What are the hardest languages to learn?

　　最难学的语言排行榜

　　Laura Moss

　　南风吹梦到西洲/译

全世界最难学的语言排行榜

　　Some languages would require more than a year of study for a native English speaker, while others would take just weeks. Regardless of what language you study, your brain will reap the benefits。

　　有些语言对于英语母语者来说需要花一年多去学习，而有的语言只需花几周。其实，不论学习什么语言，你的大脑都会获益匪浅。

　　Want to learn Japanese? If you're a native English speaker, it'll take you about 22,000 hours — or 88 weeks — to become proficient。

　　想学日语吗？如果你的母语是英语，你需要花22000小时(或88周)左右的时间才能熟练掌握日语。

　　The same goes for Chinese, Arabic and Korean, which are some of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn。

　　中文、阿拉伯语和韩语也一样，对英语母语者来说，它们都排在最难学的语言之列。

　　What makes these languages so tough?

　　是什么让这些语言如此难学呢？

　　Japanese and Chinese both require the memorization of thousands of characters。

　　日语和中文都需要记忆成千上万的文字；

　　Arabic uses fewer vowels than English and few words that even resemble those of European languages。

　　阿拉伯语中的元音比英语少，并且几乎没有和欧洲语言相似的单词；

　　And while the Korean alphabet, Hangul, is lauded as one of the world's most logical writing systems, Korean's sentence structure and syntax are challenging。

　　而韩语的字母，即韩文，被誉为世界上逻辑最严密的书写体系之一，它的句子结构和语法很有挑战性。

　　For example, Korean uses a subject-object-verb structure while English follows a subject-verb-object structure. So in Korean you would essentially say, "Lunch I eat" instead of "I eat lunch."

　　举例来说，韩语表达一个事物时使用主语-宾语-动词的句子结构，而英语则用主语-动词-宾语的句子结构。所以在韩国你应该说“午饭我吃”而不是“我吃午饭”。

　　Not all languages are quite so difficult for English speakers though. To achieve speaking and reading proficiency in Turkish, Hebrew and other tongues that language-learning website Voxy considers of "medium" difficulty, you'd need only 1,110 class hours, or 44 weeks。

　　对英语母语者来讲，并非所有语言都如此困难。例如土耳其语、希伯来语和其他Voxy网站(某语言学习网站)评定为中等难度的语言，只需花1110课时(或44周)就能熟练表达和阅读。

　　The easiest languages to learn are those most closely related to English, such as Spanish, French and Italian. Reaching proficiency for these requires about 600 hours, or just over 20 weeks of study。

　　而和英语联系最密切的语言是最容易学的，如西班牙语、法语和意大利语。熟练掌握这些语言只需600小时(或20周)左右。

　　This is your brain on language

　　语言之于大脑

　　Although learning a new language will undoubtedly take time and effort, there are benefits besides ease of international travel and the ability to order authentic foreign dishes。

　　尽管学习一门新的语言耗时又耗力，但它的好处远远不止于为国际旅行提供便利和在外国餐厅点餐。

　　Studies show that studying a new language improves cognition, delays dementia, and improves memory and attention span。

　　研究表明，学习一门新的语言可以提高认识能力、延缓痴呆症、增强记忆力并且延长注意力集中的时间。

　　Knowing another language can also fundamentally alter how we see the world。

　　此外，在接触另一门语言的过程中还能从根本上改变我们看待世界的方式。

　　Researchers have found that our language can influence how we think, how we orient ourselves and even how we see colors。

　　研究者发现，语言可以影响人的思维方式、自我定位甚至辨色方式。

　　And thinking in another language can even enable us to make more rational decisions。

　　用另一种语言思考还能让我们做出更理智的决定。

　　A 2012 study found that thinking in a second language reduces biases that influence how risks and benefits are perceived in decision-making。

　　2012年的一项调查显示，在做决定的过程中，一些思维偏差会影响我们对风险和收益的感知，而用另一种语言去思考可以减少这种偏差。

　　Considering learning another language? Check out the infographic below to determine how long it'll take you to become proficient in your chosen tongue。

　　想学一门新的语言吗？查一查下面的图表，看看你想学的语言要画多长时间才能精通吧。

全世界最难学的语言

全世界最难学的语言

　　本文节选自《爱思网官方微博》的新浪博客，点击查看原文。