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15 Toughest Languages for English Speakers to Learn

15 Toughest Languages for English Speakers to Learn – English is undoubtedly one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 1.5 billion speakers globally. However, for native English speakers, learning a new language can still prove incredibly challenging. Some languages have completely different writing systems, unfamiliar sounds, complex grammar, or unique cultural nuances that make them especially difficult for English speakers to master.15 Toughest Languages for English Speakers to Learn

After examining factors like pronunciation, sentence structure, script, vocabulary, and more, the following 15 languages stand out as the most problematic for native English speakers to learn.


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The 15 Toughest languages for English Speakers to learn:

1. Mandarin Chinese

With over 1 billion native speakers, Mandarin Chinese tops the list as the most spoken language in the world. However, it presents numerous hurdles for English speakers. Mandarin uses logographic characters instead of an alphabetical script, so there is no shared foundation. Tones are also vitally important in Mandarin – the same word can have completely different meanings based on subtle tone variations. The grammar structure is equally complex, with no verb conjugation and sentences following a subject-verb-object pattern. The vocabulary presents challenges too, with idioms and sayings that often don’t translate directly. For English speakers, Mandarin requires dedication to master the fundamentals before becoming conversant.

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2. Arabic

The Arabic language has over 25 dialects and over 300 million speakers worldwide. Modern Standard Arabic is the universal written and formal spoken standard across the Arab world. For English speakers, Arabic poses difficulties starting with its cursive script written from right to left. Short and long vowel sounds are also indicated by symbols placed above or below consonants, requiring precise pronunciation. While English has a subject-verb-object structure, Arabic utilizes a verb-subject-object pattern. The grammar includes a complex tense system, irregular verbs, and gendered nouns. Mastering reading comprehension of Arabic’s diglossic nature between the spoken vernacular dialects and formal Modern Standard Arabic also poses a steep challenge for English speakers.

3. Japanese

Spoken by 128 million people, the Japanese language makes use of three different writing systems – hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Kanji characters were adopted from the Chinese and have multiple complex meanings. Unlike English’s Subject-Verb-Object structure, Japanese follows a Subject-Object-Verb format. Japanese also relies heavily on context and omits subjects and objects that in English would be required for a sentence to make sense. For English speakers, Japanese requires becoming attuned to a completely different linguistic rhythm and flow. Distinguishing between formal and informal sentence registers is essential for conversational Japanese as well.

4. Korean

Korean utilizes an alphabetic writing system called Hangul but differs greatly from English in structure. Also, Korean grammar relies heavily on particles to indicate parts of speech or sentence elements like subjects, direct objects, and indirect objects. Verbs can be extensively modified by prefixes and suffixes that change meaning. Notably, Korean places verbs at the end rather than after the subject. For native English speakers, honorifics and speech levels in Korean pose a formidable challenge; choosing the incorrect verb ending or vocabulary word can come across as rude or awkward in Korean culture. Overall, achieving proficiency in Korean requires painstaking attention to detail.

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5. Finnish

Spoken by around 5 million people, Finnish is the official language of Finland. For English speakers, Finnish’s most complex features include its extensive noun case system, verbs conjugated for tense and person, and unique vowels like y, ä, and ö. With 15 noun cases determining the role of nouns in sentences, mastering their usage as subjects, direct objects, recipients, or locations requires lots of practice. Pronunciation also poses difficulties with unusual consonant combinations like rt and rs. The good news is that Finnish shares a Germanic heritage with English through trade and immigration, but the two languages have diverged enough over time to create obstacles today.NYSC Portal

6. Hungarian

Part of the Uralic language family, Hungarian has no linguistic ties to English or other Indo-European languages. Spoken by 17 million people, Hungarian grammatical structures differ vastly from English. Hungarian grammar utilizes extensive noun cases, with 18 cases determining usage in context. Additionally, suffixes attached to nouns indicate possession and direct objects rather than using prepositions like in English. Hungarian also contains 35 consonants including unusual sounds like ty, gy, ny, zs, and cs. For English speakers, correctly voicing these consonants poses a real challenge. Because gender plays no role, Hungarian pronoun usage is unfamiliar to native English speakers as well. Positioning verbs at the end of sentences adds yet another layer of complexity for English speakers learning Hungarian.

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7. Hebrew

Modern Hebrew is the national language of Israel spoken by over 9 million people globally. The historic revival of Hebrew as a national language presents obstacles for English speakers learning it today. Along with its right-to-left script, Hebrew uses 22 letters including distinct pronunciation for certain letters like tav, tet, kaf, and qof. Hebrew’s grammar requires mastery of prefixes and suffixes for tense, number, gender, person, and mood. The syntax is also an issue with predicate adjectives agreeing with nouns based on gender. For native English speakers, Hebrew’s use of root words and triconsonantal roots creates another conceptual challenge. Communication in Hebrew relies heavily on understanding cultural and idiomatic expressions too.

8. Polish

Polish utilizes the Roman alphabet just like English, which eases pronunciation, but its grammar and sentence structure still cause difficulties. As a highly inflected language, Polish requires nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and numbers to take on different forms based on context. Polish has seven noun cases including genitive, dative, accusative, and locative which don’t directly translate to English usage. Verbs must agree in gender and number with subjects and objects. The Polish language also has informal and formal pronouns and verb conjugations used based on the situation. For English speakers, Polish takes dedication to unravel its many complexities.Information guide Nigeria

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9. Russian

Spoken by 258 million people worldwide, Russian provides a steep uphill battle for native English speakers to master. The Cyrillic alphabet requires learning an entirely new script before even getting to grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary challenges. Russian shows extensive noun case usage with six cases, all changing noun spelling and usage. Verbs of motion particularly flummox English speakers, require knowledge of directional prepositions and prefixes. The verbs of motion pair with accusative or genitive prepositional cases depending on the situation. Russia’s lack of definite or indefinite articles also contrasts starkly with English. Cultural subtleties like when to use formal or informal Russian create additional difficulties too.

10. Vietnamese

Vietnamese perplexes English speakers in various ways, starting with its tonal nature. The language contains six tones, which completely change the meaning of words. Vietnamese grammar also places verbs and modifiers first rather than at the end of sentences. When it comes to plurals, the Vietnamese language has no usages of “s” or other sounds to signify plurality. Instead, plurality is assumed through context, unless specified as being singular. Vietnamese vocabulary draws heavily from Chinese rather than Latin or Germanic language roots familiar to English. The Vietnamese alphabet uses Roman letters but with extensive diacritical markings that indicate tone or change consonant sounds. For native English speakers, Vietnamese provides an East Asian linguistic experience, unlike any Indo-European language.Good morning My Love Message

11. Basque

Originating in the Basque country of northern Spain and southern France, the Basque language has no proven relation to any other language family. With under 1 million speakers, Basque has several features that create difficulties for English speakers studying it. Basque follows a subject-object-verb syntax order and adds suffixes to denote possession rather than prepositions. Articles change depending on whether the noun is the subject, direct object, or indirect object. Basque uses an uncommon feature called “ergative case” as well to indicate subjects of transitive verbs. For English speakers, Basque’s complex agglutinative grammar structures take time and immersion to grasp. Pronunciation and unique sounds like tx, tz, ts also pose initial challenges.

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12. Navajo

Navajo is a language isolate spoken by around 150,000 people in the American Southwest. For English speakers, Navajo grammar features unfamiliar verb stem modes and aspects denoting action, repetition, or state of being. The language lacks prepositions entirely, instead using specific verb stem forms to indicate locations. While English nouns do not change, Navajo nouns take different forms based on the shape or consistency of the object. Navajo syntax is also the reverse of English in terms of object-subject-verb order. Phonetically, Navajo contains unfamiliar sounds including the glottal stop. For native English speakers, Navajo requires letting go of preconceptions to grasp this Native American language’s intrinsic logic and structure.

13. Albanian

The Albanian language has two main dialects Gheg and Tosk, together spoken by nearly 7 million people worldwide. For English speakers, Albanian poses challenges starting with unfamiliar phonemes like ë, ç, and shq. The grammar also utilizes extensive inflection including seven noun cases similar to Latin or Russian. Definite articles change at the end of nouns while indefinite articles change the initial consonant of nouns. Albanian has suffixed definite articles too, unlike the detached “the” in English. Structurally, Albanian employs a subject-verb-object pattern but can shift verbs to the front for emphasis. Linguistic influences make Albanian vocabulary a mixed bag for English speakers as well. Learning Albanian requires dedication to grasp its numerous grammatical complexities.JAMB portal

14. Georgian

The highly inflected Georgian language contains three distinct writing systems: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, and Mkhedruli. Together these alphabets create formidable visual obstacles for new learners. Spoken by 4 million people, Georgian grammar also presents challenges like verbs changing form based on preverbs and objects. Sentence syntax follows a subject-object-verb pattern, but long phrases full of modifiers come before the subject. For English speakers, Georgian has unfamiliar consonant clusters too like gv, dzv, and rtvl. Linguistic emphasis on age and status means beginners will make cultural faux pas as well. From numerous angles, Georgian poses difficulties for English speakers to become proficient.Romantic love message

15. Farsi

Spoken by over 110 million people, primarily in Iran and Afghanistan, Farsi poses unique challenges for English speakers. As an Indo-European language, Farsi features a modified Arabic alphabet with additional letters for sounds not found in Arabic. Letters change shape depending on their position in a word, creating difficulty in reading. Farsi grammar follows the subject-object-verb order, but verbs additionally encode concepts like tense, person, number, mood, and voice. For English speakers, Farsi’s grammatical nuances require deep understanding to speak and comprehend fluently. Culturally, English speakers must adjust to the importance of the poetic and literary forms of Farsi as well. Overall, Farsi’s distinctive attributes put it high on the difficulty list for native English speakers.

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Conclusion

As these 15 languages demonstrate clearly, English speakers face an uphill battle in learning languages from different language families. Lacking shared linguistic roots creates obstacles at every turn – script, pronunciation, grammar, sentence structure, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and much more. Adopting a foreign mindset and letting go of English patterns allow faster progress. However, the road to fluency means committing to long-term study for these languages’ complexity to unfold over time. With persistence and an attitude of cultural curiosity, native English speakers can master even the trickiest languages on this list.

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