As you know English is the standard language of communication and interaction worldwide. However, it’s equally favourable for English speakers to be proficient in a second language to explore new experiences and opportunities.
6,500 languages are spoken today which makes it difficult to choose which language to learn. Whether you are learning a second language for travelling, studying, or excellence in career moves, some languages find close similarities with English, making them easy for English speakers to learn.
Are you on a hunt for the Easiest Language to Learn for English Speakers? This guide will direct to a well-curated list of Easy Languages to Learn for those who are native English language speakers.
What is the Easiest Language to Learn?
You have always heard language learning takes practice, patience, and persistence. Have you ever thought about what makes a language easy to learn? If you have a similar linguistic history, are exposed to language more often, and have easy access to language-learning resources, it is likely to overcome the burden of language learning with ease and breeze.
A language is a combination of structure, grammar, writing style, phonetics and whatnot. Many languages find their similarity in terms of pronunciation, writing style and structure with English, making it easy for English speakers to have a grip on them for speaking and writing.
Let us explore What is the Easiest Language to Learn for English Speakers, we have compiled a list of a few:
Afrikaans
Learning Time: 24 weeks (600 hours)
No of Speakers: 6 million
Afrikaans is undoubtedly the easiest language for an English speaker. Afrikaans is a Germanic language with Dutch influence. Its vocabulary and pronunciation are similar to English with straightforward grammar and no complex verb conjugations or gendered nouns.
Afrikaans is incorporated into the everyday language use of South African English. As you pick up this language to be bilingual, you can explore South African culture, history and the use of language among local people.
Dutch
Learning Time: 24 weeks (600 hours)
No of Speakers: 23 million native, 4 million as second language speakers
Dutch is the third-most spoken Germanic language. It sounds like a combination of English and German. Afrikaans, Flemish, and Frisia has Dutch influence. English speakers must not think twice and learn Dutch as a second language.
Dutch has a similar grammar, shared vocabulary, and words spelt the same as English. It is no surprise that you speak book in English and boek in Dutch. Exploring the linguistics of Dutch can’t be overburdening for English speakers.
Spanish
Learning Time: 24 weeks (600 hours)
No of speakers: 595 million
As a native English speaker, if you are on a mission to learn the widely-spoken language, Spanish, the Romance language is for you. It can be a go-to language for English speakers due to its practicality and wide reach globally.
Spanish is a phonetic language in which words are pronounced as they are written, unlike English can have different pronunciations. There are many Spanish-English cognates, which make it easy to align with tenses similar to English and Spanish.
Italian
Learning Time: 24 weeks (600 hours)
No of Speakers: 63 million native, 3 million as second language speakers
Are you curious to know What’s the Easiest Language to Learn? Give a chance to Italian. It is one of the most popular Romance languages after Spanish and French spoken widely in Europe. It is a must-pick easiest language to learn for English speakers due to its wide food and pop culture word spread globally.
Italian finds its roots in Latin. Pronunciation, spelling and sentence structure align well with English but it’s a way of speaking that makes Italian slightly different from English. Italian is readable with a sorted assortment of 21 alphabets, unlike English where there are 26 alphabets. Many English speakers are already using Italian vocabulary in daily use like panini, pasta (passata), gelato, diva, solo, fiasco, and many more.
Swahili
Learning Time: 36 weeks (900 hours)
No of Speakers: 80 million
Are you wondering What is an Easy Foreign Language to Learn? Among many foreign languages, Swahili is the language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Mozambique spoken widely in East Africa. It is one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers with influence from Arabic, German, French, and English.
Swahili has straightforward grammar, pronunciation alike to spelling, and vocabulary similar to English like hoteli is a hotel in English. English speakers can easily grasp Swahli, as it has taken loan words from English like penseli (“pencil”) and mashine (“machine”).
How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language
Language learning is exciting, but it’s also time-consuming. Conversational language learning can take a couple of months to years, and fluency and proficiency require consistent practice. Mostly, language learning depends on various factors, including:
Hardest Languages to Learn
When you are on the road to learning a new language, you come across languages that are easy to learn and hard to learn. What makes a language easy and hard to learn? It’s a standard set that aligns with English. If a language aligns well with English, it is easy, but if it contrasts, it is hard to learn.
andarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Finnish, Basque, and Navajo languages can be challenging and time-consuming to learn because of their complex grammar, unfamiliar sounds, and unique structures.
What Languages Do You Need to Know in Australia?
English is a widely spoken language in Australia today used for communication, interaction, and teaching purposes. As you know, Australia has a vast diversity of people, if you are moving to Australia for travelling, studying or career opportunities, you must learn languages other than English to inculcate into Australian living.
Other than English, Mandarin, Arabic, Italian, or Japanese will be helpful for you living in Australia. If learning a language is not your goal, you must be proficient enough in English to communicate and interact with people around there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Easiest Language Course
Language learning courses are many and determining which is the easiest depends on the language you intend to learn. If the language is easy, the course will be a breeze, and if the language is hard to learn, the course will be challenging.
Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, French, German are easy languages to learn, and their language-learning courses will not take a toll on the learner.
Easiest Language to Learn in the World
Many languages in the world are the easiest to learn. A few of them are listed below:
French
Norwegian
Portuguese
Romanian
Indonesian
Swedish
Danish
German
