Is English really hard to learn?

Question

Jut think of any word in Spanish and it's English equivalent. You will find that most one syllable words in English have two or three syllables in Spanish. English is very easy to conjugate, and the verbs HAVE NO GENDER. English is the combined art of several languages and many words are Latin based. For those who say English is too difficult to learn, try any Asian or Arabic language. A least, we have our written alphabets in common.

Answer 1

Sergio, can I have some documentation?

•••Which is the most difficult language?

We are often asked what is the most difficult language to learn, and it is a difficult question to answer because there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Firstly, as a first language, or mother tongue, the differences are unimportant, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only arises in the area of second language acquisition.

A native speaker of Spanish will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language is an important factor. the more different a language is from our mother tongue, the harder it will be to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning Chinese characters, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, the writing will be less of a challenge than it will for people from languages using the Roman alphabet.

Some people can learn languages naturally and easily without much effort, while others find it very difficult, so natural aptitude for language learning is another factor. Teachers and the circumstances in which we learn also play an important role, as well as the motivation for learning. If people learn a language they need to use, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in the lives.

There is no single answer to this question; it depends on so many factors. However, the British Foreign Office has looked at the languages that diplomats and other embassy staff have to learn and has worked out which they find the most difficult to learn. The second hardest is Japanese, which probably comes as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most difficult to learn is Hungarian, which has 35 cases (forms of a nouns accoring to whether it is subject, object, genetive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everybody, but it causes British diplomatic staff, who are used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it would probably cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.

Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which is alphabetic, but the grammatical complexity, though native speakers of related languages may find it easier, while struggling with languages that we find relatively easy. No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language will be easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult that another. --------In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.------•••

Answer 2

It Is Proven
By The MILLIONS Of Immigrants That Have Come To The USA
In The Past 200 Years
That The English Language Can Be Learned FLUENTLY
(Read AND Write)
Within 18 Months

IF The People Are Actually TRYING To Learn It

That Doesnt Leave Much Wiggle Room
For That Weak Arguement

There Are ILLEGAL Aliens That Have Been Living In The USA
(Some For 20 Years)
That Do Not Speak A Word Of English

There Is NO EXCUSE
Except That They REFUSE To Learn It

Answer 3

Communication is a complex matter. On one hand, the modern tendency is toward breaking down linguistic walls, primarily on account of mass media. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, English is now spoken as a primary or a secondary language by 1 person in 7. Thus, it is the most widely used lingua franca in the world. People's use of it has allowed for wider communication and the exchange of beneficial information.
On the other hand, linguistic walls have contributed to division, hatred, and war. The World Book Encyclopedia states: "If all peoples spoke the same tongue, . . .goodwill would increase between countries." Of course, such goodwill would require a much more profound change than the mere use of a lingua franca

One language unites a nation -two always divides--History

Answer 4

My parents said it was not too bad.They made the transition from Japanese to English. Many native English speakers struggle with Asian languages because the writing and pronunciation is often difficult for them. I am learning to speak Spanish and I find it easy, many of the words in English do make alot of sense in Spanish and vice versa. English is hard because of the extensive vocabulary. But vocabulary is something you build over time, and really there are alot of English speakers who don't have large vocabularies. All you need to be a citizen is a 6th grade comprehension of English. It is really not difficult and is certainly not a demand for fluency. Of course, one would hope they would strive to improve even after being legalized.

Answer 5

That depends partly upon from which language group one is coming to English. For a native Dutch or German speaker perhaps not too hard. For others it could be tougher. For someone used to a more detailed verb structure, for example, ours might be hard because it is so based on context and not the verb form.

Also, English is very irregular and many languages are not.

Answer 6

English is, by far, the easiest language to learn. It's also widely accepted internationally. Almost every school worldwide teaches English.

The more languages you learn, the better. However, this depends on people's comprehension and ability to adapt a newly learned language though. Some just find it unbelievably difficult to write or speak in a particular language.

Finally, I believe practice makes perfect in learning a language and try blending in with native speakers as often as one can, along with an avid reading habit to enhance your learning experience.

Answer 7

Conversational english is probobly the easiest language to learn. due to:
1) preponderance of english in popular culture (MTV is EVERYWHERE)
2) It has NO GENDER
3) conjugation of verbs is usually very simple
4) If you screw it up..it's NOT A PRECISE language and you'll still be understood
5) The sounds in English that form the brain synapses in early youth are present in most other languages. Whereas there are many sounds in other languages that are NOT present in english

WRITTEN English is, however much more difficult to master
due to it's number of non-conforming rules and anomalies

Answer 8

English is actually extremely difficult, because of its irregularities. It's not the conjugations or the vocabulary gender that ar ethe problem - it's the exceptions to those rules. There are a lot of exceptions.

Try learning latin some time. The difference is quite striking.

Answer 9

well i have always said any one who thinks english is hard is a little on the retarded side. i came to this country when i was 16 yo i didnt know a word in english and it only took me 6 months to learn to read it and understand most of it spoken by 8 months no one could lie to me or make me confused because i knew it very well and by the time i was here for a year i had all the slang figured out "hard?!?" ppffftt i dont think so .

Answer 10

The wierdest thing about English is the pronunciation. Unlike most languages, similarly spelled words can have very different pronunciations.

daughter, laughter
move, rove, dove (the bird)
was, gas

I keep trying to figure out how English got into such a state.