Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Social Sciences
  4. / Linguistics

by davoomac on April 26th, 2006

davoomac

Question

Help answer this question below.

What is the most difficult language in the world?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. Showing one answer.

  • by Jack Wallace on September 16th, 2008

    Jack Wallace

    Thai - it has 47 consonants and they don't pronounce any of them! When spoken by natives, it typically sounds like deaf mutes cussing each other out. Like Chinese, it's a tonal language, but due to their inability to articulate consonants clearly (and often not at all), there are about 360 different words that sound more or less like "kai", and as many that sound like "cow".

    It's easier to read than hear, but only for simple mundane topics. Almost all multi-syllabic words are just combinations of little squatty words - e.g. "slippers" are "long-tao-sai-nai-bahn" which litterally means "put on foot inside house". When talking of any complex or sophisticated subject (politics, art, religion, science, history, math, economics, etc.) the vocabulary is entirely inadequate but that doesn't stop them from trying by running all sorts of squatty little words together and just assuming that you get the gist. Fact is, not even Thais can understand what other Thais write on these subjects. Oh, and there's no pucntuation and no spaces between the words.

    Japanese is only difficult because nobody says what they mean. As for Chinese, even the Chinese have difficulty with Thai, and I learned more Chinese in 6 months in Shang Hai than I've learned Thai in 4 years in Bangkok ... and I have a Thai wife!

    Comments
    • Like
    • Report

    2 comments | Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading What is the most difficult language in the world?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

Answerbag

a Demand Media company