What's the easiest language to learn?

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Philosophy Explorer
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What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

I suspect this won't be an easy question to answer due in part to all the languages that exist.

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QuantumT
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by QuantumT »

I think it's quite easy to answer. The closer to your own language family it is, the easier.

Example:
Scandinavians find it very easy to learn english, because all those languages are part of the germanic family.
The french however, find english a bit harder, because french is a part of the latin family.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by gaffo »

Philosophy Explorer wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:12 am I suspect this won't be an easy question to answer due in part to all the languages that exist.

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IMO maybe Latin - i read a basic book of made some progress (like a 6 yr of kid - lol) - that was yrs ago and forgotten it all.

why easy?

it make sense - it is compact - no "cruft" like articles and such.

its also kewl in that it has no need for word order (just change the ending - usually two letters at end of word to make it Subject or Object of the sentence).

English would be easy - its almost as compact as Latin - if it had phontic spelling (it could have - but we would have to respell at least 20 pecent of our words - remove the latter "k" (since "c" does the same work) - remove all silent letter/etc.................and nobody is willing to do that sadly).

English wud be eezee - its almost as compact as Latin - if it had fonetic speling (it cud hav - but we wud hav to reespel at leest 20-pursent of awr wurds - remoov thee letr "k" (sens "c" dus thee saam wurc) - remoov ol siilent letr/etc..............and nobodi is willing to do that sadli).
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by gaffo »

QuantumT wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:07 pm I think it's quite easy to answer. The closer to your own language family it is, the easier.

Example:
Scandinavians find it very easy to learn english, because all those languages are part of the germanic family.
The french however, find english a bit harder, because french is a part of the latin family.
60-percent of English is French-ish due to the Norman invasion.

i think it is the pronunciation (that word - "pronunciation" looks French to me - most "ations" enlish words are from French (and Latin - via english monks, and "the reformation/enlightenment push in the 16th century (where english speakers re-introducted (this word looks French to me too BTW) Latin back into English.

..........i.e i think it is the pronunciation that throw off Frogs, not the spelling of english.

------there is little left of German in English - most of it was removed by the Normans 800 yrs ago.

only our short words tend to be German.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by gaffo »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UqzBA1LNbE

excellent 8 part series, highly recommend.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by -1- »

gaffo wrote: Wed Jul 04, 2018 4:48 am
QuantumT wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:07 pm I think it's quite easy to answer. The closer to your own language family it is, the easier.

Example:
Scandinavians find it very easy to learn english, because all those languages are part of the germanic family.
The french however, find english a bit harder, because french is a part of the latin family.
60-percent of English is French-ish due to the Norman invasion.

i think it is the pronunciation (that word - "pronunciation" looks French to me - most "ations" enlish words are from French (and Latin - via english monks, and "the reformation/enlightenment push in the 16th century (where english speakers re-introducted (this word looks French to me too BTW) Latin back into English.

..........i.e i think it is the pronunciation that throw off Frogs, not the spelling of english.

------there is little left of German in English - most of it was removed by the Normans 800 yrs ago.

only our short words tend to be German.
Words alone don't make a language. There is also grammar, with its myriads of idiosyncrasies... word order, verb tenses, conjugation, declination, gendered nouns, noun-verb agreement, adjective-noun agreement, use of / lack of modal verbs, irregular verbs, vowel agreement, phoneme agreement, and the list goes on and on and on.

In the grammar sense, English is highly Germanic, much like German, Danish, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian. In its word content, it has more french words than Germanic, but in everyday use 90 percent of all your words are of Germanic origin.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by gaffo »

-1- wrote: Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:46 pm
gaffo wrote: Wed Jul 04, 2018 4:48 am
QuantumT wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:07 pm I think it's quite easy to answer. The closer to your own language family it is, the easier.

Example:
Scandinavians find it very easy to learn english, because all those languages are part of the germanic family.
The french however, find english a bit harder, because french is a part of the latin family.
60-percent of English is French-ish due to the Norman invasion.

i think it is the pronunciation (that word - "pronunciation" looks French to me - most "ations" enlish words are from French (and Latin - via english monks, and "the reformation/enlightenment push in the 16th century (where english speakers re-introducted (this word looks French to me too BTW) Latin back into English.

..........i.e i think it is the pronunciation that throw off Frogs, not the spelling of english.

------there is little left of German in English - most of it was removed by the Normans 800 yrs ago.

only our short words tend to be German.
Words alone don't make a language. There is also grammar, with its myriads of idiosyncrasies... word order, verb tenses, conjugation, declination, gendered nouns, noun-verb agreement, adjective-noun agreement, use of / lack of modal verbs, irregular verbs, vowel agreement, phoneme agreement, and the list goes on and on and on.
yes - but all the stuff you mentioned above is a "higher order" characteristic of language


you can "Figure out" any language - even if word order is wrong, grammar is wrong/etc - if you know the words used.

so i dissagree - "Words" make up 80 percent of any language - the rest is just acutriments






-1- wrote: Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:46 pm In the grammar sense, English is highly Germanic, much like German, Danish, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian. In its word content, it has more french words than Germanic, but in everyday use 90 percent of all your words are of Germanic origin.
yes, your reference is relivent per grammar (however AFAIK, French has lost its Lain roots - no word order - and so also has word order ----so not sure if you are saying "English is german because there is word order" or not).

I think your 90-percent is hyperbole, i guess if your vobabulary is severly limited,

but i'm not buying it. i use bigger words i guess - lol
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by Eodnhoj7 »

Philosophy Explorer wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:12 am I suspect this won't be an easy question to answer due in part to all the languages that exist.

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The one you already know considering all mastery is progressive. Why would I need to learn another language if I cannot master my own?
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by commonsense »

Assembly.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by -1- »

Somebody (or some bodies) did not agree with the ninety-percent domination of Germanic words over the ten percent French/Latin based words.

It's easy to decide... you do the math.

-----------------------------

"I think your 90-percent is hyperbole, i guess if your vobabulary is severly limited,

but i'm not buying it. i use bigger words i guess - lol"

29 words, 5 Latin / French based, 24 Germanic based.

---------------

French has lost its Lain roots - no word order - and so also has word order ----so not sure if you are saying "English is german because there is word order" or not).

33 words, 3 Latin/French based, 30 Germanic.

---------------

Scandinavians find it very easy to learn english, because all those languages are part of the germanic family.
The french however, find english a bit harder, because french is a part of the latin family.

37 words, 3 French / Latin based, 34 Germanic.
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by surreptitious57 »

There are many truly excellent scientific and mathematical and philosophical videos on You Tube and other platforms
The internet in general is the greatest educational tool ever devised and so for that reason alone it is truly wonderful
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by commonsense »

Philosophy Explorer wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:12 am I suspect this won't be an easy question to answer due in part to all the languages that exist.

🇺🇲PhilX🇺🇲
Clearly, for anyone the easiest language learning is in the language you learned as an infant.
Walker
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by Walker »

The language of luv.
gaffo
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by gaffo »

Walker wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:10 am The language of luv.
concur in the ideal world - and it would be so if we could choose our parents.

sadly we are not so lucky (I was thankfully)

and ya "the language of love" (refer to Robert Sheckley's short story on this topic (I did a "radio-reading/drama" on his short 20 yrs ago - and you can refer to Robert Hanson's version of the same short via "mindweb's - via internet archive webstie), is the a good lighthearted story, though not apt.


note Sheckley's short is not philosphical - and utterly off topic - i just read your comment and my mind went to it - and my reading (i uploaded to Usenet eons ago - 20 yrs ago, and of the Mindwebs show using the same short by Sheckley.................so commented.


but ya and no, if one was born via monster parents, not knowing of love, such a language would be foreign, and why we have serial killers. so not an easy language to learn (and IMO - post puberty is a "wall off" biologically - and so too late to learn that language)


sadly.
Walker
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Re: What's the easiest language to learn?

Post by Walker »

gaffo wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 2:07 am but ya and no, if one was born via monster parents, not knowing of love, such a language would be foreign, and why we have serial killers. so not an easy language to learn (and IMO - post puberty is a "wall off" biologically - and so too late to learn that language)


sadly.
Hey Gaffo. Everyone, even an illiterate baby, knows the language of luv. Some don’t use it, for whatever reason.
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