42: What makes a language “easy”? It’s a hard question (Patreon)

Published:

2020-03-19 22:52:13

Imported:

2023-02

Content

Asking which language is the hardest to learn is like asking where the furthest place is -- it all depends on where you start. And for babies, who start out not knowing any of them, all natural languages are eminently learnable -- because otherwise they wouldn’t exist at all!

In this episode of Lingthusiasm, your hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne get enthusiastic about a common question: what are people really asking when they ask about “easy” or “hard” languages? It turns out that there are several things going on, including which languages you already know, whether you’re approaching a language as an adult or a child, and what sort of motivation and contexts to speak it you have.

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New this month we’re also doing a couple listen-along chats in the Discord as well, so you can stream the episode at the same time as fellow lingthusiasts and chat with each other in the channel for that!

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For links to everything mentioned in this episode head to the shownotes page: https://lingthusiasm.com/post/613058137097912320/lingthusiasm-episode-42-what-makes-a-language

Files

42: What makes a language "easy"? It's a hard question by Lingthusiasm

Asking which language is the hardest to learn is like asking where the furthest place is - it all depends on where you start. And for babies, who start out not knowing any of them, all natural languages are eminently learnable - because otherwise they wouldn't exist at all!