ABSTRACT
Iranian diasporic communities can be found on nearly every continent, with substantial communities in the United States, and especially in California. Although Persian speakers in the United States usually have some connection to Iran, they are otherwise diverse, representing a variety of ethnic backgrounds, class positions, religious affiliations, and generations. This chapter draws on American Community Survey estimates, participant observation, and interviews with community leaders, educators, and families to offer an overview of Persian language use across the Greater Los Angeles (GLA) area. Given this relatively large population of Persian speakers in GLA and the growing second and third generations, there have been numerous efforts to promote Persian language use in L.A. A key challenge numerous GLA school directors shared was the need to convince Iranian parents that their children needed to be enrolled in a Persian class. While increasingly available nationally, college-level Persian language training is most widely available in southern California.
