3 ms·

I'd argue some pants-on-head stupid declinations and arbitrary genders for every noun is a much more compelling reason to learn a language early than orthograph

by rcbdev 2y ago

I'd argue some pants-on-head stupid declinations and arbitrary genders for every noun is a much more compelling reason to learn a language early than orthography. English is probably one of the dead simplest languages of use to learn later in life.

dotnet00 2y ago
It helps that since English is the lingua franca, people tend to be kind of used to interacting with those who don't speak it perfectly. Plus even those who don't functionally speak it likely know enough words to convey things in a pinch through either loan words or osmosis through media.
saagarjha 2y ago
Nah, it sucks. Source: native speaker who also knows Spanish and Hindi
- galdosdi 2y ago
  Idk. Native speakers are biased. I would trust someone who learned BOTH the languages they are comparing as a second language most. Even then they may have different views depending on what languages they already knew prior (eg, portuguese is a lot easier for a spanish speaker than a mandarin speaker) My dad (who learned English as a second language after his native Spanish, and also learned Portuguese and Latin, don't recall if he knew any others) used to claim English was one of the easiest languages. I don't recall his reasoning but I think it might have been because the rules (other than spelling lol) were simple and forgiving. And I've met people who felt the opposite. Idk.
  - runiq 2y ago
    Don't get me wrong, the grammar is definitely easy to understand, but IMHO that's just another point for the 'learn early in life, or struggle' opinion. Adults have a much easier time with more complicated grammatical rules (hi, German!) or even rules with lots of exceptions (hello, Russian!). But having to remember how to spell and pronounce every other word is akin to hell for an adult. (I'm already struggling with it while learning Russian.) Still doesn't hold a candle to Mandarin or Japanese, of course. These guys are just on a level of their own. :)

by rcbdev 2y ago

dotnet00 2y ago

It helps that since English is the lingua franca, people tend to be kind of used to interacting with those who don't speak it perfectly. Plus even those who don't functionally speak it likely know enough words to convey things in a pinch through either loan words or osmosis through media.

saagarjha 2y ago

Nah, it sucks. Source: native speaker who also knows Spanish and Hindi

galdosdi 2y ago
Idk. Native speakers are biased. I would trust someone who learned BOTH the languages they are comparing as a second language most. Even then they may have different views depending on what languages they already knew prior (eg, portuguese is a lot easier for a spanish speaker than a mandarin speaker) My dad (who learned English as a second language after his native Spanish, and also learned Portuguese and Latin, don't recall if he knew any others) used to claim English was one of the easiest languages. I don't recall his reasoning but I think it might have been because the rules (other than spelling lol) were simple and forgiving. And I've met people who felt the opposite. Idk.
- runiq 2y ago
  Don't get me wrong, the grammar is definitely easy to understand, but IMHO that's just another point for the 'learn early in life, or struggle' opinion. Adults have a much easier time with more complicated grammatical rules (hi, German!) or even rules with lots of exceptions (hello, Russian!). But having to remember how to spell and pronounce every other word is akin to hell for an adult. (I'm already struggling with it while learning Russian.) Still doesn't hold a candle to Mandarin or Japanese, of course. These guys are just on a level of their own. :)