English is actually one of the slowest spoken languages in the world, behind Mandarin Chinese. The main reason behind that is “syllable data density”. Pretty much, the more data-dense the average syllable in a language is, the more slowly it is spoken.
They found Japanese and Spanish, often described as “fast languages,” clocked the greatest number of syllables per second. The “slowest” language in the set was Mandarin, followed closely by German.
As long as you keep a steady pace, you will be fine. Avoid speaking very slow because the listener can get lost in what you are trying to say if it takes you a long time to say it. Alternatively, don't speak very fast as you may lose your coherence and the words might not be clear or easy to understand.
The basic finding of the study is that the more information-dense each syllable is in your language, the fewer syllables you need to speak per second to get the message across.
English Uses a lot of Idioms
Not everything in the English language is meant to be taken literally. English is full of idioms, metaphors, and other figurative language that can be confusing to a new speaker.
Mandarin Chinese
Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for English speakers (and anyone else) accustomed to the Latin alphabet.
Several academic studies have found that Japanese is the fastest recorded language. But indeed, every tongue has its unique beauty and value, regardless of its speed of spoken rate. It is always a great thing to learn a new dialect, whether it is fast or slow.
Speaking slowly makes people sound more intelligent, research finds. A lower tone also makes both sexes sound more attractive. Women asked to talk in a more attractive way for the study automatically lowered the pitch of their voice and made it sound more breathy — which men find attractive.
People who know 250 to 500 words are beginners. Those who know 1,000 to 3,000 words can carry on everyday conversations. Knowing 4,000 to 10,000 words makes people advanced language users while knowing more than 10,000 words puts them at the fluent or native-speaker levels.
Steve Woodmore could rapidly articulate at a rate of 637 words per minute, four times faster than the average human. Woodmore first realised his skills at rapid speech when he was seven years old.
Examples of a Dead Language
But Latin isn't the only dead language, some of the other known dead languages are Sanskrit, Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Greek and Gothic, all of which are still studied both academically and religiously.
Kawishana is the rarest language in the world.
According to a UNESCO survey, Bengali has been classified as the sweetest language in the world. As a language, Bengali is widely spoken all over India, including Assam and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The sweetest language in the world is also recognized in the Constitution of India.
The easiest languages for English speakers to learn are: Danish, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, and French. The US State Department lists these languages as Category I languages. This means they are similar to English culturally and/or linguistically.
Thus, given this evidence, Sumerian can also be considered the first language in the world or one of the ancient languages. Sumerian was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BC, but it continued to be used as a literary, ceremonial, scientific and sacred language until the 1st century AD.
Spanish is in second place with around 8-9 syllables spoken per second, whereas, English is in eight place with around 6-7 syllables spoken per second. In other words, Spanish native speakers speak 25% more quickly than English native speakers.
Nigeria proudly represents Africa in KeepCalling.com's Top 10 most talkative nations in the world. Nigerians are well-known for their strong family bonds, which is also reflected in the number of minutes they spend on the phone, calling their loved ones back home.
It's widely accepted that English is hard to learn - if not the most difficult language to learn. Let's take a look at some of the most common reasons why people find it so challenging.
Generally speaking, English is also considered to be a challenging language, though not quite as complex as some. Compared to some languages, English has a large vocabulary, tricky grammar, and challenging pronunciation.