Hi!
I wrote this reply but somehow the thread disappeared.
Feel free to lock this.
I simply wanted to post what I had written.
Thank you.
<< Practical question (since I don't have forever to master my next language): Of the major Romance languages, which have you found the easiest to learn?
I've read that Spanish seems easier than French, but only at first, due to pronunciation--eventually French becomes easier, due to the grammar. Is that right? I don't have much experience with Italian or Portuguese, but I'm guessing that they are similar in difficulty to Spanish, with Portuguese maybe a little harder because of pronunciation. And I assume Romanian is the most difficult.
Note: My preference is Italian, which I haven't studied yet. I know a little French and Spanish. >>
Hi!
From my experience, you're right about French being easier than Spanish.
French grammar is easier, and even the pronunciation is not as irregular as one might think. Once you know the basic rules, you know how to pronounce new words.
Portuguese is easier than Spanish in the sense that it's more flexible and there are many variations not only in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary, but also the grammar.
This might appear confusing first, but you get used to it quickly.
I don't know much about Italian. All I know is that although it's harder than French, it's lexically and grammatically closer to French than Spanish, yet due to its pronunciation it's easier for an Italian and a Spanish speaker to understand each other orally.
Romanian is just different. It is essentially just as Latin as other Romance languages, but it's just different.
Regards
I wrote this reply but somehow the thread disappeared.
Feel free to lock this.
I simply wanted to post what I had written.
Thank you.
<< Practical question (since I don't have forever to master my next language): Of the major Romance languages, which have you found the easiest to learn?
I've read that Spanish seems easier than French, but only at first, due to pronunciation--eventually French becomes easier, due to the grammar. Is that right? I don't have much experience with Italian or Portuguese, but I'm guessing that they are similar in difficulty to Spanish, with Portuguese maybe a little harder because of pronunciation. And I assume Romanian is the most difficult.
Note: My preference is Italian, which I haven't studied yet. I know a little French and Spanish. >>
Hi!
From my experience, you're right about French being easier than Spanish.
French grammar is easier, and even the pronunciation is not as irregular as one might think. Once you know the basic rules, you know how to pronounce new words.
Portuguese is easier than Spanish in the sense that it's more flexible and there are many variations not only in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary, but also the grammar.
This might appear confusing first, but you get used to it quickly.
I don't know much about Italian. All I know is that although it's harder than French, it's lexically and grammatically closer to French than Spanish, yet due to its pronunciation it's easier for an Italian and a Spanish speaker to understand each other orally.
Romanian is just different. It is essentially just as Latin as other Romance languages, but it's just different.
Regards