Is Portuguese really the simplest language to learn?

Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and the County of Portugal and has kept some Celtic phonology and its lexicon. With approximately 215 to 220 million native speakers and 50 million second-language speakers, Portuguese has approximately 270 million total speakers. It is usually listed as the sixth-most spoken language and the third-most spoken European language in the world in terms of native speakers.

One of the finest decisions a person can make is to learn a new language. It broadens perspectives, opens professional and social opportunities, and even improves one’s health! But, as we all know, it’s not without its difficulties, so picking the correct language to learn is crucial. “Is Portuguese difficult to learn?” is one of the questions you could be asking yourself right now.

The answer is that it is debatable. I realise this isn’t what you’re looking for, but please bear with me! It’ll all make clear in no time.

What languages you already know might influence whether or not Portuguese is difficult for you. Because Portuguese is a Romance language, knowing another Romance language gives you a tremendous edge!

Another factor to consider is your motivation to learn the language. Consider how much simpler it is to spend hours doing something you like rather than something that seems like a job. Finally, different learning techniques have varied effects on different people. Learning Portuguese will be a breeze if you use the proper materials.

Finally, we can confidently state that learning Portuguese will not be difficult as long as you have certain methods in place and determination to achieve.

Foreign Service classified Portuguese under Category 1 of languages which are a group of languages that are easiest for an English learner to learn. 

Dialect – Around 280 million people speak Portuguese, including 207 million native Portuguese speakers in Brazil alone. You can probably picture the range of accents, regional variations, and phrases you’ll come across! The fact that Brazilian Portuguese is full of colloquialism and has an ever-expanding vocabulary that includes slang and even internet-born sayings is an intriguing characteristic. As a result, listening to Portuguese speakers may leave you feeling perplexed and overwhelmed. Because an accent may make a huge difference, you’ll need some time to adjust to various styles of speaking Portuguese if you’re used to one. Unfortunately, the only way to truly learn how to speak Portuguese in real life is to listen to native speakers! Listening also aids in the development of your speaking skills. Even if you decide to acquire a certain Portuguese accent, you should make an effort to listen to Portuguese speakers from other locations from time to time. You may watch films on YouTube, seek Brazilian movies and music, or take part in a language exchange. Take note of any new terms you hear and search them up online. When speaking with a native speaker, don’t be hesitant to request that they talk slowly.

Brazilians are eager to assist foreigners in learning Portuguese, and they will gladly clarify everything that is perplexing you! Also, keep in mind that some things might be difficult even for Brazilians, so don’t be too concerned.

For example, there are terms that make sense to people from the north of Brazil but don’t make sense to individuals from the southeast or south.

Gender – This can be a cause of many errors and misunderstandings. However, Portuguese students aren’t the only ones who have to deal with this. This is a difficult element of French and Spanish, for example. In general, nouns in Portuguese have grammatical gender, which affects the articles that are used with them.

Pronunciation – Portuguese pronunciation is difficult for English speakers — and even Spanish speakers — to grasp. This is due to the fact that Portuguese includes certain difficult sounds, such as the famed nasal sounds, which may be found in everyday words.

The most dreadedSubjunctive – In Portuguese, the subjunctive mode is used to express doubt or uncertainty. It’s another example of how even Brazilians can make blunders. What you should know about the subjunctive mood is that it denotes anything that isn’t completely true. It might be a guess, a wish, or a dream about something. Present, past, and future are the three subjunctive tenses. The verbs will be conjugated in the appropriate tense.

While all the aforestated points make Portuguese a tough language to learn but a learner must always remember that even the toughest of the language is never impossible to learn. 

If you follow the right methodology to learn you will definitely be able to learn and master the Portuguese language. To help you learn Portuguese better I suggest the following

• Read through as many authentic Portuguese resources you can find online such as blogs that interest you or you can even choose to study from children storybooks
• Train your ear by listening to as many authentic audio resources you can find online or in the library; it may include Spotify playlist audiobooks, podcasts, radio stations, YouTube videos, Vlogs, Portuguese movies etc 
• Speak in Portuguese to yourself in the mirror or with your plants or your pet to be able to practice pronouncing the Portuguese word correctly.
• Use SRS based flashcard applications that will help you learn and memorize faster than you would imagine.
• To take your language learning to the next level I suggest you enrol in professional Portuguese classes and take help from a good Portuguese online app to help you practice.

Portuguese, being the most widely spoken language in South America and all of the Southern Hemisphere, it is also the second-most spoken language, after Spanish, in Latin America, one of the 10 most spoken languages in Africa, and is an official language of the European Union, Mercosur, the Organization of American States, the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an international organization made up of all of the world’s officially Lusophone nations. In 1997, a comprehensive academic study ranked Portuguese as one of the 10 most influential languages in the world. 

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