LogFAQs > #927550901

ASithLord7 posted...

The FSI ranks Japanese as the hardest, and that's usually the most common ranking system used.

That probably heavily incorporates how difficult it is to read and write. Japanese is probably the most difficult to learn in that respect due to the multiple different forms of writing and the staggering amount of characters used. Even most native Japanese speakers won't know all the characters. Plus kanji is just hanzi with slightly different meanings/pronunciations.

Spoken it is definitely Chinese though. Everywhere except FSI backs that up. Tonal languages are incredibly difficult to learn if your native language is Latin based (or simply not tonal). You not only have to train yourself to pronounce the different tones but also recognize the sound of them. You'll have the same word but 5 different ways to pronounce the "a" sound in it and all 5 sounds completely change the meaning of the word. Thai is the same way in that respect. For example, you have "mai", "mai", "mai", "mai", and "mai". All have different tones and different meanings but if you aren't familiar with tones then it'll all be the same to you. If you say "mai mai mai mai mai" while using each of the tones it literally translates to "new wood doesn't burn, does it?"

For most expats, reading and writing aren't very important IMO. At least not nearly as important as being able to communicate at at least a basic level verbally. If you don't plan on living the remainder of your life in that country then learning the language conversationally is the way to go.

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How can one person post so much stupid s***?