Learning a new language has been proven to improve brain functionality as it requires recognising patterns, remembering new information and quickly adapting to new situations.
One of the most difficult decision after deciding to take up language learning is to choose the language you want to dive in.
The options vary from widely spoken Mandarin or Spanish to politically relevant such as Arabic or Russian.
However, with busy schedule and other commitments the best way to give your brain the necessary workout might just be to choose the easiest language to learn as the first step.
For English speakers, there are some languages that are easier than others mostly due to similarity.
Here’s is a list of languages to start your bilingual journey:
1. Norwegian
Many experts have ranked Norwegian as the easiest language to learn for English speakers as both are the member of the Germanic family.
This means that the languages have many words similar to each other, such as sommer (summer) and vinter (winter).
In Norwegian, the grammar is straight forward with only one form of each verb per tense, with the structure being similar to English as "Can you help me?" translates to Kan du hjelpe meg?
2. Swedish
The second language in the list also comes from Germanic family. The reason Swedish is one the easiest language to learn for English speakers is the large number of words that sound or look very similar to one another (cognates) like grass and gräs.
Similar to Norwegian, Swedish also has same grammar rules and sentence structure, along with one other factor that helps the language become more accessible – exposure.
Due to IKEA, Swedish furniture brand that has branches all-over the world, English speakers have been exposed to a number of Swedish words.
3. Spanish
Spanish, being one of the wildly spoken languages in the world, has always been a go-to language for English speakers to learnt due to its practicality.
Being one of the Romance languages, Spanish is derived from latin, just like many English words.
The cognates are also present in Spanish and English as well such as Correcto means correct, and delicious is delicioso.
The pronunciation is also quite straightforward as it is a phonetic language, words are pronounced the way they’re spelled.
4. Dutch
Another Germanic language in the list is Dutch, which is spoken by the majority of Netherlands, as well as Belgium.
Dutch is the third most-spoken Germanic language, after Germany and English.
Many words in Dutch are spelled exactly the saw way in English, with some pronunciation difference, for example the word "rat" has the same meaning and spelling in both the languages but the Dutch pronounced it as "rot."
However, Dutch has many false cognates, like the word wet in Dutch actually means "law."
5. Portuguese
The last language in our list is Portuguese, a member of the Romance language, which is spoken in both Brazil and Portugal.
Just like Spanish, Portuguese has many similar words, which makes it easier to master the language for English speakers.
However, similar to Dutch, Portuguese also has number of false cognates such as pasta translates to folder.
