, delimitative, speed, and dynamic) in aspectual coercion. Next, we try to explain and identity the structural position of each operator within sentence layers. Lastly, the paper represents types of aspectual shifts resulting from the interaction of aspectual classes with sentence elements and operators through formalized formulas, determining the placement of each element within the nucleus, core, and clause layers. To structure and sequence elements across these layers, the paper proposes a linear hierarchy and syntactic projection model. Findings demonstrate that coercion can occur at any level—nucleus, core, or clause—leading to changes in the verb class

Abstract A motivated derivational word is a word that its meaning is the result of the meaning of word stem and derivational affixes. In this paper, the hypothesis is tested that by the passage fo time,motivation would be reduced and for this purpose, four itinerary passages from present and four equal passages from 200 years before are chose to understand ,under comparisons and statistical considerations, from 200 years befor, derivational words in Persian language have been more motivated or not. Comparison of results show that a meaningful increase is evident in the number of derivational words in present time, in the number of motivated words and in the number of partially motivated derivational words .therefore,we would say that from two hundred years before, derivational words in Persian language have been more motivation.

Abstract Pre-nasal raising is a phonological process in Persian through which the low vowel /A/ changes to the high vowel [u] in the environment before nasals. While this process is obligatory in many words, it fails to occur in some words. Moreover, its occurrence can also be optional as an instance of free variation which is called optionality. This research aimed at analyzing exceptionality and optionality in the occurrence of pre-nasal raising within the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky, 1993/ 2004) and some related approaches. The optionality is analyzed using the free ranking approach which maps a single input onto two outputs. The exceptionality could be due to phonological reasons including the exclusive application of pre-nasal raising on the underlying representation, destruction of its input by a preceding process (bleeding order) or existence of a post- nasal /u/. It could also be due to semantic and non- linguistic reasons, i.e., this process stopped to apply several centuries ago. Instances of exceptionality which are due to phonology- semantics interactions or the non- linguistic reason are analyzed using lexical-access constraints and lexically specific constraints, respectively.

Abstract The aim of this research was to investigate the challenges facing Arabic language education among students in the Corona era and to provide solutions to the upcoming issues، with the help of the lived experience of Arabic language teachers and experts. In this research، a qualitative and phenomenological method was used. The interviewees included all teachers and specialists in Ardabil city in the academic year of 2023. To select the participants، targeted and saturation sampling was used and 20 teachers and 18 specialists were selected. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that students in the virtual education of Arabic lessons face challenges such as lack of motivation، lack of familiarity with virtual education، low financial ability of parents to provide smart education facilities، lack of suitable technology platform in teaching، problem in the antenna. Incorrect assessment and evaluation of students are faced due to the high possibility of cheating، etc، and in general، the virtual class is boring for students and reduces students' motivation and reduces students' adherence to classroom rules and discipline. In the interview with experts in the field of virtual education، they also pointed out the existence of challenges such as technical problems، structural problems، educational problems (content)، problems of activism and interaction (mutual) and social problems (government) and to overcome On the challenges، suggestions for students، for teachers، for parents، for the officials of the educational field and suggestions for the government were presented

Abstract Modal verbs and their different meanings can be investigated on the basis of various theoretical frameworks. In this paper, Persian modal verbs are examined and analyzed in terms of degrees and kinds of modality proposed by Palmer (1990). Our analysis shows that although bǎyad ‘must’ does not entail the proposition, it is used to express three degrees of epistemic modality, two degrees of dynamic modality and a degree of deontic modality. tavǎnestan ‘can’ and šodan ‘to become’, on the other hand, behave rather differently; they are used in expressing two degrees of epistemic modality, two degrees of deontic modality and a degree of dynamic modality. According to this research, Persian modals have the capacity to express all degrees and kinds of modality proposed by Palmer.