For this reason, it is considered a macro language because its reach is vast and extensive. Spanish is often the go-to language for English speakers because of its small inventory of speech sounds and user-friendly phonetic spelling system. This means that once English speakers have had a chance to learn some basic rules, theyre usually able to pick it up quite quickly. However, the Empire still maintained cultural and political significance even as its sphere of influence shrank. This will boost your confidence and enjoyment of the language, making you want to learn more. Chinese is a very difficult language to learn (whether Mandarin or Cantonese) due to the use of tone and of course the unfamiliar script. Should you go for a more widely spoken language like Spanish or Mandarin, a politically relevant one like Russian, or one you can Although it is only spoken by a maximum of 750,000 people spread between Germany and the Netherlands, if we go straight to the truth, Frisian is the easiest language for English speakers to learn. You could even try changing the language on your cell phone! However, that also depends on many other factors. Indonesian is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 40 million native speakers and more than 150 million non-native speakers. You shouldnt have unrealistic goals though. It shares many similarities with English, including a common alphabet, comparable sentence structure and familiar vocabulary. For instance, to change a singular word to plural, all you have to do is repeat the word or add an extra one. For example, everyday German words like Wasser, (water) Apfel, (apple) and Fisch (fish) are very similar to their English equivalents. This is one of the reasons why Persian speakers sound so melodic when pronouncing words aloud. It is thought that the language may begin to rise in popularity, though, since it is featured on the popular language immersion app, Duolingo. These letters are , , , , , , , and . There are also no capital letters in Persian writing, making it difficult to decipher as an English speaker. This selection may also come as a surprise, but Indonesian has several qualities that make it a logical choice for English speakers. It is similar in many ways to other languages that native English speakers find easier to learn, such as Spanish and French. Cognates are when a similar-sounding word has an identical meaning. While many beginner courses or introductory lessons to the language ignore Persian script, its important to supplement your learning with understanding the alphabet of your target language, to encourage reading and writing Farsi in the original written form. Especially if you have no one around you who speaks it. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Jakob is a full-time traveler, obsessive language learner, and dedicated language teacher. Physical and cultural differences, Youll find all of this straight after the list! Above all, have fun. Even so, French does share many similarities with English, especially when it comes to the vocabulary. This location of spoken Persian in Iran is where another term is used for the language. Fill in the form below and well contact you to discuss your learning options and answer any questions you may have. Welsh is a reasonably difficult language to get to grips with for native English speakers, even those English speakers who have lived in Wales for their whole life! and the grammar, pronunciation and spelling is simpler than in many other languages. You may even find that some of the vocabulary words are easily identifiable because they are similar to words in your native language. If you want to learn Persian online, there are many great options available to you right at your fingertips. Ethiopians also speak the Tigrinya language; however, most are from the Tigray area (specifically in Eritrea). There are some shared cognates such as ja which means yes and veld which means field. is pronounced as Ay twah and Pouvez-vous? (Can you?) For example, the noun system is different from most other languages you may have heard of since it has three genders and two numbers. Finally, if you want an open-source tutorial that is accessible from anywhere, check out Perso-Arabic alphabet and script lessons through WikiBooks and the sites lesson plans. According to the FSI, professional working proficiency in this set of languages might take 23-24 weeks. Like Indonesian, its an Austronesian language. Get my exclusive language learning content delivered straight to your inbox. As a country, Iceland is relatively cut off from other places and so they have been able to retain some of their traditional language and grammar rules. 2023 Enux Education Limited. However, not only is it rewarding to form a friendship in this way, but it can also be beneficial to your learning journey. Danish 3. For example, a high pitch means new information, a low pitch provides old information, low to high is used for contrast, and varying low and high tones brings doubt. Gaelic has two common types: Scottish and Irish. This will help you to work out whether a particular language is right for you or whether you may want to start with the one that is more similar to your native language. This means youll be able to read and pronounce most words correctly once you have learned a few ground rules. Here are nine of the easiest languages to learn for Spanish speakers: 1. Sure, learning grammar rules and acquiring vocabulary takes time, but the learning process should be very smooth. Since French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, youve probably come in contact with it one way or another. Many Japanese language apps teach users the various fascinating aspects of Japanese culture whilst also teaching the Japanese language. Nevertheless, Georgian is a beautiful language, particularly when listening to the music of the country. Some of them are members of the Germanic family of languages so they share quite a bit of vocab with English. As with the Vikings English got lots of Scandinavian words and are also Germanic languages like English sharing the same core words. Malay is spoken in Malaysia and Indonesian in Indonesia. Up until now, all the languages we have discussed have had estimated learning times of 600 hours or less. Its one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with around 534 million speakers scattered all around the globe. Frisian was once the primary language of what during the Middle Ages was known as Frisia. With dedication, motivation, lots of passion, and enthusiasm to learn, you will be able to master any language you want. Or, for a more step-based lesson book, try Learn Persian (Farsi) Step by Step: Level One Beginner (Steps 1 to 10) by Fruzan Seifi, available in both kindle formats and physical copies. This is because the Dutch were some of the first colonizers of the States. And that will make your learning process a whole lot easier. Similar to the Rosetta Stone, the inscription features three languages for the same text, including Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite, and gives historians and linguists a great look into what the original dialect of Persia was like. It is easier to learn Kurdish and other similar languages in the Iranian language family after studying Persian (Farsi). Download our free French essentials eBook to accompany your studies. Easiest should be Norwegian and Swedish. With Farsi being such a surprisingly easy language to learn, why not start your journey into its grammar, inflections, and wider Persian culture today. On the other hand, the sentence structure and verb focus of Tagalog is quite different to that of English, which makes it the most challenging language on this list. At the end of the day, if you surround yourself with the Italian language, youll be able to learn it much quicker. That's mostly because it's a Germanic language - just like English. Here are some of the best apps for learning Farsi or Persian. With the help of cognates and surprisingly simple grammar rules, you'll be on your way to mastering a language in no time. The only barrier you need to overcome is yourself. Depending on where in the States you are, you may find that you are surrounded by Italian speakers thanks to the mass Italian immigration to places such as New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. If the writing style is very different from what you are used to then you may well struggle to get to grips with this at first. If you prefer the feeling of a book in your hands while learning a language, you are not alone. So, how easy or difficult a language might be for you to learn will depend not only on the language itself, but also on which languages youre already fluent in, or at least familiar with.Remember, how long it will take you to learn a language is influenced by many different factors. Similar in many ways to Norwegian, Swedish is yet another Germanic language that is a little simpler for native English speakers to learn. Many languages are similar to other languages. There are a few unique and fascinating grammar rules that the language follows, which are worth mentioning here, relating primarily to Persian morphology. With the wide range of smartphone applications available for every purpose under the sun, its no wonder you can find language learning there too! From this period, we primarily have the remains of religious Pahlavi or Zarathushti texts that described Persias new religion, Zoroastrianism. Norwegian 4. On one hand, its not an overly complicated language to learn, as the pronunciation isnt difficult, and much of its vocabulary is borrowed from other languages, including English, Spanish and Malay. According to a study by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. 1. After the Empire of Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great and subsequently split up, the re-emergence of the language took over 500 years to come about. The only verb ending that needs to be used is -r!). So if you're curious about the easiest languages to learn, I've got 10 great suggestions to help you out. However, in general, it is much more difficult than other Indo-European languages because it uses a different alphabet or script system. That might seem a bit confusing, but it can actually be an advantage since there is often no single correct way to pronounce a certain word. In Afghanistan, it is called Dari, and in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, it is known as Tajik. The most challenging aspect of this language for English speakers will likely be the pronunciation., In Belgium, Flemish, which is the dialect spoken in the Flanders region, is actually identical to Dutch. It's spoken in South Africa, Namibia, and a few other countries. For example, the word frolic meaning to play and move around cheerfully (e.g. German 2. But even if youre not familiar with any other similar language, Portuguese will be relatively easy to learn. Hungarian belongs to the language family known as Uralic (this also includes Finnish). There are hundreds of French cognates in English. Enter Spanish. No matter how busy you are or how difficult you think it may be, theres a language out there for everyone! As an Austronesian language, Indonesian does differ quite a bit from the Germanic and Romance languages on this list, but its actually surprisingly straightforward for English-speakers to learn. Now, its time to go over some of the best resources that are available to anyone who wants to begin learning to speak Persian. They often descend from the same common parental or ancestral language and can branch off to form many other unique languages. Some people even think it is one of the sexiest languages in the world. Some writing systems require writing from right to left, as opposed to the left to right method that Germanic languages (English, German, etc.) The language of ancient Persia has gone through many changes to become the modern day language were now familiar with. It is important to note that the Farsi and Persian languages are the same things, with Farsi simply being an endonym, or the languages name according to native speakers. There are some false cognates you should be careful about though. . Spanish 2. That's why the US Foreign Service Institute - the guys who train diplomats - rank Spanish as one of the fastest languages to learn for English . The change to New Persian was initially sparked by the rise of Islam and the Arabic nations of the area, including the adoption of Arabic script for writing, illumination for manuscripts, and a wider spread of poetry. This makes it easier to get to grips with if you already have prior knowledge of any of them. The Hindi language is a relatively challenging one and takes hours to perfect to even an intermediate level. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Persia was one of the most powerful empires on earth, rivaling those of the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. FluentU Review [2023]: Details, Features and What Real Users Have to Say, The Penny Pinchers Guide to Learning Any Language for Free, The Top 8 What Language Should I Learn Online Quizzes, The 6 Best Sources of Language Learning Videos on the Internet. See this researched list of the best online Persian courses to start with. Georgian script is unicase, meaning there are no capital letters and it runs from left to right. French is a language that has many similarities to English, and they share a large number of cognates. There is some memorization needed of their verb forming rules and their articles. Italian 7. Therefore, it is relatively easy for all speakers to learn, regardless of their native language. Even though its an artificial language, its 2 million speakers, several hundred thousand Wikipedia articles and organizations worldwide would argue that it still counts. Because of this, many words can change meaning entirely when a suffix is added! We have another popular Romance language for you to consider of course, its French. But yes, Swahili is also categorized as a less demanding language to learn. Tigrinya. 12 Toki Pona. This is another language on the list that might surprise you. The first peoples of Persia under the rule of Cyrus the Great would have spoken this dialect, which we have written cuneiform evidence of, thanks to the Bistun Inscription, found on Mount Behistun near modern-day Kermanshah in Iran. So many languages are arguably easier to pick up than others for English speakers. Dont worry according to FSIs language difficulty ranking, Portuguese is also in Category 1. Both the script and vocabulary system of this dialect is far from the modern version, with small, wedge-like lettering and a fusional language syntax system that mirrored other languages like Latin in using genders and noun cases. What is the easiest language to learn for French speakers? But although the country is surrounded by Slavic-speaking countries, Romanian is actually a Romance language and uses much of the same vocabulary as Italian, Spanish and French., For example,La revedere, which is used for saying goodbye, is similar to the Italian Arrividerci, and the apology Scuz-m is similar to the French Excusez-moi. Its also a phonetic language, which means most words are spelled the same way they are pronounced., Of course, there are a few trickier aspects to this language, including grammatical differences and letters with diacritics. But, overall, Romanian, which is spoken by around 30 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova, is a surprisingly easy language to learn., Danish is a Germanic language spoken by around 6 million people, most of whom live in Denmark. Though Persian expansion arrived at a standstill after a failed attempt to colonize Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars following the Ionian Revolt of 499 BC, the Persian defeat at Marathon, and Dariuss death, his successor was still determined to continue the legacy of previous kings. If you are interesting in learning Korean, it is worth looking at the Rocket Korean language course, part of the Rocket Languages series. It shares many similarities with English, especially when it comes to vocabulary. By this, we mean some may not use what is known as the Latin alphabet (A, B, C, D, etc. In order to put this list together, we took into account the numerous factors which should be considered when deciding whether or not a language is difficult, or easy to learn. One of the best ways that you can learn a language is to fully immerse yourself in all aspects of it, including different types of media in that particular language. Like Norwegian, it shares many different cognates with the English language, and pronunciation can be guessed relatively easily when you look at the spelling of certain words. The grammar structure is, on the other hand, a bit unusual for English speakers. There are also connectors that can make sentences long, meaning they are even more complex to understand and translate. The first of the two means a lock whereas the second means a castle. First of all, English and Norwegian share a lot of . It is spoken in 21 different countries! Portuguese vs Spanish How Similar Are They? This is because Japanese has long been thought to be one of the most difficult languages ever to learn, whether you are native English speaking or not. Similarly, demy has lessons from native Farsi speakers that allow you to fluently speak and understand the language. These grammatical constructs are often difficult to grasp for many languages but the simplicity of Norwegian grammar makes it a little easier. Some languages do not use the alphabet as we know it. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. However, some languages are generally considered less demanding for English speakers. Learning a new language can be made much easier when immersed completely, so opting for an on-site language school is a great option. For example, it is spoken in Iran and called Farsi. The German language is thought to take slightly longer to learn than this. French speakers can master other Romance languages like Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. In comparison, a language that is not in your language family may be more difficult to get to grips with. This means you will have to work hard to memorize the way words are written. Spanish pronunciation is another advantage. Finnish is an interesting language to feature on this list because most people may assume that it would belong to the Indo-European family. And once again exposure. Amharic Amharic is the first language of Amharas, an ethnic group from the Highlands of Ethiopia. There is also a welcome lack of verb conjugation, which is great news for learners, especially since this means that the sentence structure stays simple and short. Daily practices will help you to form your language learning into a habit. However, this time frame is not because it is more difficult per se, but rather because of the grammar rules that need to be remembered. However, this pattern repeats itself in all writing and speaking, so once you get used to it, it becomes fairly simple! FluentU is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Download: The tones and sounds of a language can have a direct impact on how difficult you find it to learn. In fact, it shares many similarities with Indonesian due to the fact that a similar variety of the language is used in Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore., But, although Malay and Indonesian speakers can generally understand each other, there are some differences in terms of spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary, with Malay based more on loanwords from English, and Indonesian having more loanwords from Dutch., Malay is widely considered to be one of the easiest Asian languages to learn, because its grammatical rules are simple and its easy to pronounce. Though it might seem like a complex and daunting language to delve into, particularly with the different alphabet that it uses and the right-to-left reading and writing method employed, if you take some time, it can be a rewarding and surprisingly simple process! Alternatively, Persian Language Online offers a variety of free lessons that cover everything from grammar to tenses, vowels to intonation. This family contains sub-groups of languages, namely the Germanic languages, the Romance languages (Spanish, French, and Portuguese among others), and Balto-Slavic languages (Prussian, Russian, Czech, Latvian, and more) to name but a few. Learn more at www.rosettastone.com and start your first lesson today! Italian Demonstrative Pronouns And Adjectives (With Examples), French Vocabulary And Phrases For Military Personnel, 9 Best Sites To Find (And Schedule) Spanish Tutors, Chinese Isn't That Hard To Learn (Here's How Long It Takes), How To Ask For Help In Mandarin Chinese [Essential Phrases], How To Ask 'How Are You' (And Respond) In Greek. Download our freeSpanish essentials eBook to help you get started. And another 17 percent can speak more than two languages. It technically belongs to the Uralic family, just like Hungarian and Sami (the indigenous language of Lapland). In addition, Swahili, Farsi (Persian), Pashto and Kurdish are languages that an Arabic speaker can get the hang of without much effort. This Scandinavian language is grammatically easy and has only nine verb forms, including the passive, which is familiar to English speakers.It has a lot of Germanic-based vocabulary and unique speaking patterns, which are quick and soft. Like English, Norwegian or "Norsk" is a Germanic language, which makes it easier for English-speakers to learn. They also read and write right to left, which is unfamiliar for most native English speakers. Norwegian 6. how long it will take you to learn a language, Download our freeSpanish essentials eBook to help you get started, Download our easy, visualItalian essentials eBook and get a head start, Download our free French essentials eBook to accompany your studies, Download our free German essentials eBook to see the similarities. Spellings are also relatively simple, with many words being pronounced how they are spelled. Although this may come as a surprise, learning Indonesian is considered relatively easy for English speakers. We mentioned Dutch above, but Afrikaans is like a grammatically boiled-down version of its parent language. Simplest Tongues To Master be quite good for your brain. What could be easier? However, you can use this as ageneral guide. Persian is one of the Iranian languages, having been spoken in Iran for hundreds of years. Unlike most European languages, which belong to the Indo-European language family, Hungarian is a Uralic language. For example, you may seek out a language teacher who specializes in your chosen language or may start to visit a store where a staff member speaks the language. To support such a diverse and ancient culture, the Persian language was able to develop over the course of centuries, into the version we have today, and that is spoken in places like modern-day Iran. There are three writing systems, kanji, katakana, and hiragana. Out of the many languages and dialects in the Middle East and Central Asia, Persian (Farsi) is one of the most historically rich and fascinating to learn. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Indonesian is another language that is modestly easy for a willing learner who speaks English natively to pick up. These new letters and the fact that Polish words also have more consonants than English words can mean that pronunciations are very difficult to grasp for a beginner, and can make spelling difficult. Afrikaans 9. More than 40 percent of the world is bilingual, meaning people can speak two languages fluently. But generally, Portuguese is categorized as an easy foreign language for a reason. According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), linguists, and learners, all the languages we mentioned today are fairly easy to learn. 5 Easy Languages To Learn If You Speak Arabic 1. Yes, I would like to be contacted about special events, newsletters and program information. We hope our list of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers inspired you to start with your language lessons. There are many Mandarin Chinese language resources available online. There are a number of different dialects of Georgian, depending on where you are speaking it, but the most common is the one spoken in Georgia itself. This is because there may be similar cognates and some loan words that you will recognize. Some tonal languages may be particularly difficult for English speakers, as this is not something that they are used to. The word order, syntax, and structure of Portuguese when writing and speaking are similar to English and other Romance languages. Afrikaans is a beautiful language that is surprisingly easy to learn for native English speakers. Norwegian grammar is generally pretty straightforward, so it wont take you long to take a hang of it. For example, the word order in Swedish is also SVO. If you want to expand your language vocabulary, you should definitely give it a try. Now we come to the language of Iran, and what modern native speakers use to communicate. Typically, it is thought to be easier to learn a language that is in your language family or sub-group. Another popular language school is the International Language Institute, offering multiple levels of classes to learn Persian and Farsi in Washington, DC. Cognates are words in two languages that have the same origin and a similar pronunciation, spelling, and meaning. Although every foreign language comes with its own unique set of challenges, the reality is that some languages will simply be easier for fluent English speakers to become proficient in. More tutorials, interactive lessons, and activities are found via ANU Persian Online, an official portal with many educational options. The letters can be learned and memorized, as can pronunciations, but the tone can take a little while for native English speakers to get right, especially if you have no native Mandarin speakers around to hear your tone and correct you if needed. This is where, to keep the sounds in harmony, suffixes are added to words. What makes them easy is the grammarthere are no grammatical categories for gender, number or tense. The Arabic alphabet was adopted for writing Persian words with slight adaptations after the Islamic conquest of 642 AD, which means that the literary tradition within the language has been fairly uniform for the past centuries. Recommended: 7 Easiest Language To Learn For Spanish Speakers Advertisements #1. Today, there are many versions of the Persian language, depending on where you are in the world. . That being said, it is one of the widest spoken languages in the world, with over 900 million people speaking it daily. Passionate multilinguist. German The Indo-European language is the source of many of its idioms and concepts; Latin, Greek, French, and English all contribute to its construction in various ways. In fact, everything from the pronunciation to the vocabulary may vary, depending on which type of Portuguese you are learning. Under Xerxes, Persia took over large parts of Northern and Central Greece in the 480s BC, and the Empire was only shaken by the conquest of Alexander the Great by 330 BC. You may come across a challenge or two, like mastering Portuguese pronunciation and nasal sounds. Therefore, from a linguistic perspective, Norwegian and English have quite a lot in common. Word order is flexible. 6. They do use Latin script, but there are many grammatical cases that can make it much more complex to get to grips with than English. After Xerxes assassination in 465 BC, the litany of the last Achaemenid kings made strides in Persias cultural phase. Want to know which languages you have the best chance of mastering quickly?, Here are 15 of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Like the Persian language, Hindi has no capital letters, which in itself is very unfamiliar to native English speakers. This is partly because Swedish and English are Germanic languages, so they have similar sentence structures and even some shared vocabulary. Although the lack of grammar rules might sound appealing, it can be a bit confusing, but its not hard to get used to.
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