Learning a new language is never simple. It’s a true mind-boggling challenge. However, there are a few things you may do to make things easier. It’s also possible to make it more challenging.
Learning French or Spanish has its own set of challenges, but the majority of the learning is in new vocabulary and grammar.
Here is a list of the top hardest languages to learn:
1. Mandarin
Mandarin is the most widely spoken global language, belonging to the Chinese group of languages. Mandarin, on the other hand, is a hard language to learn to grasp for an English speaker. Because Mandarin is a tonal language, each sound has four unique pronunciations in the phonetic transcription method pinyin.
So this is not an easy language to learn. When you realize that Chinese is a language rich in synonymy and full of expressions and turns of phrase accumulated over the course of its lengthy history, Mandarin becomes possibly the most challenging language in the world to master for an English speaker.
2. Arabic
Several alphabet in Arabic are written in four distinct ways depending on where they appear in a word, and consonants are not included when writing. As a result, converting Arabic is far more complex than translating other dialects.
Furthermore, Arabic does have several varieties, therefore the Arabic spoken in Egypt is not the same as the Arabic spoken in Saudi Arabia. Check out the top Arabic speaking countries in the World.
3. Japanese
The fact that millions of symbols must be mastered before being able to write in Japanese to any significant amount makes it more challenging than a typical character-based writing system. The fact is many people tried to learn Japanese and they failed, because the language is so difficult to catch.
There are three distinct writing systems in Japanese: kanji characters, katakana, and kanji, each with its own alphabet. On the bright side, it is a little less difficult to learn than Mandarin. Little triumphs.
4. Hungarian
With 26 examples on the list, Hungarian contains several of the most complex grammar structure you’ll ever encounter. In Hungarian, prefixes determine tense and possession rather than word order, as is the case in other European languages.
Furthermore, Hungarian is particularly difficult to master due to subtle contextual differences.
5. Korean
Korean is notably unique as the most spoken language isolate – a language with no clear evolutionary link to other languages.
When describing an action in Korean, for example, the topic comes first, followed by the target, and lastly the movement.
6. Finnish
Finnish, like Hungarian, pushes the boundaries of grammatical complexity. While the alphabet and sound are identical to that of English, the grammar more than makes up for it.
Take, for example, the Finnish translation of the English phrase “I like you.” Because you insert one word after another with no changes to the fundamental nouns or verbs, English is easy.
7. Basque
Basque, like Korean, is a dominant language. Although it borrows terminology from European languages, it is unlike any other language in terms of how it is recorded and the spoken. This includes distinctions between the various Basque dialects that currently exist.
Although having a population of less than 700,000 people, there have been at minimum five main Basque languages, making it difficult to master not just the language itself, but also the version you want to acquire.
8. Navajo
Most English descriptors have no direct equivalent in Navajo, which is a secondary clause language in which verbs are utilized to communicate traits.
Nevertheless, there are a few sounds in Navajo that have no English equivalent, which makes translation particularly difficult.
9. Icelandic
Icelandic is far from the most difficult languages on this list. It’s indeed, nevertheless, a complicated language, and while it is not an isolated language, the fact that it is spoken by fewer than 3 million people on a small continent has given it its unique quirks.
Icelandic has stayed mainly unchanged since it was colonized in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and instead of adopting international terms for new concepts, Icelandic chooses to coin new words or give new meaning to real words. Nevertheless most of this makes learning challenging because, rather than learning online, you must be in Iceland and use the tools available there to get close to competency.
10. Polish
Polish comes in last, with a simple alphabet and only standardized. Although it is by no means a difficult language to learn, it is a little less perplexing than the others listed above, though you must struggle with an exceedingly intricate concept of gender.
The relative absence of connection between these languages and English is what binds them all together. Few things are as fulfilling as being able to communicate between two totally different languages and cultures, and mastering any one of them places you into an exclusive community.
Taking on the additional challenge of languages like these puts you in a great position to work as a translator in a less competitive understandability.
In Conclusion, learning a different language has always been beneficial for career and growth, also for surviving in a new place. If you find any language very challenging, then keep practicing as much as you can.
