What is the Closest Language to English? - Rosetta Stone (2024)

The closest language to English is one called Frisian, which is a Germanic language spoken by a small population of about 480,000 people. There are three separate dialects of the language, and it’s only spoken at the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany.

However, the closest major language to English, is Dutch. With 23 million native speakers, and an additional 5 million who speak it as a second language, Dutch is the 3rd most-widely spoken Germanic language in the world after English and German. It’s a very popular language to learn, not only because it is the closest language to English, but also because of the accommodating manner of Dutch natives. The Dutch people are famous for their acceptance of visitors. In fact, at any given moment in Amsterdam, the Dutch capital, 30% of the population is composed of visitors. Unlike some cultures, the Dutch are far less likely to be offended if you make a grammatical mistake when learning to speak the language. So dive right in and practice your Dutch with confidence.

For the same reasons Dutch is the closest language to English, German is also a close language, and another one that many English speakers may find easier to learn. Dutch is commonly mentioned as the language nestled between English and German.

Whether you want to learn a language that is close to English, such asDutch or German, or you have your heart set on another of the 23 additional languages that Rosetta Stone offers, we are confident that our program can help you achieve your goal.

Learn the most similar language to English

Learning a new languagecan transform your personal or professional life by opening you to a world full of new possibilities. You have already taken the first step by choosing a trusted language learning program.

Rosetta Stone has over 25 years of language learning experience. We know that anyone has the ability to learn to read, write, and speak a language with ease. Our method of language learning, called Dynamic Immersion®, helps you acquire vocabulary and phrases in the context in which they’re used in everyday conversations, building confidence through speaking, and contextualizing your learning. This method has been proven to help language learners build confidence speaking so they can thrive in real-world situations.

The most important thing you can do to be successful in learning a new language is to make practice a part of your daily routine. Try to seek out immersive opportunities in the language you are learning, such as listening to a podcast or TV show with the subtitles off. If possible, find a way to engage with native speakers. Additionally, with Rosetta Stone’s award-winning mobile app, fitting in the brief, 10-minute lessons is a breeze. The mobile app is included with your subscription and is always in sync with the desktop version, making language lessons fit easily into your daily routine.

In order to achieve true success, your language program must emphasize speaking the language and practicing pronunciation. You need to know what to say and how to say it as a local would. There’s little point in knowing the words if you can’t speak and understand them through conversation. Rosetta Stone helps get accurate pronunciation right from your very first lesson. We embed a patented speech recognition engine called TruAccent® into every lesson. By comparing your voice to thousands of native speakers, TruAccent gives you real-time feedback which enables you to make adjustments and perfect your accent in real-time. TruAccent is a powerful tool to help you learn a language close to English, or any language you may choose.

What is the Closest Language to English? - Rosetta Stone (2024)

FAQs

What language is most closely related to English? ›

Consequently, the impact of various languages has transformed English into a distinctive blend of Germanic and Romance tongues. Dutch, Frisian, and German stand as the nearest kin to English, with Frisian holding the strongest resemblance.

What is the alternative to Rosetta Stone? ›

The best overall Rosetta Stone alternative is Duolingo. Other similar apps like Rosetta Stone are Busuu, Lingvist, Mango Languages, and Babbel for Business. Rosetta Stone alternatives can be found in Language Learning Software.

What level of fluency is Rosetta Stone? ›

For English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian you have two options: Foundations (beginner, CEFR level A1 - A2) and Fluency Builder (intermediate/advanced, CEFR level B1 - C1).

Is English closer to Dutch or German? ›

So dive right in and practice your Dutch with confidence. For the same reasons Dutch is the closest language to English, German is also a close language, and another one that many English speakers may find easier to learn. Dutch is commonly mentioned as the language nestled between English and German.

What language did Jesus speak? ›

Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia.

Is English closer to Spanish or German? ›

English vs Spanish

For instance, Spanish is more closely related to Portuguese and Italian, while English is closer to German and Dutch. However, Spanish and English are more closely related to one another than they are to any of the Russian, Mandarin, or Polish languages.

Can you become fluent off Rosetta Stone? ›

Rosetta Stone is designed to help people learn a language quickly and effectively, but it won't make you fluent in any language. To become truly fluent, you need more than just the Rosetta Stone program.

How does Babbel compare to Rosetta Stone? ›

Rosetta Stone will get you speaking and understanding fast because of its real-life content; Babbel builds your skills over the long term because they're being built to be more flexible, and useful in a variety of contexts (reading books, watching TV, etc.).

Do people really learn with Rosetta Stone? ›

Rosetta Stone is incredibly useful when you need to learn vocabulary, gender, plurals, and some verb conjugations, but it's not as helpful when it comes to complex grammar, nuance, or cultural context.

Can Rosetta Stone get you to C2? ›

These levels range from beginners at A1 to advanced learners at C2. Rosetta Stone for Enterprise uses CEFR alignment to ensure a seamless progression toward achieving language proficiency for all employees.

Is Rosetta Stone struggling? ›

Rosetta Stone shares have tumbled as the company struggles to offset its late transition into mobile apps and new rivals in a crowded language-learning market.

Can Rosetta Stone get you to B2? ›

Intermediate/advanced level content (CEFR levels B1, B2 and C1) is available in Fluency Builder for the following languages: English (English and British)

What is the hardest language to learn? ›

1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons.

What language is most spoken in the world? ›

Top 100 Languages by Population
RankLanguage NamePopulation
1CHINESE, MANDARIN [CHN]885,000,000
2SPANISH [SPN]332,000,000
3ENGLISH [ENG]322,000,000
4BENGALI [BNG]189,000,000
103 more rows

Is English more Germanic or French? ›

English vocabulary comprises 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic, and 6% Greek.

Is English closer to French or Spanish? ›

In fact, the lexical similarity between French and Spanish is about 75%, meaning that a high percentage of the words in these languages are very similar. For comparison, French and Spanish both share a less than 50% lexical similarity with English.

Which two languages are most closely related? ›

Here are some pretty similar pairs:
  • Spanish and Portuguese. The most mutually intelligible pair of Romance languages is Spanish and Portuguese. ...
  • Spanish and Italian. ...
  • Italian and Romanian. ...
  • French and Occitan. ...
  • Afrikaans and Dutch. ...
  • German and English. ...
  • German and Dutch. ...
  • Norwegian and Swedish.
Apr 12, 2024

Which Scandinavian language is closest to English? ›

Some people say that Danish is the closest, while others say that Norwegian or Swedish is closer. In reality, it's probably fair to say that all three of these languages are quite similar to English, and that anyone who knows one of these languages will have an easier time learning the other two.

What language is least related to English? ›

The least similar language to English is also the least similar to every other language. Basque language has about a half dozen dialects and is a language isolate. It belongs to no language family. The English language is part of the Germanic language branch of the Indo-European languages.

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