How to Choose Arabic vs Farsi to Study

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.