it is certainly doable, but can be confusing and more difficult than studying just one at a time. there is a large number of false friends between the two languages, such as هندسه ("engineering" in arabic, but "geometry" in persian) that can confuse you, and it can be hard for beginners to remember that many of the letters represent different sounds as well-- thus قاضی "judge" is pronounced roughly [qæ:dˤi] (qadhi) in standard arabic and [ɣɒzi] (ghaazi) in persian.
instead of starting both at the same time, i would recommend picking one and focusing on it for at least a few months (a year would be preferable) before starting the other. there are advantages to starting with either one or the other: persian is easier to start with, since it's a fairly simple and regular indo-european language, not too much harder than spanish for english-speakers to learn; on the other hand, learning arabic first will help more with persian than persian will with arabic. learning how words are formed in arabic will make learning persian vocabulary a snap, as about 40% of persian vocabulary is derived from arabic. however, arabic is notoriously difficult to learn, very different from english, with tons of exceptions and irregularities.
my advice would be to begin with persian (easypersian.com, unilang, and learn_persian are good places to start), since it's easier and will be less intimidating. once you have a good grasp of persian and can read basic texts, i would then learn the patterns of deriving words from roots in arabic - it's like learning about how latin and greek roots are formed when studying english. (you can find guides to such patterns geared towards persian students in some persian textbooks, such as windfuhr or the incomparable thackston). this will help you learn a ton of persian vocabulary, making advanced persian texts more accessible, and give you a head start on arabic. after you've mastered the most common patterns for arabic word formation, that might be a good point to start fully studying arabic, so you can put the arabic patterns and vocabulary you learned to use not just in persian, but in arabic as well.
if you have other questions, feel free to ask me; i've been studying persian (primarily) and arabic (secondarily) for several years now (and am also applying to grad school for middle eastern studies). by the way, what is your focus/area of interest within MES? depending on the subject, both arabic and persian might not be necessary (or another language could be).
im too lazy to sign in and the log in seems to be an issue here.
i think i'll probably stick with arabic first but since it might smooth better with persian later.
well, im not really into academics -- im just a librarian at a major research center. i'd like to have a background in that area so i can support the existing collections we have.
im thinking of history and contemporary social politics and foreign affairs. i'd like to look into the history of minority groups in the ottoman empire and im very interested in looking at m.e. relations with China (since I am already fluent in Chinese) in terms of business and politics. i'd like to transfer those language skills (hopefully) to the state dept or something in the future.
what program/area are you interested?
im actually still all over the place as you can see. i have my doubts. sometimes i think about just getting a masters in history or poli sci instead of middle eastern studies since i can cover both areas - east asia and middle eastern. but i don't know --- i also want to learn arabic too.
and ive been told that knowing French is important right? im on and off with French .. it's too hard for me but reading is fine ... i appreciate your advice really.
french is definitely important (and german can be helpful too) for MES. speaking or writing french is not at all necessary, you just need to be able to read, so if you can already do that, then you're set. my field is iranian literature, specifically the relationship between poetry and the state in the persianate world. but i'm personally also interested in contemporary history and politics of the region, so i've studied a few other relevant languages as well.
I have a little website with Arabic vocabulary lists and grammar lessons here. It isn't totally comprehensive -- there are still sections I need to add -- but it has a decent amount of information, including both standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. (The grammar lessons mainly cover the Egyptian dialect, not standard Arabic.) You can also try looking through this Arabic Resources links page.
instead of starting both at the same time, i would recommend picking one and focusing on it for at least a few months (a year would be preferable) before starting the other. there are advantages to starting with either one or the other: persian is easier to start with, since it's a fairly simple and regular indo-european language, not too much harder than spanish for english-speakers to learn; on the other hand, learning arabic first will help more with persian than persian will with arabic. learning how words are formed in arabic will make learning persian vocabulary a snap, as about 40% of persian vocabulary is derived from arabic. however, arabic is notoriously difficult to learn, very different from english, with tons of exceptions and irregularities.
my advice would be to begin with persian (easypersian.com, unilang, and learn_persian are good places to start), since it's easier and will be less intimidating. once you have a good grasp of persian and can read basic texts, i would then learn the patterns of deriving words from roots in arabic - it's like learning about how latin and greek roots are formed when studying english. (you can find guides to such patterns geared towards persian students in some persian textbooks, such as windfuhr or the incomparable thackston). this will help you learn a ton of persian vocabulary, making advanced persian texts more accessible, and give you a head start on arabic. after you've mastered the most common patterns for arabic word formation, that might be a good point to start fully studying arabic, so you can put the arabic patterns and vocabulary you learned to use not just in persian, but in arabic as well.
if you have other questions, feel free to ask me; i've been studying persian (primarily) and arabic (secondarily) for several years now (and am also applying to grad school for middle eastern studies). by the way, what is your focus/area of interest within MES? depending on the subject, both arabic and persian might not be necessary (or another language could be).
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im too lazy to sign in and the log in seems to be an issue here.
i think i'll probably stick with arabic first but since it might smooth better with persian later.
well, im not really into academics -- im just a librarian at a major research center. i'd like to have a background in that area so i can support the existing collections we have.
im thinking of history and contemporary social politics and foreign affairs. i'd like to look into the history of minority groups in the ottoman empire and im very interested in looking at m.e. relations with China (since I am already fluent in Chinese) in terms of business and politics. i'd like to transfer those language skills (hopefully) to the state dept or something in the future.
what program/area are you interested?
im actually still all over the place as you can see. i have my doubts. sometimes i think about just getting a masters in history or poli sci instead of middle eastern studies since i can cover both areas - east asia and middle eastern. but i don't know --- i also want to learn arabic too.
and ive been told that knowing French is important right? im on and off with French .. it's too hard for me but reading is fine ... i appreciate your advice really.
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