Read my last post Guest.
English is the hardest language to learn
Well I've been following this forum for a while... And I still can't believe that some people say that english is a hard language to learn?
I find that english is an extremely easy language to learn, that based on the fact that I'm in Venezuela... my home country... we speak Spanish BTW...
I find Spanish a much harder language to learn because of its grammar being more complicated... I only lived in the U.S for two years and learned the language completely, and without the latin accent =P
I'm also starting to learn Japanese... and from my language learning experience I can state that the hardest thing is acquiring a mental word database hard-coded to your memory so that you don't have to translate every word from your native language to your "I'm trying to speak" language =P
Structure is the most important thing to learn without it words lose the most part of their meaning...
La ventaja con el español de Venezuela es que no tiene un acento muy pronunciado que impida la adaptacion Linüistica...
(The advantage with spanish from Venezuela is that it doesn't have a very pronounced accent that restrains linguistical adaption)
And German doesn't seem to be that complicated either... it's more difficult for an English speaker to learn German because of the habits that native english speakers have like the V-W issue...
And German native speakers think English is harder because they get lost in structure and they have a really pronounced accent as most Germanic languages do...
I plan to study "Modern Languages" in college starting next year...
FWI: I'm 17y/o xD
Sugoi Ne Watashi... X.X
I find that english is an extremely easy language to learn, that based on the fact that I'm in Venezuela... my home country... we speak Spanish BTW...
I find Spanish a much harder language to learn because of its grammar being more complicated... I only lived in the U.S for two years and learned the language completely, and without the latin accent =P
I'm also starting to learn Japanese... and from my language learning experience I can state that the hardest thing is acquiring a mental word database hard-coded to your memory so that you don't have to translate every word from your native language to your "I'm trying to speak" language =P
Structure is the most important thing to learn without it words lose the most part of their meaning...
La ventaja con el español de Venezuela es que no tiene un acento muy pronunciado que impida la adaptacion Linüistica...
(The advantage with spanish from Venezuela is that it doesn't have a very pronounced accent that restrains linguistical adaption)
And German doesn't seem to be that complicated either... it's more difficult for an English speaker to learn German because of the habits that native english speakers have like the V-W issue...
And German native speakers think English is harder because they get lost in structure and they have a really pronounced accent as most Germanic languages do...
I plan to study "Modern Languages" in college starting next year...
FWI: I'm 17y/o xD
Sugoi Ne Watashi... X.X
<<I find Spanish a much harder language to learn because of its grammar being more complicated... I only lived in the U.S for two years and learned the language completely, and without the latin accent >>
Chris, I'm sorry, but I don't believe this--particularly the second part--for one second.
Chris, I'm sorry, but I don't believe this--particularly the second part--for one second.
Well excuse me Jasper but would you care to elaborate?
What exactly is it that you don't understand?
I find Spanish Grammar more complicated although it resembles english grammar in a lot of ways... structure is different, and as far as I know you don't have to worry about "opening question or exclamation marks" and having to put on top of vowels corresponding accentuation marks... -_-
Even knowing Spanish because it's my native language I miss a bunch of accentuation marks when I write, you don't have to worry about that in English, do you?
And yes I learned the English Language perfectly in two years... I can both write, and speak it in a perfect way... what exactly made you an unbeliever about my first post? xD
What exactly is it that you don't understand?
I find Spanish Grammar more complicated although it resembles english grammar in a lot of ways... structure is different, and as far as I know you don't have to worry about "opening question or exclamation marks" and having to put on top of vowels corresponding accentuation marks... -_-
Even knowing Spanish because it's my native language I miss a bunch of accentuation marks when I write, you don't have to worry about that in English, do you?
And yes I learned the English Language perfectly in two years... I can both write, and speak it in a perfect way... what exactly made you an unbeliever about my first post? xD
I would like to ask you about your experience in using Supermemo:) Have you ever used Extreme English or Speed up :) How many words have you done so far? Have you encountered any mistakes in bases? Have you Guys created your own with or without sound? Can you share it? THat's all for now:)
<<Well excuse me Jasper but would you care to elaborate?
What exactly is it that you don't understand?
I find Spanish Grammar more complicated although it resembles english grammar in a lot of ways... structure is different, and as far as I know you don't have to worry about "opening question or exclamation marks" and having to put on top of vowels corresponding accentuation marks... -_-
Even knowing Spanish because it's my native language I miss a bunch of accentuation marks when I write, you don't have to worry about that in English, do you?
And yes I learned the English Language perfectly in two years... I can both write, and speak it in a perfect way... what exactly made you an unbeliever about my first post? xD >>
English-speakers don't have to worry about accent marks, but they do have to worry about arbitrary and unpredictable spelling, which is something that one hasn't got to worry about in Spanish. ;)
I have been learning Spanish for four years, and there are some aspects of it that can be difficult, as with any other foreign language (including English), but I disagree that it is particularly hard. I find Spanish grammar to be straightforward and quite uniform, like everything else about the language.
Just because English has minimal inflection does not mean that it is an easy language. English is much more analytic and relies strongly on word order and particles. English's vast array of phrasal verbs (put away, take out, get on, go up, etc.) may also pose problems for learners of the language. I know several Spaniards trying to study English who think that they are a nightmare.
Unless this happened when you were quite young, there is no way possible that you learned how to perfectly speak English without a foreign accent after just two years of living in the USA. You do not sound like a native and natives will always realize that, therefore making your English far from "perfect".
What exactly is it that you don't understand?
I find Spanish Grammar more complicated although it resembles english grammar in a lot of ways... structure is different, and as far as I know you don't have to worry about "opening question or exclamation marks" and having to put on top of vowels corresponding accentuation marks... -_-
Even knowing Spanish because it's my native language I miss a bunch of accentuation marks when I write, you don't have to worry about that in English, do you?
And yes I learned the English Language perfectly in two years... I can both write, and speak it in a perfect way... what exactly made you an unbeliever about my first post? xD >>
English-speakers don't have to worry about accent marks, but they do have to worry about arbitrary and unpredictable spelling, which is something that one hasn't got to worry about in Spanish. ;)
I have been learning Spanish for four years, and there are some aspects of it that can be difficult, as with any other foreign language (including English), but I disagree that it is particularly hard. I find Spanish grammar to be straightforward and quite uniform, like everything else about the language.
Just because English has minimal inflection does not mean that it is an easy language. English is much more analytic and relies strongly on word order and particles. English's vast array of phrasal verbs (put away, take out, get on, go up, etc.) may also pose problems for learners of the language. I know several Spaniards trying to study English who think that they are a nightmare.
Unless this happened when you were quite young, there is no way possible that you learned how to perfectly speak English without a foreign accent after just two years of living in the USA. You do not sound like a native and natives will always realize that, therefore making your English far from "perfect".
Well Brian you are right... I did learn English at a very early age... I was forced to learn the language for adaption purposes...
And of course as already it has been said a bunch of times in this forum any Language that isn't you're native language will have a certain degree of difficulty... that will vary from person to person depending on their intellectual skills... let's face it, it's a fact that the most complicated process that a brain has to handle is communication, therefore learning a complete new way to comunicate will always be hard, and as time goes by, the brain deteriorates, making it harder to gain new knowledge...
Any way learning a new language has it's trick... where some languages are harder to speak because of their pronunciation others will be harder to write becasue of it's complicated grammar giving each language a unique level of difficulty to learn that will also deppend on the persons ability, some people are very good talkers and others are very good writers... it all stands from a relative point of view...
The only impossible thing it to say that "x" language will be harder than "x" language for everyone in this world... when I said that I find english a much easier language to learn than Spanish I based myself on my point of view, it is logical that it would conflict with others... by no means I would try to degrade any language, I find communication fascinating in all of it's aspects and variations...
Brian why is it that you think that I do not sound like a native? I'm almost sure that I don't know you and we have never spoken in person... And if you think like that because of the way that I write then point out my flaws, because after all it's all about learning isn't it?
And of course as already it has been said a bunch of times in this forum any Language that isn't you're native language will have a certain degree of difficulty... that will vary from person to person depending on their intellectual skills... let's face it, it's a fact that the most complicated process that a brain has to handle is communication, therefore learning a complete new way to comunicate will always be hard, and as time goes by, the brain deteriorates, making it harder to gain new knowledge...
Any way learning a new language has it's trick... where some languages are harder to speak because of their pronunciation others will be harder to write becasue of it's complicated grammar giving each language a unique level of difficulty to learn that will also deppend on the persons ability, some people are very good talkers and others are very good writers... it all stands from a relative point of view...
The only impossible thing it to say that "x" language will be harder than "x" language for everyone in this world... when I said that I find english a much easier language to learn than Spanish I based myself on my point of view, it is logical that it would conflict with others... by no means I would try to degrade any language, I find communication fascinating in all of it's aspects and variations...
Brian why is it that you think that I do not sound like a native? I'm almost sure that I don't know you and we have never spoken in person... And if you think like that because of the way that I write then point out my flaws, because after all it's all about learning isn't it?
<<And yes I learned the English Language perfectly in two years... I can both write, and speak it in a perfect way... what exactly made you an unbeliever about my first post? >>
Chris, I have spoken to one of the most eminent linguistic experts in the world about this matter.
She believes it's not possible for an adult non-native to speak English completely without an accent. Possible for a minor, but not an adult.
I work around many people from foreign countries, and my experience supports her beliefs-- I've not ever met one single adult non-native who can speak without an accent, despite meeting probably 1000s of them.
If you were under the age of 18 when you learnt English, of course, this caveat does not apply.
Chris, I have spoken to one of the most eminent linguistic experts in the world about this matter.
She believes it's not possible for an adult non-native to speak English completely without an accent. Possible for a minor, but not an adult.
I work around many people from foreign countries, and my experience supports her beliefs-- I've not ever met one single adult non-native who can speak without an accent, despite meeting probably 1000s of them.
If you were under the age of 18 when you learnt English, of course, this caveat does not apply.
Chris, I did not see your other post, where you admitted you learnt English as a child.
I stand corrected.
I stand corrected.
Chris
While it's true that your English is very good, you do still write a few things which, in my opinion, mark you out as non-native. Since you asked for mistakes to be pointed out, I have done just that. Some of the errors are those which you would expect to see from a native speaker, but some are not.
And of course as already it has been said (AS HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID)a bunch of times in this forum any Language that isn't you're (YOUR - but ok that's a common native mistake) native language will have a certain degree of difficulty... that will vary from person to person depending on their intellectual skills... let's face it, it's a fact that the most complicated process that a brain has to handle is communication, therefore learning a complete new way to comunicate will always be hard, and as time goes by, the brain deteriorates, making it harder to gain new knowledge...
Any way learning a new language has it's trick (DOESN'T SOUND NATIVE)... where some languages are harder to speak because of their pronunciation others will be harder to write becasue of it's (THEIR) complicated grammar giving each language a unique level of difficulty to learn that will also deppend on the persons ability, some people are very good talkers and others are very good writers... it all stands from a relative point of view (DOESN'T SOUND NATIVE TO ME)...
The only impossible thing it to say that "x" language will be harder than "x" language for everyone in this world... when I said that I find english a much easier language to learn than Spanish I based myself (you don't say 'based MYSELF' in English) on my point of view, it is logical that it would conflict with others... by no means I would (BY NO MEANS WOULD I - word order has to be inverted here) try to degrade any language, I find communication fascinating in all of it's (ITS- but once again a common native error) aspects and variations...
Brian why is it that you think that I do not sound like a native? I'm almost sure that I don't know you and we have never spoken in person... And if you think like that because of the way that I write then point out my flaws, because after all it's all about learning isn't it?
While it's true that your English is very good, you do still write a few things which, in my opinion, mark you out as non-native. Since you asked for mistakes to be pointed out, I have done just that. Some of the errors are those which you would expect to see from a native speaker, but some are not.
And of course as already it has been said (AS HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID)a bunch of times in this forum any Language that isn't you're (YOUR - but ok that's a common native mistake) native language will have a certain degree of difficulty... that will vary from person to person depending on their intellectual skills... let's face it, it's a fact that the most complicated process that a brain has to handle is communication, therefore learning a complete new way to comunicate will always be hard, and as time goes by, the brain deteriorates, making it harder to gain new knowledge...
Any way learning a new language has it's trick (DOESN'T SOUND NATIVE)... where some languages are harder to speak because of their pronunciation others will be harder to write becasue of it's (THEIR) complicated grammar giving each language a unique level of difficulty to learn that will also deppend on the persons ability, some people are very good talkers and others are very good writers... it all stands from a relative point of view (DOESN'T SOUND NATIVE TO ME)...
The only impossible thing it to say that "x" language will be harder than "x" language for everyone in this world... when I said that I find english a much easier language to learn than Spanish I based myself (you don't say 'based MYSELF' in English) on my point of view, it is logical that it would conflict with others... by no means I would (BY NO MEANS WOULD I - word order has to be inverted here) try to degrade any language, I find communication fascinating in all of it's (ITS- but once again a common native error) aspects and variations...
Brian why is it that you think that I do not sound like a native? I'm almost sure that I don't know you and we have never spoken in person... And if you think like that because of the way that I write then point out my flaws, because after all it's all about learning isn't it?
I would like to make a few aclarations regarding this forum:
First if all lets remember it's title: "English is the hardest language to learn"
Guest your post has no relevance to the actual discusion, anyway let me congratulate you on your magnificent "Mistake Point-Outs" if you colud be so kind to tell us where did you obtain your "English Master's Degree"?
And if you can, actually manage more than one language at a time? oh, wait, let me refrase that: Do you actually know any other language? besides your Native Mastered Language?
If you don't, then there is no place for you to participate in the actual forum, because you lack the necessary skills to establish differences between languages and their respective difficulty degree...
I found some of your corrections ''incorrect'' and make me feel sorry that I ever wanted to pass as a Native Speaker, what I really meant to say is that I pass as a "Correct Speaker". A correct Amercan English Speaker because if you take in mind the different variations this language features, like British English that just jumped to my mind, in which case your corrections would be "incorrect"
I utilize resources as "indicating the subject in a sentence" where you find that the "Native Correct" way is to obviate it... that would lead me to think that you are wrong and although that may sound "Native" from wherever State, City Suburb or Hood that you learned English, I find that "an alternative" but not the correct way of communicating ... Of course from "My Point Of View"
With nothing else to allude to,
My Best Regards to all Forum Participants.
First if all lets remember it's title: "English is the hardest language to learn"
Guest your post has no relevance to the actual discusion, anyway let me congratulate you on your magnificent "Mistake Point-Outs" if you colud be so kind to tell us where did you obtain your "English Master's Degree"?
And if you can, actually manage more than one language at a time? oh, wait, let me refrase that: Do you actually know any other language? besides your Native Mastered Language?
If you don't, then there is no place for you to participate in the actual forum, because you lack the necessary skills to establish differences between languages and their respective difficulty degree...
I found some of your corrections ''incorrect'' and make me feel sorry that I ever wanted to pass as a Native Speaker, what I really meant to say is that I pass as a "Correct Speaker". A correct Amercan English Speaker because if you take in mind the different variations this language features, like British English that just jumped to my mind, in which case your corrections would be "incorrect"
I utilize resources as "indicating the subject in a sentence" where you find that the "Native Correct" way is to obviate it... that would lead me to think that you are wrong and although that may sound "Native" from wherever State, City Suburb or Hood that you learned English, I find that "an alternative" but not the correct way of communicating ... Of course from "My Point Of View"
With nothing else to allude to,
My Best Regards to all Forum Participants.
I'm not sure why you think my post has no relevance to the discussion when it is a response to the things you said in your posts.
I am a native speaker of British English, and as such feel that I am qualified to judge whether someone's English sounds native or not. Most British English speakers are also sufficiently exposed to American English to know, in most cases, whether a difference they hear is simply an Americanism or not.
As for foreign languages, I have learnt German, which has obviously given me an insight into the differences between languages.
Maybe you were just a bit too confident when you invited Brian to point out flaws in your written English and didn't actually believe there possibly could be any. But I'm sorry to say your last post is even clumsier than the previous ones.
I am a native speaker of British English, and as such feel that I am qualified to judge whether someone's English sounds native or not. Most British English speakers are also sufficiently exposed to American English to know, in most cases, whether a difference they hear is simply an Americanism or not.
As for foreign languages, I have learnt German, which has obviously given me an insight into the differences between languages.
Maybe you were just a bit too confident when you invited Brian to point out flaws in your written English and didn't actually believe there possibly could be any. But I'm sorry to say your last post is even clumsier than the previous ones.
Chris: I am an American. I agree with Guest's corrections. They are perfectly accurate. However, the two marked "(DOESN'T SOUND NATIVE)" are commonly used ways of speaking in the USA. Occasionally people do wish to have their English corrected in this forum. Do not take it as a personal attack.
Chris: I take issue with you on this point: <<And German doesn't seem to be that complicated either... it's more difficult for an English speaker to learn German because of the habits that native english speakers have like the V-W issue...>><<And German native speakers think English is harder because they get lost in structure and they have a really pronounced accent as most Germanic languages do...>>
While not a native German speaker, I have had the equivalent of about four college semesters with perfect grades. I have been to all of the German speaking countries as well. My German is far from perfect--Guest's German is much better--but I would hasten to argue that German speakers and English speakers have an equally difficult time learning the opposing language. The V-W problem is nothing. Very minor. For pronunciation, the difficult part for English speakers are the umlauted vowels--English has none. For example: ä, ö, and ü.
Some good reading, mind you I am an American, is Mark Twain's "The Awful German Language." I think Twain did a great job highlighting the difficulties English speaker's have learning German.
Chris: I take issue with you on this point: <<And German doesn't seem to be that complicated either... it's more difficult for an English speaker to learn German because of the habits that native english speakers have like the V-W issue...>><<And German native speakers think English is harder because they get lost in structure and they have a really pronounced accent as most Germanic languages do...>>
While not a native German speaker, I have had the equivalent of about four college semesters with perfect grades. I have been to all of the German speaking countries as well. My German is far from perfect--Guest's German is much better--but I would hasten to argue that German speakers and English speakers have an equally difficult time learning the opposing language. The V-W problem is nothing. Very minor. For pronunciation, the difficult part for English speakers are the umlauted vowels--English has none. For example: ä, ö, and ü.
Some good reading, mind you I am an American, is Mark Twain's "The Awful German Language." I think Twain did a great job highlighting the difficulties English speaker's have learning German.