Wondering what easy languages to learn? Some languages are easier to learn than others. There is a reason why some new language learners become proficient in some languages within a short period.
It’s because they focused on one of the easy languages to learn. If you are bothered by the huge number of languages (about 6,500 languages are spoken throughout the world), then you should choose those languages that are easy to learn.
In this article, I will talk about some of the easy languages to learn as an English speaker.
1. Norwegian
Norwegian is an easy language to learn. Just like English, Norwegian is a Germanic language. It is full of cognates and the order of its words is similar to English. For instance, “Can you help me?” in Norwegian is “Kan du hjelpe meg?”
Also, its verb conjugations are straightforward and it is easier to pronounce than most of the other European languages.
2. Spanish
Spanish is the most widely spoken and taught foreign language in the U.S. it is a phonetic language; this implies that once you understand its rules, you will find it easy to read it since its words are written the same way they are pronounced.
There are many Spanish-English cognates. However, Spanish has more conjugations and this can be confusing.
Fortunately, once you understand the rules of conjugation, you will discover that most of the tenses align with the tenses used in English.
3. French
About 30 percent of the words we speak in English originated from French. An additional 30 percent originated from Latin. Since French is of Latin origin, most of the Latin words most likely had their way into English through French.
Irrespective of how you see it, there are significant similarities between French and English. However, there are some issues with French; it is not easy to spell and pronounce. As a result, new learners must invest more time in learning these skills.
4. Danish
Danish has a similar vocabulary and grammar to Swedish. It is one of the easy languages to learn for English speakers. The only issue with this language is connecting the writing to the word that’s spoken.
This is because, at first glance, there appears to be little connection between the two. However, you will overcome this problem as you keep practicing. Once you understand the way it’s written, you shouldn’t have any problems.
5. Indonesian
If you want to learn an Asian language, Indonesian has many qualities that make it an easy language to learn for English speakers.
It is one of the Asian languages that make use of the Latin alphabet. And just like Spanish, it is phonetic, i.e. each of its letters appears to be pronounced in just one way.
Although the structures of Indonesian grammar are different from those of English, they are simple. Indonesian has no conjugations, no grammatical genders, and no plurals (you only need to pronounce the word twice).
Indonesian might be the perfect option for you if the grammar is difficult for you.
6. Afrikaans
Afrikaans is usually considered one of the easiest languages. Just like English, Afrikaans is a Germanic language. It has the same vocabulary as English. It also has no conjugations and no grammatical genders.
7. Dutch
Dutch is referred to as English’s first cousin. The language contains English cognates; for instance, kat (cat), drinken (to drink), licht (light), and week (week) amongst others.
Once you understand the most important basics, you should be able to hold basic conversations and read children’s books.
8. Haitian Creole
If you are a native of French or you understand some high school French, you should be able to learn Haitian Creole easily. The language is one of the largest French creoles.
It comprises mostly French vocabulary that is mixed with indigenous languages of the new world.
9. Tagalog
Apart from being the fastest-growing destination for young expatriates, the Philippines is also a country where those that speak Spanish can learn the local language easily. The items you use every day usually have the same Spanish name.
10. Swahili
Swahili is heavily influenced by Arabic, French, English, German, and Portuguese. It is a Bantu language that doesn’t use verb conjugations. Instead, it relies on its affixes and roots to express subjects and verb tenses.
Swahili is spoken by more than 140 million people and you can find it throughout East Africa (especially in Kenya and Tanzania).
Swahili is the most widely spoken language on the continent (after Arabic). It is also referred to as a window to African culture.
11. Japanese
Although Japanese has gotten a bad reputation among learners, its pronunciation is simple. Out of the 19 consonants in the Japanese language, only a few are rare among world languages. Its five vowels are also similar to the ones in Spanish.
12. Portuguese
Portuguese is also one of the easy languages to learn. It is one of the languages in the Romance language family that is spoken in Brazil and Portugal.
Just like Spanish, it has a large number of similar vocabulary words that make it easier to learn. However, you need to be mindful of false cognates.
Portuguese (especially Brazilian Portuguese) gives learners the benefit of exposure.
Brazilian drinks, food, films, and music have been appearing frequently in global pop culture, thereby giving learners of the Portuguese language lots of opportunities to learn the language.
13. Italian
Italian has more vowels than Spanish. One of the advantages of Italian is that the majority of its consonants and vowels are some of the most common sounds in world languages. This implies that most learners will not find many words that are difficult to learn.
14. Mandarin Chinese
Almost every word that is spoken in mandarin has one meaning. Just like most of the larger languages in the world, Mandarin usually follows the order subject-verb-object order. As a result, you don’t need to learn any difficult syntax.
15. Malay
Malay is known regionally as Indonesian or Malaysian totals. It is spoken by about 270 million people; this makes it one of the largest and fastest-growing languages throughout the world.
Malay does not have any grammatical category for gender, tense, or number. In a nutshell, you will learn one form of a word and can use that word whenever you want.
16. Esperanto
Esperanto was invented by some linguists that were great global citizens. The language is spoken by 2 million people throughout the world.
The language was designed with you in mind; that is why it has minimal grammar, rules that are easy to understand, and many things that look like most of the other world languages.
What Makes a Language Easy to Learn?
Many factors make a language one of the easiest languages to learn. These include:
History
Many languages have the same history. For instance, modern English was derived from a type of Old English that was spoken by Germanic tribes in England. These tribes were conquered by the Latin and French-speaking Normans in 1066.
It was through this means that modern English became a descendant of Latin, German, and French. Its grammar and vocabulary structures were taken from these languages.
Writing System
It takes time and lots of practice to master a new writing system while learning how to speak it.
Russian, Greek, Thai, Arabic, Hebrew, and other languages that use alphabets (i.e. each letter stands for a sound) are easier to learn for English speakers than Chinese and Japanese that do not use alphabets.
In this case, each word may either represent an entire word or a syllable.
Cognates
Cognates refer to two words in different languages that have a similar origin, these words tend to look and sound the same. They also have the same meanings. It is easier for you to learn languages that have lots of cognates with your native language.
For instance, ‘irresponsable’ in Spanish is a cognate of the English word ‘irresponsible.’ Also, ‘film’ remains the same in English and German, while ‘adorabile’ in Italian is ‘adorable’ in English.
Exposure
You can easily learn a language if you hear it often.
For instance, most of those in the United States can come up with some Spanish words and are familiar with the sound of the language because they are exposed to it through their communities, on the radio, or on TV.
Apart from the fact that exposure provides a good starting point to learn a language, it also helps one to have more contact with the language; this creates a huge opportunity for speaking and listening.
Resources
You can improve your ability to learn a new language by having access to resources that can enhance your learning. However, it may be difficult to find resources for some languages.
For instance, you may want to learn Swahili but your location can hinder your ability to find classes, books, apps, and other essential resources needed to learn the language.
Grammar
Grammar is the least favorite topic of those learning a new language. The difference or similarity between your native language and the language you want to learn will determine how easy the language learning process will be.
It is important to consider the complexity of the grammar. Some languages do not have verb tenses and plurals while others have genders, cases, moods, and lots of rules.
What is the Easiest Language for English Speakers to Learn?
Considering the factors that I described above, Spanish is the easiest language that English speakers can learn.
When you consider the opportunities to practice Spanish, why it is useful to learn it, and the similarities it has with English, it is the winner here.
Although it does not mean that you should choose the easiest channel. The other languages that I shared in this article are also easy languages to learn for those that speak English. So the choice is yours to make.
How Can You Learn New Languages Online for Free?
Before you invest lots of money in a language learning system, here are some platforms where you can learn new languages online for free:
- Duolingo (duolingo.com/)
- Livemocha (livemochas.com/)
- Open Culture (openculture.com/)
- Babbel (babbel.com/)
- Transparent Language (transparent.com/)
- Busuu (busuu.com/)
- Mango Languages (mangolanguages.com/)
- Learn a Language (learnalanguage.com/)
FAQs
Is Spanish easy to learn?
Spanish is a language that English speakers are always interested in learning. This is because of its wide reach and practicality. This makes it one of the easiest languages to learn.
It is a phonetic language and its words are usually pronounced the same way you spell them.
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
If you spend just 3 hours every day learning Spanish, you will become fluent in the language within 6 months. According to FSI, it will take you about 1.5 years to learn the language if you spend 1 hour per day.
Thus, Spanish is one of the languages that is easily accessible to English speakers.
What are the most fun languages to learn?
If you are up for some fun, then you can learn Japanese, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, German, Turkish, and Quechua.
What is the sweetest language in the world?
The sweetest language in the world is Bengali. Bengali originated from Sanskrit. The language is widely spoken in east India (West Bengal) and everywhere in Bangladesh.
Conclusion
According to some points raised in this article, you can easily learn a language depending on your native language.
Your strengths and weaknesses in terms of adhering to grammar rules and the system of sounds of the target language will also determine if you will find learning a language easy or not.
Irrespective of the language that you want to learn, the most crucial part is to stick with it. You need to set practical, realistic, and personal goals for your learning process. Also, study the language regularly by doing little at a time for a long period.
If you’re wondering what the easiest language to learn is, I recommend learning Spanish. Learning Spanish will allow you to easily communicate with Spanish speakers.
You will also be able to travel to any Spanish-speaking country and understand the culture. It is also easy to read since the words are written as they are pronounced.
Also, I recommend Learn a Language for learning new languages because it gives access to free online language lessons, fun lessons, and interactive games. You will also have the opportunity to speak with native speakers on topics of your choice.
A new language is one of the best skills you can learn. Check out this article for other life-changing skills you can learn.
Thanks for reading.
