is there something that makes a language objectively harder/easier to learn?

Question

As a native English speaker, I hear things like “this” language is hard/easy to learn. Does this mean it is only hard/easy to learn coming from an English background, or would someone who speaks Spanish also find it similarly harder/easier to learn as well?

In: Other

Answer 1

[Lexical distance ](https://www.openculture.com/2017/08/a-colorful-map-visualizes-the-lexical-distances-between-europes-languages.html) from your known language(s) matter a lot. Also pronunciation (tonality, different sounds like clicks, etc) is hard since if we don’t use it, our brains become “deaf” to them. Also stuff like number of characters, language registers… All can make it very complicated for someone who is not used to that.