Topic: What language is the easiest to learn?
Anonymous A started this discussion 2 years ago #112,817
I'm thinking Esperanto or Afrikaans.
Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 45 seconds later[^] [v] #1,250,325
Ebonics
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 3 minutes later, 4 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,327
Esperanto!
Anonymous D joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 7 minutes later, 11 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,329
tteh !MemesToDNA joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 32 seconds later, 12 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,330
I think how "easy" a particular language is depends a lot on motivation, access to resources and native speakers, existing familiarity/exposure, etc.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 14 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,331
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 4 minutes later, 18 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,332
@previous (A)
There are fewer hurdles for speakers of Germanic and other Indo-European languages, sure. Can you say that Afrikaans would be easier for a Chinese speaker to acquire than, say, English or French?
There are fewer hurdles for speakers of Germanic and other Indo-European languages, sure. Can you say that Afrikaans would be easier for a Chinese speaker to acquire than, say, English or French?
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 2 minutes later, 21 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,334
@previous (tteh !MemesToDNA)
The simple grammar would help alot. Ek is, jy is, hy is.
Ok good point anyway. I should be clear I mean easiest for speakers of English.
The simple grammar would help alot. Ek is, jy is, hy is.
Ok good point anyway. I should be clear I mean easiest for speakers of English.
(Edited 13 minutes later.)
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 11 minutes later, 32 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,337
@previous (A)
Right, but relative morphological simplicity doesn't necessarily mean a language is "easy". I don't think you can really rank languages by how "easy" they are to acquire divorced of context.
A speaker of Mandarin or Cantonese wanting to learn English has access to abundant resources in English: books, TV, music, the Internet, classes, and so on. There are plenty of available resources teaching English.
Try telling the same bloke that he should instead learn Afrikaans. Verbs don't conjugate by subject! There's no preterite or pluperfect! No grammatical gender! No case system! It should be "easy" for him to learn then, yeah?
Right, but relative morphological simplicity doesn't necessarily mean a language is "easy". I don't think you can really rank languages by how "easy" they are to acquire divorced of context.
A speaker of Mandarin or Cantonese wanting to learn English has access to abundant resources in English: books, TV, music, the Internet, classes, and so on. There are plenty of available resources teaching English.
Try telling the same bloke that he should instead learn Afrikaans. Verbs don't conjugate by subject! There's no preterite or pluperfect! No grammatical gender! No case system! It should be "easy" for him to learn then, yeah?
tteh !MemesToDNA double-posted this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 33 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,339
Anonymous F joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 34 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,340
Toki Pona is way easier to lean than Esperanto which just looks like Romanian.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 48 seconds later, 35 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,342
@1,250,339 (tteh !MemesToDNA)
It's a shame they don't break down Category 1 further. I'll choose a Germanic or Romance language
It's a shame they don't break down Category 1 further. I'll choose a Germanic or Romance language
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 5 minutes later, 41 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,346
@previous (A)
Choose a language you're motivated to learn. Maybe you like the culture or music or literature. Maybe there are personal reasons for learning — friends, family, colleagues. Maybe it would open up employment opportunities. Maybe it'll come in handy on your next holiday.
Choose a language you're motivated to learn. Maybe you like the culture or music or literature. Maybe there are personal reasons for learning — friends, family, colleagues. Maybe it would open up employment opportunities. Maybe it'll come in handy on your next holiday.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 42 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,347
@previous (tteh !MemesToDNA)
But the temptation when Afrikaans grammar is so simple lol
I get your point. Probably Spanish for me. I'm still interested if some languages are easy in an objective sense.
But the temptation when Afrikaans grammar is so simple lol
I get your point. Probably Spanish for me. I'm still interested if some languages are easy in an objective sense.
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 15 minutes later, 57 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,250,350
@previous (A)
It's an enticing idea to find a 'simple' language close to English (rapid progress is rewarding) but believe me, if you're not actually motivated to learn and stick with it you're quickly going to get bored.
> I'm still interested if some languages are easy in an objective sense.
Look into the 'Equal Complexity Hypothesis' and the arguments for and against, if you're interested.
Children tend to acquire their native languages at roughly the same 'pace' (a young learner of one language will reach the same milestones at roughly the same time as a learner of any other), but interestingly I think there's some evidence that children learning Finnish experience delays in some areas like verb morphology owing to it being a clusterfuck of a language. I don't have any sources to hand though and I'm too sleepy to Google it.
It's an enticing idea to find a 'simple' language close to English (rapid progress is rewarding) but believe me, if you're not actually motivated to learn and stick with it you're quickly going to get bored.
> I'm still interested if some languages are easy in an objective sense.
Look into the 'Equal Complexity Hypothesis' and the arguments for and against, if you're interested.
Children tend to acquire their native languages at roughly the same 'pace' (a young learner of one language will reach the same milestones at roughly the same time as a learner of any other), but interestingly I think there's some evidence that children learning Finnish experience delays in some areas like verb morphology owing to it being a clusterfuck of a language. I don't have any sources to hand though and I'm too sleepy to Google it.
(Edited 26 seconds later.)