Research Question...

[Gary Compton]

1)Does anyone know what language is spoken generally in Libya, would Gaddafi have spoken this?

2)What is the main language in Iran and would the President of Iran speak this?

Would appreciate some help on this and I might have some spare chocolate for the best answer

 

[Hex]

Hi Gary -- I'm not an expert on this so if someone disagrees with me you should listen to them.

Libya -- Arabic ('Libyan Arabic' is the main one, though I don't know how that differs from other forms of Arabic, I do know that most Arabic countries have their own forms of Arabic and the main written language tends to be Modern Standard Arabic). See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Libya

Iran -- The main language in Iran is Persian -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Iran

Edited to say: you can call 'Persian' 'Farsi' -- which is the local name of the language in Iran. I don't know the significance of calling it one or the other (sorry). Here's another wiki reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language (contemporary local nomenclature is the relevant section)

In both cases, the leaders of the country would speak those languages (unless anyone disagrees with me, in which case, see above).

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Iran -- The main language in Iran is Persian

But isn't that language called Farsi by native speakers?

 

[Hex]

Yes, I think so -- before you posted, I'd sneakily edited above to mention Farsi, just to be awkward.

If it's what people in Iran call Persian, then that answers the question of what the difference is too

Here, Gary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farsi_(disambiguation) -- so: what Teresa said (unless you're writing about what people in Britain call the language, where you could get away with either 'Persian' or 'Farsi', I should think)

@Gary -- Arabic and Farsi should be pretty safe.

 

[Gary Compton]

Now you know why I'm asking the question!

 

[RJM Corbet]

Why? What are you writing?

 

[Gary Compton]

Why? What are you writing?

We're on a writers site where books regularly fall from their shelves and hit you on the head and your'e asking what am I writing.

Have you got happy baccy in your Easter egg RJM?