First of all, I want to start out by letting you know that I insist that English is NOT easier to learn than Spanish. Spanish is easier to learn than English.
But today I want to talk about why some people disagree with me. Many native Spanish speakers have told me that it is easier to learn English than Spanish because Spanish has so many more words.
Which Has More Words English or Spanish?
Rest assured that any grammarian will tell you that the Spanish language has fewer words than the English language.
But a lot of people find this hard to believe. It certainly seems that the Spanish language has more words than the English language. And I am not just talking about the way that Spanish speakers in one country will use words and phrases which are different from the words and phrases that Spanish speakers use in another country.
Within the same country you will hear Spanish speakers use different words and phrases for the same things. But what I find so surprising is that in the Spanish language there are nouns, verbs and adjectives for words where in English we were only blessed with a noun.
For example, take the Spanish noun “flecha” which means the English word “arrow.” In Spanish, not only is there a noun for this word but there’s also a verb: flechar
The Spanish verb “flechar” actually has two meanings: 1.) to injure with arrows. 2.) to cause to fall in love.
The second definition obviously originates from the story of Cupid. You know, the mischievous, winged child from Roman mythology who was armed with a bow and some arrows. He’s the one who was famous for piercing hearts.
Arguably, you can use “arrow” in English as a verb. But that’s not how the word “arrow” is normally used in English.
Now think about this . . .
There are seven simple tenses in Spanish:
presente de indicativo, imperfecto de indicativo, pretérito, futuro, potencial simple, presente de subjunctivo, imperfecto de subjunctivo.
And there are seven compound tenses in Spanish:
perfecto de indicativo, pluscuamperfecto de indicativo, pretérito anterior, futuro perfecto, potencial compuesto, perfecto de subjunctivo, and pluscuamperfecto de subjunctivo.
So by having a verb for the word “arrow” (flechar), and since there are seven simple tenses and seven compound tenses in Spanish (a total of 14), the Spanish language already has 14 more words than the English language — 15 if you include the verb “flechar” itself.
And I am just getting started.
Each verb tense has 6 “person” forms: 1. first person singular (yo); 2. second person singular (tú ); 3. third person singular (usted, él, ella); 4.first person plural (nosotros); 5. second personal plural (vosotros); 6. third person plural (ustedes, ellos, etc.).
So if we multiply the 14 tenses time the 6 “person” forms, Spanish already has 84 words that we do not have in English.
I’m still warming up.
And let’s not forget the various “imperativo” forms: flecha, no fleches, fleche, flechemos, flechen.
Spanish also has other nouns that we don’t have in English. Unlike in English, there is a word in Spanish for a injury that was specifically caused by an arrow: flechazo
The word “flechazo” actually has a more common meaning in Spanish. “Flechazo” also means “enamoramiento súbito” or “love at first sight.”
Since there’s a verb “flechar” in Spanish, guess what Spanish also has?
You guessed it. There’s also an adjective for this word: flechado Besides the obvious, having to do with an arrow, “flechado” also means to be in love.
There’s actually a popular song in Spanish called “Flechado Estoy” (I am in love.) And besides “flechado estoy” or “estoy flechado,” someone can say “estoy enamorado” in order to say “I am in love.”
So that’s the side of the argument that says that it is easier to learn English than Spanish. I will continue this topic in my next blog post.
