Top popular languages ​​of the world. What are the most spoken languages ​​in the world

Most Popular Languages

Three hundred twenty-nine million consider themselves native Spanish. English is in third place. He lost only one million to the Spanish. Arabic is the native language of 221 million people. The fifth position in the ranking is occupied by Hindi, which is spoken in Fiji and India - it is about one hundred and eighty-two million.

Bengali is the sixth most spoken language. He is native to one hundred and eighty-one million people. The official language of ten states, where one hundred and seventy-eight million people live, is Portuguese.

The Russian language occupies the eighth position in terms of popularity. Among the Slavic - it is the most common. One hundred and forty-four million consider him native. For one hundred and twenty-five million, Japanese is their native language. Completes the list German, located in tenth position. It is native to one hundred and ten million.

How much the Russian language is in demand

It is known that interest in a language and the need to study it depend not only on the territorial factor, but also on trade relations. Despite the fact that Russian occupies only the eighth position in terms of popularity, interest in it in the world recent times is growing. It is being studied in many countries.

Russia has been participating in the Paris Forum of Linguists for several years in a row, where the Russian language has always received increased attention. It is this forum that sets a certain “popularity index” of languages.

How far did the Chinese language spread?

In the US state of New York, there is an amendment in the electoral law, according to which in those cities where the number of inhabitants exceeds a million, all documents related to the election process are printed, including in Chinese, and in three of its dialects.

The oldest writing also originated in China. It is known that this hieroglyphics is used along with its alphabet, also by the Republic of Korea and Japan.

As the world's trade relations with China are constantly expanding, learning Chinese has become a necessity in many countries. A particularly rapid increase in the number of people studying Chinese abroad began in the early 2000s. Learning Chinese has become a fashionable trend, and so-called "Chinese language fever" has begun in a number of countries.

China's influence on the world stage has increased significantly, which is why knowledge of the Chinese language is a factor in a successful career for many.

There is a non-profit social organization called "Confucius Institutes and Classes", established to spread Chinese culture and learn the Chinese language. More than three hundred and fifty such institutions have already been established in one hundred and fifteen countries of the world.

The most spoken language in the world

English today is the most common language of communication between representatives of many countries. In the world, approximately one and a half billion people know this language and can speak it fluently. It is important in culture, politics, and trade relations.

As one of the official languages ​​of the UN, English is also widely used in computer technology. More than eighty percent of information of various kinds is stored and transmitted to English language. About half of all world literature is written on it.

Every year the number of people learning English is growing, as it comes to understand how important it is to master the world's universal language of communication. The spread of the English language in the world is also facilitated by its linguistic characteristics - a high language capacity with enough simple rules. A remarkable fact, according to the site, the longest word in the world is in English.
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Enthusiastic tourists who often travel the world agree that knowledge of foreign languages ​​is becoming necessary condition comfortable stay abroad. Knowledge of several foreign languages ​​for employees of the tourism sector is a professional necessity. So, what languages ​​should you master in order to easily travel around countries and continents, or become a sought-after travel business specialist?

First place in the top ten most popular tourist foreign languages ​​in the world, of course, belongs to English, which has become the main language of international communication. Half of domestic tourists speak English to one degree or another, who learn it on their own, with a personal teacher or in special courses (for example, offered on the website: https://smileenglish.ru/adults/general). Despite the fact that, according to linguists, English will lose its status as the most popular foreign language within half a century, the number of learners of this language in the world is not decreasing. It should be noted that the decline in the popularity of the English language will not happen because it will no longer be needed, but because almost every second inhabitant of the planet will soon have a decent level of English.

In recent years, the Chinese language has taken second place in terms of demand and popularity. Chinese is now the most widely spoken language in the world, with 1.3 billion people living in the country, and most of more and more of them travel the world. According to experts, in the coming years, Chinese tourists will be the most numerous, so for workers in the tourism industry, the language of the Celestial Empire can become a professional necessity, and for tourists traveling to China, a useful acquisition. Note that the Chinese language is not homogeneous: it consists of ten very different dialects. Official Chinese, also known as Northern Chinese, also known as Mandarin, is the most common and recognizable.

According to linguists, another important modern world The language is Spanish - it is spoken by about 700 million people in the world, including the population of Central America. In addition, traveling around the homeland of this language, Spain, with knowledge of Spanish is much more interesting and comfortable.

The fourth place in demand is occupied by the Russian language. Fortunately, domestic tourists do not need to learn it, while for foreigners it is quite difficult to learn.

The German language is in the fifth position of our ranking. In addition to Germany, German is now spoken by 89% of the inhabitants of Austria and 65% of the citizens of Switzerland. Since Germany is consistently in the TOP-10 most visited countries in Europe, and accepts great amount students from all over the world, tourists and students should learn German. This language is similar to English in terms of learning difficulty, although its grammar is more difficult.

Remains in demand French, which has an important historical meaning: before English, it was the language of international communication. Today, one hundred and thirty million people speak French in the world, including not only residents of France, but also Canada, West Africa, the Maghreb countries, the European Union (for example, French-speaking Brussels).

The Arabic language is important not so much for tourists, but for professionals who have business contacts with Arab countries. About four hundred million people speak this language. Tourist business specialists who speak Arabic are in demand in the labor market today, they have good salaries. Note, however, that Arabic grammar is very difficult, making it the third most difficult to learn (after Chinese and Japanese).

The Portuguese language is gaining more and more importance due to the turbulent economic development Brazil. Portuguese is spoken today by two hundred million people in the world. This language is considered somewhat more difficult to learn than Spanish, but in fact it is no more difficult than English or French.

Despite the fact that many tourists and travel industry specialists speak Italian, its demand is not decreasing, since the Italians themselves are not too concerned about learning foreign languages.

Japanese language closes the ranking of the most popular languages world, despite the difficult grammar and abundance of grammatical forms. Firstly, the Land of the Rising Sun is still an important economic power in the world, and secondly, it is very difficult to understand the unique culture of Japan without knowing the language.

Did you know that the world's most popular language is spoken by 1/7 of the world's population? And it's not English at all! There are more than 7,000 languages ​​in the world, but 10 of them are the most popular. Is there a Russian language in this top ten? Answer under the cut...

No. 10 French - 150 million native speakers

French is spoken in 53 countries of the world, the main one being France. About 150 million speakers in the world. French is the official language of many international organizations: European Union, International Olympic Committee, UN, etc.

No. 9. Indonesian - 200 million native speakers

Indonesian is spoken in 16 countries, including Indonesia, and has the status of a working language in East Timor. Indonesia is an island state with more than 13 thousand islands.

The Indonesian language evolved from Malay in the 20th century and is the most widely spoken dialect of the Malay language.

No. 8. Portuguese - 240 million speakers

Portuguese is spoken in 12 countries around the world. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.

In the 12th century, Portugal became independent from Spain and spread its possessions around the world thanks to navigators. Having founded colonies in Brazil, Angola, Macau, Mozambique, Venezuela and other countries, the Portuguese made their language one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. Portuguese is one of the official languages ​​of the European Union and other international organizations.

No. 7. Bengali language - 250 million speakers

Bengali is spoken in Bangladesh and some states of India. For Bangladesh, Bengali is the official language and for India it is the second most spoken language.

No. 6. Russian - 260 million speakers

Russian is spoken in 17 countries of the world. Russian is the official language of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Widely distributed in Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia. To a lesser extent in the countries that were part of Soviet Union.

Russian is one of the six official languages ​​of the UN, the most spoken language in Europe and the most widely Slavic in the world.

No. 5. Arabic - 267 million native speakers

Arabic is spoken in 58 countries around the world. The largest number of Arabic speakers is concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

The Arabic language is also spreading around the world thanks to the main book of Muslims - the Koran. Arabic became the sixth official language of the UN in 1974.

No. 4. Spanish - 427 million native speakers

Spanish is spoken in 31 countries around the world. Spanish originated in Spain in the Middle Ages and spread throughout the world during the Great geographical discoveries. Spanish is the official language of international organizations: the UN, the European Union, the Union of South American Nations, etc.

Number 3. Hindi - 490 million speakers

Hindi is spoken in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Many predict that Hindi will soon become the most spoken language in the world and overtake China, but when and if this will happen remains unknown.

No. 2. English - 600 million native speakers

English is the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of countries it covers - 106 countries. English is the official and primary language in the UK. In countries like India, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and the Philippines use English as the official language, but they also have their own official languages.

No. 1. Chinese - 1.3 billion native speakers

Chinese is the official language of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Singapore. It is spoken by more than 1.3 billion people all over the world, and therefore it ranks first in the list of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world.

Chinese is considered the most difficult language in the world. Chinese is one of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations.

We are all used to the second foreign language must be English. The entire IT industry, all areas of science, as well as most foreign forums are held in English. Currently, knowing English, for a person open great opportunities for your development. We are used to the fact that English is the international language.

But few people know that in addition to English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French are also international languages ​​- these languages ​​are official languages UN.

But what is the most widely spoken language in the world? This question was answered by "Ethnologue" - the most famous guide to the world's languages, published annually since 1951. According to the results of research by specialists from Ethnologue and the supplement released in 2016, the site has prepared the twenty most common languages ​​in the world.

1. First place Chinese. This language is spoken by 1.284 billion people. The language is used by 37 countries of the world, the main country is of course China.

2. In second place, as it is not surprising, Spanish. Thanks to the active colonial activity of Spain in the Middle Ages, Spanish is the official language in almost all countries of South and Central America. Spanish is the mother tongue of 437 million people in 31 countries.

3. English language takes only third place. 372 million people speak this language in 106 countries of the world.

4. Arabic language occupies the fourth position. 295 million people speak this language in 57 countries around the world. Most major countries, these are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Syria.

5. Top five Hindi, from India. Despite the fact that almost 1.3 billion people live in India, there are 447 different languages ​​spoken there, 2 thousand dialects. The most common of them is Hindi, which is spoken by only 260 million people.

6. bengali, 242 million people in 4 countries, the main carrier state is Bangladesh.

7. Portuguese, 219 million people in 13 countries, the main carrier state is Portugal.

8. Russian, 154 million people in 19 countries, the main carrier state is Russia.

9. Japanese, 128 million people in 2 countries, the main carrier state is Japan.

10. Punjabi(languages ​​of the Indian West Punjab and adjacent areas of Pakistan), 119 million people in 6 countries, the main carrier state is Pakistan.

11. Javanese, 84.4 million people in 3 countries, the main carrier state is Indonesia.

12. Korean, 77.2 million people in 7 countries, the main carrier state is South Korea.

13. Deutsch, 76.8 million people in 27 countries, the main carrier state is Germany.

14. French, 76.1 million people in 53 countries, the main carrier state is France.

15. Telugu, 74.2 million people in 2 countries, the main carrier state is India.

16. Marathi, 71.8 million people, distributed mainly in India.

17. Turkish, 71.1 million people in 8 countries, the main carrier state is Turkey.

18. Urdu, 69.1 million people in 6 countries, the main carrier state is Pakistan.

19. Vietnamese, 68.1 million people in 3 countries, the main carrier state is Vietnam.

20. Tamil, 68.0 million people in 7 countries, the main carrier state is India.

Thus, in order for every third inhabitant of the earth to understand you, it is enough to know Chinese, Spanish and English. Despite everything, English still occupies a leading position among highly developed countries, but Chinese is already "sneaking on the heels."

Approximate calculations showed that there are about 7 thousand languages ​​in the world. Only a few dozen of them are of global importance. According to scientists, every year the number of languages ​​is reduced, which greatly impoverishes world culture.

In the modern world, many languages ​​are being lost, only the most common ones remain, which cannot but upset. Several common languages ​​are recognized around the world, and their popularity depends on many factors: the size of the population, interaction in the areas of trade, diplomatic relations and education, and the exchange of cultural heritage. Territorial neighborhood plays an important role in the spread of languages. Linguistic research in 2017 showed that there are 10 most popular languages ​​in the world, spoken by a large number of the population of the earth.

10th place - French

The sonorous, melodic and truly romantic language, in which every word is saturated with feelings, is used in fifty-three countries of the world. It is spoken by just over 229 million people. The language is official in France, it is spoken in Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Africa and many other cities. This language is gaining popularity after a long decline. And it is actively studied in many countries of the world from the school bench.

9th place - Portuguese

The spread of this language is associated with population growth, as well as with global cooperation. In 2017, about 230 million people were recorded using this language as their main language. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil and Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and other African countries.

8th place - Bengali

This language is spoken in Bangladesh and West Bengal. It is spoken by about 261.5 million people. In India, this language is considered the second most spoken language, and the annual population growth ensures the spread of this language.

7th place - Russian

Total number burning in Russian - about 268 million people. This language is considered one of the most popular on the Internet, second only to English. Thanks to such a wide distribution, the language is gaining admirers in many countries of the world, but is considered one of the most difficult. The many dialects make the language incredibly rich and it is one of the six languages ​​used in the United Nations.

6th place - Malay

This language is divided into two dialects: Malaysian and Indonesian. The total number of people using this language is 281 million. The spread of the Malay language is related to foreign economics and politics, as well as the interest of countries.

5th place - Arabic

It is spoken by approximately 292 million people in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries. The common language is one of the six international ones.

4th place - Spanish

About 436 million people speak this language, and it is official in 20 countries. It is gaining popularity among the population of the world, and all more people take up the study of emotional language, admiring its sonority and brightness.

3rd place - Hindustani

In India it is Hindi and in Pakistan it is Urdu. A language spoken by 544 million people, including Nepal and Bangladesh. According to scientists, this language may become the most common due to population growth, and will also be able to overtake Chinese.

2nd place - English

The total number of speakers of this language is 983 million people. It is spoken in 106 countries and is official in 59 of them. English is spoken not only by native speakers, but also by those who frequently visit English-speaking countries. The global study of this language makes it one of the most widespread.

1st place - Chinese

The Chinese language has a lot of dialects, but they are considered to be one language. It is spoken by more than a billion inhabitants of the planet, which makes it the most popular and recognizable. The most spoken language in the world depends on the population of China, Taiwan and Singapore. It is the most difficult, but is gaining popularity among both older people and teenagers who closely follow books and films in Chinese. Chinese is also studied by those who are interested in the culture of the Middle Kingdom, as well as residents of cities neighboring China, including Russians.

The most common languages ​​are used not only for everyday communication. They are the link in the global economy and political cooperation. According to research, the world languages ​​that are actually used in international communication include German, Spanish and Persian. These languages ​​are less common due to the number of people who use them, but are popular. We are waiting for your comments, and do not forget to press the buttons and