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> Portuguese (a very hard language) Hard to learn? For whom? A native Japanese speaker? English? Swahili? The foreign service institute of the US department o
by pedrosorio 6y ago
> Portuguese (a very hard language)
Hard to learn? For whom? A native Japanese speaker? English? Swahili?
The foreign service institute of the US department of state classifies Portuguese as a category I language (easiest to learn for English native speakers):
https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/ https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/
- schoen 6y agoI feel like native English speakers who've learned Spanish tend to think of Portuguese as hard because it has more phonemes (and accented letter forms) than Spanish and (arguably) more grammar in terms of verb forms (e.g. mesoclitics and personal infinitives). This is especially when Spanish is their point of reference, or their only point of reference. But I think the Foreign Service Institute is right and there's good reason, both theoretically and experimentally, to consider Portuguese comparatively easy for native English speakers!