I’ve always known that Slovak is a difficult language. After all, I studied Greek (Koine, the ancient Biblical language) for 2 years in Bible College and it seemed to me that it was easier than learning Slovak.
Of course, learning a language academically is always differently than learning one to use for everyday living, including teaching, training, etc.
Well, last week I received an email that came out of a report in Paris, France, at the end of September. Here are the findings:
Language experts met in Berlin and considered 7832 languages on the earth. Every week, 2 languages die out and 3 new ones are created.
EASIEST LANGUAGES:
10. Mongolian
09. Aramaic
08. Greek
07. Norwegian
06. Italian
05. Romanian
04. Croatian
03. Bulgarian
02. English
*01. Spanish (of which over 300 million speak)
The 10 most difficult languages on the planet are:
10. German
09. French
08. Chinese
07. Japanese
06. Korean
05. Persian
04. Arabic
03. Finnish
02. Hungarian
*01. Most difficult language on the planet is Slovak
I have to tell you that when I read that email, I was quite encouraged. I can converse, joke, teach, train, pray and live in this language. My “fluency“ is at the lower level of fluency, but I’m thankful for God’s grace enabling me to learn it enough to be useful to His Kingdom’s work here in Slovakia.
See, the old adage isn’t a rule, it’s only a ”general truth“ - Old dogs CAN learn new tricks!!!
Arf! Arf!
Of course, learning a language academically is always differently than learning one to use for everyday living, including teaching, training, etc.
Well, last week I received an email that came out of a report in Paris, France, at the end of September. Here are the findings:
Language experts met in Berlin and considered 7832 languages on the earth. Every week, 2 languages die out and 3 new ones are created.
EASIEST LANGUAGES:
10. Mongolian
09. Aramaic
08. Greek
07. Norwegian
06. Italian
05. Romanian
04. Croatian
03. Bulgarian
02. English
*01. Spanish (of which over 300 million speak)
The 10 most difficult languages on the planet are:
10. German
09. French
08. Chinese
07. Japanese
06. Korean
05. Persian
04. Arabic
03. Finnish
02. Hungarian
*01. Most difficult language on the planet is Slovak
I have to tell you that when I read that email, I was quite encouraged. I can converse, joke, teach, train, pray and live in this language. My “fluency“ is at the lower level of fluency, but I’m thankful for God’s grace enabling me to learn it enough to be useful to His Kingdom’s work here in Slovakia.
See, the old adage isn’t a rule, it’s only a ”general truth“ - Old dogs CAN learn new tricks!!!
Arf! Arf!


