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. 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. These minuscule differences can transform the meaning entirely. In the 11th century, the Norman invasion of England led . Physical and cultural differences, Youll find all of this straight after the list! And that will make your learning process a whole lot easier. 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. This can be difficult for a learner to get used to, especially if it is not something that they have ever come across before. Here are the five easiest languages to learn for Arabic speakers. Some words are identical in Dutch and English water, lamp, warm, just to name a few. Indonesian is another language that is modestly easy for a willing learner who speaks English natively to pick up. Which languages are easiest and most difficult for native English speakers to learn? Hungarian is a language with a reputation for being notoriously difficult to learn. There are more than 22 million native Amharic speakers and about 4 million L2 speakers worldwide. It shares many similarities with English, including a common alphabet, comparable sentence structure and familiar vocabulary. Speak aloud to yourself or record yourself doing it using your smartphone, computer, or a recording device. Less than 22 percent of the U.S. population speaks a language other than . Norwegian grammar is generally pretty straightforward, so it wont take you long to take a hang of it. What could be easier? As a native English speaker, you will likely get on well with a language that uses the same alphabet as you. Download our free German essentials eBook to see the similarities. There are a few unique and fascinating grammar rules that the language follows, which are worth mentioning here, relating primarily to Persian morphology. This means you will have to work hard to memorize the way words are written. In South Africa its ek is (I am), jy is (you are), sy is (she is). easiest languages to learn for persian speakers Menu fatal shooting in los angeles today. Therefore, from a linguistic perspective, Norwegian and English have quite a lot in common. In Spanish, a always sounds more or less like a (even with an accent mark), which we as learners appreciate. And while the idiomatic complexity comes with spoken Persian, its melodic tones can be picked up and understood quicker than some other Middle Eastern languages. However, it will take considerably less time to learn conversational Spanish. For example, the language register used by the speaker depends on who he or she is speaking to. For example, a writer targeting the Japanese market might learn Japanese . As with the Vikings English got lots of Scandinavian words and are also Germanic languages like English sharing the same core words. Indeed, fluency doesnt happen overnight, no matter which language youre learning. The following are some of. Lastly, brush up on your Colloquial Persian with Abdi Rafiee's 3rd edition copy of this classic conversational sourcebook. However, it is a Brittonic language of Celtic origin. I have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Online English self-study + private lessons, Online Spanish self-study + private lessons, 15 of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers - ranked. For instance, words like plastic, water and lamp are identical in both Dutch and English. Unlike most European languages, which belong to the Indo-European language family, Hungarian is a Uralic language. Languages that are more closely related to English share certain qualities and characteristics that make them easier for English speakers to pick up. Apply for a place in courses that take place in Yerevan, Armenia through Aspirantums Language School, or opt for classes run by the University of Londons SOAS Language Center. From Early to Classical New Persian, the language managed to become more simplified and easier to understand and spread along with new religious guidelines as people migrated between Middle Eastern countries, bringing the ever-changing language with them. However, it could not be further from English. The List: Easiest Languages To Learn For English Speakers, According To Pros 1. . Some shared cognates include katt which of course means cat, busk which means bush, and our personal favorite (because it is so simple but looks so much more pleasing to the eye than our boring spelling) sn which means snow. Then, of course, there is the Korean alphabet and writing system to consider. It is easy, there is many derivatives to the words. Surprisingly, another relatively easy language for native English speakers to get to grips with is that of Romanian. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. However, the language family it belongs to is the relatively small Kartvelian. You probably have so many Spanish words in your ear. Spanish 2. 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. 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. However, once you have the grammar down the rest is much simpler. That being said, several different factors may affect how easy or difficult a person finds it to learn a specific language. This language was invented by a few linguists who were also great global citizens. Though Persia does not exist as a nation today, per-say, it does live on in the Middle Eastern countries that were created because of it. Why? After all, thanks to exposure and wide reach of Spanish, English speakers wont find it very unfamiliar. You shouldnt have unrealistic goals though. And another 17 percent can speak more than two languages. 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. And although it shares fewer cognates with English (a fancy way of saying 'words that are the same'), there are some other features that make it super-easy.. Spanish is simple to pronounce for English speakers. You may even find that some of the vocabulary words are easily identifiable because they are similar to words in your native language. But compared to the languages with different writing systems and strange grammar concepts, learning basic Swedish is a piece of cake. That's because it's the closest language to English today, both in words and structure. With a good teacher or reliable Italian online lessons, youll learn how to order pizza in Italian in no time. Russian is the largest of all of the languages in the Slavic family and is spoken widely in the country and around the world. The main reason for this is because of the use of the Cyrillic script. With Tagalog spoken as a native language by around 45 million people, learning it or at least some of the basics, will make your stay in the Philippines a lot easier., So there you have it, the 15 easiest languages for English speakers to learn. You may think, how will that be similar to English, its on a different continent altogether? but actually, Afrikaans is derived from none other than the Dutch language, and we all know how similar Dutch is to English. English, for example, has many similarities to other Germanic languages (think German and Dutch). The reason it is so simple to pick up is because of the similarities it shares with English. Learn more at www.rosettastone.com and start your first lesson today! Like Norwegian, it shares many different cognates with the English language, and pronunciation can be guessed relatively easily when you look at the spelling of certain words. Look at this Norwegian sentence: Jeg spiste egg til frokost(I ate eggs for breakfast). Of course, its music. Learners need to learn a whole new alphabet and character system to understand Russian. In our search for the most agreed upon easiest languages to learn, we visited 10 "expert" sites and looked for the most recommended languages. According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Spanish belongs to category I by difficulty. Learn Persian language offline and hundred percent free with no paid content. This is one of the reasons why Persian speakers sound so melodic when pronouncing words aloud. Indonesian. You can't get much easier than this. The Norwegian sentence can be translated word for word in the exact order as it would be said in English. So, if youre looking for an easy foreign language to learn, youve come to the right place. Alternatively, Persian Language Online offers a variety of free lessons that cover everything from grammar to tenses, vowels to intonation. 5 Easy Languages To Learn If You Speak Arabic 1. Like English, Norwegian or "Norsk" is a Germanic language, which makes it easier for English-speakers to learn. Depending on where in the States you are, you may find that you are surrounded by Italian speakers thanks to the mass Italian immigration to places such as New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Especially if you have no one around you who speaks it. There will be times where you feel like giving up, but keep persevering. The Spanish language is phonetic (meaning the spelling tells you the pronunciation of the word). In addition, there are many English words in French vocabulary . (Download). Like Indonesian, its an Austronesian language. There are dialects of French even here in the States and of course, in Canada. You already know more than youre aware of in terms of vocabulary too. The 10 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Its also an easier language to learn for English speakers than, for example, Russian or Chinese, which take much longer to learn and reach fluency. Swedish has 10 million native speakers, mainly in Sweden but also in Finland. It means that an average person takes up to 600 hours, or about 24 weeks . Malay and Indonesian 10. Learning a new language takes time, regardless of its difficulty. 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.. On the bright side, it is phonetic, which means it is spelled how it is said and vice-versa. Gaelic has two common types: Scottish and Irish. Enter Spanish. That's why the US Foreign Service Institute - the guys who train diplomats - rank Spanish as one of the fastest languages to learn for English . For example, it is spoken in Iran and called Farsi. Because of its more challenging pronunciation, however, Danish isnt the easiest Scandinavian language to learn., Even so, if you plan to stay in Denmark for a longer period of time, learning the local language is simply the best way to fully immerse yourself in the countrys unique culture and form deeper connections.. So, vocabulary is the first element of learning Spanish that you wont have problems with. And to rule the vastness of the Empire, Persia needed kings. Italian: Italian is the easiest language for Spanish speakers to learn. In this post, we have put together a full and comprehensive list of the 28 easiest and hardest languages to learn for English speakers. With the languages on this list, you should be able to get started identifying your low-hanging linguistic fruits. Its the most closely related to English out of all the languages in this list. Since they share roots, theyre mutually intelligible to some extentsome sources say 60-70% in daily conversations. We mentioned Dutch above, but Afrikaans is like a grammatically boiled-down version of its parent language. Here are some of the best apps for learning Farsi or Persian. 10 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers. If you enjoy learning the language, it will be "easy." Oh, and it is also a Romance language, meaning it sounds oh-so-romantic. Language vs Dialect: Whats the Difference? It shares many similarities with English, especially when it comes to vocabulary. 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. Dutch is full of English cognatesdrinken (to drink), kat (cat), week (week), licht (light) and hundreds more. can take anywhere. Other notable kings of Persia include Darius the Great, who presided over the Empire when it was at its peak. The only verb ending that needs to be used is -r!). Click here to get a copy. French is a language that has many similarities to English, and they share a large number of cognates. German is, as the name suggests, a Germanic language. Their words also tend to have more syllables than English words. 15 Spanish Pick Up Lines That Wont Let You Down! After Cyrus the Great transformed the groups of nomadic tribesmen into Persians and unified the lands under the name of an Empire, nearby Middle Eastern kingdoms like Media, Babylon, and Lydia soon fell under his rule to create the first superpower of the ancient world: the connection of Mesopotamia, the Nile, and the Indus Valley. 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. Esperanto was designed with you in mind: Minimal grammar, easy rules and as a bonus, lots of things that resemble many other world languages. Therefore, from a linguistic perspective, Norwegian and English have quite a lot in common. Up until now, all the languages we have discussed have had estimated learning times of 600 hours or less. FluentU brings a language to life with real-world videos. Finnish is an interesting language to feature on this list because most people may assume that it would belong to the Indo-European family. However, theyre both relatively easy to learn for English speakers. This is where, to keep the sounds in harmony, suffixes are added to words. We love hearing from our readers. With four distinct pitches, Persian uses the tone of your voice to denote types of speech. First of all, Indonesian is one of the few Asian languages that use the Latin alphabet. Filipino Tagalog is one of the official languages of the Philippines and another Austronesian language. Although this may come as a surprise, learning Indonesian is considered relatively easy for English speakers. Even so, French is still one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Advertisements. Indonesian is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 40 million native speakers and more than 150 million non-native speakers. This makes it easier to get to grips with if you already have prior knowledge of any of them. Spanish is often the go-to language for English speakers because of its small inventory of speech sounds and user-friendly phonetic spelling system. And if you stick to your schedule and follow the suggested learning path, you can learn quite a lot in less than a month. Now we come to the language of Iran, and what modern native speakers use to communicate. The grammar is ridiculously simple, and there are only about 120 to 130 words. So if you're curious about the easiest languages to learn, I've got 10 great suggestions to help you out. What will help you to persevere even when it starts to get difficult? However, did you know that Arabic is also a language in its own right? However, once this alteration becomes natural to you, the ability of these words to flow off the tongue comes with a joy second to none! Some languages do not use the alphabet as we know it. Although Frisia no longer exists, Frisian, which actually consists of three main dialects, is still in use in parts of the Netherlands and Germany., English and Frisian share many similarities in terms of sentence structure and vocabulary. It is thought that the language may begin to rise in popularity, though, since it is featured on the popular language immersion app, Duolingo. German has masculine, feminine, and neutral nouns to learn, along with conjugating verbs and a syntax that must be followed, or else the meaning can be lost. The rhythm of Italian when you are in a conversation also makes it a little easier to grasp for beginners. For an immersive Farsi language experience, download StoryTime in Farsi or Farsi Speaking Kids, but be prepared for a more advanced level of language learning without direct English translations. This toneless African language is thought to be one of the easier African languages for native English speakers to learn. You need to find a good teacher or quality online language lessons. After Xerxes assassination in 465 BC, the litany of the last Achaemenid kings made strides in Persias cultural phase. And whether you find a certain language easy or not depends on many factors. It is no good attempting to learn a language but only practicing once or twice a week. Read up on the cultures associated with the languages to see which sound most fun to learn about. As a result, they are often easier for English speakers to pick up than languages with different structures, such as Russian or Mandarin Chinese. Norwegian. For example, the noun system is different from most other languages you may have heard of since it has three genders and two numbers. It is not widely spoken and resources for it are sparse compared to other languages on this list. It is also known as the Perso-Arabic alphabet and is written in horizontal lines from right to left, with numbers written from left to right. Here are nine of the easiest languages to learn for Spanish speakers: 1. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you Yes, I would like to be contacted about special events, newsletters and program information. Nevertheless, it is very difficult for a native English speaker to learn Russian. 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. The grammar is fairly straightforward, without inflection, agreements between nouns and adjectives, and even no genders of words to memorize. 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. If youre looking to learn a language that will enhance your travel experiences and boost your employability, learning Spanish online is a great choice. Should you go for a more widely spoken language like Spanish or Mandarin, a politically relevant one like Russian, or one you can Also, if youve been taking Spanish lessons, Portuguese vocabulary will be much easier to learn. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. From this period, we primarily have the remains of religious Pahlavi or Zarathushti texts that described Persias new religion, Zoroastrianism. Get 70% off + 10 languages + 14 day free trial. You just need to get used to it. Italian is the primary language for around 64 million people, and although its not as widely used as Spanish or Portuguese, its still spoken in many countries outside of Italy, including in Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, and even Argentina., French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with around 77 million first-language speakers and 203 million second-language speakers.