Previous Next 9. English is a very difficult language to learn unless you've been immersed in it since birth. English spelling is said to be more difficult than any other language except Gaelic. English grammar, although it may be fairly simple, is riddled with exceptions.
Verbs are very often irregular.
English has gained its present stature because of the current economic and political power of English-speaking countries. In fact, one of the main reasons why Esperanto was never adopted by the League of Nations was that France blocked efforts to adopt it. They were proven wrong within twenty years. Knowing English may be sufficient to survive as a tourist in many places, but not for more. One Chinese Esperanto speaker described Esperanto as a linguistic handshake.