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English - The Most Difficult Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| rlf1810 Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6340 days ago 122 posts - 173 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Slovak | Message 1 of 52 15 May 2009 at 8:36am | IP Logged |
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Hello,
I remember when I was a child, I heard from quite a few sources that, 'You know Robert, English is one of the most difficult languages in the whole world'. Huh? English? When I was young I believed it, though I now of course can't comprehend why someone would say such a thing. My question is, first of all, where did this idea start? Second, I'm interested in whether this idea exists in other countries. Are Germans told that their language is the most difficult in the world? Are Japanese? -Robert 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Snesgamer Groupie Afghanistan Joined 6611 days ago 81 posts - 90 votes Studies: English*, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Scottish Gaelic | Message 2 of 52 15 May 2009 at 10:33am | IP Logged |
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Not sure if it's the MOST difficult, but I'm sure English is no cakewalk for a foreigner. There are so many subtle nuances and grammar inconsistencies that we overlook just because we are native speakers. Heck, many people don't even master it even though they've lived in an English country their entire lives!
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| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 3 of 52 15 May 2009 at 11:34am | IP Logged |
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English is not the most difficult language, but it has quite a fair bit of inconsistent grammar which has to be memorised individually. Plus there are lots of sayings, expressions that don't make much sense unless you already know them.
The spelling isn't very helpful (latin alphabet doesn't have a letter for many of the English sounds, like "th" and "ch".) Sometimes it's impossible to know how to pronounce a word until you've heard a native speaker say it. The most difficult language varies depending on what your starting point is. But for native speakers of European languages it will no doubt be a non-European language! I have so much respect for people from Asia (for instance) who have learnt to speak English well. It must be a lot more work for them than it was for anybody from Europe. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5766 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 4 of 52 15 May 2009 at 12:48pm | IP Logged |
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"Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache" (German language, difficult language - it does sound ungrammatical in German but not as much as in English) is something I heard as a child. But that expression is more used when a native speaker messes a sentence up - either to console 'It's alright, German is difficult, so don't worry about that mistake it's only human' or sarcastic and humiliating 'What, are you so stupid that you can't even speak your native language?'.
I've also heard a similar phrase in Japanese, used in a similar manner. One thing, however, seems to pertain: Between the different European languages using the Roman alphabet, Engish is the one that takes its native speakers the longest to reach a basic level of literacy - according to a study that I can't find right now. Edited by Bao on 18 June 2009 at 3:14am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Tyr Senior Member Sweden Joined 5782 days ago 316 posts - 384 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish | Message 5 of 52 15 May 2009 at 1:45pm | IP Logged |
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Every foreigner I speak to says its the easiest. Some go as far as to say it just falls into place naturally and isn't even like learning a language.
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| Tupiniquim Senior Member Brazil Joined 6083 days ago 184 posts - 217 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, Russian | Message 6 of 52 15 May 2009 at 2:03pm | IP Logged |
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. Edited by Tupiniquim on 31 July 2009 at 11:29pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| QiuJP Triglot Senior Member Singapore Joined 5855 days ago 428 posts - 597 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Czech, GermanB1, Russian, Japanese | Message 7 of 52 15 May 2009 at 2:09pm | IP Logged |
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I agree that English is a difficult language for non-European foreigners like me. I still remember that I always failed my spelling and oral tests in school( in Singapore) because the pronunciation of the English words does not correspond to the spelling of the words! It took me 5 years as a child to start producing proper senstence and 10 more years of drilling from my schools to obtain my current level of English. Even today, I still have problems with spelling.
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| TheBiscuit Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 5923 days ago 532 posts - 619 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Italian Studies: German, Croatian | Message 8 of 52 15 May 2009 at 7:39pm | IP Logged |
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I think the notion that English is difficult comes from the fact that most of the world HAS to learn it in order to have better opportunities and so forth. If you HAVE to do something, it generally has a negative effect on your ability to do it or at least hinders your progress, making it seem 'difficult'.
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