Difficulty in understanding non native speakers is largely subjective. It depends heavily on the perception of the listener. Basically if the listener believes

Difficulty in understanding non native speakers is largely subjective. It depends heavily on the perception of the listener. Basically if the listener believes that it is difficult, it will be. Additionally, the harder the listener tries to engage with and understand the non-native speaker, the easier it becomes. French could be unique among languages, but my strong suspicion is that if what you describe is true for most French speakers, it's mostly due to a widespread cultural perception that non-native French speakers are hard to understand rather than objective difficulty. There is a professor at Georgia State University who's primary research focus is on this topic if you're interested in reading more. http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslsal/cv.htm http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslsal/cv.htm