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From the point of view of a speaker of specifically Russian language (since all Slavic languages are phonetically somewhat different,) I can tell you that phonetically Spanish and Italian are a blast with their rolling "R"s ( plus add those Spanish "J"s ( as in "Jose".) Very easy. So I'd say Italian and Spanish are a tie when it comes to phonetics. ( By the way both Spanish speakers and Italian speakers master Russian phonetics easily as well. Grammar-wise, it's probably a tie for Russian speakers as well.
I agree about Italian, but European Spanish has interdental sounds (the letter c before i and e and z in any position are pronounced as voiceless interdental sound like English thin and d in the middle of the word is pronounced as voiced interdental sound like English the), 'lisping' s sound (like in Modern Greek), also the letters b and v in the middle of the word are pronounced like v in very, but this sound is made with only lips, not lips and teeth. All these sounds make Spanish phonetics not so easy for a Russian speaker. And also I don't think that Russian phonetics are so easy for Italian and Spanish speakers because they don't have 'soft' (palatalized) sounds.
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Originally Posted by erasure
French phonetics are quite special; I don't know who find them "agreeable" - may be Germans or Dutch folks?
People can talk about the "easiness" of a language all the want... but most people who claim a language to be easy is not really a master at any.
All languages require years of effort to get fluent.
However, it does depend on what your definition of "learn" a language is. I see people all the time who claim to speak Spanish.. then you hear them talk ...
Picking up some phrases here and there, and maybe grabbing some grammatical tricks would probably be italian or spanish due to the pronunciations being easier than some of the other european languages.
That's why Spanish is rather difficult to learn in terms of verbs conjugations.
Yes, conjugations are so difficult to remember and there are many irregular verbs! But overall I've learned a basic level Spanish quite easily in a few months. I think Spanish is the most beautiful language.
Among the Germanic languages, the easiest for me is English and not just because I've studied it at school, the grammar is easy.
About Slavic and not indoeuropean, I don't know, they seems all difficult to learn and I actually don't like them as they sound. Well, I don't like neither German to be honest.
Yes, conjugations are so difficult to remember and there are many irregular verbs! But overall I've learned a basic level Spanish quite easily in a few months. I think Spanish is the most beautiful language.
Spanish is by far my favorite language out there! It sounds so nice!
From the point of view of a speaker of specifically Russian language (since all Slavic languages are phonetically somewhat different,) I can tell you that phonetically Spanish and Italian are a blast with their rolling "R"s ( plus add those Spanish "J"s ( as in "Jose".) Very easy. So I'd say Italian and Spanish are a tie when it comes to phonetics. ( By the way both Spanish speakers and Italian speakers master Russian phonetics easily as well. Grammar-wise, it's probably a tie for Russian speakers as well.
French phonetics are quite special; I don't know who find them "agreeable" - may be Germans or Dutch folks?
Now Germanic languages - that's a different issue for Russian speakers all together ( since Germanic languages vary greatly.)
In English Russians usually have the most hickish accent ever ( if you ask me,) ditto for struggling with grammar as well, since the logic behind the structure of English language is quite the opposite to the logic behind Russian language. (One has tendency to cluster, the other one has tendency to specify each and every detail just for starters.)
I think Russians are more successful in German and Scandinavian languages, because phonetically they are quite different from English and grammar-wise they are already closer to their own language in logic.
I recall a comment by a linguist-for the average adult it is very difficult to master a language that is quite dissimilar to his own.
So, unless you are a child, the easiest languages are likely closely related to your own.
I agree about Italian, but European Spanish has interdental sounds (the letter c before i and e and z in any position are pronounced as voiceless interdental sound like English thin and d in the middle of the word is pronounced as voiced interdental sound like English the), 'lisping' s sound (like in Modern Greek), also the letters b and v in the middle of the word are pronounced like v in very, but this sound is made with only lips, not lips and teeth. All these sounds make Spanish phonetics not so easy for a Russian speaker. And also I don't think that Russian phonetics are so easy for Italian and Spanish speakers because they don't have 'soft' (palatalized) sounds.
I am not all that familiar with "lisping" of European Spanish - I go more with the version(s) of course I hear in the US - be that Mexican or South American. I've heard Spaniards and Italians speaking Russian though. I think phonetically-speaking they manage it just great, even those "palatalized" sounds. Listen to someone like Graham Phillips (who constantly lives now and works among Russian-speakers) for comparison. That will give you a good picture)))
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Portuguese.
Why Portuguese I wonder ( grammar-wise I understand, but phonetics?)
(Ah, ok, never mind, I listened to it (European version) I get it.
(P.S. Me personally - I'd have a problem mastering European Portuguese from phonetic point of view; Brazilian - may be, but with a big stretch. I never had a problem with French though; the first time I've heard it, I knew practically right away how they "do it." So for me it's the easiest language ( phonetically speaking,) god knows why)))) )
I think German is easier than Dutch in terms of phonetics. German has no diphtongs like ij and ui which are not always easy to pronounce.
Spanish pronunciation is pretty easy for a Russian speaker - easier than English and French. Italian even more easy.
Portuguese has some special sounds but in general is sounds surprizingly similar to Russian - I don't know, maybe intonation is similar.
Location: Segovia, central Spain, 1230 m asl, Csb Mediterranean with strong continental influence, 40º43 N
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marmel
I think German is easier than Dutch in terms of phonetics. German has no diphtongs like ij and ui which are not always easy to pronounce.
Spanish pronunciation is pretty easy for a Russian speaker - easier than English and French. Italian even more easy.
Portuguese has some special sounds but in general is sounds surprizingly similar to Russian - I don't know, maybe intonation is similar.
I would say Dutch diphthongs are not difficult to pick out from someone who has previously learned French, no matter if they are natives or people learning French as a second language.
Why Portuguese I wonder ( grammar-wise I understand, but phonetics?)
It has nasal vowels, just like French. And also the letter j is read in Portuguese the same way as French (like the sound in English vision).
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