Icelandic, the hardest language?
1. Hungarian - the most difficult language in Europe
Hungarian is an agglutinating language that denotes different cases not with articles but with endings. In total there are not about four cases, as in German, but 18. The pronouns "he" and "she" do not exist, and there is usually no distinction between feminine and masculine. Instead of prepositions like "auf, unter, durch" etc. Postpositions are used that are not in front of, but behind the noun, so to speak "the window through" instead of "through the window". Hungarian is one of the Finno-Urgric languages and is closely related to Turkish and Finnish. For German native speakers, it is sometimes difficult to understand.
2. Icelandic is not that difficult at all
According to language theories, languages develop more slowly if they are at home on islands, i.e. if there is an isolated language environment. Since the 9. In the 19th century, Norwegian Vikings settled in Iceland. Icelandic is therefore basically the old Norwegian or Scandinavian. Nowadays Icelandic is revered as the "language of myths" because, among other things, it was a source of inspiration for Tolkien's Elvish. In all of this, it is not difficult: a differentiated theory of forms, which does not have so many exceptions, meets a rich vocabulary. The language relationship with German, both languages are Germanic, makes learning easier, but it is one of the most difficult languages.
3. Polish - the most demanding Slavic language
With up to five concurrent sounds, which can express a variety of sibilants, endless rows conjugations and exceptions as well as inflections with seven cases make many language students sweat come. A large number of vowels add further difficulties. A lot of effort is literally required. But it's doable and it's worth it.
4. German language - more difficult than the Icelandic language
German language - difficult language is a well-known expression. The German language is spoken not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Luxembourg and a few other countries. There are 4 cases, nominative, genitive, dative and accusative. Furthermore, there are definite and indefinite articles, which are declined depending on the case. For many non-native speakers, the language of Goethe and Wagner is one of the most difficult.
5. Arabic - probably the most difficult language in the world
Arabic is currently the official language in over 26 countries around the world. Difficulties in learning the Arabic language are not only caused by the strange letter system and the strange characters. What a letter looks like in Arabic - as in other Semitic languages - depends on where it is in the word or word context. The language of the Koran also has to be written and read from right to left, which can be irritating at first. Nevertheless, it is worth learning Arabic, the language is rich in unique expressions and phrases. In addition, you can then claim to know the most difficult language in the world.
Little adaptation makes Icelandic difficult
According to common language theories, languages develop more slowly when there is an isolated language environment. Since the 9. In the 18th century, Norwegian Vikings settled on the island of Iceland. Since then, Icelanders have not had much contact and exchange with the outside world. To date, only about 300,000 people speak what is possibly the most difficult language of the world.
Therefore, a major difficulty with Icelandic is that it still closely resembles its medieval form. Little adaptation to modern usage leads to a complex one grammar, similar to that of Latin and ancient Greek.
Icelandic grammar is not easy
A particular difficulty in learning Icelandic is the complex grammar. What is unusual about German is that it is an agglutinating language. This has what may be the heaviest language in common with Finnish, Japanese, Turkish and Hungarian.
Agglutinating means that certain words are connected to one another. For example, in Icelandic, add the article to the end of the word in question.
Another difficulty is the inflection of verbs and nouns. Here you have to memorize each individual word to which declension or conjugation class it belongs. In addition, the Icelanders inflect numerical words and proper names themselves.
The Icelandic language is unique: the pronunciation is for ...
The most difficult language is not easy to pronounce
Numerous unfamiliar sounds make it difficult for the German speaker to pronounce the Icelandic language. Many language beginners learn the R rolled with the tongue relatively easily.
It becomes more difficult with the voiceless nasals. N or M are spoken voiceless at the beginning of the word. The tongue and mouth form N or M, but the only sound is a kind of exhalation. With the pre-aspirated sounds, for example before the consonants P, T and K, you speak a clearly audible H.
Learning the correct pronunciation of Icelandic is not easy. A longer stay in the country is particularly important for this.
Weird letters make it difficult to pronounce Icelandic
In addition to the unfamiliar sounds, there are also strange letters, the ones in German alphabet do not occur. Examples are Thorn and Eth. Both correspond more or less to the English th. With the thorn it sounds voiceless. Voiced the eth. Æ and æ, on the other hand, are similar to the German ei.
Accents change the sound of the heaviest language
If you have learned the new letters and their pronunciation with great effort, you have to add the accents. They can be placed over the various vowels. Depending on the letter, the accent lengthens the vowels or turns them into diphtongs. This is what you have to learn about the Icelandic alphabet.
How helpful do you find this article?
