On the surface you might not think there is much connection between Spanish and English, but you may be surprised to learn that they’re actually not-too-distant relations. They share the Latin alphabet for a start, which is a great foundation for any English speaker who wishes to learn a second language. What’s more, did you know that 30% to 40% of English words have a related word in Spanish? This is great news for students as words which appear and sound similar as well as having a similar meaning – known as cognates – make the job of learning and remembering the new language so much easier than learning a language like Chinese, for example, which has very few cognates in common.
Furthermore, as both languages are derived from Latin, sentences are formed in much the same way. There are a couple of differences in word order, for example adjectives go before nouns in English whereas the opposite is true in Spanish. So the translation of the English “the blue dress” in Spanish becomes “el vestido azul”, i.e. “the dress blue”. This, however, is a simple rule to learn and will quickly become second nature.
And so you see there is no reason to feel daunted about your decision to learn Spanish. It is, in fact, one of the easiest languages for English speakers to pick up. At Lingua Clinic we have a variety of learning delivery methods to suit your needs. Choose from private Spanish lessons, group training or intensive Spanish lessons if you want to learn the language quickly.