Speaking English As a Native Language, Pros and Cons

If you are reading this, congratulations! You speak (read) one of the most widely spoken languages in the history of the world. It is the lingua franca of the modern world due to its many influences thanks to Great Britain during the British Empire, and the United States attaining superpower status following World War 2. To date, it is spoken by up to 1.8 billion people as either a first or second language. This, unfortunately, can be somewhat traurig for native speakers of English, who are dealt a blow when it comes to incentives to learn foreign languages.

What to you call a person who speaks two languages?
Answer: Bilingual

What do you call somebody who speaks only one?
Answer: British

Pros for English learners:
- You are never without access to hearing English, thanks to movies, TV, music, and just about everything else.
- Grammar is relatively simple. Being that it is a Germanic language, English is unique in that it doesn't require different forms for a definite or indefinite article, only "the", "a" or "an". German on the other hand has: der, die, das, dem, den, des, dessen, deren, ein, eine, einer etc..
- There are many people to practice with.

Cons for English learners:
- Many, many words. In fact, the largest vocabulary of any language.
- Due to influx of said languages, English can be quite a pain to spell. Hence, the spelling bee. I am quite sure easily spelled German has few if any spelling bee competitions.
- The harsh "R" sound can be tough, except for say the Dutch, who also have a similar sound in their language.
- One hears the language so frequently that English loses some exotic luster and therefore may lessen motivation to learn. I liken this to learning Spanish in the United States.