In multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language on the list of the most difficult to learn. The Defense Language Institute's Foreign Language Center places Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. On the one hand, some of the most difficult languages to learn are also the most spoken. Mandarin Chinese, for example, is spoken as a mother tongue by 918 million people, making it an extremely useful language for learning. Do you want to take advantage of some of these benefits and, at the same time, acquire a valuable new skill? Based on the ideas of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), we have compiled this list of the 15 most difficult languages for English speakers to learn, from the most difficult to the exceptionally difficult.
Unlike most European languages, which belong to the Indo-European language family, Hungarian is a Uralic language. It is spoken as their mother tongue by 13 million people, most of whom live in Hungary. It is a language famous for being difficult for English speakers to learn, with complex grammar and pronunciation. In the Hungarian language, there are 14 vowels with slight differences in pronunciation. Hungarian consonant groups also have unexpected pronouncements compared to English.
For example, “sz” is pronounced as “s” and “s” is pronounced as “sh”. Serbian is a Slavic language spoken by around 12 million people. Most native speakers live in Serbia, but it is also one of the official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo. In addition, Serbian is a recognized minority language in several other countries, such as Croatia, Romania and Hungary, which makes it valuable to learn it if you intend to spend time traveling, working or studying in Eastern Europe. Greek is the oldest living Indo-European language and, although modern Greek differs from ancient Greek, it is not as far removed from its roots as Spanish or French are from Latin.
Around 13 million people speak Greek as their mother tongue, mainly in Greece and Cyprus. With 154 million native speakers and 104 million non-native speakers, Russian is a valuable language to learn and will connect you to the fascinating world of literature, philosophy and the visual arts. That said, Thai is a difficult language for English speakers to learn because, like Vietnamese and Chinese, it is a tonal language. This means that students must be able to recognize the tone of a tone in order to understand the context of what is being said. The Thai language has five tones, and some of them are not found in the English language. Thai also uses its own writing, which consists of 44 consonants, 18 vowels and six diphthongs that must be memorized.
Japanese is an East Asian language that is part of the Japanese language family and is spoken by 128 million people, mainly in Japan. Although it's considered one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn, there are plenty of good reasons to learn it, from gaining a deeper understanding of Japanese pop culture and animations to new professional and business opportunities. When you think of languages that are difficult to learn, Chinese is probably the first example that comes to mind. However, with 918 million native speakers and 199 million non-native speakers, Mandarin Chinese is a language worth learning. Korean comes last on our list of the most difficult languages because it may not be the most difficult, but it is the most complicated language with complex grammatical rules, its own alphabets, sentence structure and pronunciation. Although learning Korean is on every K-Pop lover's list these days, it's not a language you can easily learn.
The reason is that it takes dedication and constant practice to memorize 24 letters and their correct pronunciation. Beginner language students may want to start with an easier language such as Spanish, German or Italian. However if you're up for a challenge these are 25 most difficult languages to learn. For English-speaking students Arabic Cantonese Mandarin Japanese and Korean are among the hardest foreign languages to master. For example Arabic has a complex grammar and a different alphabet than Roman alphabet used in English and many other languages. Arabic also has several dialects which can vary significantly from region to region making it difficult for students to understand speakers from different parts of Arab world. On other hand some of easiest foreign languages to master are Spanish and Portuguese.
While degree which person succeeds in mastering foreign language may largely depend on their motivation almost everything else boils down how similar their native language is one they are trying to learn. If you're highly motivated to learn Norwegian because family ties or because you want study postgraduate degree there it will be easier for you stick with it compared an “easy” language that you're less interested following many months years Blanco said. Arabic ranked as most difficult language learn according Foreign Service Institute (FSI) top training institution United States federal government good reason. Although technically an Indo-European language reality not comparable any other language borrows grammatical rules vocabulary from Greek Latin well some extinct languages such Thracian Illyrian Dacian. Vietnamese which part Austroasiatic language family can also be difficult speak because its pronunciation abroad English speakers. A foreign language can be based concepts that totally absent your native language that can make more difficult acquire mastery. That's why mastering any foreign tongue requires dedication and hard work - but some languages are more challenging than others. In this comprehensive guide we'll explore what makes certain foreign languages so hard for English speakers - from grammar rules and pronunciation challenges - as well as provide an overview of some of the hardest foreign languages out there including Arabic Cantonese Mandarin Japanese Korean Vietnamese Hungarian Serbian Greek Russian Thai Spanish Portuguese Norwegian German Italian French Dutch Swedish Danish Finnish Polish Czech Romanian Slovak Bulgarian Croatian Estonian Latvian Lithuanian Icelandic Hebrew Yiddish Afrikaans Swahili Zulu Amharic Hausa Igbo Yoruba Xhosa Sesotho Setswana Shona Tswana Chichewa Fula Jula Lingala Quechua Aymara Guarani Nahuatl K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel TzotzilSo if you're looking for a challenge - or just want to expand your linguistic horizons - here's our comprehensive guide on what makes certain foreign languages so hard for English speakers - from grammar rules and pronunciation challenges - as well as an overview of some of the hardest foreign languages out there including Arabic Cantonese Mandarin Japanese Korean Vietnamese Hungarian Serbian Greek Russian Thai Spanish Portuguese Norwegian German Italian French Dutch Swedish Danish Finnish Polish Czech Romanian Slovak Bulgarian Croatian Estonian Latvian Lithuanian Icelandic Hebrew Yiddish Afrikaans Swahili Zulu Amharic Hausa Igbo Yoruba Xhosa Sesotho Setswana Shona Tswana Chichewa Fula Jula Lingala Quechua Aymara Guarani Nahuatl K'iche' Kaqchikel Tzotzil Tzeltal Chol Maya Mixtec Zapotec Tarahumara Huasteco Huave Totonac Mazatec Chinantec Zapoteco Otomi Mazahua Purepecha Tarasco Cora Huichol Náhuatl Tepehua Tlapanec Matlatzinca Triqui Mixteco Zapoteco Chatino Tzeltal Chontal Yucateco Chol Maya Mam Quiché K'iche' Kaqchikel.
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