There is NO hard language, just different ones. Even the hardest language is just average difficult.
As many of you know there are 5 groups of languages for English native speakers based on “how hard” a language is.
With group one being the easiest (languages like Spanish, French, Italian, etc.) to group five including the hardest (like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.).
But to which group a language belongs can change drastically based on which languages you speak or are interested in.
So let’s take a look at “how hard a language is” when you actually don’t know a single language at all.
When learning their mother tongue, it’s all the same, all around the world. Kids can express themselves in an easy way at the age of 4 to 5. At this point they can tell you stories about what happened during the day, follow commands that include multiple steps (like go brush your teeth, then change clothes, go to bed, etc.) and also strangers should be able to understand what the kid is saying. So the kid is at a level what we would consider fluent but not at a high native speaker level, because it can’t understand complex topics. A kid is starting to actually try talking when it’s around 6 months old.
So as a result we can say if you don’t know any language at all you need around 4 years to learn it in a way, to be conversational. And you have to keep in mind that for the first language kids have the URGE to learn it, because otherwise they don’t “belong” to the group and humans are social animals. They can’t just switch to their native language if they don’t want to learn anymore. If they want to talk to ANY person, they HAVE TO learn their first language. It’s socially necessary and back in time an important step of survival.
So let’s say if you don’t know any other language and have a very important reason for learning one AND are surrounded by it non stop with people trying to talk to you ALL THE TIME, you will need 4 years to be on a decent conversational level.
So if we take a look at the 5 groups of languages, even the hardest ones don’t take adults THAT long.
And adults have the opportunity to have social contact without their target language.
Even if you don’t “need” your target language, people of this language aren’t trying to talk to you all the time and you’re not surrounded by it non stop, adults are able to reach an even higher level as “conversational” in this time span.
So it’s not like the “hardest” group of these language rankings is actually hard, it’s just closer to “learning from scratch” because it’s not closely related to the language you know. And even then you’re still faster than having to learn a language totally from point zero because you already learned how a language in general works.
The result is, the hardest group is more like the normal group and everything else is just “how much faster and easier will it be based on what I already know”.
So don’t scare yourself with stuff like “oh my god, everyone says it’s such a hard language… can I even learn it?”. Yes, you can. You will even learn it faster than native speakers without having the language surrounding you 24/7. If 4 years olds can learn it, every adult can learn it. And it’s NOT(!) a hard language! It’s just harder than the other ones and ONLY(!) because you already have a great advantage when it comes to the other languages. But the level of difficulty, even for the hardest language is actually just “normal”.
And it’s annoying that people keep talking about such called “hard languages”. Theres just an average difficulty and everything else are just extra points you gained through your native language that makes specific languages EASIER for you.
Let’s look at it like that:
With every language you start at 0% (what every kid no matter which language they’ll learn as their native language does).
The closer your target language is to the languages you know, the higher your start percentage is.
For example if you’re Korean learning Japanese, the grammar is quite similar so you already start with 20%.
If you’re Spanish and learn Italian you even have many words in common, so you start with 30%.
(Btw the percentage numbers are just random numbers to show what I mean, they are not fact numbers.)
If you’re Russian you’ll start with 10% when learning German because you already know how cases work.
And so on. It works with EVERY language. If you know genders, cases, conjugation, etc. and your target language includes that, you don’t have to figure out how it works, you already know it. Sure you often have to learn new words for that but it’s not like you have to figure out the system behind that.
So the absolute WORST case could only be to start at 0% (what you probably never will because in the very basic every language is the same, for example trying to talk about a subject, etc. You already know the purpose of a language.) BUT you will NEVER(!) start with minus percent. So stop freaking yourself out. There is no hard language, just a more different system you have to get used to.
It’s not hard if everyone, literally everyone, can learn it. Especially millions of 4 years olds. Don’t give up just because you make mistakes or don’t get the hang of something right away.
Every kid needs around 4 years to speak the absolute same stuff, no matter which language (not including writing system in later years). So all languages have the absolute SAME difficulty when it comes to learning them. It just depends on what you already know, which can make it easier/faster.
So I found myself struggling these days because of a loss of motivation. Of course that’s normal, especially while learning a new language. First you’re like “I can learn this language in one night!” motivated but that can change into “How the f*ck could anyone remember all this sh*t?? Why am I doing this…”. I already saw that coming because it was the same with the language I learned before. That’s why I made a list for my future-me to look at when I feel like giving up. Now it’s time for it and I thought I could share it with you. Hopefully it helps some of you! :)
1. Drink water or juice. Yes I know, this is something people like to skip, because they want to get to the “real” tips, but please don’t do that! If you’re feeling tired, exhausted, down or even depressiv this can help you!
2. Clean your desk. If it looks like world war 3 just passed your table, it’s too messy and you will feel like it.
3. Read the list. Yes I mean THE list. Oh wait… you don’t know what I’m talking about? I mean the list you wrote down with reasons why you want to have good grades, why you started this new language, why you have to study the stuff you have to study right now. What do you mean you don’t have a list like that? Write one and then read it!
4. Look at your goals. What do you mean you don’t have a list with small goals that will keep you motivated? What are you doing the whole day? Write one! And be sure you write down small goals you can reach in like a few days or weeks. Everything else will be too far away.
5. Look at the list with rewards you will get/do/buy yourself if you reach a goal. Yes… I’m sure you have a list like that. I’m sure because you know you need one. Who doesn’t like rewards?… Of course you have one. Of course.
6. Anything is better than nothing. Watch a movie in your target language, listen to music the guy you have to learn about composed or watch a Youtube video of this stupid maths stuff you don’t get. Also if you sit down and just study 5 minutes it’s better than nothing.
7. Start a challenge. There are challenges for everything everywhere on the internet. Find one you like, set your goals, choose your rewards and start. This coffee you want to drink at this cool new Coffee shop won’t drink itself!
8. Teleport yourself into the future and skip studying. Of course that doesn’t work! Do I look like a wizard? No. But just close your eyes for a little bit, relax and imagine how you feel after reaching your goal. For example if you are studying a new language, imagine how you visit the country where your target language is spoken. You wake up and go outside for breakfast. You order what you want in your target language, while people look at you, impressed on how good you speak their language. You sit down and drink your coffee/tea, while a cute young man asks if he can sit next to you, because all other seats are taken. He starts a conversation and you have no problem to speak in your target language. He tells you how cute your accent is and asks you for a date. Oh, that won’t happen? Of course not if you don’t study.
9. Go for a walk. I know, just like “drink water” you probably want to skip that, but just don’t. If you really don’t want to go for a walk open all windows. Breath.
10. Meditate. Maybe you’re just too stressed. Calm yourself down for a moment.
11. Exercise. Your body will produce happy hormones. Yes I said happy hormones and yes they exist. Probably not with this name but who cares. The chance is higher to feel motivated to study after a workout.
12. Write a To Do List. Yes I like lists because they work. Write down what you HAVE TO DO today. If nothings helps you should at least do these things and just take a nap. The world is brighter after a nap.
That’s a question I asked myself many times. So I spent a lot of time on blogs and websites telling me that you can’t name an exactly number. Of course you can’t but I was just searching for an “around this” number. Everyone knows that there is no magical number like 1000 and then you’ll speak your target language but with 999 you wouldn’t. I just wanted “around this” numbers to be motivated, to have a goal, to have a direction I can keep in mind. It was a pain in the ass to get an answer to this. And I want to share it with you guys, so you don’t have to waste your time on several blogs and giant textwalls to get just a little bit closer to this answer. Don’t forget these are just “around this” numbers and it’s very(!) important that you also use them and SPEAK your target language. _______________________________________ 100 most common words make up 50% of conversations.
300 most common words make up 65% of conversations.
2.000 most common words make up 90% of conversations. _______________________________________ What are the different levels of a language?
A1: 500 words A2: 1.000 words
B1: 2.000 words B2: 4.000 words
C1: 8.000 words C2: 16.000 words _______________________________________
And here a little bit detailed:
250 words - without these words, you can’t make a sentence.
750 words - is needed for everyday conversations.
2.500 words - will allow you to say most things you want, but sometimes in an awkward way.
5.000 words - is an active vocabulary of a (not high educated) native speaker.
10.000 words - is an active vocabulary of a (high educated) native speaker.
20.000 words - is needed in your passive vocabulary to fully understand work of literature by a notable author.
