The complexity and ease of learning a particular language, of course, will depend on what nationality and native speaker the student is. It is logical that it will be easier for a German to learn Dutch than for a Korean. An Englishman will learn German faster than a Chinese.

No language can be considered simpler or more complex than another. Because there are no absolute criteria for assessing the complexity of a language. Each language consists of grammar, phonetics, and certain rules for spelling words. And if in the Chinese language, for example, the spelling is very complex and there are tones in phonetics, then in the same language the grammar will not give you any difficulties. And in Italian, along with simple pronunciation, there are a lot of irregular verbs.

Which languages ​​will seem easier for a Russian person to learn and understand?

The Russian language, along with Belarusian and Ukrainian, is part of the Slavic group of languages ​​and is called East Slavic. As you know, the vocabulary, phonetics and grammar of these languages ​​are almost identical to Russian. Therefore, learning these languages ​​will not be difficult. And the understanding of Ukrainian and Belarusian is understandable almost on an intuitive level, even to those who have not encountered them at all.

The Serbo-Croatian language (used in the countries of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia) and the Bulgarian language have noticeable similarities in terms of vocabulary and grammar. The phonetics of such languages ​​is more difficult to write. The written word (usually in Latin) of such languages ​​is very similar to the writing of Russian words only in Latin letters (for example: zaprto - closed, locked (Horv), otprto - open (Horv)). Pronunciation here will be more difficult; you will need to work with the stress, which may not be located on the same syllable as in Russian, even if the spelling of the words is almost identical. Such languages ​​have a branched system of tenses and unstressed particles - unusual for the Russian language.

The most difficult of the Slavic languages ​​for the Russian mentality will probably be Czech and Polish. There are more unfamiliar words here, which are no longer very similar to identical Russian ones, because part of the vocabulary is borrowed from German. But the situation is simpler with emphasis. It is almost fixed in words: on the first and second syllable from the end.

The situation is a little more complicated with the Baltic languages ​​(Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). If in terms of vocabulary they are a little reminiscent of Slavic languages, you will have to work hard to study the richness of their grammar.

Among the Germanic languages, English will be easier to learn. German and Dutch are a little more difficult, for which the difficulty will be in grammar. The greatest difficulty will fall on the Scandinavian languages. There are practically no words of international origin in them and you will have to memorize almost the entire vocabulary. Also, the Scandinavian languages ​​(Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) are characterized by complex sentences and inconsistent spelling of words.

Among the Romance languages, it will be easier to learn Italian or Spanish or Portuguese than French, which has very complex pronunciation and spelling rules.

What languages ​​are difficult for Russians to learn?

Turkic (Turkish) and Finno-Ugric languages ​​(Finnish, Hungarian) have strict and logical writing rules. However, these rules differ from Russian sentence writing. Their verbs, as a rule, come last in the sentence, there are no prepositions at all, and case and number are expressed by different indicators. In addition, such languages ​​have a huge number of cases (Hungarian has 20).

Also difficult languages ​​include Arabic and Hebrew. They have complex grammar and pronunciation. Writing does not convey vowels, and there are also many exceptions and irregular verbs that will have to be memorized.

Chinese and Japanese languages ​​are complex due to their hieroglyphic writing. To write or read something in Chinese, you will have to learn several thousand characters, and when studying Japanese you will have to master as many as 2 alphabets - katakana and hiragana.

The Center for International Communication "Language Plus" suggests not to be intimidated by the complexity of learning foreign languages ​​and happily
will help you learn any language at the best prices.

Natalya Glukhova

Which foreign languages ​​are easier to learn together?

28/03 2017

Good afternoon dear friends!
Today I will tell you about which foreign language to learn. In the 21st century, few people are surprised by their knowledge of English; most educated people speak at least an intermediate level.

Therefore, many employers give preference to candidates with knowledge of two foreign languages. that you will now never find a well-paid job! take up training. Somehow, polyglots mastered several foreign languages.

From this article you will learn:

Family Tree

Once you learn one language, you will master the rest much easier. Moreover, you probably know that many resemble each other in structure and vocabulary. You just need to understand which ones to teach together and where to start. In this article you will receive valuable tips on how to... Let's figure it out.

Many learned linguists will tell you that before learning any language, you can start with Latin, from which many things come. After this, you can easily master any other. But no one speaks Latin for a long time! Why waste time on this? Indeed, Latin is considered dead because it is no longer recognized as official in any country and is used only in sciences such as linguistics, medicine, and law.

You can still make things easier for yourself by learning something close to what you already know. So let's look at which ones are more similar. Most likely, your attention will be drawn to the Indo-European family, which is also the most widespread. It can be found on all continents of the earth.

This includes some of the most popular groups: the Romanesque and the Germanic groups. The Romanesque group includes Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French.

Germanic – German, English, Norwegian, Swedish.

If you are thinking about mastering foreign languages ​​to get a good position, then you will be interested in the fact that the most popular Indo-European languages ​​required by employers are English, German, and French. And if you are interested in travel, the most common is Spanish.

Twin brothers

Comparison of vocabulary on the topic “Food”

Also, their word order is approximately the same:

Subject – verb – object.

Both have irregular verbs. English drink drink drank drunk consonant with trinkt, trank, getrunken. In most cases, if a verb is irregular in one way, it is also incorrect in another.

However, there are some differences. In German, words have a gender, which is not the case in English. For example, table (table) can be replaced by the pronoun it (a pronoun for any inanimate word), but in German it is important that der Tisch is masculine.

Also in German, words change according to cases, there are four of them. In English there are only pronouns. Despite the fact that both have a similar alphabet, the emphasis on words is relatively the same, and the pronunciation is slightly different.

For example, the letter v at the beginning of a word in the first sounds like “v” (English: Van), and in the second – like “f” (German: Vater).

The easiest

And if you already know it and Spanish alone is not enough for you, then the closest one, belonging to the same group, is Italian. So similar that Spaniards and Italians can sometimes understand each other's speech. 80% of the vocabulary in them is consonant.

For example, the word time in Spanish is tiempo, in Italian it is tempo. There are even certain patterns, knowing which you can change a word from one to another. In Italian, the letter f always becomes the letter h in another if it appears at the beginning of a word: humo - fumo.

The pronunciation is quite similar in both. There are identical sounds that are conveyed differently in writing. The sound is "ni", as in English onion. In Italian it is expressed using the letters ‘gn’ – bagno, in Spanish – the letters ‘ñ’ – baño.

The grammar is also similar. The verb inflections are very similar. Compare.
The first table is Italian:

The second table is Spanish:

Look at the picture and compare for yourself which languages ​​are more similar:

Language comparison

Four types of students or each according to ability

What if I have no abilities at all? Surely many people convince themselves of this. It means you just haven't found your way. Learning is an individual process.

How much time does it take to study?

Of course, as soon as a person sets a goal for himself, the question arises: “how long can it take to learn?” Everything here is still strictly individual, but a lot depends on how regularly you practice. You can’t take a long break between classes, and then sit down and “catch up” with everything you missed.

Try to devote at least 15 minutes a day to this activity. If you decide to learn two at once, confusion may arise at first, but this period must be overcome and in the future you will only be proud of yourself. On average, mastering one level of a language requires 200 hours of work.

The “Polyglot” course, developed by Dmitry Petrov, offers 16 video lessons for each: Italian, English, German. The intensive course will allow you to understand the structure of the foreign language you are studying. The teacher is a linguist, a polyglot who speaks 30 foreign languages.

Install applications on your phone, find friends from other countries. On the couch surfing website you can join groups and always know what is happening in your city and invite guests of the country to spend time with you.

If money is the only obstacle, then you can try to find free courses. For example, in Russia there are a large number of German centers, most of them are free.

Local libraries sometimes teach and conduct courses. You only need to pay money for a subscription (about one hundred rubles per year).

If you do not have the time or desire to travel to school, you can take courses via Skype. There are 16 languages ​​available that you can start learning from scratch. Classes are conducted with native speakers, and all dialogues and texts are also voiced by them. You can download the lessons to your phone.

In conclusion, I would like to advise you to subscribe to my blog, where you will find a lot of useful information, both on training and for traveling around Europe.

Which language is easier to learn?

Many of you would definitely like to learn a new foreign language, especially if you are only fluent in your native language. Knowledge of foreign languages ​​is always a plus. This is not only your advantage when hiring and great psychological comfort while traveling. Knowledge of foreign languages ​​has a positive effect on mental activity, so it’s never too late to learn any language. Perhaps at 50 years old it will be a little more difficult, but you will still be able to learn it. By the way, the world around you will also change, you will understand the origin of many words, know what languages ​​they came from, you will be able to read in the original and understand. Moreover, the more languages ​​you know, the easier each next one will be for you. The combination of French-Spanish-Italian is, one might say, an ideal case: the words are intuitive, the grammar is similar, and after each next one, a new language is learned much faster. Many, by the way, choose a suitable language school for themselves and there they begin to take turns mastering the foreign languages ​​they like. Foreign language courses in St. Petersburg at a language school Communication Club, for such students they can cost much cheaper, because they have discounts for regular students up to 50% (!).

The most frequently asked question: ? There is no single answer to this question as there are various factors that must be considered. One of them is your native language. The easiest language to learn is considered to be the one that is as close phonetically as possible to your native language. Also, keep in mind that each language has borrowed something from each other at some point. For example, if you are a native English speaker, then the most suitable languages ​​to study would be: German, Spanish, French and Italian, since they are “sisters” to English. For native speakers of Russian (among European languages), it is easiest to understand, especially after English.

Another factor is your personal motivation for learning a certain language, love for the culture of a certain country, desire to study there or go for permanent residence. All other things being equal, some people have greater ability in some languages ​​and less in others. As an example, the French “r” is obtained without special training :).

- a logical language, relatively close in pronunciation to Russian, and a very interesting language. Most words from English are also found in Italian. The Italian language is bright, emotional and beautiful. It can be recommended as a second language especially to those who love classical music and Italian culture itself.

The first thing you should do is learn English. The second is German. Knowing English and German, you can learn French without any problems, since the lexical base will already be laid. But they will be of practically no use to you when living, say, in the UAE. And you won't be able to use them if you go to work in China or Uganda.

In China, only a few people can communicate in English, and in Uganda, knowledge of Swahili is especially urgently needed - less than 1% of the population speaks English here. We recommend assessing not the global prospects of the language, but its prospects for you, for your future life and work. How to do this, what languages ​​you need to learn and how to compare them with your own priorities? More on this later.

Which language to learn first

English. With rare exceptions, which only confirm the rule. It is the official language in more than 60 countries around the world. English is spoken by more than 1.5 billion people around the world. It is native to more than 700 million people. Look around - the best songs, scripts of TOP films, documents, instructions - all this is written in English. Knowledge of it significantly increases your chances of employment and your value as a qualified employee, no matter what industry you work in or what your responsibilities include.

5 reasons to learn English first:

• Opportunity to clarify in most countries of the world.
• Best for travel and business trips abroad.
• The opportunity to watch the best Hollywood films in the original.
• An advantage when getting an education and building a career.
• The opportunity not to encounter language barriers in everyday life.

It is the most popular language in the world. Moreover, it is universal and applicable in most situations.

Example: you want to go to study abroad, say, in Italy, but you don’t know Italian. Knowledge of English will allow you to choose a program in which you can use a known foreign language for learning as a base one. But if you only know German or French, then the chance of getting an education in Italy tends to zero.

But there are exceptions. They lie in the individual characteristics of each person. If English is not good for you, if you feel sincere hatred for learning it, if you don’t understand logic, there is no point in torturing yourself. Of course, if these are just your feelings, and not the mediocrity of the teacher and incorrectly structured preparation.

Example: singer Shakira knows many languages, but English was the hardest for her. Despite an IQ close to genius and phenomenal learning abilities, the Colombian native still does not speak English perfectly and prefers to sing and speak it only as a last resort.

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What language should you learn as your second, third, or fourth language?

There is no need to guess here - it is important to be guided by desires, needs and the tasks facing you. Motivation is the basis for fast and successful learning. You must clearly understand why you need it and at what level you need to master it. It is recommended to formulate goals and only then begin to consider options.

Let's assume that after graduating from college you want to enroll in one of the Czech universities for a master's program. Then it’s worth learning Czech. Or in your city there is a factory owned by the Japanese - in order to make a successful career as a manager here, knowledge of Japanese is desirable. We know nothing about the tasks facing you. Therefore, we can offer only the TOP 7 languages ​​(besides English), which are most often chosen for study:

1. German.
2. French.
3. Spanish.
4. Chinese.
5. Italian.
6. Arab.
7. Norwegian.

Let's make a reservation that Scandinavian languages ​​are among the most complex in the world. If you are planning to move to Norway or Sweden but are having trouble learning Norwegian and Swedish, consider your options. It is no secret that Sweden is quite friendly towards emigrants who do not know the language. Moreover, children have the right to be taught in their native language: if there is at least one Russian-speaking child in the school, then they will definitely find a Russian-speaking teacher for him. Therefore, be sure to clarify the need for training.

TOP 5 most promising languages

If you do not set yourself the goal of moving or frequently traveling to a certain country, working in multinational enterprises and being in demand as a translator, then we recommend paying attention to the most promising languages ​​in the world. They may not be the most in demand and not the most popular at a given time. But if you don’t know which foreign language is best to learn in terms of its prospects in the future, this rating is especially for you.

Chinese

The most common in the world. No one doubts the prospects of the Celestial Empire in terms of economic and industrial development. Strong contacts with Russia, the USA and other leading economies of the world lead to the emergence of a mass of multinational enterprises, where knowledge of Chinese is highly welcome. Chinese is made up of at least 10 radically different dialects. It makes sense to learn literary (it is also called Mandarin or Northern Chinese) - you can communicate in it with a speaker of any dialect.

Spanish

It ranks third in terms of prevalence among all languages ​​of the world. It is also one of the easiest to learn. It is used not only in Spain, but also in many countries that were once colonies. Not all of them are alike - for example, in Mexico they speak a special dialect of Spanish called Español mexicano. There are significant differences, but if necessary, you can speak classic Spanish with any Mexican and they will understand you.

German

Germany is one of the strongest economies in the world, one of the most developed and comfortable countries to live in. Therefore, the language has not lost its promise for more than a century. German is spoken not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, and a number of other European countries. It is especially promising for employment and emigration to Europe.

Arab

It ranks 4th in terms of prevalence in the world. More than 240 million people speak it in different parts of the world. The difficulty is that the language has a lot of local dialects, and studying classical Arabic does not guarantee that you will understand them. However, you will be understood - you will be able to express yourself not only as a tourist, but also as a specialist.

Japanese

The official Japanese language is only in Japan, but it is in demand to varying degrees in at least 25 Asian countries. By the way, it has a minimum of similarities with Chinese; you should not combine the study of these two languages, mistakenly assuming their identity. From the point of view of prospects, it is worth noting the development of the state’s economy and the scientific industry. Japan is one of the world leaders in terms of GDP.

What foreign language should I learn to emigrate?

Naturally, this depends on the country to which you plan to emigrate. Our advice will only be relevant if you have not yet decided on your future place of residence.

We are guided by information about the most popular countries for emigration among Russians. What languages ​​should you learn according to this data:

• English – most often Russians prefer to emigrate to the USA. It is also in demand for admission to universities in the USA, Great Britain, Canada and a number of other countries under special programs and grants that cover tuition costs.
• German and French are ideal if you want to emigrate to these countries and stay there after completing your studies. Education in these countries is practically free (except for mandatory fees of 300-500 euros per semester).
• Italian is required for immigration to Italy. Interestingly, the level of English proficiency in this country is almost at the same level as in Russia. In general, Italians, unlike many Europeans, do not speak English well.

Also popular destinations for emigration are the Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Denmark. Russian citizens also willingly emigrate to European countries - to Switzerland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and the Baltic countries. But according to surveys, less than 10% of Russians ready to emigrate plan to go to Asia.

What foreign language should a child learn?

Here again, it is important to be guided by the child’s living conditions. You shouldn’t choose the simplest language – choose the most promising one. At the same time, observe the child’s enthusiasm and desire to learn. If you see that he is absolutely indifferent to learning, change the tutor or place of study. If the result remains the same, it makes sense to choose another language to study. The most popular are English, French, German and Spanish. The native languages ​​of the parents (or one of the parents) should not be taken into account.

Which language is better to study as an additional language? It makes sense to pay attention to options with the simplest grammar - Italian, French.

Teachers disagree on whether a child should even learn two languages ​​at the same time. It is important to monitor the condition of children - they should not be overloaded. You shouldn’t take away their childhood, guided only by your own ambitions and the desire to get a well-rounded child prodigy. Observe the child’s attitude towards the educational process - his desire is extremely important.

The easiest and most difficult languages ​​to learn

The starting position is important here: for example, knowledge of English will significantly simplify the study of languages ​​of the Latin and Germanic groups. Your native language is also important. It's no secret that the easiest languages ​​for Russians to learn are Ukrainian and Belarusian, Bulgarian and Serbian. However, they cannot yet be called promising in a global sense. Therefore, we note the easiest European ones to study:

• English.
• Italian.
• Spanish.
• French.

Spanish is considered to be the simplest language - it is characterized by simplicity of spelling, grammar and pronunciation. As it is heard, so it is written, there is no need to be afraid of making mistakes. Ideally, if you know English - Spanish has a very similar vocabulary, and learning will proceed as quickly as possible. The second and third places are Italian and French, respectively. English is more difficult, but also quite accessible.

It is from him that all dialects were formed, so even if you move to a country where pure language variations are not practiced, you can quickly adapt. In the classic version it is also easiest to trace the logic of word formation and sentence construction. It is often clearer and more pleasing to the ear. Almost always it is literary and official for the preparation of documents.

Conclusion

Learn the languages ​​that you need and are interested in. Without necessity there is no motivation, and without sincere interest there is no desire. Both of these components form the basis for successful learning. There is no point in studying when the process only causes you stress and irritation. You must genuinely enjoy learning. You must understand why you are studying this particular language, what prospects it opens up for you, and what it allows you to do in the future.

If you don’t know which languages ​​are worth learning right now, try to look into the future. Figure out where you want to live and what you want to do. Choose English as a base and master it at a decent level. If you already speak English, move on to others. But be careful - only some people are able to study French and, say, German at the same time. In other cases, separate training is required.

Which foreign language to study: TOP-5 most promising

4.5 (90%) 18 votes

In fact, the question is posed incorrectly. There are thousands of languages ​​in the world. An individual person, even if he works professionally with a language, is able, based on his own experience, to compare 2-3, or at most 5 languages. Everything else will be a repetition of common clichés and a rehashing of other people’s opinions.

In addition, one language has easy grammar, while another has easy pronunciation. Therefore, everything that is said about the ease and complexity of languages ​​is very relative.

In language learning, much depends on the personality of the learner: What is easy for one person may be insurmountably difficult for another. The higher the motivation (for example, the practical need to know a given language), the faster and easier (all other things being equal) is its learning.

The age of the student is also an important factor. In childhood, almost any language is mastered “playfully.”

And from about 25-30 years of age, the effort required to master a new language increases sharply. So, if you are planning to learn a language, start as early as possible! Starting to learn a new language after 50, unless you are a super professional, is an unpromising idea. Enormous efforts will be required, but the result will be minimal.

Any language is studied in real conditions: therefore, the ease of learning a language depends to a large extent on factors such as the availability of good textbooks and/or a good teacher. But this has nothing to do with the complexity or ease of language as such. Yu.N.

Which foreign language is easier to learn? (www.english.language.ru)

Languages ​​easy and difficult(www.multikulti.ru)

Subjectively, we consider a new language more difficult, the more deviations it contains and the fewer similarities (analogies) it has in comparison with our native language or with a foreign language that is well known to us.

The fact that the difficulty or ease of a language is a subjective concept will be even more obvious if you think that when learning a foreign language, we are prone to extrapolation, that is, to the unconscious, instinctive transfer of forms and means into the studied language native language.

The reason for the subjective ease of English is that, as is known, this language is a fusion based on the local substrate of four languages ​​- Old Saxon, French, Latin and Greek. So, those who speak Italian, Spanish in French, as well as German, Dutch, in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian there is something to extrapolate when mastering English vocabulary.

English is generally considered to be an easy language. I think this is due to the large number monosyllabic words.

We have one hundred percent predictability only in artificial languages, such as Esperanto, Ido, and others. Of natural languages, the maximum opportunities for interpolation They give Italian, Spanish, Portuguese. Although in most languages ​​the capabilities lexical prediction with just a couple rules very small, all foreign language learners, “sick” with the same thing - an excessive tendency to extrapolate and interpolate. which often leads to creating non-existent words.

Which language is the most difficult to learn, and which is the easiest? (otvet.mail.ru) The indicated answers: the easiest one is native, obscene, English. The most difficult ones are Chinese, Japanese, Russian.

Regarding ease obscene language It’s hard to disagree: a few automatic and inappropriate interjections replace dozens of words with very different meanings. How complete such “communication” is is a separate question.

Which language is the easiest in the world - survey (www.upmeter.com) The answers given are: all equally difficult, native, Italian, etc.

English is not as easy as people think
Despite its prevalence in the world as an interethnic language
communication and the idea that it is the easiest to learn, English
language is the most difficult of European languages. In any case, it's more difficult
just learn to read. (miresperanto.narod.ru)