How to Choose Arabic vs Farsi to Study: Which Middle East Language Is Most Useful for Linguists To Learn?

Throughout the past decade there has been an increased call for interpreters and translators fluent both in English and in Arabic or Persian (also known as Farsi). Linguists need to consider several factors when deciding which of these two languages would be most worth their time and effort to learn.

The Facts About Arabic and Persian

Many people have the misconception that Arabic and Persian are the same language. In fact, not only are they different languages, but they are unrelated in terms of historical etymology. Arabic is a Semitic language, belonging to the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. Persian belongs to the Indo-European language family.

Arabic and Persian do share a common writing system: the Arabic alphabet. And, according to Dr. Gernot Windfuhr, Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan, about 50 percent of the Persian lexicon is borrowed from Arabic.

Persian is spoken by approximately 71 millions native speakers, and roughly 110 million people worldwide, according the U.S. government's Languages of the World website. It is the official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, but is spoken by people in Pakistan, Iraq, and other countries in the region as well. Locally, the language is called Farsi, or in some locales Parsi.

Arabic, on the other hand, with its approximately 246 million native speakers and millions more around the globe who also speak the language, is the 5th most spoken language in the world, according to the website Vistawide.com. It is the official language of more than 20 countries, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Arabic and Persian for Language Study

Professor Windfuhr (in a 2008 email interview) considers the question of whether to learn Arabic or Persian to be a “real” and a “practical” one. He suggests that one criteria is to think in terms of where the need for interpreters and translators lie. Arabic would allow a linguist to communicate with the greater number of people, both in the Middle East and world-wide. However, while Arabic may be the more prevalent language, there is a need for western governments, businesses, and the military to be able to communicate with Iran, Afghanistan and people in other countries who speak Persian.

Persian is the easier language to learn, according to Windfuhr. “Persian is relatively easy to learn because for some 1,000 years now it has very little inflection, somewhat as little as English has compared to – let's say – German, or Spanish – and it sounds sweet (as the Persians say).” Windfuhr says that Arabic tends to be more difficult for English speakers to learn because of the alphabet and its pronunciation. According to Windfuhr, Arabic has “a very complex morphology, i.e. changing shapes of words depending on how and where they are used.”

Some linguists may wish, ultimately, to study both languages. According to Windfuhr, “Most people studying Iranian or Persian Studies know and need to know a good deal of Arabic.”

There is a very real need for bilingual speakers fluent in Arabic or Persian (Farsi) as well as English. Students of Middle Eastern cultures who wish to study one of these languages should weigh the usefulness of learning Arabic – with its wider base of native speakers – with Persian, which may be an easier language to learn and is needed to communicate with specific populations. Speakers of both languages are needed in today’s global culture.

Nov 14, 2008 12:20 AM

Guest :

Great article Margaret. As an Iranian and native speaker of Persian, I think there are two major points to be considered as well:

1. As you have already stated, choosing one of the two to learn depends on the purpose of the learner in the first place. But one aspect Persian language is really exceptional for, is its rich literature and poetry in particular. So I highly recommend for students of Middle East Literature to learn Persian in the first place.

2. It is true that after the Muslims' invasion to Iran around 640 AD, Persian adopted a great deal of Arabic vocabulary and the alphabet as well, but those words are now well part of the context of the everyday language; thus one will not need to learn Arabic prior to persian to be able to understand the language.

Golnaz S. Farshi

May 31, 2009 4:00 PM

Guest :

i think Arabic is more important because:

1) it is the main language for other midleaseter languages because of the religion influnce of the Arabic Quran, learning Arabic make it easier to learn other languages.

2) Iranian study Arabic in school while Arabic countries do not teach Persian in school, So you have more iranian understanding your Arabic than Arabs understanding your persian farsi language.

3) Arabic is an international language recognised by U.N while farsi not.

4) Arabic world is bigger in economic, land, and population and you can visit Arabic countries like Egypt, Dubai and Morocco etc..

5) Speaking Arabic gives you more respect and admiral to 2 billion Muslim around the world because to them you can understand Quran.

6) Arabic have the biggest vacobulari in the world more than 13 million and expanding.

7) Arabic language have powerfull "magical" good influnce to the one who learn it!

8) Farsi speaker is less than 50 million because not all of them speak farsi.

9) 70% of persian are Shiite Muslim and in shiite it is a must for a shiite scholoure to speak and understand a very good Arabic.

10) literature and poetry is richer in Arabic.

11) "50 percent of the Persian lexicon is borrowed from Arabi" means Learn Arabic and and Persian is alot easier to learn because you are all ready know 50% of the language "usually the 50% of the Arabic word used in farsi is the most used words in farsi like Sala alikom etc...."

thank you