Don Harlow wrote:
 
> ...  the
>difficulty of learning a language is more closely related to the
>_motivation_ for learning it than it is to the relationship with the
>student's parent language, or any other language that he or she happens to
>know.
 
Having just read, and responded, to another post (Ray Brown's) in which the
word "motivation" was used, I would like to state that while I agree that
_motivation_ for learning the language is important, I don't think it deter-
mines the ease of learning. It may determine the _speed_ of learning (a person
who is highly motivated will _try_ harder) and certainly will determine the
choice whether to study a language or not, and the choice, if the first decis-
ion is made in the affirmative, of which language to study.
 
But I think it can be stated safely that there are two things that make a lang-
uage easy to learn. Similarity to one's native language (or to a well-learned
L2) makes a language easier (though obviously this means that while Belarussian
is relatively easy for a Pole, it would not be for a Frenchman), and simplicity
of the grammar does as well. (This is why E-ists can state, correctly, that one
can learn E-o faster than a typical natlang. They will not, however, take it
to the final conclusion: if an IAL of equal expressivity can be produced with a
simpler grammatical structure than E-o, it will even MORE quickly be learned.)
 
 
 
                                Bruce R. Gilson
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                                IRC: EZ-as-pi
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