Language difference

Question

I have heard that if I know Spanish, then it will make learning French easier. Is there any truth behind this?

Answer 1

I have intermediate fluency in both. I learned French first, and I must say that this is true to an extent. The way the verbs are conjugated is very similar. There are lots of cognates as well. However, there are also many differences that would not aid in the learning process. For example, French, like English, mandates the use of subject pronouns. However, Spanish does not.

Answer 2

I would say if you are going to learn Italian, that knowing Spanish would make that easier. I found that to be true.

Answer 3

Yes It's true. Spanish is the least complicated of the five latin-rooted languages. These include (in order of simplicity) Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and Romanian.

Answer 4

My step-daughter is from Colombia and speaks Spanish and English fluently. Recently she studied both French and Italian in immersion courses in Europe. I asked her about your question, and her feeling is that Italian matches up in grammar and syntax and cognates more readily with Spanish rather than French.