Rasmus

Ca 8% of the baha'i holy writings have been translated into English.
If a person wants to learn one of the languages (or both) of revelation to be able to read and to some extent understand the writings, where would it be most preferable to start?

Which language is most frequently used, arabic or persian?

Is it easier to start with one or the other?

I have heard some arabic language students say it is a very complicated language, hard to learn, so I am aware of this, however I am very curious about those remaining 92%.

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jwiegley

I would suggest you start with Arabic. There are more learning resources for it, and its grammar, while complicated, is still rather straightforward. But it all depends on what is available to you. I went with Persian because I was surrounded by Persians.

And though it's true that Persian is not as difficult to learn, its flexibility is such that it can actually be much harder for a beginner to read at times. I've encountered sentences where even though I knew what the English was, I just couldn't figure out how to get there from the Persian. There are times when it seems you almost need to use your power of intuition to wrest meaning from a dense phrase.

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