Which Language Is Older, Persian or Arabic
Sometimes, a person may share more traits with their cousins than with their siblings. It is all about who you spend the most time with. The same happens with cultures and languages. Even if it doesn’t make sense for two otherwise different cultures to have similar features, proximity can make it happen. In order to study something, dividing it into categories is the best course of action. We have done the same with languages so we can understand their connections with each other. But since there are over seven thousand discovered vernaculars in the world, some of them may share no features despite being in the same family. While some, on the other hand, may have similarities despite belonging to separate families.
The Arabic Language:
One of the world’s most popular and influential vernaculars is the lingua franca of the Arab World. Arabic has been around for a long time and has affected different tongues. When Muslims conquered the Iberian Peninsula, their language ended up affecting the vernacular of the natives. Even today, there are plenty of Arabic words in the Spanish language. But the influence of the vernacular did not remain limited to Spanish. During the Middle Ages, Muslim thinkers and philosophers were making all kinds of discoveries. They were making progress in all fields, from Mathematics to Astronomy. But all of their findings were recorded in Arabic. Anyone who wanted to access that information needed to learn the language. When the Europeans wanted to learn more about the modern sciences, they turned to the texts written by Muslim thinkers. This is how they brought Arabic to their land. Some of them learned the tongue to be able to understand the texts and ended up adding Arabic words in their everyday language. The influence of Arabic can also be seen in Africa. When Muslims went to the continent for trading, they ended up sharing their vernacular with the natives. This is why speakers of the tongue can be found in Africa. There are also Arabic pidgins that are spoken on the continent.
The Persian Language:
Another famous tongue in Asia that has been around for thousands of centuries is Persian. It has different standard versions in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. All the versions are quite similar, and their speakers can understand each other without much difficulty. The name of the vernacular comes from the region where it originated. It was the Fars region of Iran where Persian had its birth, which is why it is known as Farsi. Interestingly, Persian shares a lot of features with European languages. Particularly the grammar of the language has a lot of European features, which is why it was placed in the Indo-European Family. It has influenced a lot of vernaculars in the region. There are many words of Persian origin in Urdu. Even Hindi has a few words from this tongue. It is an important part of the Iranian and Afghani culture. It continues to evolve as an important vernacular of the region and has over a hundred million speakers in the world.
Which Language is Older, Persian, or Arabic?
There are many factors common between the two famous vernaculars of Asia. For a long time, Arabic was the language of sciences. It helped society move forward and paved the way for future discoveries. But as it was changing the world of sciences, Persian was redefining literature. It broke the monopoly that Arabic had over the Muslim world. It became the popular tongue for many people. It was even favored by the Mughals when they were the rulers of India. As a result, the two vernaculars came side by side to change the way the world thinks. Even today, the Persian books are considered an important part of literature and inspire many writers and poets. As for the question that which of them is older, then Persian takes the prize if we include the history of its earliest version. The Old Persian had been around since 550-330 BC until it transitioned into the Middle version of the tongue in 224 CE. Old Arabic, on the other hand, emerged in the 1st century CE. It took some time to develop into its current version. The reason behind its popularity is its value to Muslims. It is valued and loved by the followers of Islam everywhere in the world, which is why it has managed to become more popular than Persian, a language that has been around for a lot longer. But it is also remarkable for Persian to have survived even after all these centuries. It continues to grow even today and is not limited to Iran, where it originated. The two vernaculars have influenced the same languages. Due to the connection with Islam, they have managed to influence Urdu, Pashto, and other tongues of the Muslim countries. They are quite unique in their grammar and alphabet. Arabic is particularly considered a difficult to learn language. And interestingly, most of its speakers do not like learning foreign tongues. So, if anyone were to do business in the Arab world, they will need linguistic help. Due to the complexity of the language, it is better to get a native expert’s help. And if you can’t find a native expert on your own, getting in touch with an agency is the best idea. They can connect you with the right expert and provide you results on time. Read the full article
