English is the most studied language in the world because it is the universal language of business, science, and academia. There are 1.5 billion English language learners and 527 million native global English speakers. However, compared to many other Romance languages like Spanish and French, English is one of the hardest languages to learn. Why is English such a challenge to learn? To find the answers, continue reading.
Is English Difficult To Learn?
Is learning English difficult? It depends; some people learn English more quickly than others. How hard it will be for you to learn Numerous different factors affect English.
Some of these elements—like your native tongue’s degree of similarity to English, the other languages you speak, your preferred method of learning, and your natural talent—are beyond your control.
Other factors, like your commitment to learning English, where you study, how you study, how much you study, the learning resources you have access to, and the support you have, among others, are simpler to manage and are influenced by your surroundings and attitude.
Reasons For Why English Is Hard To Learn
One of the hardest languages to learn is English. We’ll look at a few of the frequent causes of English learning difficulties.
Families Of Languages
Approximately 6,000 languages are spoken today in the world. Languages are frequently thought of as families in the scientific community. Specific family trees are formed by how they have evolved from one another.
It would be simpler to learn English if your native tongue is similar to Dutch or German because English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.
However, if you speak Japanese, it would be challenging to learn English. which is not at all related to Germanic or Romance languages. As a result, they sound and look very different. If your native tongue is similar to English, learning it might be simpler for you.
Some Things Are Nonsensical
There are many contradictions and illogical claims in the English language. For instance, a lot of words appear unclear to non-native speakers.
Nouns can also change into verbs in certain circumstances. Preachers preached while teachers, for instance, taught. Even for native English speakers, it can be challenging to explain.
You can only imagine how challenging it is for people learning English to make sense of these contradictions.
Rules And Exceptions
Like any other language, English is rife with rules. Whether they use it as a spelling aid or grammatical aid. Many of them exist. Furthermore, there are many ways for them to be challenged, debunked, or shown to be incorrect.
For instance, English students were taught to pronounce the letter “I” before the letter “E,” except after the letter “C.”
This principle holds true for the majority of English words, including “friend” and “believe.” However, there are some exceptions, such as “science” and “weirdness.”
There are many difficult rules to understand when it comes to sentence order. Because those words sound right, native speakers automatically know how to arrange them.
adjusting to all complexities and rule exceptions. People who are trying to learn the language may find it to be a nightmare. Not all rules are effective. particularly when employing the same principle to a new word as established knowledge.
Writing Rules
Even fluent English speakers make mistakes occasionally, particularly when it comes to punctuation. They have the most difficulty when it comes to writing’s stylistic aspects.
Whether it’s the modern fast Oxford Comma or how to use hyphens in compound nouns, these topics are covered. There is always new information to learn. Out of all the language skills, this one in English calls for the most concentration.
It’s also important to note the peculiar usage of the English pronoun “I”. Regardless of its form, “I” is the only English pronoun that is written in capital letters when we compare it to all the others.
Words Order
If you speak English proficiently, you can recognize the word order right away. Identifying correct from incorrect orders is a challenge for students.
Why the words are arranged so that they sound right is unclear. A small interesting cup does not sound right, even though you can say “an interesting small cup.”
Even though it is grammatically correct, the way it sounds indicates how it might come across. For instance, native speakers have an intuitive understanding of the complexities of the language.
English Has A Mixed Vocabulary
In terms of specifics, 26% of English vocabulary has Germanic roots. 30 percent are of French origin, and 30 percent are of Latin origin.
French speakers will probably find it simpler to learn English as a result. because they are already familiar with most of the vocabulary. The same holds true for Dutch and German speakers.
If we have an advantage, learning a language is simpler. mainly because our native tongue and the language we are learning are more similar.
Perplexing Spelling
In some ways, learning English is fundamentally challenging. One explanation is that the spelling rules in English are confusing. It’s confusing to even native speakers.
For instance, the words “dough,” “tough,” and “bough” all have the same spelling but are all pronounced differently.
This spelling with an “ough” is a holdover from Chaucer’s native Middle English. the pronunciation was reflected in the spelling.
Over time, many of those pronunciations have changed. However, the spelling remained the same.
In British English pronunciation, it is no longer used, much like the ‘ch’ sound in the Scottish word ‘loch.
Confusing Idioms
Idioms are another challenging subject to master. Idioms are a part of all languages. They should not be taken literally.
For instance, the phrase “she kicked the bucket” refers to her passing away.” The meaning of the entire unit is all that is necessary to understand.
Two more instances are “She jumped down my throat” and “He hit the roof.” The exact wording is not in the literal sense. Furthermore, idioms contain words like “all of a sudden,” which a language learner does not understand.
There are thousands of these in English. All languages use idioms. English idioms are distinguished by their length, variety, and randomness. English idioms can be difficult for non-native speakers to understand.
Difficult To Use Plurals And Tenses
because there are so many tenses to be aware of. Differentiating between the future tense and future perfect can be challenging for English language learners.
Learning is challenging in other ways besides just remembering the text’s grammar rules. But also when having a conversation in English and the speaker makes reference to the future.
There are numerous variations in how plurals are used in English as well. This is untrue when it comes to words like ox and mouse, where a non-native speaker learns to add -s to form a plural.
Synonyms Aren’t Always Synonymous
Several groups of words that generally mean the same thing can be found in thesaurus entries. You’d be mistaken if you assumed that this meant they might be used interchangeably.
given that English words can have a variety of meanings. Even words with definitions that seem very similar can mean something completely different.
Different Dialects
We assume that there are regional dialects in every language. People find it challenging to learn English because of the variety of regional dialects present in the UK.
There is a clear north/south distinction when pronouncing the words “bath” or “castle.” In the south, the letter “A” is long, whereas in the north, it is short.” And there is a never-ending argument about how to pronounce “scone” correctly (S-gone or S-cone?).
Conclusion
Every year, hundreds of millions of people worldwide study English. Additionally, move English up to the third-most-studied native tongue. They frequently enroll as adults or kids in English-speaking classes. Learning new languages has always been beneficial, especially if your business or organization interacts with clients, patients, partners, or other organizations who speak the language regularly.