Memo to Iran: Learn the sofits

The BBC has a story up about how Iranians can’t seem to get to the London 2012 Olympics website of late.

Why, isn’t clear, but the Beeb notes the following:

Iran had previously signalled it might boycott the Olympics over claims that the official logo spells the word "Zion" – a Hebrew word used to refer to Israel or Jerusalem.

In February 2011 the Iranian authorities called for the logo to be withdrawn and the designers "confronted".

However, a follow-up letter later made clear its athletes would still "participate and play gloriously".

Now, being a parent who firmly believes in conferring unfair inherited advantages on his children, I sat with my sons during their Hebrew school years and listened to them read, and corrected them when they needed it. As a result, they consistently scored high reading and pronunciation marks. (Too bloody bad I’m not an investment banker, but it is what it is.)

And I noticed (and remembered from my own days learning the language) that one of the stumbling blocks, at last for English speakers, are the sofits: The five letters that have "final" versions.

So here’s a version of the London Olympics logo:

Now, reading from the upper right to the upper left, I can make out "Mazion," I guess. With a Zayin, not a Tzaddi as the second letter, so no "Tzion".

Generously, you could clump the whole right side and make out a Tzaddi, and that would get us closer to Tzion. The dot in the middle is serviceable as a Yod, and the lower left configuration could pass for a stylized Vav.

And the last letter might be a nun, at least as rendered in classical Hebrew.

But as my kids now know, it ain’t "Tzion" unless it’s a nun sofit, a final nun.

So if there is a Zionist conspiracy afoot, the designers should indeed be confronted, per the Iranian authorities — for not knowing their Hebrew.

Finally, is it notable that the Iranians have yet to complain about this alternative logo?