I need your help with something, please

Question

Hi teachers,

I need your help with something. Actually, I want to start learning one more language, such as French or Spanish. I'd like to ask you which of these two languages, 'French' or 'Spanish' is easier to learn, please.

Thank you.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Learners vary, but for me it is unquestionably Spanish.  If you think English is hard to judge pronunciation from spelling, you'll find French much more so.  Spanish spelling is phonetic.

CalifJim · Answer

TomJI'd like to ask you which of these two languages, 'French' or 'Spanish' is easier to learn, please.

Probably Spanish, but not by much if you already know English.

The system of auxiliary verbs is more similar between Spanish and English, and Spanish even has some advantages over English in that respect. However, Spanish has two more non-compound verb tenses than French (with regard to conversational Spanish and French), so French is easier in that respect. Combining simple and compound tenses, Spanish has a total of 14 that are regularly used in conversation, and French, 10. A further complication of Spanish is the existence of two verbs to be.

Spanish has slightly fewer personal pronouns to deal with, but their usage can vary considerably from one Spanish-speaking country to another, and some of the usages are maddeningly arbitrary. Once you learn the French pronouns, however, you find them so useful that you begin to wonder how Spanish (or any other language) can get along without them.

French has a lot more cognates with English, so vocabulary is less difficult in French than in Spanish if you already know English. (E: table; F: table; S: mesa.) In some cases French can seem just like mispronounced English — though I suppose top honors in that department go to German.

With regard to pronunciation, Spanish is much easier than French for most people, French having a great many more vowels than Spanish, including front-rounded vowels and nasalized vowels. A good knowledge of IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) is indispensable for learning French, but you can get by without it if you want to learn Spanish.

CJ

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