linguistic　centre　of　Scandinavia。　A　Dane　can　deal　comfortably　with　Norwegian；　but　much
  less　so　with　Swedish。　A　Swede　can　deal　comfortably　with　Norwegian；　but　much　less　so
  with　Danish。　A　Norwegian　can　deal　comfortably　with　both　Swedish　and　Danish。
  The　Scandinavian　languages　are　relatively　easy　for　Americans　to　learn。　They’re
  Germanic　languages；　related　to　English；　but　vastly　easier　to　learn　than　German。　The　verbs
  don’t　change　for　person　and　number；　and　only　slightly　for　tense。　The　word　order　follows
  English　obligingly　most　of　the　way。　Like　Dutch；　the　Scandinavian　languages　have　two
  genders　–　common　and　neuter　–　and　the　definite　article　follows　the　noun　and　becomes
  one　word。　（For　example；　“a　pen”　in　Norwegian　is　en　penn；　“the　pen”　is　pennen。）
  Holland　is　said　to　be　the　non…English　speaking　country　with　the　highest　percentage
  of　people　fluent　in　English。　The　three　Scandinavian　countries　are　close　behind。　You　may
  never　need　their　language　no　matter　where　you　go　or　who　you　deal　with　in　Scandinavia；
  but　Scandinavians　are　among　the　most　appreciative　people　on　earth　if　you　know　their
  language　anyhow。
  Polish；　Croatian；　Czech；　Slovak；　Slovenian
  These　western　Slavic　languages　use　the　Roman　alphabet。　The　eastern　Slavic　languages
  use　the　Cyrillic　（sometimes　mistakenly　called　the　Russian）　alphabet。　Don’t　suggest　it
  after　a　few　drinks　in　Warsaw；　but　Polish　might　be　better　off　using　the　Cyrillic　alphabet。　A
  Polish　sound　resembling　the　sh　combined　with　the　following　ch　in　push　charlie　is　spelled
  szcz　in　Polish。　That　sound；　which　requires　four　letters　in　the　Roman　alphabet；　needs　only
  one　in　the　Cyrillic！　Romanising　Slavic　languages　leads　to　orthographical　madness。　A
  newspaper　reporter　in　a　small　Southern　town　went　into　his　editor’s　office　and　said；
  “There’s　been　an　earthquake　in　the　Polish　city　of　Pszczyna。”　He　showed　the　editor　the
  story　off　the　wire。　After　a　momentary　frown　the　editor　looked　up　and　said；　“Find　out
  what　the　name　of　the　place　was　before　the　earthquake！”
  Except　for　Polish；　none　of　these　languages　has　much　bounce　beyond　its　borders；　but
  if　your　reason　for　wanting　to　learn　them　involves　family；　love；　or　business；　that　won’t
  matter。　All　Slavic　languages　are　grammatically　complex。　Verbs　change　for　reasons　that
  leave　even　those　who　speak　Romance　languages　weeping　over　their　wine　and　wondering
  why。　There　are　at　least　six　noun　cases　in　every　Slavic　language；　sometimes　seven。
  The　big　payoff　in　learning　any　of　these　Slavic　languages　is　the　automatic　down
  payment　you’re　making　on　Russian　itself。　Russian　will　be　a　breeze　if　you　already　know
  another　Slavic　language；　and　conversely；　the　other　Slavic　languages　will　come　more
  easily　if　you　already　know　Russian。
  Serbian；　Bulgarian；　Macedonian；　Ukranian；
  Byelorussian
  Everything　stated　above　about　the　western　Slavic　languages　applies　to　these　eastern
  Slavic　languages　with　one　exception　–　they　use　the　Cyrillic　alphabet；　with　slight
  variations　from　language　to　language。
  The　similarities　between　Serbian　and　Croatian；　the　main　languages　of　Yugoslavia；
  are　so　striking　the　languages　are　usually　lumped　together　as　Serbo…Croatian。
  If　you　know　any　two　Slavic　languages；　you　can　make　yourself　understood　in　any　of
  the　other　Slavic　languages。　That　may　be　challenged　by　Slavic　scholars；　but　it　works　well
  in　real　life　between　the　western　border　of　Poland　and　the　Ural　Mountains　and　from　the
  arctic　tip　of　Russia　to　the　Black　Sea　beaches　of　Bulgaria。
  Indonesian
  Indonesia　is　the　world’s　most　populous　Muslim　nation。　Consisting　of　hundreds　of　islands
  spread　out　over　a　South　Pacific　area　the　size　of　the　United　States；　Indonesia　is　easily　the
  largest　country　in　the　world　about　which　the　most　other　people　in　the　world　know　the
  least。　With　enough　mineral　wealth　in　the　ground　to　make　it　an　economic　superpower；
  Indonesia　is　still　frequently　confused　with　India　or　Polynesia。
  Indonesian　is　the　easiest　major　language　in　the　world　for　a　foreigner　to　learn。　It　was
  called　Pasar　Malay　（“Bazaar　Malay”）　by　the　colonial　Dutch　who　looked　upon　the
  Indonesian　language　as　a　kind　of　baby　talk　for　servants　and　merchants。　When　Indonesia
  won　independence　in　1948；　the　ruler；　Sukarno；　did　his　best　to　take　that　unstructured
  language　and　graft　some　sophisticated　grammar　onto　it　to　make　it　more　regimented　and
  thus　difficult。　He　failed。
  Indonesian　still　has　nothing　that　will　be　regarded　as　grammar　by　anybody　who’s
  done　battle　with　Latin　or　Russian。　There　are　suffixes　and　prefixes　aplenty；　neat　and
  regular；　that　convert　verbs　into　nouns　and　give　verbs　additional　meanings　and　the　like；
  but　no　inflections　according　to　person；　number；　tense；　aspect；　or　anything　else。
  Indonesian　uses　the　Roman　alphabet　and　is　delightfully　easy　to　pronounce。　If
  you’ve　ever　studied　any　other　language；　you’ll　marvel　at　how　quickly　and　clearly　you’ll
  understand　and　be　understood。
  Indonesian　is　closely　related　to　Malayan；　the　language　of　Malaysia　and　Singapore；
  and　gives　you　a　head　start　in　Tagalog；　the　major　language　of　the　Philippines。
  Hindi　and　Urdu
  The　spoken　languages　of　India　and　Pakistan；　Hindi　and　Urdu；　are　so　close　that　the　true
  language　lover　is　tempted　to　take　the　plunge　even　though　both　languages　use　different
  and；　to　us；　unfamiliar　scripts　（Devanagari；　and　a　mixture　of　Persian　and　Arabic）。　Though
  other　languages　abound　on　the　Indian　subcontinent；　Hindi…Urdu　united　their　respective
  nations　and　whoever　jumps　in　（despite　the　current　lack　of　good　learning　materials）　will
  be　able　to　communicate　with　a　population　second　only　to　that　of　China。
  Hungarian；　Finnish；　Estonian
  Despite　the　grammatical　complexity　and　the　relatively　small　pool　of　native　speakers；　an
  occasional　adventurer　is　drawn　almost　masochistically　to　the　three　Finno…Ugric
  languages。　If　you　were　the　hated　kid　in　ninth　grade　who　stayed　after　algebra　class　to　beg
  the　teacher　to　introduce　you　to　calculus；　they　might　want　to　try　one　of　these。
  Every　word　in　all　three　languages　is　accented　on　the　first　syllable　–　every　single
  word；　names　and　all；　giving　those　languages　the　sound　of　a　pneumatic　jackhammer
  breaking　up　a　sidewalk。　There　are；　in　Finnish；　fifteen　noun　cases　in　the　singular　and
  sixteen　in　the　plural。　Hungarian　and　Estonian　aren’t　far　behind。　And　that’s　the　easy　part！
  People　whose　language　you　choose　to　learn　often　ask　polite　questions　about　why
  you　wanted　to　learn　their　language。　Let　on　to　a　Finn；　a　Hungarian；　or　an　Estonian　that　you
  know　a　little　bit　of　their　language　and　you　will　not　merely　be　questioned。　You’ll　be　cross
  examined！
  Swahili
  Swahili　enjoyed　a　surge　of　support　beginning　in　the　late　1960’s　among　young　American
  blacks　who　wanted　to　reconnect　to　their　African　roots。　Anyone　who　pressed　on　and
  mastered　Swahili　would　today　speak　a　language　spoken　by　fifty　million　people　living　in
  central　and　eastern　Africa；　including　the　nations　of　Kenya　and　Tanzania　in　which　Swahili
  is　the　national　language。　Swahili　is　a　Bantu　language；　and　once　you　learn　it　you　can
  expect　easy　going　when　you　decide　to　learn　Kiganda；　Kikamba；　Kikuyu；　Kinyanja；
  Kichaga；　Kiluba；　Kishona；　Kizulu；　Kikongo；　and　Kiduala；　all　of　which　are　spoken　over
  smaller　areas　in　Africa　south　of　the　Sahara。
  Swahili　uses　the　Roman　alphabet。　The　Say　It　In　Swahili　phrase　book　advises　us　not
  to　be　discouraged　by　words　like　kitakachonisahilishia；　because　Swahili　grammar　is
  mercifully　regular　and　logical！
  English
  The　mere　fact　that　you’re　reading　these　words　right　now　calls　for　self　congratulations。　It
  means　you’re　fluent　in　the　winner；　the　international　language；　the　number　one　language
  of　all　time！
  When　a　Soviet　plane　approaches　the　airport　in　China；　the　pilot　and　the　control　tower
  don’t　speak　Russian　to　each　other。　They　don’t　speak　Chinese。　They　speak　English。　If　an
  Italian　plane　is　about　to　land　in　another　part　of　Italy；　the　Italian　pilot　and　the　Italian　traffic
  control　person　also　speak　English。
  When　the　Israeli　general　and　the　Egyptian　general　met　in　Sinai　in　October　1973　to
  talk　truce　in　the　Yom　Kippur　War；　they　didn’t　speak　Hebrew。　They　didn’t　speak　Arabic。
  They　spoke　English。
  When　Norwegian　whaling　ships　put　into　the　port　of　Capetown；　South　Africa；　to　hire
  Zulu　seamen；　the　interviewing　is　not　done　in　Norwegian　or　Zulu。　It’s　done　in　English。
  The　parliaments　of　Sweden；　Denmark；　and　Norway　send　delegates　to　a　body　called
  the　Nordic　Council。　Their　official　meetings　are　conducted　–　at　great　expense　in
  interpreters　and　simultaneous　interpretation　equipment　–　in　Swedish；　Danish　and
  Norwegian。　When　the　meetings　end；　however；　and　the　delegates　from　the　three
  neighbouring　countries　adjourn　to　the　bar　and　the　dining　room；　they　all　start　speaking
  English　with　each　other！
  Haven’t　you　noticed　something　odd　about　protestors　you　have　seen　on　TV
  demonstrating　in　Lithuania；　Estonia；　Korea；　Iraq；　Mexico；　and　other　countrie