4 ms·

Well, English does have a larger technical vocabulary than most other languages. Admittedly, this is more because English accepts other languages technical word

by likpok 18y ago

Well, English does have a larger technical vocabulary than most other languages. Admittedly, this is more because English accepts other languages technical words into the language, so therefore (to some extent) is the union of the technical language. With this in mind, i would not call English easy to learn. There are far too many special cases and bizarre twists to get to true fluency (it might be east to get to a passable spoken version, though).

aristus 18y ago
It's both, I think. Basic grammar is fairly easy and succinct. But then there are 60K phrasal verbs (stand up, stand down, understand, stand under, stand over, but never "overstand") and special cases, connotations, figures of speech, etc. It's difficult to explain to a learner why it is technically correct but not usual to say "This is my election for lunch", or why a "hot chick" goes to college while a "hot chicken" is dinner.
- shard 18y ago
  Being fluent in both English and Chinese, I would have to say Chinese grammar is much easier than English. There are no irregular verbs or pluralization, and very few tenses. The difficulty in going from speaking English to Chinese is vocabulary memorization and pronunciation, but that's true for going from Chinese to English as well.
bpyne 18y ago
My opinion is based on a limited sampling but how a language is taught is key. My wife and I each took French classes for 6 years prior to meeting. Her teachers emphasized speaking fluency while mine emphasized writing. She was taught to use idiomatic expressions and to "improvise" while I was made to memorize rules. We decided to take some French classes together for fun. She was much better able to communicate in general. I can read/write French okay in a formal way. When speaking though I tend to stumble trying to think through rules in my head. In contrast, I took 4 German classes in college. The professor had us watch German television shows and speak in "street" German. At the end of 4 classes, I was fluent enough to hold full conversations with German people when I visited. Even factoring in the regularity of German the teaching method seemed more effective.

by likpok 18y ago

aristus 18y ago

It's both, I think. Basic grammar is fairly easy and succinct. But then there are 60K phrasal verbs (stand up, stand down, understand, stand under, stand over, but never "overstand") and special cases, connotations, figures of speech, etc. It's difficult to explain to a learner why it is technically correct but not usual to say "This is my election for lunch", or why a "hot chick" goes to college while a "hot chicken" is dinner.

shard 18y ago
Being fluent in both English and Chinese, I would have to say Chinese grammar is much easier than English. There are no irregular verbs or pluralization, and very few tenses. The difficulty in going from speaking English to Chinese is vocabulary memorization and pronunciation, but that's true for going from Chinese to English as well.

bpyne 18y ago

My opinion is based on a limited sampling but how a language is taught is key. My wife and I each took French classes for 6 years prior to meeting. Her teachers emphasized speaking fluency while mine emphasized writing. She was taught to use idiomatic expressions and to "improvise" while I was made to memorize rules. We decided to take some French classes together for fun. She was much better able to communicate in general. I can read/write French okay in a formal way. When speaking though I tend to stumble trying to think through rules in my head. In contrast, I took 4 German classes in college. The professor had us watch German television shows and speak in "street" German. At the end of 4 classes, I was fluent enough to hold full conversations with German people when I visited. Even factoring in the regularity of German the teaching method seemed more effective.