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Spanish is said to be the easiest of the European languages to learn for English speakers. For me i did French while living in France and did not find it easy.With a lot of perserverence though results do come,but the first year was very hard.
For folks wondering perhaps which are the easiest languages to learn,it is generally considered Malay and Indonesian(both very similar)(perhaps not really relivant if you live in the US,but okay here in Australia.) and have a reasonable grasp having also lived there,as well as Swahilli,the language of East Africa,like the sound but don't speak it.
Hardest are said to be Finnish and Hungarian,but to be honest all are hard work. Just some being a case of some a lot harder than others.
Am now, half heartly i suppose,doing German as my wife is from there,but she speaks a dialect (as another poster mentioned)hers being Swarbish, High German of only marginal use there. Although everybody can speak it they tend to use their dialect ,making it hard for outsiders to either join in or improve their High German quickly.
Last edited by the troubadour; 10-28-2010 at 03:48 AM..
Reason: spell
Tessek? (te shake) "Excuse me" in Hungarian. The one problem with learning a foreign lamguage is the pronunciation of one or two letters together which are not the same as in English. Having grown up with a Hungarian mother spoke and understood the language but not able to write any of it. If I think in Hungarian I'm able to read most words/newspaper etc.
I have that problem with Spanish and as long as I think in terms of the Spanish letters I'm able to read quite a bit but fail to understand most of what I'm reading. Reading Yes...comprehension something else.
Yes, Steve- Hungarian. I have been studying off an on for several years. I married into a Hungarian family (strong Hungarian presence in metro Detroit. I can read and write as well as speak. Still a novice to be sure (as Hungarian takes "a minute to learn, a lifetime to master") but as I often have the best comprehension in my class, my teachers cannot beleive that I am not magyar myself or that I did not grow up hearing it from friends or family.
Korean, my wife is korean and she's they only member of her family that speaks any english. I speak enough Korean to get around as a tourist, and have basic conversation, I also practice reading and writing it as well. Its not that hard reading and writing it, getting the pronounciation correct however is difficult. Dont know how many times a Korean person would hear a white guy with his routes in the australian outback, speaking korean, not many i am sure.
Currently not learning any languages. But from my experience immersion is the best way to learn communicate in a new language, but actually lessons teach one the finer grammar points.
I love learning languages but currently not actively maintaining any of them. I've reached an intermediate level in both Spanish and Japanese, and would love to add Chinese and/or Burmese to the list. But these days I'm really wondering if I should pursue learning languages beyond the level of a hobbyist. As much as I would love to major in a foreign language, I know statistically this is not a recommended move. Are there any majors that fit well with a foreign language minor? Mind you, I am not STEM material nor interested in business or law. Mainly I've thought about going into teaching and these days looking into becoming a Foreign Service Officer.
Ugh, I SO want to learn Spanish fluently. I've tried dvds and cd programs. They don't work well for me. I need to meet some Hispanic women and hang out with them and only speak Spanish. I don't know how to do this without seeming like a weirdo. I should check into Spanish conversation groups/clubs. Maybe you can check into that in Honolulu. I heard from my best friend who lives there that there are Chinese and Japanese language groups. ??? Something to check into.
It shouldn't be hard, since if you live in the USA, Spanish is all around you. Just tune into Spanish TV channels (many programs have English sub-titles, such as reality shows and travel shows, allowing you to hear the Spanish at the same time you're reading the English) - Spanish radio stations, especially the commercials.
Go to Lowe's hardware and study the bilingual signs on the aisles with both languages side-by-side- read the bilingual labels on products and on boxes - read bilingual signs on busses and subways. If that's too boring, then look at colorfully illustrated Spanish magazines, especially the advertisements. Your library or local store should have some.
I'm very interested in foreign languages. I know German and have also studied Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean, with varying levels of proficiency. The one thing I can say about learning them is you have to develop a certain mindset where you never really *stop* learning until you get where you want to go.
When I was learning German I bought lots of books about it and spent hours reading them. Once I got started studying my curiosity kept me going, and I kept learning and learning. I went over all the grammar concepts, and I especially liked books that showed English and German sentences side by side. That way I could compare them and say, "Oh, I see how that sentences translates into such-and-such."
Then I took classes and by then was really far ahead of everyone else.
The difficulty can be keeping that momentum going. You simply get preoccupied with other things. But I find languages to be a very interesting subject, and developing even a modicum of proficiency in one can be very rewarding.
I'm teaching my husband sign language -after 30 years of me interpreting he is finally interested. I want to learn Korean because I watch so much Korean entertainment but its so far its hard...
The thing with languages is you have to use them,be immersed in them they have to have relevance to your lifestyle if not then learning the language is just a novelty that one soon forgets.
Living here in Montreal i was at one time fully bilingual in French, then i retired from a large factory that was almost completely French, 6 years into retirement and i've forgotten so much of the French language that i no longer consider myself bilingual..
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