English is the most difficult language ? That is what I hear..?

Question

To me it is one of the easiest language..is it some sort of "pat in the back' from anglophones or what ?
Many other languages to me are very difficult.
Your views please ?? Thanks...(before I add comments)

Serious question this time :-) P!

yep..take a Chinese person whose language is not indo-eureopean for ex and they can get by within 6 months..try to learn THEIR language :-)

Answer 1

English is an almost universal "trade" language.

The Navajo language is THE most difficult. It's been said, "If you don't grow up learning and speaking Navajo...fergit it, you'll never learn it!"

Answer 2

Well, I'm a native (Canadian) English speaker, but I have a bloody hard time understanding the language when I'm talking to Brits!

But I can think of a few languages that are much more complex than English. Slavic languages have 6 or 7 versions of saying the same object, depending on how it's used in a sentence, and all things have a gender (feminine, masculine, neuter) which also affects how you say the word. In Japanese you have to be aware of your standing relative to the person you are speaking to, and speak accordingly. An Chinese, you have to worry about intonation (4 to 7 ways to say "ma" depending on the "melody" of your pronunciation), although the grammer may be simple, and there's no alphabet, just characters, so the writing's horrendous!

Oh, and French must be very hard, because everyone in Toronto learns it in school yet practically nobody can speak it.

English is also easier to learn simply because it is everywhere.

Answer 3

English is easier than french but that doesn't mean it's an easy language. Idioms and such are really hard for some people to grasp.
I have been trying to learn and improve my french for 20 years. While I can converse fairly well I could never attempt to write more than simple instructions.You communicate better than a lot of people who have english as a first language. If we anglos say that you have mastered english please take it seriously and be proud.

Answer 4

it certainly is not the most difficult language in the world. At the advanced levels, for instance dutch is harder. At a beginners level, most people have more trouble(s) learning German as well.
From my own perspective, I'd say Finnish is pretty though. And for people who speak an indo-european language, chinese is pretty hard.

Answer 5

I think English is one of the easiest languages to learn.

Answer 6

English is difficult because there are so many exceptions to the rules.