Definitions by Everyone’s favorite Gilak
Persian
An ethnicity making up around 60% of Iranians, and majority of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Unlike how most Iranian Americans say, they claim that Iran is a persian nation, which is partially true, but using the terms persian and Iranian interchangeably is very ignorant. Persians are an Iranic race, so are Kurds, Gilaks, etc. Iran refers to a nation, so if you use iranian and persian interchangeably, you completely exclude all other Persians. Persian is a very different language then Azeri, Gilaki, Kurdish, etc. One thing to note is how people say Iran is not an arab nation, which is mostly true, however 1-4% of Iranians are arab.
Iranian American: “Yeah Iran isn’t arab, we’re persian. The words persian and Iranian are interchangeable”
Me: “only 60% of Iranians are persian! I’m not persian I’m Gilaki and Azari, and you completely forget the Persians of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the ones in Uzbekistan, you are confusing nationality and ethnicity”
Me: “only 60% of Iranians are persian! I’m not persian I’m Gilaki and Azari, and you completely forget the Persians of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the ones in Uzbekistan, you are confusing nationality and ethnicity”
Persian by Everyone’s favorite Gilak October 7, 2018