“I know I got that letter.” Easy peasy. Unlike many other Asian languages, Japanese does not have tones. The word order is often difficult for English speakers to understand, as well as the honorifics and levels of respect (see Donovan’s post about why it’s easy). Vietnamese is the language of one of the world’s fastest growing Asian nations. If you were to say “It’s a big fierce cat,” it wouldn’t sound wrong at all. You’ll need to get them correct when you write it down. If you tell someone that you’re studying Japanese, they’ll very likely comment on how hard the language is. English is one of the easiest I would say. No. Some 80% of the online content today is Anglophonic.” Use of other languages is slowed in some cases because of the difficulty of adapting them to the English-based keyboard. Choose this one and you will need to get acquainted with three different writing systems. It’s maddening for even native, well-educated English speakers. Japanese: Just try that alphabet – there are 2,000 to 3,000 characters you must learn to have basic reading skills. In general, the most difficult languages for English speakers to master share certain things in common. 11 reasons why the English language is difficult to learn. Example the verb ‘acting’ is a rare exception… he is an act(or)/she is an act(ress). Let’s look at an example. Each and every sound in Mandarin has four distinct pronunciations. It is merely practical. You can’t even write with basic grammar, you should probably quite running your mouth about the laziness of others. Finnish grammar rules are unimaginably crazy for an English speaker. Mandarin is a language within the Chinese language group and is actually the most spoken language in the world. Mandarin. Many Finns don’t always follow these rules, making it even more difficult to communicate with people in person. Assuming your native language is English or one of the other Indo-European languages like Spanish, German, Russian, or Farsi, then an Asian language like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean is an obvious choice. First, Hindi uses an SOV (subject object verb) word order and has new sounds for English speakers, including dhaand hka. 2. Although, you may be referencing the Bologna sausage’s colloquial name baloney which is just a bastardisation of the word’s origin. This is a language of consonant clusters (like all Slavic languages) unfamiliar to many Americans and it has a large case system. Its ridiculously laughable, and a poor excuse for laziness because its one of the most basic languages. But it’s certainly a big challenge. X-D, English is the only major modern European language that uses the basic Latin alphabet, without any additional letters formed by adding diacritical marks(examples …ā,ē,ī,ō,ä,í,ə,ḉ,è,ô,ü etc) or completely new symbols. If you’re an English speaker, don’t mock others who struggle with your language. Don’t take it personally. Everyone who has studied English knows it’s the hardest language. 2. I can confirm that Persian, with it’s Arabic alphabet, is difficult for me, though I am enjoying the experience. Another language often seen as one of the hardest languages to learn is Basque. The upsides, though, are a lot more compelling. What about the word Colonel pronounced kur-NEL♀️ That one really grinds my gears Jesussssssss. If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? “I know I got that letter.” Now you’re wondering what happened to the letter, because despite the fact that you know you got it, you can’t seem to find it. I don’t know about anyone else, English is way easier and more fun to learn than my first language. There are definitely good reasons why this Semitic language presents obstacles to fluency for English speakers. Word length is not the same and verbs provide descriptions. What about these things? English is much more simpler to process than french. The login page will open in a new tab. "The 'Most Difficult Language' Of All" -- What is the hardest language to learn? The main problem lies … Who knows? Letter forms change depending on which position the letter takes in the word. Japanese is not content with a single alphabet. You have obviously never tried to learn Japanese or Chinese. B… Nah, French is just harder to pronounce in a timely manner. French is actually really easy but english on the other hand is…..well trying to teach people it is hard because the get mad at words for example because and cause when i am teaching people english that is the two words that they get confused about because they think that since because sounds similar to cause they think that cause is Becus but french is just hard to pronounce, that is actually not true. Mandarin is one of the few languages ranked as the most difficult to learn for English speakers by the Foreign Service Institute. However, what’s important is not which is the hardest language to learn. I think it’s safe to say that this aspect of western culture (bastardisation) and specifically English speaking western culture is an affront to the people of these cultures. That needs to be said up front. Japanese is ranked by the U.S. Foreign Services Institute as the most difficult language for native English speakers to learn. Slide 1 of 12: The English language has a lot of weird spelling, grammar, and pronunciation … Navajo is so obscure it was used as a code to convey info during World War II. They have different alphabets, lack cognates and have grammatical concepts unfamiliar to English speakers. Finnish: There are cases and cases within cases, it can be really tricky to navigate. Just learning to speak the language in different capacities is difficult, for example, writing scientifically vs writing prose or literature. I’ve also been learning Japanese, and it’s clear that, seriously, English is one of the easier languages and it gets a lot of flack because so many people who are bilingual and only speak their native language and English Can’t adjust, even though it’s like that with literally every other language. Struggling with the complexities of English (and there are plenty) doesn’t mean someone is stupid, and you should always encourage people to study new languages. It has loads of rules and exceptions. “Nobody serious about the language imagines that approaching fluency can be achieved in anything less than a year, even while living in an Arabic-speaking country,” writes a user from LonelyPlanet.com. No, that’s a common excuse for people. Okay, so the downside to learning one of the hardest languages for native English speakers to learn is obvious: You need to set aside more time than if you were learning an “easy” language. The hardest languages for English speakers to learn (supposedly) 1. It’s a simple statement of fact. They have different alphabets, lack cognates and have grammatical concepts unfamiliar to English speakers. If this language is part of your heritage or you live in the region, learning even a few words can connect you with your roots and the region’s original inhabitants. You need to know which form to use in order to speak with everyone from a close family member to an older person you’ve just met. However, there is just something cool about English that permits speakers even at low levels to communicate with relative ease, despite a limited vocabulary and often incorrect grammar. “There will be a price to pay,” says Asiaweek. About as easy as German is for me, and English is related to the German language, so I’ve got some advantage. There is no ham in hamburger. It isn’t quite an alphabet or the pictograph system but rather syllabic. Get my exclusive language learning content delivered straight to your inbox. That’s probably why he didn’t mention it. Je suis français mais j’adore apprendre l’anglais. It has so many irregularities and is changing everyday. 11 reasons why the English language is difficult to learn. Neither is there any apple nor pine in pineapple. English is said to be one of the most challenging languages to learn for speakers of other languages. Arabic is a series of dialects. Like Finnish, Hungarian is said to be one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn. Dialects also vary significantly from place to place. 26 letters versus thousands of characters. When we say a language is hard, what are we talking about? 4. Mandarin is probably one of the most difficult languages in the globe for an English speaker to learn. Foreign Service Institute got it wrong with Arabic - it’s actually an incredibly straightforward language to learn to fluency. Donovan has written at length about why he personally believes Arabic is an easy language. Why it’s so hard: It may be the most spoken language in the world, but it comes with its own difficulties... 2. I sometimes collaborate with a Dutch lady who is an excellent researcher, but I always have to change her wording. French is much more complex and precise than english. The writing system is Hangul, which is syllabic. Other weird ones include: All three end in “ough” but they are pronounced as “Thru,” “Bow,” and “Ruff” — are we crazy? Many English speakers find themselves hearing other languages and wondering how they’re structured. Just think of “yacht.” It’s pronounced “yot,” but that’s not what the letters tell us! Talking about its difference to English, Encyclopedia Britannica explains that the sound system of Arabic is very different from English.