<<If I moved to rural Slovakia I doubt if I would find many English speakers but that doesn't make my language useless. >>
Yes, but who the fuck moves the rural Slovakia?
Yes, but who the fuck moves the rural Slovakia?
What is the easiest language for an English speaker?
Los impuestos nos están arruinando miserablemente. Vencimos y venceremos, tenemos fe en Dios. Sabemos que tenemos que pasar este baño de sangre, pero el sagrado corazón de Jesús nos ayudará.
Thanks for all those examples of Frisian and comparisons to Low German and German! Frisian really is close to English, isn't it?
I found this on YouTube, a Frisian TV excerpt, and if I'd heard it in the background somewhere I might have mistaken it for a Scottish islander speaking English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfodZPL57A
I found this on YouTube, a Frisian TV excerpt, and if I'd heard it in the background somewhere I might have mistaken it for a Scottish islander speaking English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfodZPL57A
<<Yes, but who the fuck moves the rural Slovakia?>>
You can found Brits even in the poorest areas of Eastern Europe. Name a village and is more probable to find a Brit living there than not. It seems that there is a huge exodus of white population from UK to mainland Europe.
You can found Brits even in the poorest areas of Eastern Europe. Name a village and is more probable to find a Brit living there than not. It seems that there is a huge exodus of white population from UK to mainland Europe.
English is close to nothing and everything. English is unique. It's a mixture of CELTIC, SAXON, NORDIC, LATIN tribes all mixing together forming a new language called English. It is a mixure of germanic languages with romance languages mix with celtic languages. So technically it's a truelly a creol language.
<<Ok so how many people speak Frisian? >>
Well, I suppose Frisian is an order of magnitude more marginal than Dutch, which is already marginal. But it's still a candidate for the question as posted, I reckon, even if of very limited usefulness.
If the question was "what's the easiest WORLD language to learn for English speakers?" then yes your point would be pertinent.
Well, I suppose Frisian is an order of magnitude more marginal than Dutch, which is already marginal. But it's still a candidate for the question as posted, I reckon, even if of very limited usefulness.
If the question was "what's the easiest WORLD language to learn for English speakers?" then yes your point would be pertinent.
Dutch is spoken on three continents (counting Afrikaans along, because you don't really have to learn two new languages to be able to communicate). So. ;-) ;-)
German is an easy language for English speakers, once they have got past the unfamiliar grammatical concepts. At first it isn't particularly easy, as you have to get to grips with things like gender, cases and adjective endings. But once you understand these things, the fact that it is a Germanic language and is highly logical to boot make it reasonably straightforward for English speakers.
Sorry I meant:
>>But once you understand these things, the fact that it is a Germanic language and is highly logical to boot MAKES it reasonably straightforward for English speakers.<<
>>But once you understand these things, the fact that it is a Germanic language and is highly logical to boot MAKES it reasonably straightforward for English speakers.<<
<< Dutch is spoken on three continents >>
-- FOUR! Indonesian authorities have done their to eradicate Dutch but elederly people in Djakarta are still able to use it.
-- FOUR! Indonesian authorities have done their to eradicate Dutch but elederly people in Djakarta are still able to use it.
<<Well, I suppose Frisian is an order of magnitude more marginal than Dutch, which is already marginal. >>
West Frisian has 700000 speakers,
Dutch has about 27 million speakers.
You compare incommensurable things.
West Frisian has 700000 speakers,
Dutch has about 27 million speakers.
You compare incommensurable things.
<< German is an easy language for English speakers >>
-- In *your* theory it is.
In reality, Anglo speakers able to display some decent command of German are like hen's theeth.
-- In *your* theory it is.
In reality, Anglo speakers able to display some decent command of German are like hen's theeth.
>>-- In *your* theory it is.
In reality, Anglo speakers able to display some decent command of German are like hen's theeth. <<
That's because few of them persevere with it, just like few do with any other foreign language.
Wie wir schon alle wissen, lernen die meisten Englishmuttersprachler gar keine Fremdsprachen zu einem hohen Niveau, weil wir einfach die Glück haben, die gegenwärtige Weltsprache zu sprechen. Aber das bedeutet keineswegs, dass wir keine Fähigkeit dazu haben! Ich weiss, dass mein Deutsch gar nicht perfekt ist, aber es ist auch nicht schlecht.
Und was bedeutet denn 'theeth'? Vermutlich wolltest du 'teeth' schreiben, aber ich bin mir nicht ganz sicher...
In reality, Anglo speakers able to display some decent command of German are like hen's theeth. <<
That's because few of them persevere with it, just like few do with any other foreign language.
Wie wir schon alle wissen, lernen die meisten Englishmuttersprachler gar keine Fremdsprachen zu einem hohen Niveau, weil wir einfach die Glück haben, die gegenwärtige Weltsprache zu sprechen. Aber das bedeutet keineswegs, dass wir keine Fähigkeit dazu haben! Ich weiss, dass mein Deutsch gar nicht perfekt ist, aber es ist auch nicht schlecht.
Und was bedeutet denn 'theeth'? Vermutlich wolltest du 'teeth' schreiben, aber ich bin mir nicht ganz sicher...
Plus I said it is only easy (relatively) once you get your head round the more complex grammar. Most native English speakers simply never study it to that level, but if they did, most would get it in the end, and then see that German is not so bad beyond a certain level.