compare with other western languages like French, Russian, Iatlian, Spanish, Germen, etc, is English the most easy ?
Is English the most easy of all the western languages?
Vietnamese is the easiest of all Western languages. I know what you will say, that Vietnam is eastern, but this is not true. If you travel west from America you will soon arrive in Vietnam.
Once again, the whole judgment of whether a language is the "most easy" or not is entirely subjective.
About the only objective statement would be that raised by Brennus about the written language: the English spelling system is probably one of the most difficult and challenging for the learner.
About the only objective statement would be that raised by Brennus about the written language: the English spelling system is probably one of the most difficult and challenging for the learner.
If you're talking about the simplicity of the basic grammar I understand Afrikaans is even simpler.
I wouldn't say Vietnamese is a Western language.
But if you count non-Western languages, Indonesian has much simpler grammar than English. So does Afrikaans.
But if you count non-Western languages, Indonesian has much simpler grammar than English. So does Afrikaans.
Why English Is So Hard
Heteronyms, homographs, and homophones: words that are spelled alike but have different pronunciations or meanings
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
After dessert, the soldier decided to desert his post in the desert.
No time like the present to present the present.
A bass and a trout were painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
The bandage was wound around the wound.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
They sent a sewer down to stitch the tear in the sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in my clothes I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
I live next to the stadium where bands play live. (thanks M. Durham)
A minute is a minute part of a day. (Thanks M. Durham)
The clothes were too close to the closet door to close it.
The homographs of "-ough" would confuse anybody:
A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.
http://www.mapping.com/englishhard.html
Heteronyms, homographs, and homophones: words that are spelled alike but have different pronunciations or meanings
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
After dessert, the soldier decided to desert his post in the desert.
No time like the present to present the present.
A bass and a trout were painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
The bandage was wound around the wound.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
They sent a sewer down to stitch the tear in the sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in my clothes I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
I live next to the stadium where bands play live. (thanks M. Durham)
A minute is a minute part of a day. (Thanks M. Durham)
The clothes were too close to the closet door to close it.
The homographs of "-ough" would confuse anybody:
A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.
http://www.mapping.com/englishhard.html
Global English is the most easy of all languages. English is just the easiest. :-)
(I´m just splitting hairs, as per usual.)
Joking aside, I very much agree with 21EB. The judgement of whether a language is easy or not is entirely subjective.
What EFL learners find the most difficult is either its spelling system or the pronunciation. I think they are unaware of the fact that the ortography makes pronunciation awfully hard to master. English is not a language like Hungarian which has a spelling system more or less corresponding to pronunciation. (Apart form the fact that there are other things that make Hungarian much more difficult than English.)
Brennus is right in thinking that English is so widespread that you hear it everywhere even if you don´t live in an English-speaking country. This , of course, makes the language easier to master. However, I don´t think Hungarian or Gaelic (which one, by the way?) are the best examples here, being IMHO somewhat more difficult than English.
(I´m just splitting hairs, as per usual.)
Joking aside, I very much agree with 21EB. The judgement of whether a language is easy or not is entirely subjective.
What EFL learners find the most difficult is either its spelling system or the pronunciation. I think they are unaware of the fact that the ortography makes pronunciation awfully hard to master. English is not a language like Hungarian which has a spelling system more or less corresponding to pronunciation. (Apart form the fact that there are other things that make Hungarian much more difficult than English.)
Brennus is right in thinking that English is so widespread that you hear it everywhere even if you don´t live in an English-speaking country. This , of course, makes the language easier to master. However, I don´t think Hungarian or Gaelic (which one, by the way?) are the best examples here, being IMHO somewhat more difficult than English.
Adam : tu pourrais garder tes petites "trouvailles" de cruciverbiste schizothyme pour tes longs dimanches pluvieux au lieu de nous les resservir comme pseudopreuves de difficulté...
Mais puisque tu as l'air de te délecter de ce genre de choses, autant te les refiler en français :
couvent : /kuv/ — /kuvÃ/
prospections : /pROspEksjÕ/ — /pROspEktjÕ/
bus : /bys/ — /by/
convient : /kÕvi/ — /kÕvjE~/
ferment : /fERm/ — /fERmÃ/
président : /pRezid/ — /pRezidÃ/
fier : /fjER/ — /fje/
négligent : /negliZ/ — /negliZÃ/
affluent : /afly/ — /aflyÃ/
portions : /pORsjÕ/ — /pORtjÕ/
pressent : /pREs/ — /pResÃ/
équivalent : /ekival/ — /ekivalÃ/
/kÃ/ : Caen — quand — quant — qu'en — camp
/tRwa/ : Troyes — Troie — trois
/mER/ : mère — mer — maire
/vo/ : vos — veaux — vaux — Vaud
/lu/ : loup — loue
/so/ : sot — sceau — saut
/kÕt/ : compte — comte — conte
/fwa/ : fois — foie — foi — Foix
/u/ : ou — où — houx — houe — hou — août
/tÃ/ : tant — temps — t'en — tan — taon
Bonne lecture !
Mais puisque tu as l'air de te délecter de ce genre de choses, autant te les refiler en français :
couvent : /kuv/ — /kuvÃ/
prospections : /pROspEksjÕ/ — /pROspEktjÕ/
bus : /bys/ — /by/
convient : /kÕvi/ — /kÕvjE~/
ferment : /fERm/ — /fERmÃ/
président : /pRezid/ — /pRezidÃ/
fier : /fjER/ — /fje/
négligent : /negliZ/ — /negliZÃ/
affluent : /afly/ — /aflyÃ/
portions : /pORsjÕ/ — /pORtjÕ/
pressent : /pREs/ — /pResÃ/
équivalent : /ekival/ — /ekivalÃ/
/kÃ/ : Caen — quand — quant — qu'en — camp
/tRwa/ : Troyes — Troie — trois
/mER/ : mère — mer — maire
/vo/ : vos — veaux — vaux — Vaud
/lu/ : loup — loue
/so/ : sot — sceau — saut
/kÕt/ : compte — comte — conte
/fwa/ : fois — foie — foi — Foix
/u/ : ou — où — houx — houe — hou — août
/tÃ/ : tant — temps — t'en — tan — taon
Bonne lecture !
You should define 'Indo-European language' instead of 'Western language'!
BTW, Vietnamese is not that easy when it comes to pronunciation!
It has a lot of complicated stresses in it.
Anyway, I wouldn't say English is the easiest language but it's definitely easier than German and French.
BTW, Vietnamese is not that easy when it comes to pronunciation!
It has a lot of complicated stresses in it.
Anyway, I wouldn't say English is the easiest language but it's definitely easier than German and French.
English is certainly easy in some things. Verb conjugations for example. However, spelling and pronounciation can be a PITA, even for native English speakers.
if you are a well reader correct spelling should not be a problem for you as you have seen the word many times in its correct spelling and it is going to be stuck to you mind forever. The hardest part of the language without a shadow of doubt is pronunciation. So audio dictionaries and phonetic transcriptions are God sent gifts for us learners.
"Anyway, I wouldn't say English is the easiest language but it's definitely easier than German and French."
Not if you're German or French.
Not if you're German or French.