Abbas Eqbal’s Actions in the Academy of Persian Language and Literature

Abstract

With the establishment of connections with Western countries, the imitation of Turkish reforms, and the spread of nationalist ideas in Iran, the Persian language gained renewed attention as the national language. Some intellectuals, such as Mohammad Ali Foroughi, sought to purify Persian of Arabic, Turkish, and Latin words, believing that Arabs had been the cause of Iran’s misfortunes; thus, they aimed to eliminate Arabic words and expressions from Persian. Nationalists endeavored to promote pure writing (writing free from foreign loanwords), which was regarded as a symbol of antiquarianism and a return to Iran’s pre-Islamic heritage. Abbas Eqbal and Foroughi were among the founders and permanent members of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature; however, Eqbal considered his membership compulsory and opposed the Academy’s activities. The use of the Academy’s newly coined terms was mandatory during Reza Shah’s reign, and deviation from this rule was considered a legal offense. Eqbal’s opposition became more pronounced after 1941 and Reza Shah’s abdication. He strongly criticized the Academy’s word formation policies and the movement of linguistic purification. The research method used in this study is historical, following a descriptive-analytical approach and relying on library sources. The findings of this research show that Eqbal published his critiques of the Academy’s performance in Yadgar magazine after the fall of Reza Shah. He believed that the Academy’s activities and the promotion of pure writing had led to the impoverishment and inefficiency of the Persian language. The Academy’s practice of word creation had rendered the language obscure and artificial, to the extent that others could hardly understand it. The public was unfamiliar with the newly coined terms of the Academy, as they were drawn from Old Persian and had long fallen out of use.