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Old 10-17-2015, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
4,944 posts, read 2,939,880 times
Reputation: 3805

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Quote:
Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed View Post
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
It helps if you watch alot of anime
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Old 10-18-2015, 05:32 AM
 
919 posts, read 839,939 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by violent by design View Post
How many people have you met that can speak Manchu well? Isn't it a nearly extinct language?
To be honest, none

My teacher bought textbooks from Xinjiang, China. Xibo, or 锡伯 in Chinese, people living in Xinjiang speak Manchu.
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Old 10-22-2015, 10:56 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,554 posts, read 86,954,125 times
Reputation: 36644
I've never "had" to learn any, but the hardest I ever tried to learn were Arabic and Russian.

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


But I'd have to allow for the widely varying ages at which I tried to learn them. It keeps getting harder as you get older.

Last edited by jtur88; 10-22-2015 at 11:05 PM..
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Old 10-22-2015, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
14,773 posts, read 8,103,690 times
Reputation: 25147
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.
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Old 10-23-2015, 03:43 PM
 
25,021 posts, read 27,927,795 times
Reputation: 11790
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady View Post
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.
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Old 10-23-2015, 08:49 PM
 
919 posts, read 839,939 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
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.
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Old 10-24-2015, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,554 posts, read 86,954,125 times
Reputation: 36644
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yanagisawa View Post
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..
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Old 10-24-2015, 09:21 PM
 
919 posts, read 839,939 times
Reputation: 373
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
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.

好:good, or very
久:long time
不:no
见:see
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Old 10-25-2015, 07:31 AM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
4,944 posts, read 2,939,880 times
Reputation: 3805
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yanagisawa View Post
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.

好:good, or very
久:long time
不:no
见:see
Did the Chinese steal Japanese kanji?
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Old 10-25-2015, 09:49 AM
 
14,302 posts, read 11,692,440 times
Reputation: 39095
Quote:
Originally Posted by BornintheSprings View Post
Did the Chinese steal Japanese kanji?
This had better be a joke...!!
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