15 Easy-to-Learn Languages for English Speakers

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Taking up a new language opens the door to several things, including travel, cultural understanding, and personal growth. Thankfully, for English speakers, some languages are easy to learn due to shared vocabulary, similar grammar structures, or historical connections. We’ll reveal 15 languages so you can make a great choice when considering a new but easy language.

Spanish

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Spanish is often an easy pick for English speakers, with its alphabet and numerous cognates. Although the grammar may differ, its consistent verb conjugations and sentence structures simplify the learning process.

French

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Sharing Latin roots with English, French has many similar words and sentence structures. Despite its challenging pronunciation, its grammar rules are relatively straightforward.

Italian

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Italian is inarguably one of the easiest languages for English speakers due to its pronunciation and vocabulary similarities with English. Many Italian words are recognizable to English speakers, particularly in food, music, and art. Italian grammar, while different from English, is straightforward than other languages.

Dutch

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English and Dutch share Germanic roots, resulting in some vocabulary and sentence structure similarities. English speakers may find Dutch pronunciation easy, as it is phonetic and similar to English in many respects.

German

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Despite its reputation for complex grammar, English speakers benefit from the abundance of German-origin words. The subject-verb-object order mirrors English, simplifying sentence construction.

Norwegian

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Often rated as one of the easiest languages for English speakers, the advantage lies in the simple grammar and familiar pronunciation, using the Latin alphabet.

Swedish

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Like Norwegian, Swedish is a straightforward language with easy pronunciation and familiar alphabets, making it easy for English speakers.

Danish

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While pronunciation might be challenging, Danish’s simple grammar and shared vocabulary with English make it approachable for learners.

Portuguese

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With similarities to Spanish and some unique grammar features, Portuguese offers an easy path for English speakers, especially in vocabulary and sentence structure.

Maori

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The pronunciation and grammar simplicity of Maori, the language of indigenous New Zealand, along with some shared vocabulary, make it an attractive option for English speakers.

Indonesian/Malay

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These languages’ simple grammar, phonetic spelling, and use of the Latin alphabet make them easy for English speakers to grasp. Additionally, Indonesian and Malay have simpler verb conjugation than many other languages.

Swahili

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With its phonetic spelling and simple grammar, Swahili is accessible to English speakers, aided by its familiar alphabet and straightforwardness.

Afrikaans

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Sharing many similarities with English in vocabulary and sentence structure, Afrikaans is phonetic and relatively easy to pronounce.

Frisian

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Frisian is closely related to English, especially for speakers of Northern English dialects. Its vocabulary and sentence structures offer familiarity to English speakers, with straightforward pronunciation.

Hawaiian

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While Hawaiian may seem exotic, its grammar is simple compared to many other languages and has a phonetic writing system. English speakers may also find some familiar words, as Hawaiian has borrowed from English and other languages over the years.

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