Bosnian-Persian Dictionary Published

IBNA Literature Service – Mohammad Hassan Abbasi: The project to compile the Bosnian-Persian dictionary began in 2011 (1390 Solar Hijri) under the management of Dr. Namir Karahalilović, a graduate of Persian Language and Literature from the University of Tehran and a professor in this field at the University of Sarajevo. This project was carried out in cooperation with a group of lecturers and researchers of Persian and Bosnian language and literature at the Avicenna Institute in Sarajevo, and after the completion of the compilation, it was published with the participation of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo.

This two-volume dictionary includes approximately fifty thousand Bosnian words and their Persian equivalents, with practical examples of these words used in combinations, idioms, proverbs, and Bosnian sentences along with their Persian equivalents. In the introduction to the work, the authors, while introducing the scientific and technical structure of the dictionary, also discussed the history of Persian language and literature in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its role in the cultural interactions between the two nations.

History of Persian Language Presence in the Balkans

The Balkan region was historically the western frontier of Persian language and literature. The Ottomans brought Persian along with Islam to these areas, and cities like Sarajevo and Mostar became centers of Persian poetry and literature. In these cities, Persian language instruction and Rumi’s Masnavi reading circles were common, and the works of Saadi, Hafez, and Rumi were included in the curricula of schools and Khanqahs (Sufi lodges).

“The oldest dictionary of the Bosnian language is the poetic work ‘Maqbul-i Arif’, compiled in 1631 AD, and based on the Persian-Turkish dictionary ‘Tuhfe-i Shahidi’ (1515).”

According to Dr. Munir Derkić and Dr. Mubina Muker, the first Persian dictionary in the Bosnian language is a work called ‘Tuhfe-i Manzuma’, written by Osman ibn Hussein Bosnavi in 1583 AD. After him, several Bosnian researchers during the Ottoman period wrote commentaries on ‘Tuhfe-i Shahidi’, including Ahmad Sudi Bosnavi, Mustafa Ivonović (Sheikh Yoyo), Atfi Ahmad Bosnavi, Ahmad Khatem Ağvalizade, and Ali Zaki Kimiya-gar. In the late nineteenth century, a four-language dictionary (Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Bosnian) was compiled by an unknown author, which is now preserved in the Ghazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo.

In contemporary times, important works have also emerged in this field. Dr. Karahalilović says: “In the last three decades, attention to the lexicographical connection between Persian and South Slavic languages has increased. For example, the Serbian-Croatian-Persian dictionary (1990) and the Persian-Bosnian dictionary (1999), although of scientific value, are not complete in terms of lexicographical principles. The first systematic effort in this regard is the Persian-Bosnian dictionary by the Avicenna Institute in 2010, which is considered the founder of scientific Iranology in Bosnia.”

The newly published dictionary can be considered a complement to this work; an effort to complete the scientific and cultural link between Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This dictionary can meet the needs of language learners, translators, and researchers and play an effective role in the path of cultural dialogue between the two nations.

Creators of the Work

The authors of the dictionary are:

• Dr. Namir Karahalilović (Professor of Persian Language at the University of Sarajevo and Alumnus of the University of Tehran)
• Dr. Munir Derkić (Professor of Persian Language at the University of Sarajevo)
• Dr. Mubina Muker (Alumna of the University of Tehran)

The Persian editing was carried out by Dr. Nasrin Shakibi Momtaz from the University of Tehran, and the Bosnian editing by Dr. Enisa Bajraktarević from the University of Sarajevo. The proofreading was done by Khaira Plavina from the Avicenna Institute. The scientific evaluation of this project was also conducted by Dr. Taghi Pournamdarian from the University of Tehran, and Dr. Ismail Palić and Dr. Ahmad Zilčić from the University of Sarajevo.

Chair of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Sarajevo

The Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo was founded in 1950, and its Department of Persian Language and Literature began its work in 1977. This department, which is one of the oldest chairs of Persian language in Eastern Europe, is responsible for teaching students from undergraduate to doctoral levels. Among the first professors of this department are Bećir Džaka, Salih Trako, and Džemal Ćehić.

The Persian Language and Literature classroom of this faculty was equipped and inaugurated in 2023 (1402 Solar Hijri) with the cooperation of the Cultural Attaché of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is now used as a venue for education, cultural events, and commemorating Iranian dignitaries.