|
View Poll Results: What is the hardest language?
|
|
English (Brittish Isles, USA)
|
  
|
8 |
21.62% |
|
French (France, Quebeck province, handful of Islands)
|
  
|
1 |
2.70% |
|
German (Germany, Sweeden, a few other places like Denmark)
|
  
|
0 |
0% |
|
Chinese (China)
|
  
|
13 |
35.14% |
|
Japanese (Japan, few Russian islands)
|
  
|
1 |
2.70% |
|
Russian (Russia, former republics of USSR)
|
  
|
5 |
13.51% |
|
Arabic (throughout the middle east and Africa)
|
  
|
4 |
10.81% |
|
Icelandic (Iceland)
|
  
|
4 |
10.81% |
|
Numee (Kwenyi people of New Caledonia)
|
  
|
0 |
0% |
|
Hebrew
|
  
|
1 |
2.70% |
|
Finnish (Finland)
|
  
|
0 |
0% |
 |
|
11-30-2006
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
Dedicated Smart-ass
Location: Just before 0xAA55
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
The Hardest Language
What do you think is the hardest language to learn, spealk (fluently), understand, pronounce and all that fun stuff 
----------------
Microsoft, the leader in using innovative tactics to promote irksome experience, coupled with antiquated technology that's held together by a pyramid of makeshift afterthoughts.
Apple, the leader in using irksome tactics to promote innovative experience, coupled with an antiquated core that's enhanced by state-of-the-art afterthoughts.
Linux, the leader in not using any tactics to promote user-defined experience, coupled with state-of-the-art core enhanced by innovative afterthoughts.

|
|
11-30-2006
|
#2 (permalink)
|
|
Dedicated Smart-ass
Location: Just before 0xAA55
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
Before you vote, you may want to look into the languages you dont know or never heard of before...
----------------
Microsoft, the leader in using innovative tactics to promote irksome experience, coupled with antiquated technology that's held together by a pyramid of makeshift afterthoughts.
Apple, the leader in using irksome tactics to promote innovative experience, coupled with an antiquated core that's enhanced by state-of-the-art afterthoughts.
Linux, the leader in not using any tactics to promote user-defined experience, coupled with state-of-the-art core enhanced by innovative afterthoughts.

|
|
11-30-2006
|
#3 (permalink)
|
|
Explaining
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
Chinese or Japanese, but I might be biased. Latin isn't easy, either. Let me outline my reasons:
Chinese
--Thousands of characters must be memorized (and must pick one of two kinds: traditional or simplified, both of which are still used depending on the country or place). I'm somewhat familiar with traditional. Not at all with simplified, even if simplified is more common now, with mainland China using it.
--Tonal language, has 4 (or 5, if including unstressed) tones. Each tone imparts a different meaning on the same basic sound. Quite a bit different from the use of tones in English. It's easy to mistake or miss the differences in tones, if one doesn't listen carefully. Both my father and my brother have a lot of trouble. I can hear them clearly, because I used to speak fluently at one point.
--Thankfully, grammar isn't too hard, but syntax matters, like in English.
--Can speak and understand some, but no longer fluent. I spoke it when I was young.
Japanese
--Thousands of characters must be memorized, and in addition, must learn two syllabaries (hiragana and katakana), and writing consists of a mixture of all three systems.
--Kind of atonal, so it makes it easier than Chinese in that respect...
--But grammar is harder, because verbs, differing forms of respect and address (for humility, politeness, close or distal relationships), etc. require more learning and mastering.
--My Japanese is poor at this point, but I hope it will get better with more study.
Latin
--Alphabet helps out a lot.
--Learning how to decline and modify things is a challenge, but also provides tremendous flexibility in expression and meaning. I've only learned a little about this, but it reminds me of French and Russian a lot, which I studied when I was younger.
--Dead language.
I'm not a linguist. Just like to learn languages when I have spare time.
Last edited by maikeru; 11-30-2006 at 09:03 PM..
|
|
11-30-2006
|
#4 (permalink)
|
|
Dedicated Smart-ass
Location: Just before 0xAA55
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
vote please, all of those languages are hard all in their own ways:
Chinese, loads of syllables, but syllables dont make the language, knowing those, you can read exactly how and what is written. There are no word endings and its not that hard to pronounce chinese.
Japanese, hirigana and katakana are mirrors of each other, they spell out the same sounds, but yes chinese is used alot, but once again there are very few word engings and it is easy to read if you know the systems
Latin is a dead language hence it is not inclided
lets see
English is there to not discriminate against the US
French and German actually came out of the same language, however german is hard to pronounce and is virtualy unsingable, french is a technical language where words pronounced very sinilarly may mean the difference between food and death
arabic, written backwards, also hard alphabet, easy to miswrite something
russian is a hard language with all the endings for different tenses, sexes of objects and how they are being addressed, vast vocabulary is used, same words can mean a lot of different things in different contents. And there are too many gramatical rules too. and it is very rare that you see a non russian spealking with no accent at all.
Icelandic is virtualy unpronounsable, because a lot of sounds are exhale-type, i was going to throw in finnish, but ran out of options, finnish grammar is so weird you can make words thousands of syllables long
Hebrew is also weird and old
and Kwenyi.... just go and research, it looks real hard too
----------------
Microsoft, the leader in using innovative tactics to promote irksome experience, coupled with antiquated technology that's held together by a pyramid of makeshift afterthoughts.
Apple, the leader in using irksome tactics to promote innovative experience, coupled with an antiquated core that's enhanced by state-of-the-art afterthoughts.
Linux, the leader in not using any tactics to promote user-defined experience, coupled with state-of-the-art core enhanced by innovative afterthoughts.

|
|
11-30-2006
|
#5 (permalink)
|
|
Dedicated Smart-ass
Location: Just before 0xAA55
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
aha, got it finnish is in too
and kwenyi people actually spealk numee, which is weird too, so its still on there
----------------
Microsoft, the leader in using innovative tactics to promote irksome experience, coupled with antiquated technology that's held together by a pyramid of makeshift afterthoughts.
Apple, the leader in using irksome tactics to promote innovative experience, coupled with an antiquated core that's enhanced by state-of-the-art afterthoughts.
Linux, the leader in not using any tactics to promote user-defined experience, coupled with state-of-the-art core enhanced by innovative afterthoughts.

|
|
11-30-2006
|
#6 (permalink)
|
|
¿42?
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
How about Navajo? I've heard that even Navajo children have a hard time learning it.....
----------------
Clay
Editor and Forum Administrator
stego anyone?
Add yourself to Hypography's Frappr.
"There are only 10 kinds of people in the world --
.....Those who understand binary, and those who don't."
"Draw no conclusions before their time."
|
|
12-01-2006
|
#7 (permalink)
|
|
Understanding
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
This is not a serious question, and I have not voted. - How can one judge about a language one is not familiar with ? From hearsay ?
- Some languages are so closely related, that if you know A, then B is easy to learn.
- A language may be quite easy for you to speak, but not to write - which should you count in ?
I hear a lot of language around here, and I judge some of them as very difficult, but I never really tried to learn them yet, so what is the value of my judgement (or is it simply prejudice) ?
----------------
"Wonder is no wonder" (Simon Stevin 1549-1620)
|
|
12-01-2006
|
#8 (permalink)
|
|
Creating
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
Yeah, that's true.
But the hardest language I've even come across (out of english, hindi, kannada, arabic, sanskrit and bengali) is definitely sanskrit. When done in advanced magnitudes, it becomes more like hard maths.
----------------
ronthepon, capitals avoided.
And don't ask me why.
|
|
12-01-2006
|
#9 (permalink)
|
|
Suspended
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
By Chinese, do you mean Mandarin or Cantonese?
|
|
12-01-2006
|
#10 (permalink)
|
|
Politically Incorrect

Sponsor |
|
Not Ranked
:
+0 / -0
0 score
Re: The Hardest Language
From what I know Finnish and Icelandic probably the most difficult to learn to speak.
Chinese has got to be the hardest to learn to read and write.
Japanese is tricky because there is a variety of different words you would use for the same meaning depending on your social stature and gender...
----------------
There is Truth in Wine and Children
|
|
 |
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
|
» Advertisement |
|
|
|