Today, technology has turned the world into a global village. As such, you can interact with people from different parts of the world. However, there is the matter of language barrier that may lead to conversations hitting a snug.
Many people resort to learning new languages to better communicate with people from other parts of the world. Nonetheless, learning a new language isn’t the easiest thing to do. It requires you to dedicate your time and put extra effort to achieve success.
If you think picking up a little Spanish or French in your spare time is challenging, then you need to think twice. There are languages around the world that are more complex to learn. We are talking about an alphabet that comprises a staggering 32 vowels and 44 consonants or more.
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If you want to be acquainted with such a language, then you better be ready to study. To help you understand what you are getting into, here is a compilation of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.
Romani language
Romani is an Indo-Aryan macro language used by the Romani communities. Romani language has seven divergent varieties that can be considered as languages on their own. The languages spoken by a particular Romani community depend on the surrounding language and the Romani-derived vocabularies.
Romani language is among the most complicated languages to learn. First things first, You shouldn’t confuse the Romani Language with Romansh or Romanian.
Learning this language can be difficult, especially since it has several dialects. These dialects were created because there was no standard language or dialect to unify the dialects. Also, the Romani language is influenced by various local languages spoken in different countries and locations. Finally, there is no single community of Romani speakers, and also, the speakers of this language are not all in contact with each other.
Apart from the numerous dialects, another reason why the Romani language is hard to learn is that, for the most part, this language is oral rather than written.
Mandarin
Interestingly, even though Mandarin is one of the most widely spoken languages, it is almost one of the hardest t6o learn. This language is challenging for a number of reasons. First, its writing system can be extremely difficult to comprehend given its complex Latin alphabets.
To add to that, to be conversant with this language, you need to memorize thousands of characters, which is not the case with other Latin-based languages.
Well, if you thought writing Mandarian was the only hard part of learning this language, then you need to think twice. The tonal nature of Mandarin makes it hard to learn as well. Mandarin has several dialects which have different characters and pronunciations. So one word can be pronounced in four different ways, and each of these pronunciations has a different meaning. For example, the word ma can have different meanings. It can either mean rough, scold or a horse, depending on how you say it.
Paraguay language
Learning the Paraguay language can be challenging. This is because it incorporates different languages into it, including Spanish, an Indo-European language in the Romance branch, and Guarani, an indigenous language synonymous with the Tupian family. Let’s have a look at the two variations of the Paraguay language:
- Guarani language: masses speak Guarani in Paraguay, making it an undeniable part of Paraguay’s identity, with both elites and politicians speak it fluently. However, this language tends to be difficult for nonnatives and requires special effort to be understood. This language tends to use the subject-verb-object word order but without giving a specific subject. As such, it can stand alone in an object verb order. Given its deficiency in describing the verb, nonnative speakers can have a difficult time learning this language.
- Paraguay Spanish: to better understand Spanish, Paraguay you’ll need to be acquainted with the Guarini language. Understanding this language can be difficult because several dialects influence it, plus it is influenced by the oldest Spanish spoken in the Basque country and the old Castille.
Brazil language
While Portuguese is the national language of Brazil, it’s not the only language spoken in the country. Brazil is by far the largest lusophone country. There are approximately 210 languages spoken in Brazil, 80 of these are Amerindian, and the rest were brought by immigrants.
First and foremost, the Portuguese spoken in Brazil features a lot of diphthongs, nasal sounds, and nasal vowels, which may make them difficult to pronounce and understand. Mispronouncing some of these words may lead to you embarrassing yourself because you may end up saying something different from what you meant to say in the first place.
Another reason why this language is challenging to learn is that there are significant differences between how a language is written and how it is pronounced.
Ecuador language
Even though Spanish is Ecuador’s official language, there are many dialects to this language. Quichua influences the Sierra Spanish, and the Inca language influences Costa Spanish.
The main reason why learning the Ecuadorian language can be challenging is that many dialects influence it. These dialects are affected chiefly by geographical regions. As such, the Ecuadorian language you speak in one part of the country may differ from the one spoken in another part of this country.
Apart from many dialects to the Spanish spoken in Ecuador, you’ll also have to contend with words being pronounced differently from one dialect to another.
Arabic Language
Another language that always proves challenging to learn is Arabic. For starters, there are numerous Arabic languages. These variations to this language are usually classified based on the region pr country in which they are spoken. The Arabic spoken in one country can be radically different from that spoken in another.
Arabic is one of those languages without a non-latin alphabet. While the 28 script letters may be easy to grasp, you still have to become familiar with the new Arabic writing system. The main reason why reading and writing in Arabic may prove challenging for learners is that this language excludes most vowels in its words.
Another reason behind the Arabic language being challenging to learn is that some of the sounds used in this language are non-existent in other languages. Moreover, the grammar used in this language can also be challenging because the verbs tend to come before the subject and you have to learn the dual form of words and the singular and plural forms.
Colombia language
To better understand the Colombian language, we first need to explore the history of Colombia. The history of Colombia includes the settlements and society of indigenous people. The arrival of the Spanish in Colombia in 1499 led to a period of annexation and colonization, the most noteworthy of the colonization being the acquisition of the Conquest of the Musica.
While the independence from Spain was won in 1891, the Colombians had assimilated most of the Spanish traditions, including their language leading to the creation of the Colombian Spsnish, where Spanish is the most spoken language.
Like other languges, the Colombian language, predominantly Spanish, has many dialcets that make it challenging to comprehend. The many dialects in Colombia make the language extremely difficult to understand since a word used to describe something in one dialect may totally differ from that used in another dialect.
When most people refer to Colombian Spanish, they actually mean the standard dialect spoken in Bogota, ignoring the other dialects spoken in other parts of the country.
The Bogota dialect is well known for probably being the clearest in the country. The only problem is that, it is not the only dialect of the Colombian language. Your pronoucaition of a ceratin word using the Bogota dialect may differ from its pronunciation in another dialect. And let’s be honest, while learning all the dialects of this language may not be impractical, it may take a lot of time and effort.
Mexico language
Even though many languages are spoken in Mexico, Spanish is the most widespread language. Given that Spanish is the most predominant language in Mexico, you may be duped to think it is one of the most straightforward languages to understand. Well, that’s not the case. Here are some reasons why this is so.
- Spanish Mexican language has many dialects, such as Nahuatl, Mixtec, Yaqui, Chol, Zpotec, Amuzgo, and Popoloca. These dialects tend to interfere with the meaning and pronunciation of Spanish Mexican words.
- Another reason why the Mexican Spanish language is the high speed with which it is spoken. This speed may be too fast for amateurs to grasp.
- Moreover, despite having only five vowels, the Spanish may be challenging top individuals who are not conversant with Latin.
Polish language
If you fancy learning Polish, you better polish your spelling and grammar because these are among the aspects that give learners of this language a difficult time. Polish words are loaded with consonants, which make them difficult to pronounce and spell. For instance, bezwgledny means ruthless, and indeed ruthless it is, especially based on the positioning of the words used to spell it.
However, the fact that Polish uses the Latin alphabet may offer some solace given that the letters may be more familiar, especially if you are an English speaker. One advantage of learning Polish is that it may come in handy, especially since Poland is one of the most developing countries. Who knows, you may find yourself there on a business venture.
Russian language
The fact that the Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet made up of unfamiliar and familiar letters makes it one of the tough ones to learn. While some of the Cyrillic letters may look familiar, they may make a differentv sound from a Latin symbol they resemble. For example, “B” in the Cyrillic alphabet produces a “V.” This can be very confusing, especially if you try to use your knowledge of latin to learn Russian faster.
Another aspect of the Russian language that may throw learners off is its omission of the verb “to be.” In Russian the sentence, “I am a student” would translate to” I student.”
However, despite the difficulty in learning Russian, it may be essential for you to learn it especially given its cultural and political relevance. It may come in handy in opening doors in your career advancement and leisure opportunities quest.
Korean language
Korean is another language that most people have difficulty grasping. This language is strange in that it appears not to be related to any other language. As such, when you decide to learn it, you’ll be starting from scratch. It has a unique word order, its own alphabetical order, complex grammar, and many other challenges that may throw those who wish to learn it off guard. In short, the Korean language is like no other language you know or have tried to learn.