Reading Comprehension

[Mohamed]

The hardest languuage

People often ask which is the most difficult languuage to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first languuage the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a languuage is to learn is only relevant when learning a second languuage.

A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first languuage can affect learning a second languuage. The greater the differences between the second languuage and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest languuage to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own languuage, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languuages using the Roman alphabet.

Some people seem to learn languuages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the languuage is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a languuage because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a languuage that has no direct use in their day to day life.

Apparently, British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest languuage is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the languuage that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest languuage to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languuages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian languuage has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.

Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languuages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which uses a similar alphabet, but the grammatical complexity, though native speakers of related languuages may find it easier, while struggling with languuages that the British find relatively easy.

No languuage is easy to learn well, though languuages which are related to our first languuage are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a languuage more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one languuage that is the most difficult languuage in the world.



Questions

Q1 - The question of how hard a languuage is to learn is relevant to both first and second languuage acquisition.
True False

Q2 - Portuguese is definitely easier than Chinese.
True False

Q3 - A Japanese speaker may well find the Chinese writing system easier than a speaker of a European languuage.
True False

Q4 - The Hungarian alphabet causes problems for British speakers.
True False

Q5 - Hungarian is the hardest languuage in the world.
True False

Q6 - Hungarian has as many cases as Tabassaran.
True False

Q7 - Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran.
True False

Q8 - The writer thinks that learning new writing systems is easy.
True False