English is not Normal

Yes, they officially exited just a few days ago, didn't they? I think, because words have no gender, it is harder for English speakers to learn other languages. I know it has confused me while learning Spanish.

@ScribbledAdNauseum You would be even more confused if you were learning another Latin language to see that the gender is not the same : for example, a car, un coche in Spanish=male is une voiture, female, in French. And there are cases where one can do very bad confusions when using a gender for another...

@topffer It sounds like it could be very easy to confuse the genders between languages. I admire those who are able to learn so many languages at a level of fluency. I am making an effort to learn Spanish as it's a language I have heard a lot, and used to speak a little of.

It amazes me that people are saying it was so easy. I have heard others (in the past) say that it was the most difficult for them to learn.

@LadyDuck Here in the US, K-12 does not encourage the learning of other languages. Sure they have the classes, and you are "required" to take them, but you are able to graduate without having taken a foreign language. I think being bilingual, of not multilingual is beneficial. I've always loved languages, but I like the discipline to learn them. Spanish is a bit different, however, as I've been exposed to it more than any other language. I can listen to music, or even go across town and hear it.

@ScribbledAdNauseum Those who only speak English for sure, all the other languages I studied are more difficult.

I agree with you. Though others here seem to argue that it wasn't so hard for them to learn in comparison to other languages.

@simone10 When I was in my early 20's I signed up for a course at the local community college. I thought it was beginner's french, but it was not. I swallowed the cost of the course, as I never went back after the first day.

@ScribbledAdNauseum I would like to learn French but I've heard it's difficult to learn.

I've always been told that the best way to learn a language is by living in the country. English is ever changing too, with new slang words popping up and becoming part of everyday life.

@lovebuglena No, it didn't. I can't even remember when I started using that word. Bomb Diggity was a word I used to say, or "The Bomb!"

@ScribbledAdNauseum Yeah. Like chillaxing (if I even spelled it right) did not exist in the 90s.

Yes, I was so surprised to see that several here have thought English was an easier language to learn. I was always under the impression that it was harder to learn.

@LindaOHio Their, They're, There.. Even I got confused over those for the longest time.

@ScribbledAdNauseum We have so many words that sound exactly alike but have different spellings and meanings. (through, threw for example)...I could go on and on...

I struggled with reading comprehension when I was in elementary school. It's not that I didn't understand it, it's just that I was a little rebel and didn't want to learn.

@thislittlepennyearns I was the third from the last of the grandchildren. Yeah, I was taught to read when I was young too, but I was headstrong and didn't much like reading at that time.

@ScribbledAdNauseum I was the only grand kid till i was seven, so my grandma taught me to read when i was really little.

@ScribbledAdNauseum Kanji are the pictorial representations for words--so the sounds are wrapped into the picture. It is pretty efficient that way--The word "watashi" is one picture but 3 syllables. Japanese uses 2 another syllabically based alphabets as well--hiragana and katakana--katakana is used often for non-Japanese words like ko-hi for coffee

@divalounger I've heard of Kanji and knew that it was the pictorial representation, but I was under the impression that it was a series of lines that made up a whole picture. Each line having it's own type of purpose. Perhaps I am getting to confused with the written Chinese. I was not aware of the other two, Hiragana and Katakana. Have these forms been in use for many years, or are they fairly new?

Does the Kanji have it's own meaning separate from the spoken Japanese? I hope that question makes sense. As an example, can someone choose their Daughter's name to be "Hope", but the Kanji for that name have a slightly different meaning?

Yes, it is a very long article. I read some of it, but not all of it.

It's quite a long article, but I've read most of it and found it interesting.

@ScribbledAdNauseum I'll read it.

I do too! Always have struggled with English Grammar.

I've heard that it can be the most difficult to learn. Especially as English has words that sound the same but are spelled different and have different meanings.