Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I started to learn Japanese last month cause my new girlfriend is Japanese, the different grammar isn't so bad, only the Chinese characters are difficult, but at this point only speaking and listening is important to me, I don't have the intention to live there but her parents speak zero English so, damn
My son told me that he thought Japanese was one of the easiest...learning the Chinese symbols were the hardest part he said - he thought Latin was the hardest.
My son told me that he thought Japanese was one of the easiest...learning the Chinese symbols were the hardest part he said - he thought Latin was the hardest.
Japanese grammar is more simple than Indo-European languages for sure, except the word order which is subject-object-verb, which is how German can be in some cases like in the past tense or using dass in the middle.
Of the languages that I've picked up locally or studied formally, I'd rank them, easiest to hardest, as:
Italian
German
Romanian/Moldovan
Spanish
Portuguese
Mandarin
Inuit
French
Indonesian
Russian
Arabic
Many people told me Indonesian/Malay language was the easiest language for them to learn. I have not learned the language myself, but I'm curious how it is hard to learn.
Many people told me Indonesian/Malay language was the easiest language for them to learn. I have not learned the language myself, but I'm curious how it is hard to learn.
I find that languages are much easier to learn if they have a lot of cognates with my own language. Different people's language learning are wired different, and to the extent that language learning is conscious and analytical, different kinds of cues will work as aids and shortcuts.
When a language has cognates, you can just learn which words they are, and quickly get to the point where you can stumble through with a relatively large vocabulary and barely passable grammar.
Also, languages that you can easily learn to handle for tourist needs are a very different list from those that one can master the intricacies of and become fairly fluent. My needs are the former, I have no need to learn a language beyond communicating as a temporary traveler, and I reported them accofrding to how easy I found them for that level of proficiency..
I find that languages are much easier to learn if they have a lot of cognates with my own language. Different people's language learning are wired different, and to the extent that language learning is conscious and analytical, different kinds of cues will work as aids and shortcuts.
When a language has cognates, you can just learn which words they are, and quickly get to the point where you can stumble through with a relatively large vocabulary and barely passable grammar.
I get your point. If we just use words and almost ignore grammar, then what you said makes sense.
Just like long time no see in English. This is how Chinese people talk with word-to-word translation method.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.