Editing Persian language (section)

===Vowels===
{|
|-
| style="vertical-align:top" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;
|+ Tehrani Persian vowel chart
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA|{{IPA link|i}}ː}}
|{{IPA|{{IPA link|u}}ː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA link|æ}}
|{{IPA|{{IPA link|ɒ}}ː}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:25em;"
|+
Dari vowel chart
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!<small>long</small>
!<small>short</small>
!<small>short</small>
!<small>long</small>
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
|[[Close front unrounded vowel|iː]]
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|{{IPA link|ɪ}} ~ ({{IPA link|ɛ}})}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʊ}}
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|u}}ː}}
|-
! [[mid vowel|mid]]
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|e}}ː}}
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|o}}ː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|{{IPA link|a}} ~ {{IPA link|ä}}}}
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|ɑ}}ː}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:25em;"
|+
Tajik vowel chart
! |
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| [[Close front unrounded vowel|i]]
| rowspan="2"| {{IPA|{{IPA link|ʉ}} ~ {{IPA link|ɵ̞}}}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[mid vowel|mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|{{IPA link|ɔ}}ː}}
|-
! [[open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|a}}
|}
|}
[[File:Farsi vowel chart.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|The vowel phonemes of modern Tehran Persian]]
Historically, Persian distinguished length. Early New Persian had a series of five long vowels ({{IPAslink|iː}}, {{IPAslink|uː}}, {{IPAslink|ɑː}}, {{IPAslink|oː}}, and {{IPAslink|eː}}) along with three short vowels {{IPAslink|æ}}, {{IPAslink|i}}, and {{IPAslink|u}}. At some point prior to the 16th century in the general area now modern Iran, {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/iː/}} merged into {{IPA|/iː/}}, and {{IPA|/oː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} merged into {{IPA|/uː/}}. Thus, older contrasts such as {{lang|fa|شیر}} ''shēr'' "lion" vs. {{lang|fa|شیر}} ''shīr'' "milk", and {{lang|fa|زود}} ''zūd'' "quick" vs {{lang|fa|زور}} ''zōr'' "strength" were lost. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and in some words, ''ē'' and ''ō'' are merged into the diphthongs {{IPA|[eɪ]}} and {{IPA|[oʊ]}} (which are descendants of the diphthongs {{IPA|[æɪ]}} and {{IPA|[æʊ]}} in Early New Persian), instead of merging into {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}}. Examples of the exception can be found in words such as {{lang|fa|روشن}} {{IPA|[roʊʃæn]}} (bright). Numerous other instances exist.

However, in Dari, the archaic distinction of {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/iː/}} (respectively known as {{lang|fa|یای مجهول}} ''Yā-ye majhūl'' and {{lang|fa|یای معروف}} ''Yā-ye ma'rūf'') is still preserved as well as the distinction of {{IPA|/oː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} (known as {{lang|fa|واو مجهول}} ''Wāw-e majhūl'' and {{lang|fa|واو معروف}} ''Wāw-e ma'rūf''). On the other hand, in standard Tajik, the length distinction has disappeared, and {{IPA|/iː/}} merged with {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} with {{IPA|/u/}}.{{sfn|Perry|2005}} Therefore, contemporary Afghan Dari dialects are the closest to the vowel inventory of Early New Persian.{{sfn|Okati|2012|p=93}}

According to most studies on the subject, the three vowels traditionally considered long ({{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/ɒ/}}) are currently distinguished from their short counterparts ({{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/æ/}}) by position of articulation rather than by length. However, there are studies that consider vowel length to be the active feature of the system, with {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, {{IPA|/i/}}, and {{IPA|/u/}} phonologically long or bimoraic and {{IPA|/æ/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, and {{IPA|/o/}} phonologically short or monomoraic.{{sfn|Okati|2012|p=92}}

There are also some studies that consider quality and quantity to be both active in the Iranian system. That offers a synthetic analysis including both quality and quantity, which often suggests that Modern Persian vowels are in a transition state between the quantitative system of Classical Persian and a hypothetical future Iranian language, which will eliminate all traces of quantity and retain quality as the only active feature. The length distinction is still strictly observed by careful reciters of classic-style poetry.{{sfn|Okati|2012|p=92}}