by James Mallon

Created on: January 21, 2012   Last Updated: February 12, 2012

A second language cannot be “picked up”, like a coin found in the street.  It takes years of dedication to feel comfortable with new linguistic skills.  Anyone who claims learning a third language, or several more, becomes easier, has not studied them in any real depth. We do not have time to study languages for hours, and we forget words and phrases quickly if they are not practised continually on a daily basis. There are languages families, where the grammatical root structure and the alphabet are similar to our own, so yes, some languages are easier to learn. To dominate a second language can normally only be achieved by living in that country for several years; completely immersed in it without the distractions of your own language . 

It could be argued the easiest languages are those which motivate and are enjoyable and a real desire to learn about the culture and people of a country.  Language learning involves passion and commitment and it is very daunting when you try to memorise words and sounds, feeling completely frustrated when you forget them.  How often do we meet people, only to forget their name shortly after departing?  It is not just learning a few phrases, as there are new alphabets; different grammar styles which must be studied carefully in order to improve fluency skills.  It is important to pick an easier language with a similar historical background and grammar structures comparable to the learner's native tongue, if only to build up confidence,

It is said the Romance languages for English speaking people, such as Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese, are the easiest to learn. This is because these languages were based and developed from Roman Latin.  There are hundreds of words used in these languages which can be found within the English dictionary; this is also applicable to Germanic languages, because again, many words from these languages can be found in everyday English usage. Therefore, knowing this, it must be easier to learn Spanish or German as opposed to Punjabi or Mandarin.  

There are many diverse and complicated worldwide languages. For English or European speaking people, they will find the Asiatic languages completely alien and incomprehensible in comparison with their own language structures; so learning Mandarin for example, is a hard choice.  There is a

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