{{Short description|Element of Persian and Urdu orthography}} The '''Silent ''vāv'''''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Elwell-Sutton |first=L. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FyVOFkKuCMC&pg=PA21 |title=Elementary Persian Grammar |date=1972 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09206-7 |language=en}}</ref> ({{Langx|fa|واو معدوله|translit=Vāv-e Ma'dule}}; {{Langx|ur|{{unq|واؤ معدولہ}}|translit=Vā'o-i Ma'dūla}}) is an element of Persian and Urdu orthography resulting when a ''vāv'' is preceded by ''khe'' and often followed by an alef or ye, forming the combination of {{Lang|fa|خوا}} or {{Lang|fa|خوی}}, in which the ''vāv'' is silenced.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mowlavi |first=Abbasali |title=راهنمای ادبیات فارسی |year=1987 |edition=6th |pages=43 |language=fa-IR |trans-title=Persian Literature Guide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tabrizi |first=Mohammad Ali Modarres |url=https://lib.eshia.ir/10544/1/52 |title=Qāmūs al-maʻārif : ḥāvī-i tabyīn va tashrīḥ-i chihil va panj hazār madkhal va iṣṭilāḥ-i dīnī, falsafī kalāmī, riyāz̤ī, nujūmī, adabī, tārīkhī va tarjamah |publisher=Muʼassasah-ʼi Imām Ṣādiq |year=1879 |isbn=9789643575007 |volume=1 |location=Qom |pages=52–53 |language=fa-IR |trans-title= |author-link=Mohammad Ali Modarres Khiabani}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson |title=Urdu Language Management |url=http://lisindia.ciil.org/Urdu/Urdu.html |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=Language Information Services (LIS)-India}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> It is always written but not typically spoken, except for in certain eastern Persian dialects wherein it is pronounced.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Razzaqi |first=Seyed Tayyeb |date=2018-02-20 |title=Study of four dialects of Kashan (AbuZaydAbadi, Barzoki, Totmachi, Qohrudi) |url=https://sh-kashan.kashanu.ac.ir/article_110970.html |journal=Kashan Shenasi |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=138–157 |issn=2676-7686}}</ref> If not followed by a long vowel, the ''vāv'' following a ''khe'' sometimes adopts the {{IPA|fa|o|}} sound of the short vowel zamme/pish.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Persian Online – Grammar & Resources » The Silent Letter vāv |url=https://sites.la.utexas.edu/persian_online_resources/phonology/silent-letters-vav/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts}}</ref> It was also formerly made use of when dealing with Persian loanwords in the Arabic scripts of Turkic languages, particularly in Ottoman Turkish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hagopian |first=V. Hovhannes |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ottomanturkishco00hago/page/16/mode/2up |title=Ottoman-Turkish conversation-grammar: a practical method of learning the Ottoman-Turkish language |date=1907 |page=16 |chapter=Pronunciation of Letters |publisher=Heidelberg, J. Groos; New York, Brentano's [etc., etc.] |quote=''Silent vav'', which is found only in some Persian words, between the letters {{lang|ota-Arab|خ}} ''khî'' and {{lang|ota-Arab|ا}} ''élif'', and is not pronounced; as: {{langx|ota-Arab|خواجه|label=none}} ''khajé'' teacher, {{langx|ota-Arab|خواننده|label=none}} ''khanéndé'' singer. |author-link=V. H. Hagopian}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Historical development === The silent ''vāv'' occurs only in words of Iranian origin, and is not present in any Turkic or Arabic loanwords that entered the language. Words in Middle Persian containing the labialised voiceless velar fricative {{IPA|fa|xʷ|}} preceding a long vowel developed such that the sound underwent delabialization and simply became the voiceless velar fricative {{IPA|fa|x|}}. In cases where it preceded the short near-open front unrounded vowel {{IPA|fa|æ|}} it delabialised and took on the sound of the close-mid back rounded vowel {{IPA|fa|o|}}, evolving from {{IPA|fa|xʷæ|}} to {{IPA|fa|xo|}}. Despite this, the written language continues to reflect the old standards of pronunciation, hence the silent ''vāv'' remains written. These linguistic evolutions did not take place in certain areas of Greater Iran, and thus certain dialects do not have the silent ''vāv'' as a feature.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |year=2020 |title=The Diachronic Change of /xw/ Consonant Cluster in Persian, Sorani Kurdish, Hawrami, and Kalhori Kurdish: An Optimaity Theoretic Analysis |url=https://www.sid.ir/paper/368865/en |journal=Journal of Language Research |volume=12 |issue=36 |pages=213–236 |doi=10.22051/jlr.2019.27827.1772 |via=Scientific Information Database |last1=فتاحی |first1=مهدی |last2=حیدری |first2=بهمن }}</ref> === In poetry ===

Historically, sometimes poetic usages of the silent ''vāv'' did not follow the traditional literary rules and guidelines.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=ar-Razi |first=Shams ad-Din Muhammad bin Qays |url=https://archive.org/details/Al-MojamFiMaaaeeriAshaarIl-Ajam-ShamsuddinMuhammadBinQaisAr-RaziFarsi_201612 |title=Al-Mo'jam fi Ma'aaeeri Ash'aar il-'Ajam |publisher=University of Tehran Press |language=fa-IR |trans-title=}}</ref> This can be seen in the following poem by Sa'adi in his Bustan book:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shirazi |first=Saadi |title=Bustan |publisher=Ganjoor |year=1257 |language=fa-IR |chapter=Chapter 1 Part 28 |author-link=Saadi Shirazi |access-date=2022-07-27 |chapter-url=https://ganjoor.net/saadi/boostan/bab1/sh28}}</ref><poem dir="rtl">{{unq|مخنّث که بیداد بر خود کند از آن به که با دیگری بد کند}}</poem>Phonetic transcription:<blockquote><poem>{{IPA|fa|moxænˈnæs kʰe biːˈdɒːd bæɾ xæd ˈkʰonæd] [æz ɒːn beh kʰe bɒː diːˈɡæɾiː bæd ˈkʰonæd|}}</poem></blockquote>According to the Persian literary rules, {{Lang|fa|خود|rtl=yes}} should be pronounced as {{IPA|fa|xod|}}; however, as is visible in this poem, it atypically takes on the sound of {{IPA|fa|xæd|}} and rhymes with {{Lang|fa|بد|rtl=yes}}/{{IPA|fa|bæd|}} in the verse following it. This silent ''vāv'' taking on the sound of fathe/zebar, {{IPA|fa|æ|}}, rather than the {{IPA|fa|o|}} of zamme/pish, is a very common feature in classical Persian poetry, also seen, for example, in the works of Ferdowsi and Nezami.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ə.B. |first=Məmmədova |date=2008 |title=Qədim tarixdən qaynaqlanan və fars dilinin fonetik quruluşunda omofon yaradan diqraflardan biri haqqında |trans-title=About one of the digraphs originating from ancient history and creating homophones in the phonetic structure of the Persian language |url=http://static.bsu.az/w8/Xeberler%20Jurnali/Humanitar%202008-1/183-190_curves.pdf |journal=Bakı universitetinin xəbərləri: Humanitar elmlər seriyası |language=az |publisher=Baku University publishing house |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=183–190}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 January 2022 |title=میازار موری که روزی‌کش است! |url=http://www.asrislam.com/fa/news/28930/%C3%99%C2%85%C3%9B%C2%8C%C3%98%C2%A7%C3%98%C2%B2%C3%98%C2%A7%C3%98%C2%B1-%C3%99%C2%85%C3%99%C2%88%C3%98%C2%B1%C3%9B%C2%8C-%C3%9A%C2%A9%C3%99%C2%87-%C3%98%C2%B1%C3%99%C2%88%C3%98%C2%B2%C3%9B%C2%8C%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%8C%C3%9A%C2%A9%C3%98%C2%B4-%C3%98%C2%A7%C3%98%C2%B3%C3%98%C2%AA |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=www.asrislam.com}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

== Geographical distribution == The standard Iranian form of Persian, does not pronounce the silent ''vāv'' in any situation. Tajiki Persian, which has undergone delabialization in the same way as Iranian Persian, is written in the Cyrillic script, and thus does not have the silent ''vāv'' as an orthographic feature. However, the Afghan dialects of Persian, commonly known as Dari, as well as the Persian dialects of Kashan and some other regions of Iran, continue to pronounce the ''vāv'', meaning that the silent ''vāv'' is not a feature of the orthography of their dialects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In Urdu, labialization is retained in some words and not others. In some words, the {{IPA|fa|x|}} and {{IPA|fa|xʷ|}} pronunciation variants are interchangeable.

== Examples == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Persian !Persian IPA transcription{{Efn|name=silent|The forms of the words in dialects without the "Silent ''vāv''" as a feature are shown enclosed in brackets}} !Persian romanization{{Efn|name=silent}} !Urdu IPA transcription !English Translation |- |{{Unq|خویش}} |{{IPA|fa|xiːʃ|}} ({{IPA|fa|xʷeːʃ|}}) |Xish (Xwēsh) |{{IPA|ur|xeːʃ|}} |Oneself |- |{{Unq|خواب}} |{{IPA|fa|xɒːb|}} ({{IPA|fa|xʷɒːb|}}) |Xāb (Xwāb) |{{IPA|ur|xɑːb|}} |Sleep / Dream |- |{{Unq|خوش}} |{{IPA|fa|xoʃ|}} ({{IPA|fa|xʷæʃ|}}) |Xoš (Xwaš) |{{IPA|ur|xʊʃ|}} |Good / Happy |}

== Notes == {{noteslist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* [https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/20th-gegn-docs/20th_gegn_WP41.pdf Toponymic Guidelines for map and other editors – Revised edition 1998]. UNGEGN, 20th session. New York, 17–28 January 2000.

Category:Persian language Category:Persian orthography Category:Persian grammar Category:Silent letters Category:Urdu