What it means
سرمقاله (sar-maqāleh) is the Persian word for an editorial, the lead article of a newspaper that carries the institutional voice of the publication on the day’s most important story. The سرمقاله is not a personal column. It is the paper itself speaking, usually unsigned or signed by the editor-in-chief, declaring the position the editorial board has settled on.
A سرمقاله in Sharq, Etemad, or Hammihan is a political document. A سرمقاله in Kayhan, the hardline conservative daily, is a different kind of political document. In every case, the سرمقاله sets the tone for what the rest of the paper will say that week, and Iranian political observers read سرمقاله ها (sar-maqāleh-ha) the way Kremlinologists once read Pravda: looking for shifts in line, signals of internal disputes, hints of what comes next.
How to use it
Sar-maqāleh pairs with the publication name through ezafe (سرمقاله شرق، sar-maqāleh-ye sharq, the Sharq editorial), and with verbs like نوشتن (neveshtan, to write), منتشر کردن (montasher kardan, to publish), and خواندن (khāndan, to read).
sar-maqāleh-ye emruz-e ruznāme-ye etemād darbāre-ye eqtesād bud.
Today’s editorial in Etemad was about the economy.
سرمقاله امروز روزنامه اعتماد درباره اقتصاد بود.
kayhān dar sar-maqāleh-ash dowlat rā naghd kard.
Kayhan critiqued the government in its editorial.
کیهان در سرمقالهاش دولت را نقد کرد.
Where it comes from
The compound is mixed. سر (sar) is pure Persian, originally meaning head and extended to the senses of top, lead, chief, beginning (compare سرآشپز sar-ashpaz head chef, سرلشکر sarlashkar major-general, سرسخن sar-sokhan opening word, سرفصل sar-fasl chapter heading). مقاله (maqāleh) is Arabic, the article itself, from the root q-w-l. The literal reading is head-article, the article at the top, the lead. The pattern of compounding سر with an institutional noun to mean lead-of-X is highly productive in modern Persian and especially common in journalism vocabulary.
In our voice
Iranian newspapers carry their political position in the سرمقاله, every day. The reformist papers (Sharq, Etemad, Hammihan) take one position; the conservative ones (Kayhan, Vatan-e Emruz) take another; the centrists (Donya-e Eqtesad, Iran) sit in between. Reading the morning سرمقاله is a national habit among educated Iranians, the equivalent of reading the New York Times editorial page in the United States or Le Monde’s editorial in France. Knowing the word unlocks an entire ritual of Iranian political life.
References
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