Which language is the easiest to learn?

Answer 1

To an American, British and Canadian.
Just kidding. Really probably Spanish.

Answer 2

Okay, first here are some pointers that many first time language learners don't realize, then I'm going to suggest a language for you.

Learning a new language requires effort, plain and simple. Some languages are easier than others however. Here are some ideas many second language learners don't normally realize that should help though.

FIRST: Completely eliminate idioms when you speak. We use a LOT of phrases that are not understood in other countries, and they use ones we don't understand. Examples: Get to first base. Flip the switch. Hitch a ride. Hit the road.
Put yourself in the place of a new learner of English and ask yourself if you would really understand the meaning of 'hit the road' when you heard it, or would you litterally try to 'hit the road'?
Even between England and North America, for example 'knock someone up'. In North America it means get someone pregnant. In England it means knock on their door. So you can see how embarrassing it might be should you stumble on an idiom that means something else.

SECOND: Realize that it is not ALWAYS a one-for-one word exchange when translating. Some languages can express an idea in as little as one word compared to a few, and vice-versa.
Also, many languages don't use the Subject, Verb, Object sequence that English does. Some are S-O-V or V-S-O, etc.
Hand in hand with this, understanding that the idea being expressed is what's important, not the way it's said. Just because the sentence wasn't constructed the way we would have said it doesn't make it wrong.

THIRD: Pronunciation can be improved by reciting the names of things you see as you walk about, and holding conversations with yourself in the absence of friends to practice with. (Warning! Don't do this in the vacinity of mental institutions.)

LAST: I cheated. I learnt the worlds easiest language first and now I find I understand English better (my native tongue) and I'm in a better position to learn more languages. I've provided a link below to better explain this.

That language was ESPERANTO. It is designed such that you MUST understand sentence structure, which helps to understand other languages. It has 16 gramatical rules... with NO EXCEPTIONS!
I frequently make this claim; "If you can't learn Esperanto, you can't learn ANY language."
Plus you end up with a multitude of Esperanto friends; oh the burdens we bear.

Not to understate it of course, but listen to and read as much as you possibly can, whenever you can.
Immersion, immersion, IMMERSION!
I listen to Esperanto music all day long, just to tune my ear to it.

Any second language makes learning a third easier because you acquire a feel for the differences that other languages might have. Esperanto is the logical choice as the second language because it demonstrates linguistic principles better than most, but more importantly, you can learn Esperanto in months instead of years for any other tongue.

Contrary to what you might hear about it, Esperanto has about 2 million speakers as of about 1995, and with the growth of the internet that has probably doubled by now. You can hook into some of my other answers to get a feel for how useful it is.

I'm amused by the 'not a true language' comment that pops up from time to time. One Esperantist once made the comment 'Esperanto is not a true language like a car is not a true horse and buggy'. It serves the same function as a language and it works. Very well if you bother to look at all the places it's used.

The first points should help you master another tongue, regardless of whether you learn Esperanto or not.
Of course will and determination are required no matter what language you learn.

Research and draw your own conclusions.

Good luck!

Ĝis!

Answer 3

well it depends, if your first language is English than i would say either Spanish, french or maybe even Italian. but if your first language was something like mandarin Chinese then it would be easier to learn Japanese.

You have to think of the language in relative to your own, french, and especially Spanish have many similar words and a pronunciations to English, whereas Mandarin is nothing like English at all. But if you are fluent in Mandarin Japanese would be much easier to learn because the pronunciation are similar and there are lots of similar verbs.

So i would say that overall Spanish is probably the easiest to learn from English, and probably the most useful seeing as Spanish is growing to be just as commonly spoken as English in America

Answer 4

It depends on 1) how similar the language is to your own 2) your aptitude for language learning and 3) your motivation.

You can have aptitude without motivation and motivation without aptitude.

If your first language is English, another European language would probably be easier than a non-european one. Latin based languages (French, Spanish, Italian) are ofen easier for most English speakers because English has a huge number of Latin based vocabulary items (even though it's a Germanic language)

But if you have motivation and aptitude, there are over 3,000 langauges to choose from so...

Answer 5

As a first language, they're all the same (some are harder to learn to read and write though).

As a second language, the one you have the most resources for learning. It doesn't matter if Spanish has, say, easier sounds than French, if you have someone you can speak French to every day and all you have for Spanish is a workbook, French'll be easier.

Answer 6

English

Answer 7

The language your parents are speaking is the easiest to learn. But something happens when you get to be around 10-13 years of age. At this age your parents instructions are hard to listen to and follow. However, around 25 or so (especially if you have children of your own) you can understand your parents again. Amazing.

Answer 8

I'm not sure, but french is easier thatr spanish, and english is the hardest language to learn a a second language.

Answer 9

I know French, Sign Language, Spanish, German, and English. I'm an American. (amazing huh?) I think that in my entire life Spanish was the easiest to learn because it simplifies itself, French was the hardest because it complexifies itself.

Answer 10

Depends what you already know. I'm assuming that you speak English because your post is in English, so you'll want to take something else Latin-based. I'd suggest Spanish or Italian. But you could also take German if you don't want something Latin based because English takes more from German than most other European languages.

Answer 11

Latin. Simple grammer rules and I think only a total of about 100 exceptions to typical rules in the entire language. After you master that, you can easily learn almost any European language.