What are the Easiest Languages to Learn?

Learning a new language can lead to a wide range of interesting new experiences and opportunities, including opportunities to meet new people and learn about different cultures, advance your profession, and study and work overseas.

But how do you choose which language to devote your time to learning when there are so many options?

The truth is that some languages will just be simpler for fluent English speakers to become proficient in, even if every foreign language has its own set of difficulties.

Why? The similarities between English and more closely related languages make it simpler for English speakers to learn these languages. Sentence structure, vocabulary, tones and sounds, and writing system are some examples of this.

Your ability to acquire a language will therefore depend on both the language itself and the languages you are currently proficient in or at least are aware of. Note that a variety of factors can affect how long it takes you to learn a language.

Which languages have the best chances of being swiftly mastered by you?

Dutch

Dutch and Frisian have a close relationship with English. There are many instances where it and English are comparable, particularly in terms of vocabulary. ,, and,………………. The pronunciation will probably be the hardest part of this language for English speakers.

The dialect used in Flanders is called Flemish, and it is actually the same as Dutch in Belgium. Dutch speakers can understand Flemish very readily, and vice versa, despite certain variances in pronunciation, vocabulary, and idioms.

Almost 24 million people worldwide speak Dutch, making it worthwhile to learn if you intend to live and work there or in one of the other nations where it is an official language.

Norwegian

Norwegian, sometimes known as “Norsk,” is a Germanic language, making it simpler for English speakers to learn than other Germanic languages. The lexicon overlaps with English quite a bit, and unlike certain Germanic languages, most words in Norwegian are quite easy to pronounce.

Although not exactly the same, the sentence structure is largely similar to that of English. Han kommer fra Norge, for instance, means “He comes from Norway.”

Over 5 million people, mostly in Norway, speak Norwegian. It can be an interesting language to study because of its Old Norse roots, and becoming fluent in Norwegian will provide you more access to the nation’s rich literary culture and mythology.

Spanish 

Since many English terms have Latin roots, even though Spanish is a Romance language rather than a Germanic one, English speakers can learn it very quickly. The Spanish alphabet is identical to the English alphabet, and many words are pronounced exactly as they are written.

The fact that Spanish’s sentence structure is not just comparable to English’s but also less rigid than English’s means that there are frequently several ways to construct a sentence, which is another advantage for English speakers.

Learning Spanish online is a fantastic option if you’re trying to pick up a language that will improve your travel experiences and increase your employment. One of the languages that is most extensively spoken around the globe, with about 500 million people speak it. 

Portuguese

Over 234 million people speak Portuguese worldwide. Portuguese is a very helpful second language to have under your belt because it is the official language of six African nations, including Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique, as well as Portugal and Brazil.

Similar to Spanish, Portuguese is a Latin language that shares the same alphabet as English, making it easier for English speakers to learn.

One thing to keep in mind is that European and Brazilian Portuguese differ significantly from one another. Depending on the Portuguese dialect you are learning, everything from the pronunciation to the vocabulary can change. Naturally, the one you should concentrate on depends on where and how you plan to utilise it.

Italian

Italian is another another Romance language that English people can easily learn. Italian terms are really frequently used in English, so you probably already know more of them than you realise, from those that have to do with food, like “gelato” and “panini,” to others like “diva,” “solo,” “finale,” or “fiasco.”

Most of the time, the sentence structures of Italian and English are similar, and fortunately, the pronunciation is pretty logical. Once you have mastered a few fundamentals, you will be able to read and pronounce the majority of words correctly.

Italian is the primary language of around 64 million people, and although not being as extensively spoken as Spanish or Portuguese outside of Italy, such as in Switzerland.

French

With over 77 million first-language speakers and 203 million second-language speakers, French is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. Moreover, 29 nations, including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Seychelles, and Rwanda, have it as their official language.

French can be a little trickier to learn than other Romance languages like Spanish and Italian because of its relatively difficult pronunciation. The words “Et tois?” (And you?) and “Pouvez-vous?” (Can you?) are both pronounced as “Ay twah” and “Poo vay voo,” respectively.

Yet, there are numerous areas where French and English are similar, particularly in terms of vocabulary. This implies that after learning a few fundamental rules, English speakers are typically able to pick it up rather quickly.

Swedish 

There are about 10 million people who speak Swedish, most of whom reside in Sweden, although a small number also speak it in Finland, where it is also the official language.

Because it is another Germanic language, Swedish is among the simpler languages for English speakers to learn. Swedish language and sentence structure are not extremely complex, yet mastering the pronunciation may take some time.

There are, of course, a few difficult aspects to learning this Scandinavian language, such as getting used to its three extra vowels. You’ll also need to become familiar with new compound words, such as “jordnötter,” which means “peanuts,” but is actually a translation of “dirt nuts,” or “kofngare,” which is a translation of “bumper,” but is actually a translation of “cow catcher.”

Romanian

You might not have anticipated seeing Romanian on this list. Romanian is truly a Romance language, using a lot of the same terminology as Italian, Spanish, and French while being surrounded by nations that speak Slavic.

La revedere, for example, is comparable to the Italian “Arrividerci,” while “Scuză-mă,” which is used to apologise, is similar to the French “Excusez-moi.” Also, because it is a phonetic language, most words are written exactly as they are spoken.

Of course, this language has a few more challenging facets, such as grammatical variations and letters with “diacritics.” Yet overall, learning Romanian, which is mostly spoken in Romania and Moldova and is spoken by about 30 million people, is surprisingly simple.

Danish

The majority of the 6 million speakers of this Germanic language reside in Denmark. It contains simple grammar rules and a large vocabulary that English speakers would be comfortable with, similar to Norwegian and Swedish.

For instance, the words “Gode tidende” and “dyre,” which both mean “expensive,” sound a lot like “Good tidings” and “dear,” which is used in English when something is deemed to be too expensive. Danish isn’t the simplest Nordic language to learn, though, due to its more difficult pronunciation.

However, if you intend to stay in Denmark for an extended amount of time, learning the language is simply the best approach to become fully immersed in the nation’s distinctive culture and build stronger relationships.