Dutch is easier and more useful than Swedish?
I want to learn either of them, please help me.
I want to learn either of them, please help me.
Dutch is easier and more useful than Swedish?
Dutch is genetically more closely related to English than Swedish is, so I'd say it would be easier. I don't know if it would be more useful though.
Yes.
For an English speaker Dutch is more similar, lexically, grammatically, and in orthography.
An English speaker is able to pick up on basic Dutch quite quickly. Only Dutch pronunciation may pose a problem for the beginner.
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In Dutch:
Ja.
Voor een Engels spreker is het Nederlands meer vergelijkbaar, in woordenschat, in grammatica, en in spelling.
Een Engels spreker is in staat om af te halen op het basisNederlands heel snel. Alleen kan de Nederlandse uitspraak een probleem voor de beginner geven.
For an English speaker Dutch is more similar, lexically, grammatically, and in orthography.
An English speaker is able to pick up on basic Dutch quite quickly. Only Dutch pronunciation may pose a problem for the beginner.
=====
In Dutch:
Ja.
Voor een Engels spreker is het Nederlands meer vergelijkbaar, in woordenschat, in grammatica, en in spelling.
Een Engels spreker is in staat om af te halen op het basisNederlands heel snel. Alleen kan de Nederlandse uitspraak een probleem voor de beginner geven.
<<Guest who just posted >>
Actually, the post was by me; not Skippy.
sorry, don't know what happened there
Actually, the post was by me; not Skippy.
sorry, don't know what happened there
Dutch is not a particularly difficult language to learn, the grammar is pretty simple, the pronunciation isn't too hard either and if you already know English, it'll be a lot easier for you to understand . However, I don't really think Dutch is a more useful language than Swedish, unless you want to live in the Netherlands or in Flanders. Of course, you can also learn it for your own pleasure.
Swedish ---> Sweden
Also, and to a lesser extent, Norway and Denmark...
As well as VERY little access to Faroe Islands and Iceland...
Dutch ---> Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders only)
Also, and to a lesser extent, South Africa and Surinaam...
One other thing to know, the number of Dutch speakers in the world (i.e. approx. 20 million) equals that of Swedish, Danish, and Norweigan speakers combined.
p.s. Dutch is DEFINATELY easier for an Anglophone.
Also, and to a lesser extent, Norway and Denmark...
As well as VERY little access to Faroe Islands and Iceland...
Dutch ---> Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders only)
Also, and to a lesser extent, South Africa and Surinaam...
One other thing to know, the number of Dutch speakers in the world (i.e. approx. 20 million) equals that of Swedish, Danish, and Norweigan speakers combined.
p.s. Dutch is DEFINATELY easier for an Anglophone.
<<Dutch ---> Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders only) >>
also, Extreme northern parts of France, and Northern Germany where Dutch and Plattduutsch are mutually intelligible, and Caribbean islands like Aruba, the Lower Rhine valley and perhaps also in Luxemburg
there still remains a Dutch speaking minority in Indonesia as well.
also, Extreme northern parts of France, and Northern Germany where Dutch and Plattduutsch are mutually intelligible, and Caribbean islands like Aruba, the Lower Rhine valley and perhaps also in Luxemburg
there still remains a Dutch speaking minority in Indonesia as well.
Despite superficial first impressions that suggest the contrary, Swedish is simpler to learn than Dutch in terms of grammar en pronunciation. Swedish has a similar sound inventory to English.
Vocabulary-wise, Dutch has (being a fellow West-Germanic language) more similarities.
Subjectively, which language is most useful ... well that depends on your intentions. Dutch has more speakers, even when the sometimes overstated mutual intelligibility with Danish and Norwegian is taken in to account, so in terms of shear volume; it would be better. Neither are world languages, but Dutch is spoken in more places (Suriname in South America, some Caribbean islands and - though somewhat differently- in South Africa) than Swedish.
At the same time, Swedish opens doors to other North Germanic language, such as Danish and Norwegian. Whereas Dutch on the other hand doesn't, open doors to for example German.
Again the last question is personal ... if you want to live in Amsterdam, Swedish isn't the best choice. If you want work at IKEA in Stockholm ... Dutch is not advisable.
Vocabulary-wise, Dutch has (being a fellow West-Germanic language) more similarities.
Subjectively, which language is most useful ... well that depends on your intentions. Dutch has more speakers, even when the sometimes overstated mutual intelligibility with Danish and Norwegian is taken in to account, so in terms of shear volume; it would be better. Neither are world languages, but Dutch is spoken in more places (Suriname in South America, some Caribbean islands and - though somewhat differently- in South Africa) than Swedish.
At the same time, Swedish opens doors to other North Germanic language, such as Danish and Norwegian. Whereas Dutch on the other hand doesn't, open doors to for example German.
Again the last question is personal ... if you want to live in Amsterdam, Swedish isn't the best choice. If you want work at IKEA in Stockholm ... Dutch is not advisable.
<< Despite superficial first impressions that suggest the contrary, Swedish is simpler to learn than Dutch >>
-- If you have German in mind Dutch looks like a piece of cake but Scandinavian languages are inherently the simplest ever.
(The easiest part of the English grammar is largely a Danish legacy BTW)
Furthermore Swedish (as well as other Scand. languages) helps a lot to unveil some mysteries of Germanic languages.
Did you ever wonder why the comparative and superlative of 'good' are 'better' and 'best' ?
In Swedish it's all crystal clear, there are two distinct adjectives:
god - godare - godaste (= tastes good)
bra - bättre - bäst (= 'good', 'well' in an abstract sense, alright, OK)
-- If you have German in mind Dutch looks like a piece of cake but Scandinavian languages are inherently the simplest ever.
(The easiest part of the English grammar is largely a Danish legacy BTW)
Furthermore Swedish (as well as other Scand. languages) helps a lot to unveil some mysteries of Germanic languages.
Did you ever wonder why the comparative and superlative of 'good' are 'better' and 'best' ?
In Swedish it's all crystal clear, there are two distinct adjectives:
god - godare - godaste (= tastes good)
bra - bättre - bäst (= 'good', 'well' in an abstract sense, alright, OK)
<,In Swedish it's all crystal clear, there are two distinct adjectives:
god - godare - godaste (= tastes good)
bra - bättre - bäst (= 'good', 'well' in an abstract sense, alright, OK) >>
That may be so in Swedish, but the forms above do not explain why good becomes better and best.
'good' is a separate root/word with no surviving comparitive/superaltive based on the same root/word.
'better' and 'best' come from another root 'bat-' in Germanic, related to English "batten" and "boot" ("remedy/benefit")
In this case, the forms for both merged and parts of one were lost and vice versa (became supplatives).
In Swedish, godare and godaste were created later from god based on analogy with other comparative/superlative forms (cf English "gooder" & "goodest")
god - godare - godaste (= tastes good)
bra - bättre - bäst (= 'good', 'well' in an abstract sense, alright, OK) >>
That may be so in Swedish, but the forms above do not explain why good becomes better and best.
'good' is a separate root/word with no surviving comparitive/superaltive based on the same root/word.
'better' and 'best' come from another root 'bat-' in Germanic, related to English "batten" and "boot" ("remedy/benefit")
In this case, the forms for both merged and parts of one were lost and vice versa (became supplatives).
In Swedish, godare and godaste were created later from god based on analogy with other comparative/superlative forms (cf English "gooder" & "goodest")
german grammar is easier to learn than Dutch grammar. Dutch has more tenses and has more rules, rather than a few but consistent rules like German