Monday, May 20, 2019

Which language is the easiest to learn? Rate the 14 most popular courses

Which language is best to learn? Which is the easiest?

Two different questions are often said in the same tone. But that doesn't matter, because there is only one answer. No matter which language you choose to learn, it will be the best and the easiest. However, here are some help options.

select.

This is the list of languages ​​most frequently studied by the Modern Language Association in 2002 at the American university level. I don't include ancient languages ​​such as Latin, Bible Hebrew or Sanskrit, special-purpose languages ​​such as American Sign Language, or American traditional languages ​​such as Hawaiian or Navajo because the choices of these languages ​​follow different dynamics. :

1. Spanish
French
3. Germans
Italian
5. Japanese
6. Chinese
7. Russian
8. Arabic
9. Modern Hebrew
10. Portuguese
11. Koreans
12. Vietnamese
13. Hindi / Urdu
14. Swahili

According to Uncle Sam, it is very difficult.

First, consider some cold facts. According to learning difficulties, the US State Department organizes language for diplomatic services:

Category 1. from

 The "simplest" language for English users requires 600 hours of classroom work to reach the minimum: Latin and Germanic. However, German itself requires more time, 750 hours, because its syntax is complex.

Category 2. from

 Moderate, requiring 1,100 hours of classroom work: Slavic, Turkic, other Indo-European languages ​​such as Persian and Hindi, and some non-Indo-European speakers such as Georgian, Hebrew and many African languages. Swahili is easier to rank in 900 hours than others.

Category 3. from

 Difficulties require 2,200 hours of study: Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

Do you have the opportunity to practice this language?

Now consider another important factor: accessibility. To be a successful learner, you need to have the opportunity to hear, read and speak the language in the natural environment. Language learning requires a lot of attention and repetition, which is impossible in the classroom. Can you use the language in which you live, work and travel?

The 14 most popular courses combine language ease of use and accessibility.

1. Spanish from

 the first sort. The straightforward syntax is familiar and often. It is also ubiquitous in the Americas. It is the only foreign language that plays an important role in the isolated language environment of the United States. It can speak and hear it. This is the most popular, accounting for more than 50% of the language learning enrollment rate in the MLA study.

French from

 the first sort. The grammar is complex but not difficult to learn because many of its words have been entered into English. For this vocabulary affinity, it is easy to reach an advanced level, especially in reading. It is a world language, and motivated learners find it in the Internet, in movies and music.

3. Germans from

 The first category is plus. Grammar and grammar rules are complex, and noun variables are a major problem. This is the simplest language to start speaking, and the basic vocabulary is similar to English. However, abstract, advanced languages ​​are significantly different, and English chooses Latin. It emphasizes clear pronunciation, so listening comprehension is not difficult.

Italian. from

 the first sort. It has the same simple grammar rules as Spanish, familiar vocabulary and the clearest language in Latin [and Romanian]. Italian skills can be easily converted to French or Spanish. You may need to practice in Italy, but worse things may happen. It has also been encountered in the world of opera and classical music.

5. Russians. from

 The second category. This language with varying heights is quite difficult to learn. However, the Cyrillic alphabet is not particularly difficult, and once you can read the language, a lot of borrowing from French and other Western languages ​​can be surprising. It is getting easier to get.

6. Arabic. from

 The third category. Arabic is used in dozens of countries, but many national dialects may be incomprehensible to each other. It has only three vowels, but includes some consonants that don't exist in English. The alphabet is a daunting obstacle, good calligraphy is valuable and difficult to perfect. Vowels [except for children's books] are usually not written, which can be an obstacle to reading. It is ubiquitous in the Muslim world and has the opportunity to practice it in all its forms.

7. Portuguese. from

 the first sort. One of the most widely used languages ​​in the world is often overlooked. It has a familiar Latin grammar and vocabulary, although phonetics may require some habits.

8. Swahili. from

 The second category is reduced. It includes many borrowings from Arabic, Persian, English and French. It is the Bantu language of Central Africa, but it has lost the difficult Bantu "tone". The sound system is familiar, it is written in Latin letters. A major grammar consideration is to divide nouns into sixteen classes, each with a different prefix. However, these classes are not arbitrary and are predictable.

9. Hindi / Urdu. from

 The second category. The Hindustani language is an Indo-European language, including Hindi and Urdu. It has a large number of consonants and vowels that distinguish between phonemes that are difficult for English speakers to hear. Words often have a cut end that further complicates understanding. Hindi uses many Sanskrit loans, and Urdu uses many Persian/Arabic loans, which means that a lot of vocabulary must be mastered. Hindi uses a speech-accurate Sanskrit script created specifically for that language. It is foreseeable that the use of borrowed Persian/Arabic letters in Urdu leads to some approximation of the writing system.

10. Modern Hebrew. from

 The second category. It revived as a living language in the nineteenth century, and it has the multilingual character of Jewish diasporas. The resulting language has become grammatically and syntactically standardized, and the vocabulary has absorbed many borrowing words, especially Yiddish, English and Arabic. The alphabet is printed and scripted and has five vowels, usually without a mark. Vowel marks or pointing are very complicated when they occur. Sound is difficult to reproduce in its subtleties, and a certain degree of communication makes listening comprehension a problem. Outside the religious or Israeli context, it is not very easy to obtain.

11. Japanese from

 The third category. Difficult to learn, because the vocabulary is unfamiliar, the requirements of the sound system are very strict, and even many words borrowed from English, French and German are illegible. With three different writing systems, reading and writing are very difficult. In addition, social constraints may hamper useful interactions.

12. Chinese. from

 The third category. Whether you choose Mandarin or Cantonese [there is no difference in the MLA survey, it is weird]. This is the hardest language in this list. It includes all the most difficult aspects: unfamiliar phonemes, lots of tones, extremely complicated writing systems, and equally unfamiliar vocabulary. Personal motivation is critical to keeping students in shape. On the positive side, it's easy to find because the Chinese community is spread all over the world, and all of these communities have Chinese media such as newspapers, movies and television.

13. Vietnamese. from

 The third category. This language belongs to a strange language family, but it does borrow a lot of vocabulary from Chinese [if you already speak Chinese, it is very helpful]. It has six tones, one with unfamiliar logic. However, not everyone is bleak, and Vietnamese use the Latin alphabet. The possibility of speaking this language is not high, even though there are 3 million people in the United States.

14. Koreans from

 The third category. Korean uses a 24-symbol alphabet to accurately represent 14 consonants and 10 vowels. However, the language also includes 2,000 commonly used Chinese characters for literary writing and official documents. Verbal level and honorific language make vocabulary learning complicated, and there is a connection between vocabulary, which is difficult to distinguish. The grammar is not too complicated, and there is no tone. It borrows many Chinese words, but this language has nothing to do with other Asian languages.

The most important factor: personal motivation

The third, the most important factor depends on you. The easiest language to learn is the language you are most motivated to learn, a language you like to speak, a culture that inspires you and a language that spiritually touches you. If you are not interested in those who speak, it is useless to try to learn a language, because learning a language requires participation in its behavior and recognition with people.

Therefore, consider all three factors: motivation, accessibility, and language usability, and present the final list in your own order. The bad news is that no language is really easy to learn, but the good news is that as long as we know how to start the learning process, we humans will have a lot of language flexibility. If you clarify the rewards and benefits of the language, you will be able to inspire those rusty language synapses in your mind and start rolling. Bonne's chance!




Orignal From: Which language is the easiest to learn? Rate the 14 most popular courses

No comments:

Post a Comment