Why Are Some Languages Harder to Learn Than Others? 2 Polyglots Share Their Experience

📲 The app I use to learn languages 👉🏼bit.ly/43HWmig 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning 👉🏼www.thelinguist.com/ ❓What foreign language have you found most difficult?

So cute to see Zoey fangirling for Steve

I completely agree with Zoey that once you get to about a B2 level all languages are equally difficult. It sort of levels out and you're in it for the long haul.

I would say another factor is cultural: Turkish is a hard language for an English speaker but very easy to practice: people will talk to you, compliment you frequently and hardly ever correct you When I learned Greek after Turkish, I got a culture shock when people corrected my case endings though you do then remember next time. Another enormous issue for me (as someone who starts to learn a language by buying a book) is the distance between the written and spoken language. This is a factor In all languages, but a much bigger one in some than others. Arabic is really a bunch of spoken dialects united by a common written language. If you buy a teach yourself Arabic book, you really need to read the cover. If you buy "colloquial Egyptian Arabic" and then go to Morocco you'll get very confused. For example, if I wanted to say "how are you" in standard written Arabic, I might say "Kif Halek", in Egypt "izzayak?" and in Morocco "lebas?" It's the same if you watch a film. There are lots of Turkish TV series on Netflix. Some are better than others but they're all Turkish. The Arabic ones are all in different dialects.

Zoey’s so nice, she seems carefree too. Congrats to her for being so accomplished at such a young age. Good connversation, thank you, Steve.

My first foreign language is Spanish and I have about a B2 level. While I wouldn't call it easy, there's enough similarities with English that make it pretty unintimidating. I have also just started learning Polish on the side and it is on another level. I can already tell that it's going to take me a lot longer to reach the same level that I have in Spanish. But luckily I have more experience and confidence with language learning now, so I can be more efficient with my learning process. Even if it's a challenge, I'm so excited to learn Polish! It's a beautiful language.

What I find really difficult about English is the pronunciation and the vocabulary. The pronunciation is quite arbitrary and you have to learn it for every new word. The vocabulary, compared to my native language German, seems to consist of more original words. In German, we often just put two words together to make a word. If you know both of them, you can understand the meaning without knowing the word (for example, "Handschuh" consists of Hand (hand) and Schuh (shoe). In English, it's glove and you have no idea what it could mean if you don't know its meaning.

It’s nice to see these two conversing. I’ve subscribed to them both in the past and their content is very beneficial.

Extremely interesting discussion - thank you both!

I absolutely agree about Chinese. It's perhaps the most time consuming language but not inherently difficult (unless you are helplessly tone deaf lol)

Thank you very much Steve and Zoe for your very inspiring conversation. It has been very useful.

Thank you Zoe and Steve for your insights.🙏

Great that you have made a video together!!! I am going to watch it now!!! I like both of you!!!!

in brief: The video with @Zoe.Languages features a discussion between the host and Zoe from @Zoe.Languages about the challenges of learning different languages. Here's a summarized breakdown of their conversation: 1. **Subjectivity of Difficulty**: The difficulty of learning a language is subjective and varies from person to person. Factors like one's native language, exposure to other languages, and personal interests can influence this perception. 2. *English Learning*: They discuss the ubiquity of English and how many people around the world are exposed to it from a young age, making it seem easier to learn. The availability of immersive environments and resources for English also contributes to this perception. 3. *Challenges of Other Languages*: - *French*: Difficulties arise from its liaison, where it's hard to discern where one word ends and the next begins. - *Japanese*: The indirect nature of communication in Japanese culture can be challenging. Many things are left unsaid and are implicitly understood. - **Chinese**: The challenge lies in learning the characters. However, once you know the characters, vocabulary building becomes easier since many words are combinations of characters. The grammar in Chinese is relatively simple. - *Arabic*: Zoe finds Arabic particularly challenging. - *Slavic Languages*: They have complex grammar rules and many variations of words depending on their function in a sentence. 4. *Motivation Over Difficulty*: The biggest challenge in language learning is motivation. If one is highly motivated, the perceived difficulties diminish. 5. *Personal Experiences*: Zoe shares her experiences of learning 20 languages. While she doesn't always achieve the level she desires, the experience of learning is invaluable. She finds content immersion crucial, citing her lack of interest in K-Dramas and K-Pop as a challenge when learning Korean. 6. *Exploring Different Cultures*: Both speakers emphasize the joy of exploring different parts of the world through language. They encourage viewers to be driven by their interests, whether it's history, geography, anime for Japanese, K-pop for Korean, or any other cultural aspect. 7. *Closing*: The host thanks Zoe for her insights and mentions her YouTube channel @Zoe.Languages, where she explores different languages and shares her experiences, like her trip to Iran. Overall, the video emphasizes that while some languages may have inherent complexities, the key to successful learning is personal motivation and interest.

As Latin american I say that it might be a little difficult to travel around the globe but learn English is something that I found too much enjoyable . Thanks Steve for give us motivation every week.

I love the commebts about materials. I started learning Korean in 2013 right before the big Kpop boom. At that time, there was veeeeeeery little in terms of quality materials. I started with the FSI course, which I'm sure you know is not perfect. But by 2019, there were dozens of new materials, story learning guides, manuals, etc. I found more interesting. I also was never a fan of Kpop or Kdramas, so the boom in cultural imports didn't help me much (Kjazz is harder to find lol). I learned French to a fairly fluent level in about a year. It's been 10 years of Korean and I'm just feeling conversational

loved this video so much!!

Excellent to have such personalities togheter , I admire both Zoe and Steve Thanks a lot 🤗🤗

I just love when my fav people get together to make a video🤩

I go to your channel to motivate me,thank you. I am fascinated with Japan, 2 years learning maybe lower intermediate. I am an airport worker and every time I think I can’t do this study anymore you inspire me to keep trying . ❤