What’s the hardest language to learn?
According to a report by the British Foreign Office, based on a study of British diplomats and embassy staff who have undegrone language training, students had the most difficult time with Hungarian, followed closely by Japanese. By no means does it imply they the most complicated languages in existence (although they are pretty daunting). For the most part, it’s an indication that the British form of English is so far removed from those two that it requires a whole redefinition of their language map in order to achieve any form of proficiency.
Chinese speakers, for instance, will probably have an easier time with learning Japanese, since that language uses a number of Chinese characters in its own alphabet, along with sharing some similar constructs. Yet, it doesn’t make Japanese the easiest language to learn in the world, either. Your native tongue’s proximity to the language you want to study is well beyond your control. As such, there is no point focusing on a language’s difficulty when it comes to its relationship with another.
Natural aptitude is often cited as a factor in language learning. While this may have some merit, aptitude also plays a huge part in learning computer science, the arts and pretty much every field of study. Like the relationship of your language to another, your inborn talents are not exactly under your command.
As with most fields of education, it’s important to focus your language learning on factors that you actually have a hand in, such as the amount of practice you put in and the quality of the instruction that you get. So what’s the hardest language to learn? It’s whatever language that doesn’t interest you enough to put in the effort. As long as you’re willing to study a subject, after all (whether you do it in a classroom or on your own with a language software), and give it the attention it deserves, you’ll eventually find success.
There is only one important factor in language learning and that is you.