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The Republic of Tajikistan is culturally rich and traditionally vibrant, with several languages and people coexisting harmoniously for ages giving it the texture which makes it stand out. Though Tajik culture has its own origin but art, language, culture and tradition heed no boundaries and transcend the man made barriers of geography and religion and the eternity of time. The rich cultural fabric of Tajikistan has influenced and in turn has been influenced by the cultures and traditions of other places, near and far. Tajik or Persian language historically has been most prestigious language after Arabic in the Muslim world. It was a vehicle of cultural expression: in Central Asia from the establishment of the Arab rule, in some parts of the Ottoman empire and Mughal India. Tajikistan is the only Central Asian country in the region which speaks non-Turkic language. The influence of Tajik language and culture was over a wide area covering Balkans to Bangladesh and Persian Gulf to the north of Syr Darya. Today Tajik is the official language of Tajikistan, Farsi (Tajik in Arabic script) is the official language of Iran and Farsi Dari (Tajik in Arabic script) is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan. Besides, it is spoken in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and in some areas of Azerbaijan.
Tajik language is from the Indo-Aryan family of languages. Over the centuries it has changed to its modern form. Its origin and development can be divided into the three phases; Old Persian/Tajik, Middle Persian/ Tajik and Modern Tajik. Old Tajik was spoken in the province of Pars and has similarity with Avestan and Sanskrit languages and all these are believed to have originated from the same roots. The oldest traces of Old Tajik date back to the 6th century BCE, but it was spoken until the 3rd century BCE. The period of the Middle Tajik is from the last Achmenian ruler and up to the advent of Islam in Central Asia. It is also known as Pahlavi language and is attributed to "Parthians". Modern Tajik begins with the coming of Islam and Arabic alphabets in Central Asia. Samanids, who ruled from 875 to 999 A.D. were the native people and helped Tajik language and culture reaching its zenith. To this...