Is it more valuable to learn Hebrew, Farsi, Arabic? How closely are they related? Which is easiest to learn?

Question

Please do not reply with any anti-Arab sentiments; this is a serious question not intended for political commentary.

Answer 1

I've just finished two semsesters of Arabic and can say that it is a very interesting language and worth learning. I have been studying Arabic because my daughter will also be studying it in graduate school. She wil also study Farsi.

Both languages are valuable to Americans because we have so few translators or people able to read and understand these two languages. Because of oil revenues these languages have taken on an importance greater than that which would have come from their fundamentalist values and cultures.

I highly recommend you learn both Arabic and Farsi. Not concerned about Hebrew as that is only spoken in one country in the Middle East and most people who know Hebrew also know English as the Israelis tend to be well educated and value knowledge of languages. Most people who know Arabic or Farsi do not know English, tend to be stuck in fundamentalist religious cultures and don't value any true liberal arts education, pretending that rote memorization of the Koran is an education. They tend to have isolated, closed societies that are fearful of modern open democratic societies. Of course there are exceptions. With the democratization of Iraq and Afganistan the world is determined to open up these closed societies.

Arabic and Hebrew are both Semetic languages and share many characteristics. For example, it is common to not include the short vowels, no upper/lower cases, and you write from right to left. It takes a little while to get used to. Farsi uses the Arabic alphabet, but has a different vocabulary and is not a Semetic language. So learning the Arabic alphabet is the only help in learning Farsi.

How hard they are to learn depends on you and your experience in learning languages. The more languages you learn the easier it becomes to learn others.

To learn Arabic I highly recommend "Alif Baa with DVDs, Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds" 2ed, by Kristen Brustad, Mamoud Al-Batal, and Abbas Al-Tonsi. published by Georgetown University Press. This text and its sequels are probably the best way to learn Arabic and are used in many fine universities.

You might also want to pick up a copy of "Arabic, Verbs & Essentials of Grammer" by Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar.

Getting a dictionary can be tricky as the words in many dictionaries are listed by their root order. For example, "to write" in Arabic (I'll use the Roman alphabet here) is katabah. Its root is the K, T, B consonants. So words related to writing, like desk are listed in the dictionaries in the same root order. Desk is a place where you write and the Arabic word for desk is maktab. Maktab also has the root of K,T,B. An Arabic speaking person would know that the "ma" is a prefix used to indicate a place to whatever the verb is and so the M is not part of the root.

Unless you are highly gifted in learning languages Arabic and Farsi should be learned in a university or college. You will need help.

Hope this has been some help.

Answer 2

Farsi is not related to Hebrew and Arabic. Farsi is an Indo-European language, and Hebrew and Arabic are Semitic languages.

Hebrew and Arabic are not closely related. Learning one might help you learn the other *if* you learn a bunch of rules (like "sh" in Hebrew is often related to "t" or "th" in Arabic). But you wouldn't be able to understand one by learning the other. The alphabets are completely different, and the sounds of the language are different, too. The grammar has certain similarities, but there are lots of grammatical differences, as well.

Which is more valuable depends on when, where, and why you would be using it. If you want to be able to speak to a larger part of the world's population, Arabic is the most widely spoken. Just be sure to learn *classical* Arabic; it is understood everywhere (there are *many* different dialects that are *not* mutually intelligible). Hebrew is useful only in Israel and a few Jewish communities (and for Jewish prayer). Farsi is only spoken by people in (and from) Iran. It is, however, supposedly closely related to some of the languages of Afghanistan and neighboring countries.

Hebrew is easier to pronounce than Arabic. (I don't know enough about Farsi to comment, but I *think* it has some of the more difficult Arabic sounds--things like the "Q" sound in "Iraq".) It is also easier to learn to read. The Arabic alphabet (and the Farsi alphabet is a variation of the Arabic) is beautiful, but it *only* has a script form, so you need to learn how to recognize the border between letters at the same time you are still figuring *anything* out. And each letter can have up to 4 different forms (depending on whether it is attached to another letter at the beginning, end, both, or neither). All 3 languages are written from right to left--one more thing that will drive you crazy when you're first getting started.

Hebrew sentence structure is kind of similar to English. Subjects go before the verb (in *Modern* Hebrew), then the object. Arabic puts the verb in the front of the sentence. (Again, I don't know enough about Farsi.) In addition to the sounds that are hard to pronounce, Arabic has double vowels and consonants (pronounce the word "bookkeeper" in English--it's one of the only words with a double consonant in the pronunciation). Arabic has more verb conjugations than Hebrew, too.

If you only speak English, Hebrew would probably be the easiest to learn for all of the above reasons. But if you speak another language, that may not be the case...

Answer 3

I'd say Arabic is probably the most valuable to learn because it covers a significant amount of area. However, you will have many dialectical differences across the Arabic-speaking world. Farsi is only spoken around Iran, and since it is a country that most Americans don't have contact with, learning Farsi would have limited applications. Hebrew is definitely the least practical language to learn unless you are interested in religious scholarship. (Many Modern Hebrew speakers speak either English or Arabic quite well as a second language.)
I'm not sure exactly how closely related the languages are. I definitely see similarities between what little Hebrew and Arabic I know.
Arabic likely has more resources available for learning, because most Muslims learn Arabic as a second language for scholarship purposes.

Answer 4

Well, the "value" of a language depends on how you're going to use it. If you were going to Israel or studying Jewish texts, then Hebrew. If you're going to Iran (the main place where Farsi is spoken), then Farsi. Arabic is spoken in a lot of places and would be a real selling point if you were applying for a journalism, government or security-type job. A lot of gov't agencies are dying to get Arabic speakers and are trying to get their current agents to study Arabic. Think about the stuff you want to read and where you might be traveling--for instance, I studied Spanish because there are a whole bunch of people who speak it in this hemisphere, and I studied ancient Greek because I wanted to learn more about classical Greek texts in their original form. Plus, I'd like to go to Greece someday and not sound like a moron (Greek for "fool"), so I studied some Modern Greek, too. Spanish was super-helpful when I was an exchange student in Mexico--most people where I was living didn't speak English.

As far as easiest to learn, I've only studied Hebrew a little and the other two, not at all. They're related, but not very closely--I mean, they're not like dialects of one big language. As far as easy for an individual to learn, I don't know that they'd be that much different. As far as ease of finding classes, Hebrew would be the easiest, and Farsi and Arabic would depend on if you were taking college classes or if there were large communities of people who spoke those languages nearby. If you're motivated, I think they'd all be the same level of difficulty. Motivation is the biggest factor in how well somebody learns another language.

Answer 5

The personal value of each is determined on your goals.
I study Hebrew and soon Arabic, it's not easy but it is very doable if you want to learn. Personally I would learn both Arabic and Hebrew seeing is how they are both the main languages in the Middle east. They are closely related in that they are Semetic languages and have similarities both basic and some complicated.

On a very serious note, it is very wise to learn about the culture and more importantly the Eastern way of thinking (before you go there). They western mentality is far different from the Eastern.

For a few easy examples, in the Middle east a handshake means little to nothing, the real deal closer is if they will eat with you.
If you bump into someone or they bum into you and you say excuse me, then you are the foreigner.
In the Middle East to get onto a buss you push and touch, it is not considered impolite, it's just how you get on.

Mainly in the Middle East but not limited to, when you sit together and touch and are uncomfortably close than it means you are family or you are familiar , a good friend.

It would also be well advised to learn the culture and way of thinking related to woman and men seeing is how that can drastically affect your prescence and how you are treated by what you do and say and the progress of your work there.
If you go there, it will take much time to gain their trust, esspecially in Israel, it takes much time to become friends in the Middle east.
May God bless you in your endevours.
Shalom,Salaam.

Answer 6

Arabic is the most useful...Hebrew has stong relations with Arabic and if one was learnt, the other would be quite easy to learn although Arabic is more difficult than Hebrew...Farsi shares a similar script to Arabic and has borrowed some vocabulary from Arabic but are not really similat in the same way Hebrew and Arabic are.

Answer 7

Arabic and Hebrew are closely related. Farsi on the other hand is an Indo-European language. Farsi is more pleasing to the ear compared to the other two. Arabic is spoken in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, and Yemen. Farsi is spoken Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Southern Russia.

Answer 8

If your first language is Urdu (not Hindi), then Farsi will be easy as they have similar words. But generally I think Arabic is easier to learn. Whereas Arabic and Farsi are very different from each other. But if you love learning languages, then it'll be easy for you, whichever you choose first. But don't try to learn them together. I did that once and I used to get all confused in which language I'm speaking and mix words up. LOL!

Answer 9

Want To Learn Hebrew Fast?

Answer 10

Arabic