Nonstandard Linguistic Patterns in Persian Formal Correspondence

Language is a medium of communication and the important goal of conveying a message is made possible through its channel. Modern life style has imposed some new diverse functions on this device. Modern written Persian alongside other languages embraces different varieties that include media and formal correspondence registers. These particular versions demand precise writing that follow high standards and norms of Persian. Furthermore, due to their wide use, these types can be considered standard language learning tools for the addresses. Consequently, taking benefit of accurate standard patterns in the use of these versions leads to boosting the use of standard Persian among the users and addresses alike. Formal correspondence is a type of register that is used to convey messages through letters, circulars, notices, and other similar platforms. Despite the fact that formal correspondence enjoys its own particular features including specific terminology, it is expected to follow standard Persian in many aspects of wording and structure. Research findings indicate otherwise. In this study, 152 letters and circulars all in the domain of formal correspondence in the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology that mounted to a corpus of 1000 sentences were scrutinized focusing on the analysis of nonstandard patterns through a three-level editing process including technical, linguistic, and rhetorical aspects. The standard forms were provided along with some suggestions for improving the quality of formal correspondence. Based on the findings of this research endeavor, the order of highest frequency for nonstandard uses were in the linguistic, technical, and rhetorical domains respectively. This implies the need for a more focused approach on these features in education and research areas.