Is a Third Language Really Easier to Learn?

Once you have your mother tongue down and a second language under your belt, the third one is a piece of cake...Right? I've heard that particular pearl of wisdom more than once, and it certainly has at least a modicum of truth to it. In my experience, going through the actual mechanics of foreign language learning once helped me prepare for the repeat: I had an arsenal of grammatical tools, pronunciation guides and memory tricks on hand for round two.

Nevertheless, I also beg to differ with the 'third language' theory, on the basis that not all language learning is created equal. Take, for example, this crucial question: which languages are you learning, and in what order? The answer in my case is that I have English, French and Russian safely tucked away under my belt and am currently endeavouring to pick up Spanish (thanks to my parents, who recently moved to Spain) and Danish (thanks to my Danish husband, who recently became my husband). Although I only visit Spain a handful of times a year, my Spanish is progressing nicely; normally, if I stare hard enough at a sentence for long enough, I can muddle out what it might mean. Already knowing one Romance language basically gives me a head start on learning a second one. Danish, on the other hand, is entirely my first Nordic language, and while the grammar is sometimes (thanks god) like English, I spend most of my study time floundering through various vowel sounds like a wet fish. It's harder. And why shouldn't it be, when I don't have the same leg up?

One more essential factor is when the language is learned. I was chatting recently with a Ukrainian friend of Moldovan heritage who casually expressed regret that, since growing up in Ireland, she could no longer speak Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian fluently the way she had as a child. She said her Ukrainian was only good enough to watch movies in...as someone with a Masters of Philosophy in Russian who still puts the subtitles on now and then, I'll admit I felt a twinge of jealousy. Because for her, learning with a young brain, the third language was no more effort than the first, whereas for me, the language I learned at age twenty will never be as deeply embedded as the ones I learned at ages two and twelve.

All that said, while every language learner finds their challenges, what keeps us going isn't the right language combination, good timing or even experience: ultimately, what makes a language easy to learn is the love of doing so. And that's true for your third language, your fourth, your fifth or even your fifteenth..!