How to find the pronunciation of a document written in Persian (if it's an article on BBC Persian)

I just stumbled across a very clever trick to find the pronunciation of an article on BBC Persian, and it's all thanks to Tajikistan. BBC Persian has a Tajik version, which is basically just Persian in Cyrillic. Not only that though, the articles there are exactly the same as those written in Persian, and Tajik thanks to being written in Persian writes short vowels as well as long ones. In standard Persian, the student simply has to know that words like بزرگ (big, grand) are pronounced bozorg, and not bazarg or bozerg or any other combination. To find the equivalent articles it's probably best to check the RSS feed (Persian here, Tajik here) because the pages are formatted differently and it can be hard to find.

This trick works even if you can't read Cyrillic, or read it slowly. First go to the Tajik Wikipedia, then copy and paste the Cyrillic text on your user page. Add a slash to make a new page (e.g. if your name is Mithridates then something like Mithridates/test) if you like. After copying and pasting the article, then you can hit the lotinī button to convert it into Latin characters. Now all you have to do is get used to which letters correspond to what in Persian. For example o is آ (so برای is baroi). Also keep an eye out for the glottal stop in the beginning because this isn't written. The top story right now is the tragic plane accident with the Polish president and so many other top figures in the Polish government. The title in Persian is:

لهستان برای رئیس جمهوری و نخبگانش عزاداری می کند

In Tajik converted to Latin this then becomes:

Lahiston baroi raisi çumhur va nuxbagonaş azodorī mekunad

As a student of Persian you won't want to depend on this trick, but it's a nice way to find the pronunciation of a word when sites like Forvo don't have what you need.

Here's the entire article in converted Tajik:

Dar paji kuşta şudani Lex Kacinskij, raisi çumhuri Lahiston va dahho tan az şaxsijathoi sijosī va nizomī dar sonehai havoī davlati in kişvar jak hafta azoi umumī e'lom kardaast.

Rusija niz, ki in hodisa dar on rux dod, rūzi duşanbero ba unvoni rūzi azoi umumī e'lom kardaast.

Havopajmoi oqoi Kacinskij rūzi şanbe dar ƣarbi Rusija suqut kard va hamai navadu haft tan sarnişini on kuşta şudand.

Davlati Lahiston ba dunboli in soneha nişasti viƶai iztirorī barguzor kardaast. Suxangūi davlati Lahiston guftaast tibqi qonuni asosī intixoboti peş az mav'idi rajosati çumhurī dar in kişvar barguzor meşavad.

Dahho hazor tan az mardumi Lahiston rūzi şanbe dar koxi rajosati çumhuriji in kişvar çam' şudand va bo rūşan kardani şam' jodi qurbonijoni hodisaro giromī doştand.

Donald Tusk, naxustvaziri Lahiston az in hodisa ba unvoni ƣambortarin ruxdodi kişvaraş dar davroni ba'd az çangi çahoniji duvum nom burdaast.

Tahqiqoti muqaddamotī nişon medihad, ki havopajmo dar loji daraxton gir karda pas az suqut ba rūi zamin cand tikka şudaast.

Tahqiqoti muqaddamotī nişon medihad, ki havopajmo dar loji daraxton gir karda pas az suqut ba rūi zamin cand tikka şudaast

Havopajmoi homili raisi çumhuri Lahiston dar sadadi furud dar furudgohi Smolensk dar nazdikiji marz bo Rusijai Safed (Belarus) bud, ki suqut kard.

Havopajmoi Tupolev 154 az Varşav ba maqsadi Smolensk parvoz karda bud.

Maqomhoi Lahiston guftaand oqoi Kacinskij ba hamrohi Marija, hamsaraş va cand uzvi balandpojai davlati Lahiston dir havopajmo budand.

Tibqi guzorişho raisi sitodi artiş, raisi bonki markazī, mu'ovini vaziri xoriça, cand namojandai maçlis va şumore az muarrixoni barçastai in kişvar dar mijoni kuştaşudagon qaror dorand.

In afrod baroi şirkat dar marosimi haftodumin solgardi kuştori Xatin ba Rusija safar karda bud. Dar zamoni Şuraviji sobiq beş az bist hazor lahistonī tavassuti pulisi maxfiji Şuravī kuşta şudand.

Oqoi Kacinskij dar soli 2005 ba rajosati çumhuriji Lahiston intixob şud va peş az on baroi se sol şahrdori Varşav bud.

Barxurdi havopajmo bo daraxton

Vazorati havodisi ƣajrimutaraqqibai Rusija ba xabarguzoriji TASS - i in kişvar guftaast, ki havopajmoi homili raisi çumhuriji Lahiston so'ati dahu pançohu şaş daqiqa ba vaqti mahallī suqut kardaast.

Sergej Antonov, farmondehi mintaqai Smolensk ham guftaast, tahqiqoti muqaddamotī nişon medihad, ki havopajmo dar loiji daraxton gir karda va ba dunboli on bo suqut dar rūi zamin cand tikka şudaast.

Rasonahoi Rusija xalabonro dar in soneha muqassir donistaand. Onho megūjand ba xalabon tavsija şuda bud dar furudgohi Minsk furud ojad, ammo ū tasmim girift, ki dar Smolensk ba zamin binişinad.

Adam Stiven, xabarnigori Bi-Bi-Sī dar Varşav megūjad in soneha foçi'ae baroi mardumi Lahiston ba şumor meravad. Ū megūjad Donald Tusk, naxustvaziri Lahiston hangomi şunidani in xabar girja kardaast.

Cehrai bahsbarangez Lex Kacinskij

Lex Kacinskij, raisi çumhuri Lahiston

Xabarnigori Bi-Bi-Sī megūjad raisi çumhuriji Lahiston savori havopajmoi Tupolev bud, ki dar solhoi 1960 tarrohī şudaast.

Ba guftai ū borho az maqomhoi lahistonī xosta şuda bud to havopajmohoi mavridi istifodai xudro irtiqo dihand.

Oqoi Kacinskij cehrai çançolī dar arsai sijosiji Lahiston budaast.

Pas az intixob ba rajosati çumhurī oqoi Kacinskij, ki sijosatmadori muhofizakore bud, va'dai ehjoi arzişhoi katoliki dini masehiro dod va guft fasodro dar in kişvar reşakan xohad kard.

Raisi çumhur dar Lahiston az naxustvazir ixtijoroti kamtare dorad, ammo dar arsai sijosati xoriçī naqşi ta'inkunanda dorad.

Jaroslav Kacinskij, barodari Lex Kacinskij muddate naxustvaziri Lahiston bud.

In du barodar dar muboriza baroi pojon dodan ba kumunism dar Lahiston fa'ol budand va pas az suquti kumunism dar arsai sijosiji in kişvar huzuri fa'ole doştand.

On a related note, a helpful poster has left a comment on the Page F30 FAQ informing us of a very good resource for languages where content is usually pretty hard to find, like Persian, Uzbek and Pashto.