I've lived in both Italy and Spain..( albeit Spain for much longer)...and I find Spanish much easier ..not easy...just easier lol.
Don't forget that over the centuries, many other races and nationalities have "visited" the British Isles. Stayed a while and left a bit of themselves behind when they were politely asked to vacate the premises! There are a great deal of foreign implants in the English language.
I believe there has been a number of attempts to simplify the English language. Professor Crystal suggests it would reduce the learning time in school by twenty percent. I fear the elite English scholar's would resent losing their advantages
Why is there no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger, and neither pine or apple in pineapple? Why do overlook and oversee mean the opposite things? How come a slim chance and a fat chance mean the same thing? Why is a pair of pants only one item? Why aren’t boxing rings round? Your doctor is said to be practicing medicine. Shouldn’t he have already done that before becoming your doctor?