Italian and English use a similar sentence structure in most cases, and fortunately, the pronunciation is quite logical. Language families are languages that are grouped because they are related in some way through descent. An example is the large group of languages called the Indo-European language family. Persian is one of the Iranian languages, having been spoken in Iran for hundreds of years. Italian is yet another beautiful language, much like Portuguese and the other Romance languages. For all its challenges, though, it is a worthwhile language to learn with some interesting conventions. This means that once English speakers have had a chance to learn some basic rules, theyre usually able to pick it up quite quickly. Once again, similarities in vocabulary make things a whole lot easier. As with the Vikings English got lots of Scandinavian words and are also Germanic languages like English sharing the same core words. But according to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), French is a category 1 language. On the bright side, it is phonetic, which means it is spelled how it is said and vice-versa. See this researched list of the best online Persian courses to start with. Alternatively, Persian Language Online offers a variety of free lessons that cover everything from grammar to tenses, vowels to intonation. Therefore, you should be able to master the basics and learn how to speak French in no time. Another appealing thing about learning Norwegian is that the language has different accents. In Thai, you can find many languages that come from Chinese. Dutch 7. For this reason, many native English speakers may find that these languages are a little easier to learn than a language such as Chinese Mandarin or Arabic. One aspect of German that English-speakers do tend to struggle with is the pronunciation, especially when it comes to longer compound words like Fremdschmen (cringe) or Verschlimmbessern (to worsen or exacerbate)., But while German might not be quite as easy for English-speakers to grasp as Dutch or Norwegian, it is an extremely useful language to learn, as its spoken by more than 100 million people throughout Central Europe, including in Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.. This beautiful language shares many similarities with English in terms of cognates and sentence structure. A solar calendar was introduced, as was Zoroastrianism as the Empires religion, and strides in metal-working and primarily gold production for coinage. Check out our article on the best way to learn a new language here. For this reason, it is considered a macro language because its reach is vast and extensive. The Empire stretched over areas such as Macedonia, Thrace, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, and even parts of Egypt and Libya. With dedication, motivation, lots of passion, and enthusiasm to learn, you will be able to master any language you want. The syntax of Persian sentences is a little different than what you might be used to in English, as well. The script that they use (Devanagari) is vastly different from Latin and even Arabic script. Advertisements. This was the empire of Cyrus the Great, of Darius and Xerxes, and of the elite forces who fought the 300 Spartans within the pass of Thermopylae during the Greco-Persian Wars. However, that also depends on many other factors. More tutorials, interactive lessons, and activities are found via ANU Persian Online, an official portal with many educational options. Like Norwegian and Swedish, it has fairly straightforward grammar rules and a lot of vocabulary that will be familiar to English speakers., For example, Gode tidende sounds a lot like Good tidings, and the word dyre, which means expensive, is similar to the word dear, which is used in English when something is considered too pricey. This is another language on the list that might surprise you. Italian: Italian is the easiest language for Spanish speakers to learn. Esperanto was designed with you in mind: Minimal grammar, easy rules and as a bonus, lots of things that resemble many other world languages. 10 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers. Want to know which languages you have the best chance of mastering quickly?, Here are 15 of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. One of the best ways to connect with native speaker audio and a Persian teacher is by listening to podcasts, which can really help your understanding of pronunciation. People may not be aware that Romanian is one of the Latin languages because its not as popular as the other more commonly learned ones like Spanish and Italian. It is important to note that the Farsi and Persian languages are the same things, with Farsi simply being an endonym, or the languages name according to native speakers. A large portion of its vocabulary comes from Arabic, meaning that will be the main hurdle for non-native speakers to overcome. However, for someone who has a tonal native language such as Thai, they may find it easier to learn other tonal languages an example of this is Vietnamese. This has meant that Italian culture and the language have stayed very much alive in these places. Similarly, demy has lessons from native Farsi speakers that allow you to fluently speak and understand the language. Up until now, all the languages we have discussed have had estimated learning times of 600 hours or less. By this, we mean some may not use what is known as the Latin alphabet (A, B, C, D, etc. Unlike many other languages in the world, Persian does not include grammatical gender, and pronouns are not marked with natural gender, either, making them all gender-neutral. However, this doesnt mean learning one language will make you able to speak the other. For example, several common borrowed words in English that come originally from Farsi words include the following: Overall, Farsi and the Persian language are spoken by millions of people, both within Middle Eastern countries and across the globe. The Hindi language is a relatively challenging one and takes hours to perfect to even an intermediate level. Norwegian 6. This language is basically useless, but it is undoubtedly the easiest to learn. You may come across a challenge or two, like mastering Portuguese pronunciation and nasal sounds. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. However, if you are looking for a modest challenge then Swahili is a great language choice for you. Fill in the form below and well contact you to discuss your learning options and answer any questions you may have. However, whilst it is very close to England, that does not mean the languages are similar. Top 5 Easiest Languages to Learn for Chinese Speakers Ethiopians also speak the Tigrinya language; however, most are from the Tigray area (specifically in Eritrea). At the end of the day, it all comes down to your motivation and persistence. Recommended: 7 Easiest Language To Learn For Spanish Speakers Advertisements #1. This truly simplifies the entire language, as every subject is referred to with the same pronoun , pronounced ou or . Dutch is one of the most similar Germanic languages to that of English, so it is a great one to learn for native English speakers. These differences include word order differences, tenses, and even the inclusion of gender into language. This toneless African language is thought to be one of the easier African languages for native English speakers to learn. Whereas Dutch demands verb conjugations like those in Englishfor instance, I am, you are, it isAfrikaans doesnt bother you with the details. They often descend from the same common parental or ancestral language and can branch off to form many other unique languages. Whilst Turkish has used the Latin script for almost 100 years, it is still a very difficult language to grasp for English speakers because of the sheer volume of learning and memorization of grammatical rules required. It is spoken as a native language by 13 million people, most of whom live in Hungary. Members of this language family tend to have complicated grammatical rules and more than double the amount of vowels that the English language uses. YouTube is a great resource for free lessons and video clips that will help you master perfect pronunciation and retention for the Farsi vocabulary that you compile through other lessons. Thats mostly because its a Germanic language just like English. Malay(bahasa melayu) and Indonesian (bahasa indonesia) are similar languages that share a root language and language group but are still different, as they have their own vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling and more. We approve.) use. What makes them easy is the grammarthere are no grammatical categories for gender, number or tense. That being said, we do have the Persian language to thank for many words that we use in English such as kiosk and bazaar, so you may well find some similarities within this beautiful language! There are many Mandarin Chinese language resources available online. It is similar in many ways to other languages that native English speakers find easier to learn, such as Spanish and French. It is the former two that are most commonly used. Afrikaans is a beautiful language that is surprisingly easy to learn for native English speakers. However, the script involved with learning the Persian language is simpler than you might imagine, once you understand the basics. Looking for a language thats not going to require three-hour evening classes Monday through Friday for the next 10 years? This is where, to keep the sounds in harmony, suffixes are added to words. Like Indonesian, its an Austronesian language. Language vs Dialect: Whats the Difference? 1) Danish. But, as with many foreign languages, its often simply a matter of getting some practice in. They do use Latin script, but there are many grammatical cases that can make it much more complex to get to grips with than English. 7 Easiest Language To Learn For Hindi Speakers In 2023 Start with PersianPod101 for basic lessons and vocabulary, Lingua Boost Persian for experience in real life conversations, and Persian PodGap for culture, literature, and interviews. Some writing systems require writing from right to left, as opposed to the left to right method that Germanic languages (English, German, etc.) The 5 Hardest Languages to Learn For Spanish Speakers (or Not?) It shares quite a bit of vocabulary with English, and unlike some Germanic languages, the pronunciation of most Norwegian words is fairly straightforward. The List: Easiest Languages To Learn For English Speakers, According To Pros 1. was designed with you in mind: Minimal grammar, easy rules and as a bonus, lots of things that resemble many other world languages. For example, if you are learning Korean, find yourself some Korean movies or TV shows to watch. Thanks to the similarities to the English language, you already know quite a lot. This is because there may be similar cognates and some loan words that you will recognize. By the way, why not check out our list of the best apps to learn French? 9 Easiest Languages For English Speakers To Learn - Babbel Magazine Swahili has little resemblance to English, but it has a ton of loan words, which makes learning Swahili vocabulary quite simple too. It means that an average person takes up to 600 hours, or about 24 weeks . 15 Spanish Pick Up Lines That Wont Let You Down! If you are interesting in learning Korean, it is worth looking at the Rocket Korean language course, part of the Rocket Languages series. Its also gaining global popularity, and more and more people are looking for online Swahili lessons. You wont have to spend a lot of time developing reading skills. Get my exclusive language learning content delivered straight to your inbox. Other features of the script include that it is an abjad alphabet, which means that only letters for vowels exist and any vowels must be indicated with diacritics or specific consonant combinations. This makes learning new vocabulary much easier because the letters are ones that you are already familiar with and you can figure out how to pronounce something with relative ease. You can listen to Italian music, watch Italian movies, prepare Italian recipes There are so many ways to make your language learning a fun and engaging process, especially if youre learning a beautiful and artistic language like Italian. The 10 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers. Although it doesn't seem so at first, Norwegian is one of the easiest languages for English native speakers. You just need to get used to it. Although there are differences when it comes to pronunciation, vocabulary and idioms, Dutch speakers can quite easily understand Flemish, and vice-versa., Dutch is spoken by around 24 million people worldwide, and is worth learning if you have plans to live and work in the Netherlands, or one of the other countries where its an official language, such as Suriname, Aruba or the Dutch Antilles., Like English, Norwegian or Norsk is a Germanic language, which makes it easier for English-speakers to learn. Or, for a more step-based lesson book, try Learn Persian (Farsi) Step by Step: Level One Beginner (Steps 1 to 10) by Fruzan Seifi, available in both kindle formats and physical copies. Indeed, the Empire of the Persians was one of the most expansive ones in the ancient world, spanning from the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley in India at the height of its influence. But all the languages we mentioned today do have certain things in common. Read on to start your journey into the beautiful and intriguing world of the Persian language, and good luck! Continue with Recommended Cookies. However, if the writing style is very different from what you are used to then you may well struggle to get to grips with this at first. Under Xerxes, Persia took over large parts of Northern and Central Greece in the 480s BC, and the Empire was only shaken by the conquest of Alexander the Great by 330 BC. Lastly, brush up on your Colloquial Persian with Abdi Rafiees 3rd edition copy of this classic conversational sourcebook. This is partly down to the fact that Indonesian is a phonetic language, which means words are spelled as they sound. For example, the combination of letters bhF makes a sound. Though Persian expansion arrived at a standstill after a failed attempt to colonize Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars following the Ionian Revolt of 499 BC, the Persian defeat at Marathon, and Dariuss death, his successor was still determined to continue the legacy of previous kings. Instead, think of it more as a head start if you decide to pick up the other one. Even so, French is still one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. The change to New Persian was initially sparked by the rise of Islam and the Arabic nations of the area, including the adoption of Arabic script for writing, illumination for manuscripts, and a wider spread of poetry. It is full of mutations and consonants that are unfamiliar to an English speaker, but with some memorization and an eagerness to learn, it is certainly possible. And of course, France exists! That being said, perhaps that is a good thing. What is Valenciano & Where is the Language spoken? The Easiest Language to Learn Nevertheless, with lots of practice and a desire to learn, it is more than achievable. . He writes about language, travel, and the many places they meet on the road at his blog. The Spanish language is phonetic (meaning the spelling tells you the pronunciation of the word). There are more than 22 million native Amharic speakers and about 4 million L2 speakers worldwide. In fact, everything from the pronunciation to the vocabulary may vary, depending on which type of Portuguese you are learning. Because of its Latin roots, Romanian does share some cognates with the English language, and because of its phonetic form, pronunciations are easier to get to grips with. For example, the word frolic meaning to play and move around cheerfully (e.g. Nevertheless, it is very difficult for a native English speaker to learn Russian. Its the official language of both Portugal and Brazil, as well as six African countries, including Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique, making it an extremely useful second language to have under your belt., Like Spanish, Portuguese stems from Latin and uses the same alphabet as the English language, which gives English speakers a slight advantage when learning it., One thing to keep in mind is that there are some distinct differences between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. It has Dutch at its core but it is also intertwined with other dialects and indigenous languages from Africa. Unlike most European languages, which belong to the Indo-European language family, Hungarian is a Uralic language. Spanish also uses the same alphabet as English, and many of the words are pronounced just as they are spelled., Another benefit of Spanish for English speakers is that the sentence structure is not only similar to English, but its also not as strict as it is in English, which means there are often multiple ways a sentence can be put together.. Afrikaans is a beautiful language that is surprisingly easy to learn for native English speakers. As we highlighted in our introduction (remember that, it seems like ages ago, so you can skip back to the beginning of the article for a refresher if you wish) there are many reasons why a person may want to learn a new language. Swedish 5. SHOW ME HOW! These new letters and the fact that Polish words also have more consonants than English words can mean that pronunciations are very difficult to grasp for a beginner, and can make spelling difficult. Manage Settings No matter how busy you are or how difficult you think it may be, theres a language out there for everyone! One important concept that can affect whether a language is learned easily by a native English speaker is the grammatical framework. And unlike most African languages, Swahili is not a tonal language, so you dont have to pay attention to the pitch of a word. The 28 Easiest and Hardest Languages to Learn for English Speakers This is because the grammar, pronunciation, and even writing of Hindi is very difficult to get to grips with as it is so unfamiliar. On top of that its verbs, nouns and adjectives are in fact easier than in English. This is because you have less chance of being able to interact with other speakers as you go about your daily life, and also because the language may incorporate cultural concepts that you are not familiar with. Arabic is a Semitic language and is thus in no way similar to Persian. As a native English speaker, you will likely get on well with a language that uses the same alphabet as you. 13 Easiest Languages To Learn - StoryLearning The word order format here follows a particular pattern of subject-object-verb, with prepositional phrases nestled between the subject and object. Or, easier than other languages, to be more precise. The rhythm of Italian when you are in a conversation also makes it a little easier to grasp for beginners. From online lessons to books, here is a full discussion of where to look for help when you want to learn this new language. Top 10 Easiest Languages to Learn - TheTopTens The following are some of. Many of their words feature many consonants, as well as beginning with two consonants which can be jarring for a native English speaker. No grammar is super easy, but Swedish grammar rules are logical and somewhat similar to English. There is also a welcome lack of verb conjugation, which is great news for learners, especially since this means that the sentence structure stays simple and short. In addition, Swahili, Farsi (Persian), Pashto and Kurdish are languages that an Arabic speaker can get the hang of without much effort. Although this may come as a surprise, learning Indonesian is considered relatively easy for English speakers. And to rule the vastness of the Empire, Persia needed kings. Get 70% off + 10 languages + 14 day free trial. This is because the Dutch were some of the first colonizers of the States. The Greek victory inspired various revolts staged by Greek cities under Persian control, and while the Persian army was still recovering, the Empire lost much of its Baltic holdings, including Macedonia as a whole. German 2. This app These letters are , , , , , , , and . Norwegian is another Germanic language just like English and so it is relatively easy to get to grips with as a native English speaker. On the bright side, the spellings are largely phonetic, and once you have learned the grammar rules the language becomes easier. So if youre curious about the easiest languages to learn, Ive got 10 great suggestions to help you out. In Spanish, a always sounds more or less like a (even with an accent mark), which we as learners appreciate. The Middle Persian language was also inflectional, but started showing changes towards a simpler manner of denoting relationships between vocabulary. Contents 1. We are no longer in Scandinavia, but a little further south in the Netherlands. Some tonal languages may be particularly difficult for English speakers, as this is not something that they are used to. There are some challenging aspects of learning French though. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. It is a vibrant, fluid, and ancient language, that ignites passion and intrigue in researchers, teachers, and those who want to learn how to speak it. That's mostly because it's a Germanic language - just like English. If the writer wants to be able to communicate with a large audience, then a widely-spoken language like English, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese is a good choice. 8 Easiest Languages to learn for English speakers | Edulyte FluentU brings a language to life with real-world videos. Which languages are easiest and most difficult for native English speakers to learn? Arabic grammar is notouriously complex, and Persian speakers will have just as much problem with mastering the grammar as do English-speakers. However, the language family it belongs to is the relatively small Kartvelian. What will help you to persevere even when it starts to get difficult? Like Welsh, Gaelic is another language that comes from Britain and so is very close geographically to England. In fact, did you know that for most English speakers, Persian is one of the easiest Middle Eastern languages to learn? You can't get much easier than this. The main reason why English speakers find it quite easy to learn is the large number of cognates. Even if it is just ten minutes a day, it is enough to keep what you have learned fresh in your mind. This is partly because Swedish and English are Germanic languages, so they have similar sentence structures and even some shared vocabulary. What could be easier? In order to put this list together, we took into account the numerous factors which should be considered when deciding whether or not a language is difficult, or easy to learn. Some words are identical in Dutch and English water, lamp, warm, just to name a few. There are also connectors that can make sentences long, meaning they are even more complex to understand and translate. Just like Norwegian, Swedish, and English, Dutch is a Germanic language. And if you want vocabulary courses that helps you learn Farsi words, Memrises courses are helpful. It is easier to learn Kurdish and other similar languages in the Iranian language family after studying Persian (Farsi). It's a famously difficult language for English speakers to learn, with complex grammar and pronunciation. Although the pronunciation may take some time to master, Swedish grammar rules and sentence structure are not overly complicated., There are, of course, a few trickier aspects to learning this Scandinavian language, such as getting used to its three extra vowels. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Being a native English speaker, what would be the easiest language to We find evidence of this languages changes in many inscriptions as it changed throughout three primary eras: Old, Middle, and New, between 525 BC and modern times. Therefore, it is relatively easy for all speakers to learn, regardless of their native language. So, if youve ever taken German lessons, youll find it relatively easy. As a country, Iceland is relatively cut off from other places and so they have been able to retain some of their traditional language and grammar rules. French is a language that has many similarities to English, and they share a large number of cognates. Learning Mandarin Persian language will help you in learning Traditional Persian Language in an effective way. It is spoken in 21 different countries! For this reason, they have had a lot of influence on English, particularly American English. Though Persian is spoken in several countries in the Middle East, it is primarily used in Iran and parts of Afghanistan as the Farsi language, or Iranian Persian. Swahili does share some cognates with the English language such as gereji which means garage and friji which means fridge. Weve used data from the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) to rank them from the easier to the somewhat more challenging., Frisian is thought to be one of the languages most closely related to English, and therefore also the easiest for English-speakers to pick up. With many languages not connected to the Latin alphabet, you'll need 1,100 hours of practice to proficiently speak Category III languages, according to Rosetta Stone. This family contains sub-groups of languages, namely the Germanic languages, the Romance languages (Spanish, French, and Portuguese among others), and Balto-Slavic languages (Prussian, Russian, Czech, Latvian, and more) to name but a few. The pronunciation of most Swahili words is fairly easy, and many are very similar to their English equivalent. We hope our list of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers inspired you to start with your language lessons. Indonesian is another language that is modestly easy for a willing learner who speaks English natively to pick up. Here are the five easiest languages to learn for Arabic speakers. Your next task, if you're up for it: Choosing among many options. There are a few unique and fascinating grammar rules that the language follows, which are worth mentioning here, relating primarily to Persian morphology. This may be because it is influenced in many ways by English and some of the more familiar Romance languages. 12 Toki Pona. Its also an official language of 29 countries, including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Seychelles and Rwanda.. According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Spanish belongs to category I by difficulty. You can also find some of your favorite movies and shows that you already know well and watch them in another language. Enter Spanish. The 10 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers Simplest Tongues To Master be quite good for your brain. It is not widely spoken and resources for it are sparse compared to other languages on this list. For instance, polisi is police and baiskeli is bicycle., There are also some key differences, of course, but if youre looking to gain fluency in one or more African languages, Swahili is an excellent one to start with.. This is the part of the language that takes the longest to get to grips with, hence why it is a little further down the list. But even if youre not familiar with any other similar language, Portuguese will be relatively easy to learn. For instance, words like plastic, water and lamp are identical in both Dutch and English. You will be glad you did when you hold your first conversation in your new language with a native speaker! That is what makes it so wonderful. You could even hire a teacher or tutor for yourself, or attend language classes to help you along with your journey. Some people even think it is one of the sexiest languages in the world. After Xerxes assassination in 465 BC, the litany of the last Achaemenid kings made strides in Persias cultural phase. So if that is not enough motivation to learn we dont know what is! But, Persian has an enormous amount of Arabic influence, which makes it easier for Iranians to speak and understand Arabic. We have another popular Romance language for you to consider of course, its French. Ask them honestly whether they would mind helping you as you learn their language. How To Learn Farsi: A Guide For English Speakers Furthermore, whilst it is known to be difficult to learn and takes a long time, the result makes it worthwhile.