Reading Assignment!
Name : Khikmatul Aulia
Number : 17
The Hardest Language
People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer
because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the
differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how
hard a language is to learn is only relevant when learning a second language.
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 language can affect learning a second language. The greater the
differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to
learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language 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 language, learning writing will be less difficult than
for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.
Some people seem to learn languages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers
and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as
each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it
professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in
their day to day life.
Apparently, British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest
language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language 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 language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are
generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian
language 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 languages 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
languages may find it easier, while struggling with languages that the British find relatively easy.
No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first
language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that
does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to
say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1. Analyze the main idea for each paragraph
1st Paragraph : There are many factors to take consideration to determining the
most difficult languages.
2nd Paragraph : People that have learnt first language (it mean mother tongue) will
feel difficult to learning the second language.
3rd Paragraph : There are many factors that influence the difficulty and ease
people to learning the languages.
4th Paragraph : There are several languages that British diplomats find difficult to
learnt.
5th Paragraph : Culture and individuals are one of the factors that British learners
have difficulty learning Hungarian.
6th Paragraph : however difficult or easy learning a language is sure to find the
world's hardest language.
2. Summarize with your own word.
The Hardest Language
It is not easy to answer a question about which language is difficult to learn.
Because most people will find it difficult when he has mastered the first language.
For example, a Spanish man would have studied Portuguese which was similar to
his language rather than Chinese which was very different. Because of that, many people
think that this language is more difficult than this language will differ in opinion with
others.
Likewise for British diplomats and other embassy staff who consider the second
hardest language to be Japanese. And the most problematic language is Hungarian.
However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more
difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.
Cultural and individual differences are also an influence in the difficulty of
learning the language. Because there is no language that is easy to learn. Because in the
end people will think there is one language that is the hardest in this world.
