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| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Linguistic Simplicity and Complexity John H. McWhorter, 2011 This series offers a wide forum for work on contact linguistics, using an integrated approach to both diachronic and synchronic manifestations of contact, ranging from social and individual aspects to structural-typological issues. Topics covered by the series include child and adult bilingualism and multilingualism, contact languages, borrowing and contact-induced typological change, code switching in conversation, societal multilingualism, bilingual language processing, and various other topics related to language contact. The series does not have a fixed theoretical orientation, and includes contributions from a variety of approaches. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: How to Learn a Foreign Language Paul Pimsleur, 2013-10 In this entertaining and groundbreaking book, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, creator of the renowned Pimsleur Method, the world leader in audio-based language learning, shows how anyone can learn to speak a foreign language. If learning a language in high school left you bruised, with a sense that there was no way you can learn another language, How to Learn a Foreign Language will restore your sense of hope. In simple, straightforward terms, Dr. Pimsleur will help you learn grammar (seamlessly), vocabulary, and how to practice pronunciation (and come out sounding like a native). The key is the simplicity and directness of Pimsleur’s approach to a daunting subject, breaking it down piece by piece, demystifying the process along the way. Dr. Pimsleur draws on his own language learning trials and tribulations offering practical advice for overcoming the obstacles so many of us face. Originally published in 1980, How to Learn a Foreign Language is now available on the 50th anniversary of Dr. Pimsleur’s publication of the first of his first audio courses that embodied the concepts and methods found here. It's a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the mind of this amazing pioneer of language learning. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Fluent in 3 Months Benny Lewis, 2014-03-11 Benny Lewis, who speaks over ten languages—all self-taught—runs the largest language-learning blog in the world, Fluent In 3 Months. Lewis is a full-time language hacker, someone who devotes all of his time to finding better, faster, and more efficient ways to learn languages. Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World is a new blueprint for fast language learning. Lewis argues that you don't need a great memory or the language gene to learn a language quickly, and debunks a number of long-held beliefs, such as adults not being as good of language learners as children. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The Way of the Linguist Steve Kaufmann, 2005-11 The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Hacking Chinese Olle Linge, 2016-03-26 Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study. - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision. - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The Spanish Love Deception Elena Armas, 2022-02-08 A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work. Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister's wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year. That would certainly be tomorrow's headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call. Four weeks wasn't a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic-from NYC and all the way to Spain-for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along with my charade. But that didn't mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6'4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me, Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister's wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie? Like my abuela would say, que dios nos pille confesados.The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Babel Gaston Dorren, 2018-12-04 “Babel is an endlessly interesting book, and you don’t have to have any linguistic training to enjoy it . . . it’s just so much fun to read.” —NPR English is the world language, except that 80 percent of the world doesn’t speak it. Linguist Gaston Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s people in their mother tongues, you’d need to know no fewer than twenty languages. In Babel, he sets out to explore these top twenty world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali). Whisking readers along on a delightful journey, he traces how these languages rose to greatness while others fell away, and shows how speakers today handle the foibles of their mother tongues. Whether showcasing tongue-tying phonetics, elegant but complicated writing scripts, or mind-bending quirks of grammar, Babel vividly illustrates that mother tongues are like nations: each has its own customs and beliefs that seem as self-evident to those born into it as they are surprising to outsiders. Babel reveals why modern Turks can’t read books that are a mere 75 years old, what it means in practice for Russian and English to be relatives, and how Japanese developed separate “dialects” for men and women. Dorren also shares his experiences studying Vietnamese in Hanoi, debunks ten myths about Chinese characters, and discovers the region where Swahili became the lingua franca. Witty and utterly fascinating, Babel will change how you look at and listen to the world. “Word nerds of every strain will enjoy this wildly entertaining linguistic study.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: An easy grammar mrs. Capp, 1866 |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Fluent Forever Gabriel Wyner, 2014-08-05 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Crafting Interpreters Robert Nystrom, 2021-07-27 Despite using them every day, most software engineers know little about how programming languages are designed and implemented. For many, their only experience with that corner of computer science was a terrifying compilers class that they suffered through in undergrad and tried to blot from their memory as soon as they had scribbled their last NFA to DFA conversion on the final exam. That fearsome reputation belies a field that is rich with useful techniques and not so difficult as some of its practitioners might have you believe. A better understanding of how programming languages are built will make you a stronger software engineer and teach you concepts and data structures you'll use the rest of your coding days. You might even have fun. This book teaches you everything you need to know to implement a full-featured, efficient scripting language. You'll learn both high-level concepts around parsing and semantics and gritty details like bytecode representation and garbage collection. Your brain will light up with new ideas, and your hands will get dirty and calloused. Starting from main(), you will build a language that features rich syntax, dynamic typing, garbage collection, lexical scope, first-class functions, closures, classes, and inheritance. All packed into a few thousand lines of clean, fast code that you thoroughly understand because you wrote each one yourself. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Linguistics For Dummies Rose-Marie Dechaine, Strang Burton, Eric Vatikiotis-Bateson, 2012-02-08 The fascinating, fun, and friendly way to understand the science behind human language Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics students study how languages are constructed, how they function, how they affect society, and how humans learn language. From understanding other languages to teaching computers to communicate, linguistics plays a vital role in society. Linguistics For Dummies tracks to a typical college-level introductory linguistics course and arms you with the confidence, knowledge, and know-how to score your highest. Understand the science behind human language Grasp how language is constructed Score your highest in college-level linguistics If you're enrolled in an introductory linguistics course or simply have a love of human language, Linguistics For Dummies is your one-stop resource for unlocking the science of the spoken word. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Ultralearning Scott H. Young, 2019-08-06 Now a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Learn a new talent, stay relevant, reinvent yourself, and adapt to whatever the workplace throws your way. Ultralearning offers nine principles to master hard skills quickly. This is the essential guide to future-proof your career and maximize your competitive advantage through self-education. In these tumultuous times of economic and technological change, staying ahead depends on continual self-education—a lifelong mastery of fresh ideas, subjects, and skills. If you want to accomplish more and stand apart from everyone else, you need to become an ultralearner. The challenge of learning new skills is that you think you already know how best to learn, as you did as a student, so you rerun old routines and old ways of solving problems. To counter that, Ultralearning offers powerful strategies to break you out of those mental ruts and introduces new training methods to help you push through to higher levels of retention. Scott H. Young incorporates the latest research about the most effective learning methods and the stories of other ultralearners like himself—among them Benjamin Franklin, chess grandmaster Judit Polgár, and Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman, as well as a host of others, such as little-known modern polymath Nigel Richards, who won the French World Scrabble Championship—without knowing French. Young documents the methods he and others have used to acquire knowledge and shows that, far from being an obscure skill limited to aggressive autodidacts, ultralearning is a powerful tool anyone can use to improve their career, studies, and life. Ultralearning explores this fascinating subculture, shares a proven framework for a successful ultralearning project, and offers insights into how you can organize and exe - cute a plan to learn anything deeply and quickly, without teachers or budget-busting tuition costs. Whether the goal is to be fluent in a language (or ten languages), earn the equivalent of a college degree in a fraction of the time, or master multiple tools to build a product or business from the ground up, the principles in Ultralearning will guide you to success. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Learn Filipino: Must-Know Filipino Slang Words & Phrases Innovative Language Learning, FilipinoPod101.com, Do you want to learn Filipino the fast, fun and easy way? And do you want to master daily conversations and speak like a native? Then this is the book for you. Learn Filipino: Must-Know Filipino Slang Words & Phrases by FilipinoPod101 is designed for Beginner-level learners. You learn the top 100 must-know slang words and phrases that are used in everyday speech. All were hand-picked by our team of Filipino teachers and experts. Here’s how the lessons work: • Every Lesson is Based on a Theme • You Learn Slang Words or Phrases Related to That Theme • Check the Translation & Explanation on How to Use Each One And by the end, you will have mastered 100+ Filipino Slang Words & phrases! |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Simplified Swahili Peter Wilson, 1991 |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: How Vocabulary is Learned Stuart Webb, Paul Nation, 2017-06-06 This guide to vocabulary acquisition is essential reading for teachers of English as a second or foreign language. It presents the major ideas and principles that relate to the teaching and learning of vocabulary and evaluates a wide range of practical activities designed to help boost students’ vocabulary acquisition. Key questions which are answered include: • How many words should students learn at a time, and how often? • How much classroom time should be spent teaching vocabulary? • What is the best way to group vocabulary for learning? • Is it useful to provide students with the L1 translations of unknown words? • Why do some students make greater progress than others? stuart webb is Professor in Applied Linguistics at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. paul nation is Emeritus Professor in Applied Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Teachers will find answers to many of their perennial questions about vocabulary learning—as well as some they had not yet thought to ask! There is research evidence to support established practices, but also new evidence that challenges old ideas. patsy lightbown (co-author of How Languages are Learned, with Nina Spada) |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Remembering the Kanji 2 James W. Heisig, 2012-04-30 Following the first volume of Remembering the Kanji, the present work provides students with helpful tools for learning the pronunciation of the kanji. Behind the notorious inconsistencies in the way the Japanese language has come to pronounce the characters it received from China lie several coherent patterns. Identifying these patterns and arranging them in logical order can reduce dramatically the amount of time spent in the brute memorization of sounds unrelated to written forms. Many of the “primitive elements,” or building blocks, used in the drawing of the characters also serve to indicate the “Chinese reading” that particular kanji use, chiefly in compound terms. By learning one of the kanji that uses such a “signal primitive,” one can learn the entire group at the same time. In this way, Remembering the Kanji 2 lays out the varieties of phonetic pattern and offers helpful hints for learning readings, that might otherwise appear completely random, in an efficient and rational way. Individual frames cross-reference the kanji to alternate readings and to the frame in volume 1 in which the meaning and writing of the kanji was first introduced. A parallel system of pronouncing the kanji, their “Japanese readings,” uses native Japanese words assigned to particular Chinese characters. Although these are more easily learned because of the association of the meaning to a single word, the author creates a kind of phonetic alphabet of single syllable words, each connected to a simple Japanese word, and shows how they can be combined to help memorize particularly troublesome vocabulary. The 4th edition has been updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Homographs & Heteronyms Remedia Publications, 2021-12-22 Grade Level: 4-6 Making sense of multiple-meaning words. The 25 lessons in this book are designed to give students plenty of practice recognizing and using homographs and heteronyms in written and oral communication. Activities ranging from matching meanings to completing sentences work to stimulate awareness of the multiple meanings a single word can have and how pronunciation changes the meaning of like words. Example: - They tied a BOW on the present. - Robin Hood used a BOW and arrows. - The star came on stage to take a BOW. Exercises increase in difficulty as students progress. A list of homographs not used in the lessons is included so teachers can design their own activities. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Learn French: Must-Know French Slang Words & Phrases Innovative Language Learning, FrenchPod101.com, 2019-04-29 Do you want to learn French the fast, fun and easy way? And do you want to master daily conversations and speak like a native? Then this is the book for you. Learn French: Must-Know French Slang Words & Phrases by FrenchPod101 is designed for Beginner-level learners. You learn the top 100 must-know slang words and phrases that are used in everyday speech. All were hand-picked by our team of French teachers and experts. Here’s how the lessons work: • Every Lesson is Based on a Theme • You Learn Slang Words or Phrases Related to That Theme • Check the Translation & Explanation on How to Use Each One And by the end, you will have mastered 100+ French Slang Words & phrases! |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Introducing Physical Geography, Updated and Upgraded Alan H. Strahler, Arthur Strahler, 1999-12-02 Put Yourself in the Picture with Our Visualization CD-ROM Studying geography is now easier than ever before with the help of the Visualization 2.0 CD-ROM. The upgraded version of this innovative software, included with this text, includes new animation and graphics that will greatly enhance your understanding of the material presented in the book. You'll be able to learn at your own pace, receive immediate feedback, and repeat demonstrations. The Visualization CD-ROM: * Enables a better understanding of concepts and processes that are important in this course of study, such as the relationship of earth and sun, the development of storms, and the patterns of climate, soils and vegetation. * Complements the textbook with animations and movies for key topics. * Contains a gallery of over 300 captioned photos as well as over 300 illustrations taken from the text. * Gives convenient access to many of the same drawings, diagrams, animations and movies that your instructor will use in the classroom. With the purchase of this book, you'll also be given a password that provides free access to the On-Line Student Companion on the web. This comprehensive study guide lets you take practice quizzes and receive immediate results, run tutorials for selected topics and surf to other relevant web sites. By using the study guide and CD-ROM, you'll begin to understand the world in a whole new way! |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Easy Thai Jintana Rattanakhemakorn, 2015-02-24 Learn the basics of Thai quickly and easily! Easy Thai is exciting and helpful for beginning Thai Language students and anyone who needs a functional day-to-day grasp of colloquial Thai. An excellent resource to learn Thai, its twelve chapters cover practical and useful conversation topics such as introductions, telling the time, directions, ordering food and shopping. Each chapter opens with a dialogue that introduces the new language in context and contains: Vocabulary lists Grammar notes Sentence patterns Exercises Notes on culture and etiquette. All dialogues, vocabulary lists, and sentence patterns are rendered in Thai script, romanized Thai, and English. In the comprehensive, concise introduction to Easy Thai, you will understand how to pronounce, read and write the Thai language. A bilingual dictionary at the end of the book gives translations for approximately 1,000 common words in both Thai and English. Downloadable audio provides sample conversations by native Thai speakers, helping you to practice authentic pronunciation. Easy Thai contains everything you as a beginning language learner need to know about the basics of Thai, making you a more effective communicator from the very first lesson without having to resort to long, dull, expensive courses of study! |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Colloquial Hungarian Carol Rounds, Erika Solyom, 2003-09-02 Colloquial Hungarian is the ideal introduction to the Hungarian Language. Specially written by experienced teachers, the course offers a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Hungarian and covers a variety of modern everyday situations. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Blue at the Mizzen (Vol. Book 20) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels) Patrick O'Brian, 2000-09-17 The old master has us again in the palm of his hand. —Los Angeles Times Napoleon has been defeated at Waterloo, and the ensuing peace brings with it both the desertion of nearly half of Captain Aubrey's crew and the sudden dimming of Aubrey's career prospects in a peacetime navy. When the Surprise is nearly sunk on her way to South America—where Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are to help Chile assert her independence from Spain—the delay occasioned by repairs reaps a harvest of strange consequences. The South American expedition is a desperate affair; and in the end Jack's bold initiative to strike at the vastly superior Spanish fleet precipitates a spectacular naval action that will determine both Chile's fate and his own. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: LANGUAGE HACKING SPANISH (Learn How to Speak Spanish - Right Away) Benny Lewis, 2016-11-17 Crack the Code and Get Fluent Faster! I had to learn [a new language] in a handful of days for a TV interview. I asked Benny for help and his advice was invaluable. - Tim Ferriss What if you could skip the years of study and jump right to speaking Spanish? Sound crazy? No, it's language hacking. It's about learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not - and using what you've learned to have real conversations in Spanish - from day one! Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of a language, Language Hacking Spanish, shows you how to learn and speak Spanish immediately through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfect by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot. The Method Language Hacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration and the 80/20 principle of learning (Benny's ten #languagehacks show you how to achieve more with less!). It focuses on the conversations and language that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in the order of difficulty like most courses. This means you can start having conversations immediately. Course Features Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking mission that you can choose to share on the italki Language Hacking learner community (www.italki.com/languagehacking) where you can give and get feedback and extend your learning beyond the pages of the book. The audio for this course is available for free on library.teachyourself.com or from the Teach Yourself Library app. You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The 4-Hour Work Week Timothy Ferriss, 2007 Offers techniques and strategies for increasing income while cutting work time in half, and includes advice for leading a more fulfilling life. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Easy Italian Crossword Puzzles Nancy Goldhagen, 1990-02-01 Easy Italian Crossword Puzzles offers beginning students of Italian - and those who are brushing up - an entertaining and effective way of expanding their word power in Italian. The parole incrociate in this book cover a wide variety of topics that will challenge you and help you develop your vocabulary and, as a result, your speaking and writing skills in Italian. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: A Frog in the Fjord Lorelou Desjardins, 2021-07-17 An insightful and humorous account of the author's first year in Norway as a foreigner. From Easter to summer holidays and Christmas, it dives deeply into Norwegian culture, language and people. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Elementary Korean Ross King, Jaehoon Yeon, 2000 Elementary Korean offers a complete, systematic and streamlined first-year course in Korean for the English-speaking adult learner. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Empires of the Word Nicholas Ostler, 2011-03-22 A “monumental” account of the rise and fall of languages, with “many fresh insights, useful historical anecdotes, and charming linguistic oddities” (Chicago Tribune). Nicholas Ostler's Empires of the Word is the first history of the world’s great tongues, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that bind communities together and make possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. From the uncanny resilience of Chinese through twenty centuries of invasions to the engaging self-regard of Greek to the struggles that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe, these epic achievements and more are brilliantly explored, as are the fascinating failures of once “universal” languages. A splendid, authoritative, and remarkable work, it demonstrates how the language history of the world eloquently reveals the real character of our planet’s diverse peoples and prepares us for a linguistic future full of surprises. “Readers learn how languages ancient and modern spread and how they dwindle. . . . Few books bring more intellectual excitement to the study of language.” —Booklist (starred review) “Sparkles with arcane knowledge, shrewd perceptions, and fresh ideas…The sheer sweep of his analysis is breathtaking.” —Times Literary Supplement “Ambitious and accessible . . . Ostler stresses the role of culture, commerce and conquest in the rise and fall of languages, whether Spanish, Portuguese and French in the Americas or Dutch in Asia and Africa.” —Publishers Weekly “A marvelous book.” —National Review |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: English Grammar for Students of Russian Edwina J. Cruise, 1993 Thousands of students have found these books the ideal way to master the grammar of their chosen language. They offer a step-by-step explanation of a concept as it applies in English, a presentation of the same concept as it applies in the target language, the similarities and differences between the two languages, stressing common pitfalls for English speakers and including review exercises with an answer key. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The Power of Babel John McWhorter, 2003-01-07 There are approximately six thousand languages on Earth today, each a descendant of the tongue first spoken by Homo sapiens some 150,000 years ago. While laying out how languages mix and mutate over time, linguistics professor John McWhorter reminds us of the variety within the species that speaks them, and argues that, contrary to popular perception, language is not immutable and hidebound, but a living, dynamic entity that adapts itself to an ever-changing human environment. Full of humor and imaginative insight, The Power of Babel draws its illustrative examples from languages around the world, including pidgins, Creoles, and nonstandard dialects. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Talk English Ken Xiao, 2016-09-19 You have studied English for years, yet you still don't speak English well. You've tried many methods and you still make grammar mistakes, you still can't speak English fluently, and you still can't pronounce English words correctly. You can read English, but you feel too nervous or too shy to speak English.The good news is, this is very normal.You have simply used ineffective methods to learn to speak English.Ken has been in your situation before, but now he can speak English like a native, and he accomplished that in six months. In this book, Ken is going to teach you how to completely get rid of your accent and develop an American or British accent to speak English just like a native speaker, and he'll teach you how to accomplish that in just six months.In this book, you'll: *learn to speak like a native in six months or less*learn to do that on a busy schedule*learn to speak English without translating it first*learn grammar without memorizing grammar rules*learn to build a vocabulary that lasts*learn to pronounce English words like native American or native British*learn to speak English fluently, correctly, naturally, effectively, effortlessly*and more... to speak English like a native speaker.You have studied English for years, yet you still can't speak English well. The reason is simply: The methods you used were ineffective.Change your approach now. Learn from the success who has walked in your shoes before and is getting the result you want. Effortlessly follow the step-by-step instructions in the book to achieve the highest level of fluency to help you speak English like a native speaker.Add to Cart |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Sett i Gang Kari Lie Dorer, Nancy Aarsvold, 2023 Sett i gang is designed for the North American learner who is just starting to study Norwegian language and culture. Sett i gang is a complete and versatile beginning Norwegian curriculum that will help a learner develop language skills and cultural understanding through activities that explore the relationship between one's own culture and that of Norway. Whether you are learning Norwegian at a university, in a community education course, or as a self-study project, this text will give you the skills to explore Norway in a unique and exciting manner.--Page 4 of cover. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Clean Architecture Robert C. Martin, 2017-09-12 Practical Software Architecture Solutions from the Legendary Robert C. Martin (“Uncle Bob”) By applying universal rules of software architecture, you can dramatically improve developer productivity throughout the life of any software system. Now, building upon the success of his best-selling books Clean Code and The Clean Coder, legendary software craftsman Robert C. Martin (“Uncle Bob”) reveals those rules and helps you apply them. Martin’s Clean Architecture doesn’t merely present options. Drawing on over a half-century of experience in software environments of every imaginable type, Martin tells you what choices to make and why they are critical to your success. As you’ve come to expect from Uncle Bob, this book is packed with direct, no-nonsense solutions for the real challenges you’ll face–the ones that will make or break your projects. Learn what software architects need to achieve–and core disciplines and practices for achieving it Master essential software design principles for addressing function, component separation, and data management See how programming paradigms impose discipline by restricting what developers can do Understand what’s critically important and what’s merely a “detail” Implement optimal, high-level structures for web, database, thick-client, console, and embedded applications Define appropriate boundaries and layers, and organize components and services See why designs and architectures go wrong, and how to prevent (or fix) these failures Clean Architecture is essential reading for every current or aspiring software architect, systems analyst, system designer, and software manager–and for every programmer who must execute someone else’s designs. Register your product for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The Indonesian Language James N. Sneddon, 2003 This book, the first of its kind, is a historical, social, cultural and linguistic study of Indonesian. It traces the origins and pre-colonial development of the language, the emergence of Classical Malay from the fourteenth century, the choice of Malay by the nationalist movement as the national language prior to independence, the planning associated with the adoption and implementation of the language, its borrowings from other language, its use in contemporary Indonesia and its future. The book challenges many assumptions about Indonesian, particularly countering the myth that Indonesian is a simple language.--BOOK JACKET. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: ASSIMIL - German with ease (Lehrbuch + 4 Audio-CDs) , 2011 |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: The Basque Language Alan Roy King, 1994 The Basque language, unusual because it is not part of the Indo-Euroepan family, must be understood by anyone who wants to comprehend the Basques and their culture. This guide is the first practical introduction to the language available for the English-speaking audience. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: China Simplified Stewart Lee Beck, Katie Lu, 2017-10-05 China-savvy producer Stewart Lee Beck and language professional Katie Lu take you on an entertaining journey to the heart of the Chinese language to deepen your understanding of China and its people. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Kate Woodford, Guy Jackson, 2003 The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary is the ideal dictionary for advanced EFL/ESL learners. Easy to use and with a great CD-ROM - the perfect learner's dictionary for exam success. First published as the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, this new edition has been completely updated and redesigned. - References to over 170,000 words, phrases and examples explained in clear and natural English - All the important new words that have come into the language (e.g. dirty bomb, lairy, 9/11, clickable) - Over 200 'Common Learner Error' notes, based on the Cambridge Learner Corpus from Cambridge ESOL exams Plus, on the CD-ROM: - SMART thesaurus - lets you find all the words with the same meaning - QUICKfind - automatically looks up words while you are working on-screen - SUPERwrite - tools for advanced writing, giving help with grammar and collocation - Hear and practise all the words. |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition Stephen D. Krashen, 1987 |
| easiest to hardest languages to learn: Easy French Phrase Book Lingo Mastery, 2020-02-18 Easy French Phrase Book is an excellent resource for both serious French language learners or for the casual traveler who's planning a visit to France. The book comes packed with 1500 commonly used phrases in French, English and a pronunciation guide to make sure you say the phrases correctly. |
EASIEST Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of EASY is causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort. How to use easy in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Easy.
Easiest - definition of easiest by The Free Dictionary
Define easiest. easiest synonyms, easiest pronunciation, easiest translation, English dictionary definition of easiest. adj. eas·i·er , eas·i·est 1. a. Capable of being …
189 Synonyms & Antonyms for EASIEST - Thesaurus.com
Find 189 different ways to say EASIEST, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at …
EASIEST definition and meaning | Collins English Dict…
In the circumstances, the easiest thing is to let her remain here. Holt, Victoria THE BLACK OPAL ( 2001 ) It was …
easiest - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
Paradoxically, on life's journey it's easiest for us to stumble on the road that is smoothest, but not on the …
EASIEST Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of EASY is causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort. How to use easy in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Easy.
Easiest - definition of easiest by The Free Dictionary
Define easiest. easiest synonyms, easiest pronunciation, easiest translation, English dictionary definition of easiest. adj. eas·i·er , eas·i·est 1. a. Capable of being accomplished or acquired …
189 Synonyms & Antonyms for EASIEST - Thesaurus.com
Find 189 different ways to say EASIEST, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
EASIEST definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
In the circumstances, the easiest thing is to let her remain here. Holt, Victoria THE BLACK OPAL ( 2001 ) It was simply the easiest way back, he insisted , ignoring Dace's knowing smirk .
easiest - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
Paradoxically, on life's journey it's easiest for us to stumble on the road that is smoothest, but not on the one that is roughest pronunciation: est [suffix: shortest, heaviest, easiest] the easiest …
What does easiest mean? - Definitions.net
Definition of easiest in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of easiest. What does easiest mean? Information and translations of easiest in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions …
EASIEST - Definition & Meaning - Reverso English Dictionary
Easiest definition: least amount of effort required. Check meanings, examples, usage tips, pronunciation, domains, related words.
easiest - Definition and Meaning
adjective. achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties. an easy way of retrieving information. uncomplicated,not …
easiest: Explore its Definition & Usage | RedKiwi Words
The word 'easiest' [ˈiːziɪst] is the superlative form of 'easy', meaning requiring little effort or difficulty. It can also mean most comfortable or convenient, as in 'The easiest way to get there …
“Easiest” vs. “The Easiest”: What’s the Difference? - Engram
Jun 6, 2023 · Using "easiest" without "the" is not commonly in English-speaking countries. "The easiest" refers to the superlative form of the adjective "easy," representing the highest degree …
