Easy Languages to Learn for English Speakers

Looking for easy languages to learn in your free time? Learning a language is a unique skill in itself as you open yourself to a new vocabulary, grammar rules as well as a wonderful culture and its history. But this skill can transform your brain by boosting your memory and concentration as well as problem-solving and critical thinking, not to forget, that you will be able to conversate with people from a different culture. So, to help you find a language that you can easily master, we bring you the top easy languages to learn for English and Hindi speakers.

Spanish

First on our list of easy languages to learn is Spanish. There is a consensus amongst most language experts and linguistic trainers that Spanish is one of the easiest to learn. Both Spanish and English have a common origin, i.e. Latin because of which sizable words in the vocabulary of the two languages are similar such as correcto (correct), delicioso (delicious), ingeniero (engineer), etc. Spanish is also a phonetic language where the words are pronounced just like they are spelt. Therefore, reading and writing can be a pretty straightforward task for non-native speakers. With respect to the grammar, the tenses in Spanish align with the ones we use in English which makes it easier to learn and grasp. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of learning Spanish is its wide prevalence because it is considered the 2nd most spoken language after English, with over 420 million speakers.

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Italian

Spoken among 63 million speakers, Italian is regarded as the language of romance. The reason why Italian is an easy language to learn for English speakers is that it is connected to Latin and the presence of several Italian/English cognates such as forresta (forest), lotteria (lottery), etc.  Similar to Spanish, Italian also has a shallow orthographic depth, i.e. it is pronounced the way it is written. Most words in Italian end with a vowel and are highly rhythmic. Musicality which is the prominent feature of this language makes it very easy for the speaker to remember and simple to use. If you are a foodie, this is an additional reason why you must learn Italian. Italian cuisine has now become a staple and knowing your Penne all’arrabbiata and farfalle can further help you add a unique take to learning Italian.

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French

French has been a favourite language for many and even though it may appear difficult from the outset, many linguists have found that it has influenced a third of modern language. Another interesting fact is that it is also constituted of many dialects and creoles. It is one of the most spoken languages in Europe as well as countries like Canada and Madagascar. Because of French history and the conquests between France and England, the vocabulary was also exchanged between the two languages. This led to a similar touch of vocabulary to both languages thus making it relatively easy to learn for English speakers. Words such as édifice, royal, village, avant-garde and à la carte have been borrowed from French. The pronunciation may be tricky at first but because of its influence in pop culture and easy replication, you may learn French sooner than you think.

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Portuguese

A member of the Roman family, Portuguese is another easy language to speak for English speakers. With the Brazilian economy ranking at 6th, Portuguese has become a highly spoken language with great employment prospects. A unique aspect of this language is its interrogatives which are relatively easy and can be expressed by intonations alone. Like the languages mentioned above, Portuguese also has a shared vocabulary with other languages. However, you must be beware of false cognates and similar-sounding words with a completely different meaning can get you confused. Additionally, Portuguese is fairly easy to learn because of its appearance in the global pop culture, which gives learners the opportunity to enhance their language.

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Dutch

A language that has its own origins in German and English, it is utilised across the Netherlands and Belgium also has Dutch as a common language among locals. But unlike its cousin German, Dutch is actually very easy to learn. The key reason why Dutch is an easy language to learn is that many of the words are spelt exactly as they are in English, but their pronunciation varies. For instance, the word ‘rat’ means and spells the same as in English but is pronounced as ‘rot’ in Dutch. You will also find that Dutch has many false cognates which can be very misleading. Whilst learning German, you must not get intimidated by the big words but this is actually a plus point of the language. Dutch is a very descriptive language and the big words are actually a combination of smaller words. Semantically, the language is rule-based and pretty straightforward. 

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Learning a foreign language is a gateway for opportunities. It empowers you to navigate an outside world and deepen your connection with other cultures. We hope you find this blog helpful in shortlisting the easy languages to learn for yourself! For more such interesting blogs and information regarding other languages, subscribe to Leverage Edu and we’ll keep you posted!