Why is it that French is so hard?

Answer 1

French is not difficult it's just like learning any other language ! It's very hard learning a language because we are not familiar with it and we have never used it before, if you study hard at a language it will get easier because you are getting familiar with it and it then will be easier for you to pick up new words.

Some languages are very hard to learn because they are tonal, not atonal like English (Chinese), use different alphabets (Arabic), cases and declensions not found in English (Russian), or sounds not present in English (Bantu tongue clicks). French has none of these problems. It is close enough to English that it is almost an English dialect. This results from a wealth of shared words, Latin origins, a similar alphabet and a familiarity from French words present in English (and in Canada - all Corn Flakes boxes, in fact all products sold in stores, are written both official languages so that even small kids get to practice French every day)
Firstly, it isn't hard... to the french.

This sounds like a flippant reply at first, but understand that it is only difficult because it is unknown to you. When I tutor, I tell the students that there is no such thing as a foreign language. Meaning, that you already know the sounds of the language; you just don't know what they mean in that language. For example: the english words "come on" are the exact same sound as the french word "comment". "Salute" in english is the same as "salut" in french...without the T. Each simply means somethign different in that language.

Secondly, here's where it might get a little difficult. There are approximately 44 sounds to the english language, but only 14-16 in french. This is one reason why the french seem so particular about the language. There are a limitied number of sounds, and if one says something even slightly incorrectly, they might be changing the entire meaning of the word.

Thirdly, english is mostly pronounced in the front of the mouth (which is very interesting because most Americans have very lazy mouths... meaning speech/enunciation). French words are all formed within the throat and mouth. Here are 2 examples of how the french use the throat and whole mouth...... 1 - a good way to practice the french R is to pronounce an H before it. 2 - to say the french word "bon", do not say it at the front of the mouth with the lips emphasizing the B; fill the cheeks with air, then simply open the mouth saying the word.

Bonne chance. [pronounced "bun" "shah-ance"] See, you already know the sounds, just not the words.