Of all the languages that I speak, I always maintain that French is the easiest language to learn for English speakers. That surprises many Americans who believe that Spanish is much easier. Part of the reason why people perceive Spanish to be easy is because they think that all Spanish words are simply English words with an “o” at the end. Not only is that not the truth, but there are many other details that when examined reveal French to be far simpler to speak.
First, while both French and Spanish are Latin languages, French is heavily influenced by German (they were invaded by Germany 3 times in 100 years), while Spanish is very heavily influenced by Arabic from the time when the Moors ruled most of what is modern day Spain. English is a Germanic language, so right there we have the first link.
Second, we must also consider that for centuries, the British and the French fought, formed alliances, and signed treaties with one another. The combination of these factors means that many English words are derived from French. Here’s a brief list of French words that you already know.
- à propos
- bon appétit
- fiancé
- bourgeois
- le concièrge
- derrière
- l’escargot
- le mélange
- le liaison
- le réservoir
Now let’s compare that to the Spanish equivalent.
- a cerca de
- buen provecho
- novio
- burgués
- el portero
- detrás de
- el caracól
- la mescla
- la conexión
- la reserva
See what I mean? Spanish is deceivingly difficult, while the French language is already ingrained in us. This is even more so when you look at foods such as pâté, crème brûlée, and boeuf bourguignon. Based on this example, you can clearly see that French is the easiest language to learn.
Now in addition to the vocabulary, a lot of people are intimidated by the French accent and proper pronunciation. True, the French are sticklers for properly enunciated words, however, in a way the language is much more forgiving than Spanish here too. In French, many word endings are muted (not all as some English speakers think), while in Spanish you are always required to end with a hard sound (-o, -a -n, whatever). This is trickier than you think and can become downright confusing over time.
In the following video, you can hear the above words spoken and see that learning the French language might not be so difficult as you may have been told.