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From: akazarba@calum.csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Kiyan Azarbar)
Subject: Re: easiest lang for beginner
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Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 13:27:17 GMT
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In article <4mnqfs$sp5@portal.gmu.edu>,
Stephen C Carlson <scarlso1@osf1.gmu.edu> wrote:
>easy; French is somewhat more difficult due the pronunciation.  German is
>more difficult for the American because of the differences in vocabulary,
>word order, and pronunciation.  I like Italian a lot, but I may be biased

Am I hallucinating here, or are you implying it is easier for an American
to pick up a Romance language than a Germanic one?

Differences in vocabulary? In terms of really fundamental words, German's
vocabulary is almost the same as English's. Pronunciation is ridiculously
easy in German as soon as you can make the umlaut vowel sounds and the
appropriate gutturals. Spelling is pretty regular. Word order? There are a
few differences, but you have overlooked a pretty obvious fact: English and
German are descended from the same ancestral language. 

I would say German is the easiest to learn, although for someone with a
good grounding in even only one of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian,
or Latin..... I would recommend Italian for ease.  ...

-- 
A. Kiyan Azarbar, S.Q.B., Esq.      ... In matters of gravest importance 
Sabreur, Jaded cynic, Anglophile    ... style, not sincerity, is the
akazarba@calum.uwaterloo.ca         ... vital thing.     
http://calum.uwaterloo.ca/~akazarba ...                  -- Oscar Wilde 
