The most spoken languages in the world

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Mandarin: the most spoken language in the world

With over a billion native speakers, Mandarin Chinese is the most-spoken language in the world. The Mandarin language is the official language of China and Taiwan, as well as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. As a tonal language, Mandarin changes its meaning based on its pronunciation.

 

Spanish: the second most spoken language in the world

Spanish is one of the world's most spoken languages in second spot, with over 460 million native speakers across more than 20 Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish is the official language of Spain and most Latin American countries. It is also spoken in the United States as the second most commonly spoken language after English. Romance languages, such as Spanish, evolved from Latin.

 

English: the third most spoken language in the world

English is the world's third most widely spoken language, with over 379 million native English speakers. English is an official language in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is also the language of international business and diplomacy. English is one of at least 47 Germanic languages that evolved from Old English, spoken in England in the Middle Ages.

 

Conversely to the most spoken languages in the world, English is the most popular second language studied globally, followed by Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

 

Hindi: the fourth most spoken language in the world

Hindi is the world's fourth most widely spoken language, with over 341 million native speakers. Additionally, the following facts are good to consider when translating to Hindi;

• Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language that evolved from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. 

• Hindi is one of many official languages of India, and it is also spoken in Nepal, Mauritius, and Fiji. 

• Hindi and other Indian languages are widely spoken in Northern India and other parts of the world with Indian diaspora populations.

 

Arabic: the fifth most spoken language in the world

Arabic is the world's fifth most widely spoken language, with over 315 million native speakers. Arabic is a Semitic language that evolved from ancient Aramaic. Arabic is the official language (known as Modern Standard Arabic) of many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq, each with its own regional dialects. It is also spoken in many other countries, including Pakistan and Indonesia.

 

Other languages

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Other widely spoken languages include Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and German;

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• Bengali is spoken by over 228 million people in Bangladesh and India. 

• Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and several other countries. 

• Russian is spoken by over 258 million people in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. 

• Japanese is spoken by over 128 million people in Japan and other countries around the world. 

• German is spoken by over 132 million people in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

 

Besides these widely spoken languages, thousands of other languages are used worldwide. 

 

Something to consider if you're targetting new markets is that many countries may have their own languages, with some having multiple official languages recognised at a national level. For example, European languages are spoken widely across Europe, with some countries having multiple official languages.

 

In many countries, a state language is designated as the official national language for government officials and documentation, where local and regional languages are often spoken alongside official national languages for everyday communication.

 

From a global perspective, the United Nations recognises six languages as official languages of the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

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Across the world, some languages can be endangered, meaning they risk becoming extinct as fewer and fewer people speak them. Languages such as indigenous and minority languages risk becoming extinct as fewer people speak them over time and generations.

 

Some endangered languages include:

 

• Ainu is the native language spoken by the indigenous people of Japan.

• Nǀuu is a language spoken by the San people of South Africa.

• Coptic, an Afroasiatic language, is still used today among Coptic Egyptians in a liturgical setting. Coptic is the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language.

 

While some languages are widely spoken, others are at risk of becoming extinct languages, highlighting the importance of language preservation and documentation. Many extinct languages, like Old Norse or Latin, are still studied today for historical and linguistic purposes.

 

As the world becomes more connected, understanding and appreciating the diversity of languages spoken around the world becomes increasingly important.

 

Additional Language Facts:

 

Other interesting language facts from across the world to note include:

 

• Papua New Guinea has the highest number of languages spoken of any country in the world, with over 850 indigenous languages.

• Lingua francas like Hiri Motu in Papua New Guinea or English in Hong Kong are used for official purposes, business, and education.

• African languages are spoken widely across the African continent, with major language groups including Bantu, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic.

• French patois, Chinese dialects, and Turkish dialects are just a few examples of the many different dialects spoken within their respective languages.

• Southeast Asia, South America, and the Pacific region are just a few examples of areas with diverse language communities.

• Some languages, like Standard Chinese or Tosk Albanian, are recognised as the official dialects of their respective countries.

• Ukrainian-speaking minorities in Poland and Slovakia, Finnish-speaking minorities in Sweden, and Inuit dialects in Canada are just a few examples of regional language communities.

• Nynorsk Norwegian and Western Punjabi are examples of standardised dialects of their respective languages.

• Small populations of people speak languages like Inuktitut in the Canadian Arctic or Hakka dialects in China.

• Due to their history and population, the Falkland Islands have both English and Spanish as official languages.

• Bahasa Melayu is spoken widely across Southeast Asia and is the official language of Malaysia and Brunei.