Forms of address in post-revolutionary Iranian Persian: A sociolinguistic analysis

The sudden shift from power to solidarity in Iran in the face of the sociopolitical upheaval in the country has yielded some interesting changes in the forms of address in Persian. In general, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, forms of address in Persian have undergone a sociolinguistic simplification. In post-revolutionary Iran plain speech and forms of address marking solidarity have gained popularity, whereas asymmetrical forms reflecting the complex social class structure of pre-revolutionary Iran have gradually declined. This article gives a sociolinguistic account of the forms of address in present-day Iranian Persian and documents the impact of the revolution on this aspect of the Persian language. (Sociopolitical change, language change, forms of address, politeness systems, Iranian Persian)