Why Are Some Languages More Difficult to Learn Than Others?

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If you have ever studied a language, you have probably observed that some take longer to master than others. Have you ever wondered why it might happen this way? I will discuss one possible response to this topic: the statement that the mother tongue matters. The resemblance between your target language and your mother tongue might influence how difficult it is to learn another language (Cherodath, 2022). Spanish people, for example, may swiftly learn French or Italian since they are members of the same Romance language family (Blaszko, 2021). This is also why speakers of Germanic languages (such as German and Swedish) find it easier to learn English than others.

Learning a new language, like knowing one’s native tongue, demands us to explore new senses and adapt to a new way of thinking. The more similar something is to what we already know, the faster we acclimate to the foreign subject. Assume that the style of thinking in a foreign language is entirely different from our own speech. In that situation, it will take time for our minds to acclimate. Korean grammar, for example, differs significantly from English grammar. In general, the sentence structure in English is subject-verb-object, while in Korean, it is a subject-object-verb (Jang, 2022). As a result, English and Korean speakers assume that their idea of sentence structure will change as they learn their target language.

If you desire to master a new language as a hobby, starting with a language that is related to or has a link with your mother tongue is best. If you desire a challenge, you can study languages that are utterly foreign to you. Language acquisition difficulties are ultimately subjective. Everyone has a unique culture, language background, and learning preferences. Even learners of the same language who are fond of it may discover the contrary to be true.