Which is easier to learn by yourself - French or Italian?

Question

I'd like to learn a language by myself in my free time and my first choice is French; second-Italian. I dont have time to attend classes.
I heard that Italian is easier to learn because of the pronunciation, but French is spoken more widely than Italian. Also if I learn Italian, it might be easier to learn Spanish and Portuguese. I'd also like to go to Canada someday and French might come in handy if I'm in Montreal. So should I choose the useful French or easier Italian?

Answer 1

I'm conquering the great and wonderful challenge of learning French alone at the moment. I can't compare it to to Italian because my only exposure to the language is... well, Olive Garden (So none at all.) but I don't find it difficult. There are plenty of websites out there that can help because French is so widespread and I haven't had trouble finding forums to discuss my problems with the language. Of course, I haven't had any problems.

But, well, I'm still in the really early stages. I'm sure I'll have questions later but, god, there are so many resources and so many people that honestly want to help. I'll include one of my favorite links. I have more but they're bookmarked on the laptop and I'm nowhere near it.

Oh, and I don't think the pronunciations are hard. When I record myself and play it back I'm not that hopelessly far away from what the native speakers are saying. I'm a bit slower and I can't quite get the 'r' right but... practice practice practice.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

French

Answer 4

Italian is a lot easier to learn by oneself because of the structural pattern. Within days, you'll be able to pronounce 90% of the words. Grammar is also more predictable.

I'm in Canada and learning French right now. Damn female/male nouns! You can't tell what's female/male with common sense. I try to avoid them by using plurals(LOL). There are lots of letters that are silent so it's hard to spell/pronounce, and grammar is more unpredictable.

But still, you shouldn't learn a language just because it's easy. You should learn it because you enjoy the language or the culture. I love Italian Art so I learned Italian. Then I lived in Rome for a year to practice it. I like Japanese music and comics, so I learned Japanese. If you'd like to come to Canada, French might be more useful for you.

I highly recommend going to classes, however. It's a lot more efficient.

Answer 5

I would say Italian, I took french for four years in high school and, lets say that four years isn't enough time to be good at it, and the accent is pretty hard to master. Go for Italian, but maybe you should learn spanish French, which is way easy because you write it like you speak it.

Answer 6

as a speaker of spanish, french and italian i will have to go with french. Italian has an easier pronounciation, however, it is far more complex. French is very complex in itself, but not as much. As far as learning spanish or portuguese, french would do better, as italian and portuguese share very few similaraties. french is also more widely used. french is also a good language to know as far as being cultured. i would definately go with french first if i were you.

Answer 7

I think French is easier because I speak both languages, and a lot more English grammar rules are seen in French. For example-- to make something plural in French, you add an s. However, in Italian you add an e. I just think it would be more confusing to learn Italian alone.

P.S.-- Portuguese is definitely the hardest language on your list because all of its grammar.

Answer 8

lol french is too hard do italian its alot like spanish so its easy

Answer 9

French. because it is more used than italian and french has more words like english. plus its easier to fake an accent!!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

SPANISH IS THE EASSIEST