In comparison to French, Spanish pronunciation and spelling seem less daunting to the average learner, but there is more to a language than just its phonetics. The true French equivalent of the pretérito, the passé simple, is a literary tense that French students are usually expected to recognize but not to use. [DrewPeacock] Aruba. … Also happens to me. Ние и нашите партньори ще съхраняваме и/или осъществяваме достъп до информация на вашето устройство чрез бисквитки и други подобни технологии с цел показване на персонализирани реклами и съдържание, измерване на рекламите и съдържанието, получаване на прозрения за аудиторията и развиване на продукти. We were also told Spanish was far easier.While Spanish is a wonderful language and learning it comes with many benefits, none of the above is inherently true. I mildly understand it when I hear people speak and when I read, but I can't speak myself. American high school students often chose Spanish to fulfill a foreign language requirement, sometimes under the premise that Spanish is the more useful language, and other times because it seems the easiest to learn. So, their path is much easier, faster, and with less culture shock. Learning French becomes a fun activity, and you won’t worry about any of the difficulties of French. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, How to Conjugate "Retourner" (To Return) in French, How to Conjugate "Lancer" (to Throw) in French, The Ten Most Common Intermediate French Mistakes, Simple Conjugations for "Quitter" (to Leave), How to Conjugate "Cueillir" (to Gather, Pick Up), How to Conjugate "Monter" (to Climb) in French, How to Conjugate 'Compléter,' to Complete, The Simple Conjugates of "Paraître" (to Seem), How to Conjugate "Demander" (to Ask) in French, Learn Simple Conjugations for "Réunir" (to Reunite), How to Conjugate "Gagner" (to Win, to Earn) in French, How to Conjugate "Inviter" (to Invite) in French, A Step-By-Steo Conjugation of "Maintenir" (To Maintain), Si j'avais eu plus de temps j'y serais allé, There are two different sets of conjugations for the Spanish. While the subjunctive mood is difficult in both languages, it is more difficult and much more common in Spanish. Comment deleted by user 4 years ago 0 children. In Spanish, the rolled "R", the "J" (similar to the French R), and the "B/V" are the trickiest sounds.Nouns in both languages have a gender and require gender and number agreement for adjectives, articles, and certain types of pronouns.The use of prepositions in both languages can be also difficult, as there is often little correlation between them and their English counterparts.Confusing pairs abound in both: Both French and Spanish have reflexive verbs, numerous false cognates with English that can trip up non-native speakers of either language and potentially confusing word order due to the positions of adjectives and object pronouns. Phonologically, Spanish and Italian are very similar, so that a Spanish speaking person could effortlessly pronounce Italian. … Both languages have a lot of vocabulary in common, for example, musfor ‘’ mouse’’. English has 12 vowels and eight diphthongs, while Spanish has only five of each. Phonologically, Spanish and Italian are very similar, so that a Spanish speaking person could effortlessly pronounce Italian. There is only one auxiliary verb and the two parts of the verb stay together, so word order is not a problem.Lastly, French's two-part negation ne... pas is more complicated in terms of usage and word order than Spanish's no. French is in the first tier of languages as well.) There are sounds in both languages that can be very difficult for English speakers: French has the infamous " R " pronunciation, nasal vowels, and the subtle (to untrained ears) differences between tu/tous and parlai/parlais. Those of us who grew up studying French in American schools during the past three decades or so were told time and again that learning Spanish was more advantageous, period. Comment deleted by user 4 years ago More than 4 children. Spanish belongs to the ‘Romance’ language family, along with Italian, Portuguese, French, and more. Over 480 million of these are native Spanish speakers and Spanish is the official language or official co-language of over 20 countries, including Argentina, El Salvador, Venezuela and, of course: Spain. October 2017. However, beginners in Spanish have to deal with dropped subject pronouns and four words for "you," while French only has two. Opinions about the levels of difficulty of French vs. Spanish are usually a matter of personal learning and speaking preferences; for students that have studied both languages, some might find Spanish easier than French, and others might find French easier than Spanish. Because of this, it is essential to have all verb conjugations memorized in order to recognize and to express which subject is performing the action. Vietnamese has no concept of “masculine” or “feminine” words. This is why learning Portuguese or Italian becomes a lot easier when you already speak Spanish, and vice versa. Although consonants may have two or more, there are very specific rules regarding their usage, depending on where the letter is in the word and what letters are around it. Spanish is a phonetic language, meaning that the rules of orthography are very close to the rules of pronunciation. This is an attempt to translate our song "Qué difícil es hablar el español", for any non-Spanish speakers who might want to know what are we talking about. Spanish speakers learning English frequently have problems with pronunciation because of the differences between the two languages’ sound systems. Italian is a great complement to Spanish, French and Latin. In Spanish, the rolled "R", the "J" … The passé composé is just one of several French compound verbs and the questions of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être), word order, and agreement with these verbs are some of French's great difficulties. French is similar to Spanish in that it’s another Romance language. In today’s article, we’ll talk about some of the reasons why this might be true. I’ve taught many English speaking adults in my life: some extremely intelligent, with really advanced degrees (rocket scientists and brain surgeons… literally!) This may confuse people who learned Spanish first because it doesn’t have much of these. who couldn’t find a direct object in a sentence, and were baffled by French grammar. While it is difficult to say for sure that one language is easier to learn than another, it does seem to be the case that English speakers pick up Spanish fairly quickly. If you've ever learned French, Spanish, German, or just about any European language except English, you just breathed a huge sigh of relief. I am a native speaker of English who also happens to speak Arabic, Mandarin, and Spanish, but my linguistic abilities are less a measure of my intelligence than they are of my level of “interest” in the cultures and the native speakers with whom I communicate. 2. Number of native speakers: 260 million Grammatical concepts: 3/5 Language family: 3/5 Sounds and tones: 3/5 Writing system: 4/5 Cultural distance: 3/5 Language resources: 1/5 Hindi is highly phonetic, which means it’s spelled the way it sounds – score! ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. In comparison, French has many silent letters and multiple rules with plenty of exceptions, as well as liaisons and enchaînement, which add additional difficulties to pronunciation and aural comprehension.There are precise rules for the accentuation of Spanish words and accents to let you know when those rules are overridden. Spanish compound verbs are much simpler. You can just learn the word as it is, without any need for extra memorisation. Let’s take a look at some of the aspects of French that make it hard, and offset it with others that may make it … French has a total of 15 verb tenses/moods, four of which are literary and rarely used. There are sounds in both languages that can be very difficult for English speakers: French has the infamous "R" pronunciation, nasal vowels, and the subtle (to untrained ears) differences between tu/tous and parlai/parlais. level 2. Научете повече за начините, по които използваме вашата информация, в нашата Политика за поверителност и Политика относно бисквитките. I'll get back to you on Finno-Ugric when I've had a proper go at Hungarian and/or Estonion ;)) In the end, though, it should still prove to be an easy learning experience because of the origins of both the French language and the Spanish la… If you already speak Spanish or French, picking up Italian is quick and easy -- and gives you a valuable skill in the global business arena. Continue this thread level 2. Swedish, just like English, is a Germanic language. French Pronunciation Is Tricky French has a huge number of vowels (whereas Spanish and Italian rarely use more than five). (If you've read my analysis on whether French is hard to learn, this probably sounds familiar. Instead consider however is simplicity. Spanish and Italian are easier than French in this regard. Spanish is spoken by over 570 million people across the world. (Speaking as someone who doesn't get on with Romance languages in general, although I can have a decent conversation in French and I can muddle by in "holiday Spanish", I so far find thinks Slavic, Germanic and Semitic languages much more fun to study and ergo not so hard. This is rarely the case in French, or English, for that matter.The most common French past tense, the passé composé, is more difficult than Spanish's pretérito. This will make it somewhat easy to understand French even if you’re new to it. Often times, even without any… Although it does indeed help, you don’t really have to understand grammar to master English. For example, languages that are easier to learn for English speakers in general include Spanish, French, Swedish, Afrikaans, Romanian, and Italian. That creates a lot of verb conjugations in the Spanish language.Then, there is the subjunctive conjugation. Spanish is the hardest language to learn. Spanish is arguably somewhat easier for the first year or so of learning, in large part because beginners may struggle less with pronunciation than their French-studying colleagues. At fi… Keep in mind that each language learned tends to be progressively easier than the previous one, so if you learn, for example, French first and then Spanish, Spanish will seem easier. Irregular verbs will make your Spanish learning journey harder. Once you take into consideration several other factors such as syntax and grammar, the idea that one language is inherently more complicated than the other loses all validity. 6 reasons to learn French instead of Spanish In the United States, we hear a lot that Spanish is everywhere, and that you should learn Spanish. The corporate management even though they are called the meeting have a cluttered home and this makes it clearer. This makes mastering the most common irregular verbs crucial. This is part of the reason why it's usually impressive to native English speakers if you speak more than one language. It also shares some verbs and the way it constructs nouns are similar as well. Once you've memorized the Spanish rules of pronunciation and accentuation, you can pronounce brand-new words with no hesitation. Информация относно вашето устройство и интернет връзка, включително IP адреса ви, Дейности по сърфиране и търсене, докато сте използвали уеб сайтовете и приложенията на Verizon Media. Both have the tricky two past-tense division (Fr - passé composé vs. imparfait; Sp - pretérito vs. imperfecto), two verbs that mean "to know," and the bon vs. bien, mauvais vs. mal (Fr) / bueno vs. bien, malo vs. mal (Sp) distinctions. Still, it is more likely that both of these languages have challenges of their own than that one is objectively actually easier than the other. Often times, even without any… Will it be hard? Besides that, however, Hindi has some challenging differences in terms of grammar, pronunciation and writing. Each Spanish vowel has a single pronunciation. Italian is a great complement to Spanish, French and Latin. We were told Spanish would offer countless opportunities, while French would offer none. 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