Ever wanted to talk with a friend from a foreign country in their own language? Or maybe you just have a show you would rather not watch with subtitles turned on. The best way to communicate with other people is to learn their native language.
Learning a new language may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be mind-numbing or boring. But as with all types of learning, starting with the basics is a simple yet effective way to broaden your horizons and get you started learning more difficult languages.
Having more than one language is also advantageous in the workplace. Statistics show that employees who can speak other languages earn five to 15 percent more on average and have more career opportunities.
To get you started, we've listed the easiest to learn languages in the world. Best of all, these foreign tongues wouldn't take up too much of your time.
English
There's a reason why English is the universal language used by nearly all countries in the world and through international communications. Because it's used worldwide, it's also pretty easy to find opportunities to practice, whether it be in regular conversations or when you buy something from a store.
English contains very short words compared to other languages and doesn't have gender or word agreements. The verbs also only change when used in the third person. Worldwide, there are nearly two billion people who speak this language, about 30 percent of the world's population.
Spanish
Overall, Spanish is considered to be a relatively simple and easy language to understand and learn. It also has a shallow orthographic depth, which means most words can be written how they are pronounced. This makes it easier to learn both reading and writing at the same time.
The Spanish language also only has ten vowel and diphthong sounds and is similar to English except for the unique letter "ñ" and would be much easier for native English speakers to understand.
On the job opportunity side, at least 37 percent of employers said Spanish is a crucial language to learn that would give more opportunities.
Norweigan
Being in the same Germanic family of languages like English, Norweigan shares similar words and, as such, similar levels of difficulty. Norwegian grammar is straightforward and contains only one form of each verb per tense.
Compared to English, word placement is also mostly the same, and for the most part, every translated word is placed in the same location in a sentence as its English translation.
While the pronunciation of Norweigian words isn't as straightforward as some other languages, the vast array of accents they have means there are many ways one can speak their words. You can practically read off of the paper and still be understood by a native Norwegian.
Italian
Branded as the most romantic language in the world, Italy's language offers Latin-rooted speech that translates into similar Italian/English cognates, including foresta, which is translated to forest and calendario, which is calendar.
Fortunately, most words in the Italian language are written how they are pronounced, meaning it becomes that much easier to learn speaking and writing at the same time. Sentence structure also has a rhythmic feel where many words end in a vowel, adding a kind of musicality to the language and making it more fun to learn.
French
Widely considered to be the language of love, French has more than 100 million native speakers in the world. Linguists state that French has more in common with the English language than most people realize.
Experts also claim this language influenced more than one-third of modern English. French's Latin derivations are also familiar to native English speakers, and it contains only slightly more verb forms and gendered nouns.
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