I read the article once, but I'll have to read it again. It's not too long though, it only takes a minute to read each minute passage.
I'm not convinced it's necessarily harder to learn than other languages. I think all languages are hard in their own way.
My native language has a verb tense that's not found in any other major language and 17 noun cases of which one doesn't even have a Latin name for it (it's unique for the language). Say what you want about English but I'll always find it unnaturally easy. Picked it up while playing Elder Scrolls games. Then again, I'm the one whipping out Siberian-Uralic languages in a grammar discussion
That's really something. You played the Elder Scrolls and just decoded English as you played it? No dictionary, no grammar? It must be easy, although doesn't it seem more likely that you're just really good at learning languages? I've met too many foreign students in this town to believe that English really is "easy" in an absolute sense. Our phonology definitely poses difficulties depending on what native language you're coming from and whatever you want to say about how easy it is, the fact that it's a human language indicates that speaking it on a truly fluent level will take a lot of work regardless of its perceived simplicity.
I spoke German already at the time. Consider that I had a very far, very alien perspective of both languages and to me they are pretty much the same. Even today I tend to mix German words into English. I would say it seems easy due to the speed at which you can reach conversational level. When compared to German: German: Entry level --- very hard --> Advanced level --- easy --> professional level --- hard --> native level English: Entry level --- very easy --> Advanced level --- moderate --> professional level --- very hard --> native level This may create the illusion that English is very easy to learn - but I will tell you, there's way too many people on a professional/business level who speak conversational English and not professional / conference level. In full agreement here. No matter how much I expand my vocabulary and how much I practice any native speaker will immediately tell I'm central European from a single sentence spoken.
I'm sure that's true. Writing in English is hard enough for some native speakers. I mean, really hard for some people, and doing it in another language if you're not already geared that way must be a nightmare.
It actually is the easiest part. I can't imagine making the mistakes native speakers usually make. The guard/gaurd kind of stuff. The real hard thing about English is mastering the immense vocabulary. No matter how much I learn and practice I read any major English work or even listen to some rock/metal songs with decent lyrics and feel vastly inferior.
I feel the same way as a native speaker, but a lot of people aren't wired that way. They might be smart people but their talent lies in other directions.
That's not why English is difficult. The real bane of the English learner are the prepositions and the phrasal verbs. I never know when it's "in" or "on" or "at", just for starters.
