Which is the easiest foreign language for a native English speaker to learn?
I want to learn all of the major foreign languages. Phonetically, which of them would be the easiest for me, as an English speaker, to start with? And is it feasible for me to learn multiple languages or should I just focus on one.
I think you should focus on one language at a time and get to conversation level before you move onto the next. In that way, if after a year you get frustrated and quit, at least you’ll have that much. If you learn ten at once and quit after a year you’ll end up with nothing but some verb tables.
I don’t think English is as difficult as some people make it out to be. While the pronounciation is hard to figure, the verb tenses are much less complicated than Spanish or French, etc. And everyone in the world wants to be your language partner.
You have to figure out what language you have an affinity for. If you hate the sound of Spanish or French you won’t enjoy it. If you hate Spanish culture you probably won’t learn much. I find French language difficult to comprehend but if you love the culture you will be motivated to learn it.
How close do you live to native speakers? If you learn German but live far from native German speakers you won’t get much opportunity to practice. Are the native speakers helpful or a hindrance. My intercambio group, a language exchange between native speakers of Spanish and English, is basicaly non-functional because although there are plenty of English speakers trying to learn Spanish there are relatively few Spanish speakers here in New York City who are trying to Learn English.
Your desire and drive is the most important element in your decision-making. If you want to learn Finnish and you live far away from Finland you can find a way to learn Finnish. There are people who learn it solely from books and tapes. And there are Spanish-Chinese-etc speaking people who live in English speaking countries for years who never Learn English.
You did mention Phonetics so I’ll say that Spanish and German both are generally easy phonetically with only a few minor problems (ll’s, rr’s, h’s, having to say each single letter, umlauts). I think Italian is on a similar level. You mentioned “major foreign languages” so I’ll stick to those three but I suggest you go where your heart is. If you absolutely love one more than another go for the one you love no matter how impractical.
Learn English – Introduction to phonetics
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