Learning a foreign language gives you big leverage both in personal and professional development. It provides more job opportunities, makes traveling easier and welcomes bigger business advantage. Most people who have English as their native language, find it easy to learn foreign languages, due to closeness in pronunciation and vowels. Despite that, (which might surprise you) some languages are much easier to master than others. If you are considering learning a second language, here are some of the easiest languages to consider for your next learning journey.
1. French
Like any other language that originated in the Roman Empire, French may pose some challenges, especially to English speakers. This is due to the many verb forms, gendered nouns, as well as pronunciation.
However, it is considered one of the easiest languages to learn especially for Latin-derived languages. It is easy to learn because of the lexical influence on English, that was passed down during the Norman Conquest. According to linguists, more than a third of the current English language was influenced by French.
2. Swedish
This is one of the most popular among the North Germanic languages. It has a similar vocabulary and syntax to English, therefore making it easier to learn and remember. Swedish and English share many cognates, especially in spoken English. Additionally, the Swedish verb conjugations and word order structure follow grammatical rules just like in English.
Although the Swedish language has many dialects, the country has an incredibly rich culture making it very appealing to learn and start practicing. The best way of learning a language is being fully immersed in the culture.
3. Spanish
There are endless opportunities for learning Spanish all over the world, and much better in the USA. Apart from that, the Latino Community in the US is very important, making it almost mandatory to learn the largest immigrant language in the country. Many people fear it when it comes to developing grammar, however, since it is predominantly the language that most people want to learn, it gets a little convenient to find a language buddy and practice the language with.
It has many dialects with deep pronunciation differences depending on the particular Spanish you intend to learn. Many variations include Mexican Spanish, Argentinian Spanish, and the original Spanish. Whichever Spanish dialect you wish to learn, you will definitely enjoy and connect with millions of Spanish speakers in the world.
4. Norwegian
Norwegian has several strange characters, however, do not let them scare you, especially if your native language is English! This Scandinavian language is easy to grasp on one hand. The good thing about it is that its pronunciation is consistent.
It is very familiar to English when it comes to word order and syntax while its verb conjugation is very simple. What makes it challenging is the huge array of variations and dialects. On top of that, it tends to be an isolated language, which minimizes the chances of learning, when you’re outside of Norway.
5. Afrikaans
Afrikaans is more of a West Germanic language, which may not be known to many people. It is mainly spoken in a few African countries, including Namibia and South Africa. That makes it challenging to find a native speaker to practice with. However, it remains one of the easiest languages to learn especially for English speakers.
Its greatest feature is the lack of verb conjugation together with noun gender, which is posed to be one of the most difficult grammar parameters when learning a foreign language. Additionally, having Germanic roots, the language has vocabulary which is quite similar to the English language.
The easiness to learn and understand a language is always a subjective concept. Learning a foreign language largely depends on your personal motivation and diligence. It also depends on the amount of time that you expose yourself to the target language and culture. But, you will always find it easy to learn a language that is closer to your native language, in terms of phonology and grammar.
With the right attitude plus passion for languages, any language can be easy to learn! Discover what motivates you, find a friend, and set realistic goals and you will be speaking confidently in no time at all!
To get started with your language learning, choose from over 160 world languages that we offer online and classroom-based here.