Dehkhoda, Karadzic commemorated in Belgrade

TEHRAN,Feb.4(MNA) -- The prominent Iranian lexicographer Allameh Ali Akbar Dehkhoda and the Serbian philologist and linguist Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic were commemorated in a ceremony at the Belgrade Public Library on Sunday evening. Groups of Iranian and Serbian literati attended the ceremony held with the help of Iranian cultural attaché’s office in Belgrade. “The elites and cultural figures not only belonged to their own country, but to all human beings around the world,” the Iranian cultural attaché Mahmud Shaluii said during the event. Karadzic (1787–1864) was a Serbian philologist and linguist who was the major reformer of the Serbian language. Shaluii also spoke about Dehkhoda calling his Persian dictionary the gist of his lifetime of research and studies. Dehkhoda (1879–1956) was a prominent Iranian linguist, and author of the most comprehensive dictionary of the Persian language ever published. Shaluii explained to the audience about the Dehkhoda Dictionary and how it differed from other Persian dictionaries. “The common aspect of Karadzic and Dehkhoda is their endeavor to develop their mother tongue and literature,” Iranian Professor Saeid Safari said during the event. He compared Dehkhoda’s efforts to write “Proverbs and Mottos”, a collection of Iranian folk tales, with those Karadzic made to collect Serbian songs, fairy tales and riddles. Karadzic is called the father of the study of Serbian folklore. He was also the author of the first Serbian dictionary in his new reformed language.