The Hardest Language to Learn?

After a lunchtime chat with a friend about my linguistic escapades, this very question arose. It is an interesting one, so I decided to do some research.

Although the internet is outrageously huge, there seems to be no definitive answer, for it seems there are many factors. Thinking about it, it surely depends to some extent on a person's native language.

For example I, as an English speaker, would most likely find Dutch easier to get to grips with than a Chinese person trying Dutch as his or her first foreign tongue. For a start, Dutch uses the same alphabet as English so that means I don't have to worry about writing systems. Also, many Dutch words are spelled exactly the same as English ones, even if pronunciations can be somewhat different.

I personally believe it is possible to learn ANY language comprehensively. The only variable is time. Some languages may require more time and effort to become conversational than others, but one can still reach that point all the same.

Still, the question itself is still one that holds an interest with me, so here are some common languages that keep cropping up in response to this query from native English speakers:

• Arabic - Although one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, it's vocabulary bears virtually no similarity to most European ones. It's writing system is also very foreign and is read from right to left too. Also, there are wildly different dialects, so someone speaking Arabic in Morocco may have great trouble understanding someone from Saudi Arabia.

• Mandarin Chinese – Another that always pops up. Again, it’s writing system would flummox any newbie, plus it has four tones to compound matters. However, a billion Chinese people can speak it perfectly well!

• Basque – Although the Basque region comprises part of France and Spain, it’s tongue resembles neither French nor Spanish. It has 24 cases and makes wide use of prefixes and suffixes to drastically alter the meaning of words and sentences.

• Icelandic – Often described as one of the hardest European languages to learn, Iceland’s official tongue has rather complex grammar and again bears little resemblance to English. However, this amazing man was able to learn enough of it to be interviewed on Icelandic TV in just one week!

There are many others that often get mentioned too, such as Japanese, Hungarian, Finnish and Navajo, but again I believe that all of these languages can be learned to fluency if one can dedicate enough time into doing it.

This great diagram I stumbled across gives a very rough estimate as to how long it would generally take someone to become proficient in a number of different languages (The image is a lot smaller when attached, so click the link if you can't see it properly):

An Accent Waiting to Happen

It's fair to say that accents are very distinct cultural and geographical identifiers. In the UK, it is easy to tell whether a person is from England or Scotland just from their accent. Similarly, it is also easy for a native English speaker to distinguish between other native speakers and those who have learned it as a foreign language, just on accent alone.

If I was taken into the centre of Amsterdam tomorrow and attempted to talk to the locals in Dutch (assuming I was fluent, which I am certainly not yet!), they would instantly know they were talking to a foreigner without knowing anything about me.

This is the main reason I'm writing this post. Since I started studying Nederlands in February, I have struggled most of all with pronunciation. Even though a lot of Dutch words are similar or even identical to English, the pronunciations, especially of the vowels, is extremely different.

This has been my biggest frustration up to now, as I can hear myself and know I sound so alien to the native speakers I'm trying to imitate in my audio files. Even though I can hear how they are pronouncing words, when I try to do the same my tongue feels like it has a mind of its own and I end up in a horrible muddle.

Forunately, I'm told this is only natural as my brain has only ever known English speech patterns until now. Because my English knowledge is so deeply set in my memory, when I try to speak Dutch my subconscious is telling me, "No, Josh, you are English and that is not how we pronounce vowels."

I realise I will never sound like a native Dutch speaker completely. If I get chance to live in the Netherlands and immerse myself in their language and culture, I will undoubtedly pick up a twang and at least sound less alien to them, but they will always know I have a different mother tongue.

A good example of this is Wigan football manager Roberto Martinez. Despite being Spanish (which you can tell just by listening to him speak) he has an undoubted hint of northernness which highlights his time in that part of the world.

Maybe in time, I'll record myself trying to speak Dutch and post it on here, but unless I improve I may be too embarrassed to even attempt it. Wish me luck, folks!

Tot de volgende keer!

Video - Introducing Yourself in Dutch

If you've ever wanted to surprise your family / friends / pets, then why not watch this video and suddenyl greet them in flawless Dutch?!

 Dutchforn00bs is a Youtube channel looked after by Lidewij, a Dutch linguistics student. Her videos are all designed to teach basic Dutch terms to English-speakers who are interested in foreign languages.

I shall post more of these over the next few weeks, but this seems like the perfect starting point.

The Language of Intelligence

According to scientists, learning a second language can actually make you smarter.

A study conducted by experts at Northwestern University in the US found that learning another language acts as a kind of "brain workout," changing the way our nervous system responds to sound.

The study used a group of English-speaking students and a group of bilingual ones, and found that those who were able to speak two tongues were able to process much more sound from a background of noisy chatter. They must be able to concentrate fairly well too, considering they had scalp electrodes attached to their heads!

This article from The Independent tells a similar tale, recommending a new language (or, better still, languages) to help keep our control centers fighting the effects of age.

I must say, this is not the reason I want to learn Dutch. My reasons are far more practical than that:

That was a joke (obviously!), but it is nice to know that this could make me a sharper tool in the shed! It is also far better at "training one's mind" than those silly brain training video games that seemed to swamp the market a few years ago.

Maybe once I'm fluent in Dutch, I can then waltz my way to a Mensa membership as well!

Return of the (Dutch) Jedi

So. It's fair to say I'm guilty of not maintaining this blog over the last couple of months. Alas, procrastination has had my number. I've promised myself to start writing new posts for a while now but I haven't been able to deliver on those promises...until now!

I think "relaunch" is too big a word for this post, but nonetheless, that's what it is really! So here are some spectacular fireworks to celebrate the second greatest comeback after Lazarus:

A lot has happened since my last post. I've recent secured a new job (which is almost double the pay I get now). I spent a lot of time and effort applying and preparing for interviews, assessments, so I'm absolutely thrilled, as is my bank account.

One of the perks of having more money is that I can invest in my hobbies more. This means - amongst oter things - learning Dutch!

I'm still working my way through levels two and three of the Rosetta Stone software and now have quite an array of books to help me. However, I figure that if I'm going to become fluent rather than just conversational then I'm going to need some personal tuition.

Thankfully, whilst idly searching the oceans of Google's knowledge, I stumbled upon this. This is a place in Oxford that offers courses in Dutch as a foreign language. Not only that, but they offer the chance to take professional qualifications, which for me means GCSE and A Level. To supplement this, they also offer personalised tuition. Perfect for me.

This isn't cheap by any means, but I'm serious about this and if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it properly! It might even open some doors to meeting likeminded people to me.

As well as this, I have plans for the blog itself. I've been busy in my absence, trawling through tons of videos related to Dutch and linguistics in general, so keep an eye out for some of these in the near future.

Tot de volgende keer! (Until next time)

Veel Geld!

That title means "lots of money" in Dutch. The reason I use it  is that I'm hoping to have a lot of extra cash very soon. No, I've not won the lottery but I have managed to find a buyer for my car!

I do tell a small lie....I'm only getting £100 (120 Euros approx.) for the vehicle itself but I've worked out that by cancelling my  insurance I'll save £2700 this year, plus my insurance company will owe me roughly £350 of my current  premium back as well. Add that to all the money I'll save on petrol and things are looking good for my bank account.

This is especially good news as I'll be getting the train to work from now on, which means listening to lots of Dutch audio files whilst travelling, on my nice new MP3 player:

It's also good news as sadly, it looks like Rosetta Stone aren't selling the different levels individually anymore on their website, only 1-3 as a complete set. Not great when I've already got level 1 and don't want to buy it again just to get levels 2 and 3. Luckily, Amazon still sell the individual levels so I should be fine, although I don't get the money-back guarantee unless I buy from RS directly. Oh well, c'est la vie (still don't know the Dutch equivalent so the French wil have to do here!).

As for the language learning, it's still coming along. I now know how to talk about times of the day and how to speak to Dutch shopkeepers, which will be very useful when I get around to visiting the Netherlands and Belgium soon (another advantage of no longer having a car!).

Now, that reminds me....time to do some travel browsing and get myself a holiday booked! Until next time, faithful readers.

Tot ziens!

Still Alive and Breathing!

Now then, where was I?

As you have probably noticed, I havent't done much blogging in the last 3-4 weeks. I've been busy with a multitude of things, mainly my Easter break away in Robin Hood's Bay (amazing place, but that's another story).

The whole learning Dutch thing  is still an active goal of mine though. Even while I was away, I took my Dutch books and a notepad and did plenty of swotting like the good student I am!

Even better, the cottage we were staying at had not one but TWO balconies, one of which overlooked the sea. This means that while I was casually learning key verbs, this was the view I had:

What's more, the weather was mostly wonderful and warm, so sitting outside was the best thing to be doing. I'd say that it's impossible not to be motivated to do something with that as your backdrop!

Aside from my little jaunt, I've been working hard and trying to finally get rid of the damn car, which I will finally be able to do on Monday. This means more £$£$ in my pocket as I'll be able to cancel my outrageously obscene insurance. It also means I'll be able to get the next lot of Rosetta Stone CDs as I've completed the level one course now.

Now that I'm back in the groove, I can hopefully return to focussing on the Dutch and less on other annoying and distracting things. Watch this space!