Learn Spanish: As Easy As You Eat Taco!

By: Carissa Talitha Salsabila

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn according to Babbel and several valid websites that you could find on the internet. People need 575–600 hours of study to achieve general proficiency in Spanish, meanwhile to gain general proficiency in Russian, you need to spend 1,100 hours of study. Based on the data, Spanish takes less time to learn than Russian, that is why Spanish is considered a taco; a folded tortilla with various toppings from Mexico, which you could eat in one bite only if you dare! Here are some more reasons:

1. Spanish is 100% phonetic

Words in Spanish are pronounced as they are written, and it is written according to how they are pronounced. For instance, people write estoy bien, which means ‘I’m fine’. They pronounce it just like how it is written. This fact is invaluable for learners.

2. Spanish speakers are global

Spanish is the third most popular language after Mandarin and English. In 2021, there are 392 million Spanish speakers according to liputan6.com. This is understandable as Spanish is an official language for 20 countries, such as Spain itself, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, etc. The more people speak the language, the easier it will be for learners to find the source to learn it. There are lots of movies and literatures in Spanish that are easy to find. If people use it persistently, it will help them to learn the language better because they will be comfortable with the beauty of the language.

3. The grammar is simple

Spanish grammar consists of very few exceptions that people could learn in a short time because the exceptions are not that many. For instance, nouns in Spanish only have two genders: masculine and feminine. It is simple to differentiate the both of them, all you need to do is just look at the end of the word. Usually, if the word ends with -o, it is masculine. For instance, lapicero (pen) and plato (plate). For feminine words, it ends with -a, such as Bienvenida (welcome) and encantada (fine). To form a sentence, the order is the same as English. It provides subject-verb-object order. Spanish also has irregular verbs, but it is not as complicated as English. There will be several groups of irregular verbs and it will follow the same pattern. For example, contar (count) and salir (go out).

4. Using latin alphabet

Spanish uses the Latin alphabet. It makes English or Bahasa Indonesia native speakers feel easier learning Spanish rather than Mandarin, Russian, or Korean because they are familiar with the alphabet that is being used. There are several alphabets that you need to pronounce differently in Spanish, such as the alphabet J. J in Spanish is pronounced as H in English, when you read the name Javier, it is not J, but it sounds like “Ha-vi-yer.”

In brief, learning Spanish is easy, just like eating taco. In one bite, you could be a master in Spanish if you do it persistently. If you have a desire to learn Spanish, go for it! Like the flavour of tacos, you will taste the excitement that you have never experienced before if you dare! Do it now or the taco will be your loss!

References

Lyons, Dylan. 9 easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Babbel Magazine. https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/easiest-languages-for-english-speakers-to-learn

Liputan6.com. (2019, November 29). 10 Bahasa dengan Penutur Terbanyak Di Dunia, Indonesia Urutan Berapa? liputan6.com. https://m.liputan6.com/global/read/4063214/10-bahasa-dengan-penutur-terbanyak-di-dunia-indonesia-urutan-berapa

Malathronas, J. (2021, April 26). Which languages are hardest for native English speakers to learn? CNN Travel. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/amp/learn-a-foreign-language-wellness/index.html