Linguas facile e linguas difficile

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Omne le linguas del mundo es equalmente facile a apprender--pro le personas qui los usa nativemente. Ma pro le studente de un secundo lengua, le situation es differente. Un russo, pro exemplo, pote apprender le polonese o un altere lingua slavic plus facilemente que un anglophono o un romanophono. E slavo-, romano, e germanophonos trovarea que le chinese o le japonese es equalmente difficile proque illos es membros de familias linguistic completemente differente.

Que nos nunc considera un asseveration in iste quatro linguas:

(1) "L'anno scorso il nostre professore ha organizzato uno scambio. Ogni membro della classe era un participante molto entusiastico, e tutti gli studenti hanno imparate delle idee nuove utilissimi da questo processo collettive interessante."

(2) "L'année dernière notre professeur a organisé un échange. Chaque membre de la classe était un participant très passioné, et tous les étudiants ont appris des idées nouvelles très utiles de ce processus collectif interessant."

(3) "El año pasado nuestro professor organizó un excambio. Cada miembro de la clase era un participante muy entusiástico, y toda la clase aprendió algunas ideas nuevas muy útiles de este proceso colectivo interesante."

(4) "O ano passado o nosso professor organizou um excambio. Cada membro da classe era um participante muito entusiástico, e toda a classe apprendeu algumas ideias novas muito úteis de este processo coletivo interessante."

Iste propositiones significa "Le anno passate nostre professor organisava un excambio. Cata membro del classe esseva un participante multo enthusiastic, e omne le classe apprendeva alicun ideas nove multo utile de iste processo collective interessante."

Le prime duo propositiones es in italiano e francese, respectivemente, e le duo ultimes es in espaniol e portugese.

Le espaniol e le portugese es multo simile inter se proque illes se ha derivate del mesme varietate de latino parlate in le peninsula iberic. Assi, un nativo de un de este duo linguas pote apprender a leger le altere assatis facilemente. Apprender a parlar los tamen es plus complicate, e io non discutera iste problema hic.

Le italiano e le francese se derivava de versiones del latino popular un pauco differente del varietate que esseva le ancestre del espaniol e del portugese. Un reflexion de isto pote vider se in le uso de "a organisé" e "ha organizzato".

Vos anque notara que le francese es ha formas, como "organisé" que es multo differente de "organizato" e "organizado". Isto indica que le francese ha formas multo plus differente que le formas correspondente del italiano e del espaniol/portugese, ambes del quales usa le forma "organizado", ben que le pronunciation del parola non es identic in le duo linguas.

In plus, le forma francese "beaucoup" es multo differente de "molto", "mucho", e "muito". Isto indica que le francese es le plus distante del latino de omne le altere linguas romanic de iste exemplos.

Nota anque le expression italian "delle idee nuove" e le francese "des idées nouvelles". Istos significa "alicun/unes ideas nove" in interlingua. Le uso de de/di pro exprimer iste concepto non occurre in espaniol, portugese, o interlingua.

On pote reimplaciar iste phrases con "en" e "ne" in le francese e le italiano, respectivemente. Ecce le version italian de "Esque tu ha ulle ideas nove? Si, io ha multes de illos": "Hai delle idea nuove? Si, ne ho molte." Ecce le version francese: "Est-ce que tu a des idées nouvelles? Oui, j'en ai beaucoup." On nomina isto le uso partitive de "de" e "di".

Que nos examine le version anglese de iste asseveration: "Last year our teacher/professor organized an exchange. Each member of the class was a very enthusiastic participant, and the entire class learned some new and very useful ideas from this interesting collective process."

Quasi omne le parolas del anglese, con le exception de "year", "are", "and", "of", and "was" es multo simile a illos de omne le quatro propositiones. Isto es proque cata un ex le quatro linguas es un lingua romanic derivate del latino, e le anglese es, in su vocabulario e structura essential, un lingua germanic que ha adoptate multe vocabulario del latino e del linguas romanic, specialmente le francese.

Vos anque notara que le uso de "passioné" in vice de "enthusastico" in francese. E "Passionate" e "enthusiastic" es quasi equalmente possibile in le anglese, ben que "passionate" es plus forte que "enthusiastic".

A causa de su multiple parolas latin e romanic, un anglophono pote apprender interlingua assatis facilemente proque le duo linguas ha multissime parolas in commun.

Le grammatica de interlingua anque es plus simple e regular que le grammatica del linguas romanic. E a causa de iste circumstantia, interlingua es un facile introduction a omne iste linguas.

Le cognoscimentos grammatic que un studio de interlingua inseniara a vos anque esserea utile pro le studio del linguas germanic, proque illos anque ha multe parolas ex le latino. Le grammatica del danese, norvegese, e svedese es multo simile al systema anglese.

Le germano e le hollandese tamen pare stranie a un anglophono con propositiones como "Auch Herr und Frau Rohracher aus Berlin hatten sich Karten für das Koncert gekauft" ("Anque le senior e le seniora Rohracher de Berlin habeva comprate billets pro le concerto", litteralmente "Anque senior e senior Rohracher de Berlin habeva se billets pro le concerto comprate."

Si vos vole informationes ulterior sur interlingua, usa un motor de cerca pro trovar "Interlingua in interlingua" (un bon phrase e in interlingua e anglese) e le "Union Mundial Pro Interlingua".

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Easy Languages and Hard Languages

All the languages of the world are equally easy to learn--for the people who use them natively. But for the student of a second language, things are different. A Russian can learn Polish or an other Slavic langauge more easily than a Speaker of English or a Romance speaker. And Slavic, Romance, and Germanic speakers would find that Chinese or Japanese are equally difficult to learn because they are members completely different linguistic families.

Let's now consider a statement in these four languages:

(1) "L'anno scorso il nostre professore ha organizzato uno scambio. Ogni membro della classe era un participante molto entusiastico, e tutti gli studenti hanno imparate delle idee nuove utilissimi da questo processo collettive interessante."

(2) "L'année dernièe notre professeur a organisé un échange. Chaque membre de la classe était un participant très passioné, et tous les étudiants ont appris des idées nouvelles très utiles de ce processus collectif interessant."

(3) "El año pasado nuestro professor organizó un excambio. Cada miembro de la clase era un participante muy entusiástico, y toda la clase aprendió algunas ideas nuevas muy útiles de este proceso colectivo interesante."

(4) "O ano passado o nosso professor organizou um excambio. Cada membro da classe era um participante muito entusiástico, e toda a classe apprendeu algumas ideias novas muito úteis de este processo coletivo interessante."

These sentences mean "Last year our teacher/professor organized an exchange, and each member of the class was a very enthusiastic participant, and the entire class learned some new and very useful ideas from this interesting collective process."

The first two sentences are in Italian and French, respectively, and the last two are in Spanish and Portuguese.

Spanish and Portuguese are very similar because they have been derived from the same variety of Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, a native of one of these two languages can learn to read the other one rather easily. Learning to speak them, however, is more complicated, and I won't discuss this problem here.

Italian and French were derived from versions of spoken Latin a little different from the variety that was the ancestor of Spanish and Portuguese. A reflection of this can be seen in the use of "a organisé" and "ha organizzato".

You will also note that French has forms like "organisé," which are very different from "organizato" and "organizado". Often French has forms quite different from the corresponding forms of Italian and Spanish/Portuguese, both of which use the form "organizado," though the pronunciation of the word is not identical in the two languages.

Also, the French form "beaucoup" is very different from "molto," "mucho," and "muito." This indicates that French is the most distant from Latin of all the other Romance languages shown in these examples.

Note also the Italian expression "delle idea nuove" and the French "des idées nouvelles." These mean "some new ideas" in English. The use of de/di to express this concept does not occur in Spanish, Portuguese, or English.

These phrases can be replaced by "en" and "ne" in French and Italian, respectively. Here is Italian version of "Do you have any new ideas? Yes, I have many of them": "Hai delle idea nuove? Si, ne ho molte." Here is the French version: "Est-ce que tu ha des idées nouvelles? Oui, j'en ai beaucoup." This is called the partitive use of "de" and "en/ne."

Let's examine the English version of this statement: "Last year our teacher/professor organized an exchange, and each member of the class was a very enthusiastic participant, and the entire class learned some new and very useful ideas from this interesting collective process."

Almost all the words of the English version, with the exception of "year," are," "and," "of," and "was" are very similar to the ones in all four sentences. This is because each one of the four language is a Romance language derived from Latin, and English is, in its essential vocabulary and structure, a Germanic language that has adopted a lot of vocabulary from Latin and the Romance languages, especially French.

You will also note that the French are more likely to say "passionate" than "enthusiastic" in the four sentences given above. Both are almost equally possible in English, though "passionate" is stronger than "enthusiastic."

Because of its many Latin and Romance words, an English speaker can learn Interlingua rather easily because the two languages really have a lot of words in common.

The grammar of Interlingua also is more simple and regular than the grammars of the Romance languages. And because of this circumstance, Interlingua is an easy introduction to all these languages.

The grammatical knowledge that a study of Interlingua will teach you would also be useful for the study of the Germanic languages because they also have many words from Latin. And their grammar, especially the grammar of the Scandinavian languages, is very similar to the grammar of English.

German and Dutch, however, seem strange to a speaker of English with sentences like "Auch Herr und Frau Rohracher aus Berlin hatten sich Karten für das Koncert gekauft" ("Also Mr. and Mrs. Rohracher from Berling had bought tickets for the concert," literally "Also Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbacher from Berlin had themselves tickets for the concert bought.")

If you want further information on Interlingua, use a search engine to locate "Interlingua in interlingua" (a good phrase in both Interlingua and English) and on the "Union Mundial Pro Interlingua". (Harleigh Kyson Jr.)