Studying the native languages of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia provides a powerful entry into the rich and diverse culture of the region. Arabic is an official language in 22 countries and widely spoken in an additional 11 countries with an estimated 500 million native speakers globally.  Persian is the native language of more than 150 million people globally and although spoken primarily in Iran, it is also spoken in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and in many parts of Central Asia. Beyond Turkey with its population of 77 million people, Turkish is widely spoken in neighbouring countries and is increasingly recognised as a language of importance given Turkey’s status as a member of the G20, NATO and OECD.

Given the geo-political and cultural significance of the region, speakers in Turkish, Arabic and Persian are in high demand worldwide. Please reach out to our language staff to discuss which language option is best suited to your study.