Vietnamese is considered to be a hard language, for English speakers because it has significant linguistic differences. Vietnamese is a tonal language, and although it uses the Latin script there are different characters that don't appear in the English language. But learning Vietnamese doesn't have to be difficult.
According to FSI, the Foreign Service Institute, Vietnamese is categorized as Category IV of languages. The difficulty is just below learning Arabic, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. It normally takes 44 weeks or 1100 class hours to reach fluency.
Vietnamese. Why it's hard: Vietnamese is a tonal language with six different tones that dictate the meaning of a word. The high number of vowel sounds also prove difficult for English speakers to nail down.
Fluency in Vietnamese usually takes 44 weeks or 1100 class hours. If you study Vietnamese for 1 hour every day, seven days a week, you will be fluent after 40 months (about three years).
These two factors make the Vietnamese become very special than 6,500 languages in the world. However, this also makes the Vietnamese language becomes a “Struggle” for native English speakers, and also difficult for native speakers to learn English.
Vietnamese is easier than Thai. The use of the Latin alphabet is easier to learn and start reading. The pronunciation and grammar are similar and take an equal amount of time to learn. The Thai alphabet has a more significant learning curve and therefore takes longer.
This is actually just one example of a wider point: Vietnamese grammar is incredibly simple. Most of the time, you can just say the minimum amount of words needed to get your point across and the result is grammatically correct Vietnamese, no matter how “broken” it would sound in English.
Vietnamese has often been described as sounding like birdsong because of its expressive flourishes and the way it seems to flutter along like the wings of a hummingbird. For foreigners who are just starting to learn the language, it sounds like a hopelessly incomprehensible stream of emotionally-charged music.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
It acts as a gateway to new cultures and languages
Language isn't just about the alphabet, grammar rules, and vocabulary. It covers history, culture, and tradition. Vietnam's detailed history and culture are reflected in its language.
Since ancient times, Thai and Vietnamese have been affecting each other. Both the languages have been heavily influenced by Chinese vocabulary so they may sound similar. Their shared history is why the two languages seem identical to most people.
Vietnamese is considered to be a hard language, for English speakers because it has significant linguistic differences. Vietnamese is a tonal language, and although it uses the Latin script there are different characters that don't appear in the English language.
“Hello” in Vietnamese – Xin chào
It's easy to remember because chào sounds just like the Italian greeting “ciao”, which is often used in English. The accent on chào tells you that it's pronounced using the “falling tone”.
Indonesian is the easiest Asian language since its writing system is based on the Latin alphabet. However, the Cyrillic script is used for several other Asian languages. It is due to the fact that both Indonesian vocabulary and sentence or grammatical structure are pretty simple.
Many Vietnamese customs and values are rooted in both the Confucian respect for education, family, and elders, and the Taoist desire to avoid conflict. Vietnamese tend to be very polite, avoid talking about feelings, and are stoic. Thua (meaning please) is added in front of an honorific name to show respect to elders.
When greeting someone, say “xin chao” (seen chow) + given name + title. The Vietnamese are delighted if a Westerner can properly say “xin chao” (because Vietnamese is a tonal language, “xin chao” can have six different meanings, only one of which is "Hello").
Xin chào is perhaps the most proper and courteous way to say “hello” in Vietnamese. It can be used to greet anybody. Moreover, chào sounds quite similar to the Italian salutation “ciao,” making it simple to recall. The emphasis on the word “chào” indicates that it should be spoken with a “falling tone.”
No matter how old you are, what career you have, or if you are still questioning whether to learn it or not - it's never too late to give it a try!
Many Vietnamese people study English in school, and you will find that a lot of people speak and understand English in Vietnam, as well as other major tourist hotspots around the country. So generally communication should go smoothly.
I've heard varying opinions on which are easier and harder, and from what I've gathered roughly...it goes from easiest to hardest: Viet > Korean > Mandarin > Japanese.