As the world becomes more connected economically and socially, the ability to communicate and understand each other has never been more important than it is today. Whether you travel, do business or study, learning another language is a must. The article presents a list of the ten most important languages that will definitely come in handy in life.
Experts advise starting to learn the language that you like or that is extremely necessary, since the most important link in mastering a new means of communication is motivation, which forces a person to study tirelessly. If you still find it difficult to make a choice, you can refer to this list.
Languages are selected according to their global significance (degree of prevalence, influence in the field of politics and economics), ease of learning and usefulness for a particular person (for example, when traveling or getting a job).
10. Portuguese
Compared to Spanish, Portuguese has a separate, distinct history, including influences from Latin and Celtic. This language is more difficult to learn than Spanish. More than 230,000,000 speakers of Portuguese consider it their first language of communication. In fact, it is the official language in ten countries. It is spoken in places as far away as Angola in Africa and East Timor in the Pacific.
9. Russian
With over 250,000,000 native speakers, Russian is the most widely spoken language geographically. Using the Cyrillic alphabet may seem a little intimidating at first, but once you become familiar with it, you will realize that it provides a good basis for understanding such Slavic languages, like Ukrainian, Serbian and Bulgarian. In addition to its importance in business world, this international communication tool boasts the largest collection of scientific and technical literature in the world, making it extremely practical for those with a thirst for knowledge.
8. Japanese
The Japanese language is important to understand. When you travel in Japan, you may be surprised to find that few road signs are written in English, and most of the population does not speak English at all. Over 120,000,000 people speak Japanese, and some consider it the most difficult language in the world. It has three intricate writing systems, levels of formality, and a structural grammar that many may find puzzling. However, those who study it find it quite funny.
7. Hindi
Along with English, Hindi is the official language of the Indian government. This is a truly rich language that has expanded its lexicon from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English. Although most people associate it with India, it is also the official means of communication of Fiji, as well as a regional language in Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius.
6. Arabic
Arabic is an official language in 26 countries and has approximately 422,000,000 local and non-local speakers. It has become extremely important in the energy and security sectors, especially in Middle Eastern cities such as Dubai, UAE, Doha and Qatar. However, it contains various dialects (for example, there are large differences between Egyptian Arabic and Moroccan Arabic) and has a complex writing style.
5. German
There are many good reasons to learn German, primarily because it is an spoken language in the EU. On German business communication is carried out, since Germany is the economic center of Europe. While the younger generation of people in Eastern Europe more likely to study English, those who grew up under the Iron Curtain were more likely to study German. Although it has a more complex grammar compared to English, it is more logical.
4. French
After World War II French became European. It was extremely necessary for business and tourism. Today there are 110,000,000 of its speakers. In addition, 190,000,000 people speak it as a second language.
Americans who want to speak French with native speakers should visit Quebec and New Brunswick. Residents of these Canadian provinces use it as their main means of communication.
3. Spanish
About 470,000,000 people speak it as their first language, in addition to 100,000,000 people who speak it as their second language. It is the official means of communication for 20 countries. Primarily, it is distributed in South America and the Caribbean. Of course, it is also a much-needed language for Americans, who are learning it due to the growing numbers of Latinos in Florida, Texas and the Southwest. It should be noted that it is very easy to learn.
2. Chinese
China is set to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy. Thus, the most widespread communication tool in the world (about 955,000,000 speakers) has acquired great importance. It is an extremely complex language at first: changing the tone can change the meaning of a sentence. The grammar system is relatively simple, although writing Chinese letters is notoriously difficult.
1. English
More than 400,000,000 people speak English as their first language, and another 1.1 billion speak it as their first language. foreign language. Simply put, it is impossible to travel or conduct business internationally without knowing this medium of communication.
A good career is unthinkable without knowledge of English. In fact, commercial pilots are required to speak it, and most diplomatic positions require it as well. Difficult spelling rules and specific grammar can be a big challenge, but once you've mastered it, it's great.
02/11/2016 at 14:55 · Pavlofox · 26 450
The most common languages in the world
It is very difficult to calculate the total number of languages existing in the world, since there is no uniform approach to identifying dialects of the same language. Conventionally, there are about 7,000 languages, although their number is much larger.
From the entire set, we can highlight the most common languages in the world, which are included in our rating. They are spoken by approximately 66% of the total population of the planet.
10. Persian | 113 million people
(29 countries) opens the ranking of the most popular languages in the world, and is native to 57 million Iranians. This is one of the languages that has a rich, centuries-old tradition, including popular masterpieces of world literature. The largest part of Persian speakers is concentrated in Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, the UAE and other countries. In addition, Persian is widely used in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Persian is spoken in approximately 29 countries around the world. The total number of speakers is about 113 million people.
9. Italian | 140 million people
(10 countries) is one of the ten most popular languages on earth. Officially, it is distributed in 10 countries of the world, but as statistics show from these countries, there are many more. Among them are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Egypt and others. About 70 million people in Italy are native speakers of Italian, and approximately the same number of people speak it in other countries. Italian is recognized as the official language of the Vatican, Switzerland, San Marino, and is also a second language in some districts of Slovenia and Croatia. In total, about 140 million people speak Italian.
8. German | 180 million people
(12 countries) occupies the eighth position in the ranking of the most common languages in the world. More than 80 million Germans are native speakers. In addition to the Germans, Austrians, Liechtensteiners and many Swiss are fluent in the language. It is one of the official languages of countries such as Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. In addition, German is one of the working languages of the European Union. It is spoken by the peoples of 12 countries around the world. It is owned by over 80 thousand Australians, 400 thousand Argentines, 1.5 million Brazilians, 225 thousand Italians, 430 thousand Canadians. In the USA, about 1 million Americans own it - there it is quite common and is studied in schools. In Russia, about 2.5 million residents speak German, among whom only 400 thousand are Germans. There are 180 million German speakers in the world.
7. Portuguese | 240 million people
(12 countries) is native to the 203 million inhabitants of Portugal. It ranks eighth in the ranking as the most widely spoken language in the world. Portuguese speakers are called Lusophones. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil and is spoken by about 200 million Brazilians. It is also spoken by the peoples of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Macau and East Timor. Fewer native speakers can be found in countries such as the USA, France, Canada, Japan and Argentina. About 240 million people speak Portuguese. It is one of the most important languages due to Brazil's increased economic and global status.
6. Russian | 260 million people
(16 countries) – one of the most popular and sought-after languages in the world, which is spoken in 16 countries. About 166 million people living in the Russian Federation speak Russian. This is one of the official languages of Belarus. Russian is also official in the countries of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Around the world, about 260 million people speak Russian. Among all the states that were part of the USSR, the largest number of Russian speakers are concentrated in Ukraine - about 40 thousand Ukrainians. There are about 730 thousand people in the United States whose native language is Russian. In Germany, the language is considered native, second or foreign for 350 thousand people. Russian is one of the international languages of the world.
5. French | 280 million people
(51 countries) are among the most widespread and popular languages in the world. About 80 million French speakers are its speakers, and a total of 280 million people in the world can speak French. Apart from France, the largest number of Francophones are concentrated in Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, many African countries, and Luxembourg. French speakers can be found in 51 countries around the world. It is one of the six working languages of the UN and one of the most studied languages, after English.
4. Arabic | 320 million people
(60 countries) is the native language of 242 million inhabitants, and in total about 320 million people in the world speak it. Arabic is spoken by the peoples of Israel, Somalia, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Iraq, Egypt, the Comoros Islands and others. The language is the oldest in the world and is spoken in 60 countries. It is the third most difficult language to learn, after Chinese and Japanese. The language of the Koran is spoken by millions of Muslims in all corners of the planet.
3. Spanish | 550 million people
(31 countries) opens the top three. About 550 million people around the world speak it, and for 400 million it is their native language. Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken by about 120 million Mexicans. In addition to Mexico, countries with significant Spanish-speaking populations include the United States (41 million people), Argentina (42 million people), Colombia (45 million people) and others. According to official data, the working language of the UN is most common in 31 states. Spanish is considered the easiest to learn.
2. Chinese | 1.3 billion people
(33 countries) – one of the most widespread languages on the entire planet. About 1.2 billion people in China own it, and more than 1.3 billion people worldwide own it. Chinese is one of the official languages of Singapore and Taiwan, as well as the official working languages of the UN. In Russia, the number of Chinese speakers is approximately 71 thousand people. In addition to its prevalence, Chinese is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world, which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
1. English | 1.5 billion people
(99 countries) is the most popular language that covers 99 countries of the world. It is carried by 340 Englishmen, and 1.5 billion people own it throughout the world. Lives in the USA greatest number Anglophones number approximately 215 million. In the UK, 58 million people speak English, Canada – 18 million, etc. It is one of the working languages of the UN. About 90% of all the world's information is stored in English, and about 70% of scientific publications are also published in this language. It is an international language of communication and the most studied in the world. According to some forecasts, in about 50 years every second inhabitant of the planet will speak English.
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And also about her legend. It was she who said that previously all people understood each other, and the language was the same for everyone. However, this continued exactly until the moment when humanity angered God, who divided the understanding of the linguistic speech of his former comrades, forcing them to settle throughout the world, founding their own peoples with unique traditions and culture.
Whether it was true or not, today there are over 7,000 languages in the world. Of course, this figure is quite abstract, because specific dialects and many different conventions of difference between languages cannot be excluded. The most widespread language in the world always varies in time periods: in different times“linguistic” dominance was occupied by Latin, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek and other languages. Time passes and established traditions change. Nowadays English is firmly rooted in the world, but can it survive long? Let's not talk about this now. The most widely spoken languages in the world in 2013 are English and Chinese, due to the economic and political dominance of the United States and China, as well as due to historical events.
World languages
Humanity has always strived for new discoveries and exploration of unknown lands, which prompted brave men like Francis Drake to undertake long journeys. paved the way for English, Portuguese and Spanish to remote corners of our planet, raising their overall rating and recognition. On this moment There are 8 languages that are “world” - English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French, Portuguese and German. They have the largest number of carriers, the number of which is equal to 4.3 billion people, which is about 60% of the total population of the Earth.
The most widely spoken language in the world is English, which has 1.4 billion native speakers and is also a universal language for international communication. Next to these “giants” in the linguistic environment, there is another side of the coin, which contains those doomed to complete extinction. For example, these are the languages of Udege, Itonama, Kaguila, Goundo and others, each of which is native to less than 100 people around the world. Typically these are the languages of tribes in remote areas of Africa or South America.
The most difficult languages in the world
Now we will try to compile the TOP 5, that is, a rating of languages that are not only the hardest to learn, but even learn to at least explain a little to its native speakers. Of course, it is impossible to accurately name the most difficult language to learn, because for most people the relatedness of languages will play a huge role. For example, it will be easier for a Russian to learn Ukrainian or Belarusian than French, and for a Japanese it will not be particularly difficult to learn Chinese, but it will be difficult for him to understand Spanish and the like. However, it is possible to identify an objective point of view on the most complex languages, which will be based on many rules and generally accepted traditions. So, let's begin.
Chinese
For several reasons, this particular language took first place in our TOP. Firstly, significant difficulties arise with the hieroglyphs used in writing. Often it is difficult even for the Chinese to understand this or that symbol, not to mention foreigners. Each word is designated by its own hieroglyph, and not phonetically, which makes it impossible to know in advance the pronunciation of a particular word. The tonal system, numbering 4 tones in the language, also adds fuel to the fire. Finally, Chinese has an extremely high number of homophones, which makes learning the language much more difficult. Finally, let's say that Chinese is the most widespread language in the world in terms of the number of speakers who consider it their native language.
Arab
And another language where significant difficulties arise with writing. The fact is that some letters have 4 different spelling forms, which depends on their position in a particular word. Plus, vowels are not used in writing. Sounds are also difficult to master, and words are even more difficult. Verbs in Arabic usually come before predicates and objects. The verb also has 3 numbers, so nouns and verbs must be studied in singular, dual and plural. There are 13 different forms in the present tense. The noun has 3 cases and 2 genders. The list of problems of Arabic is supplemented by dialects, which differ as much between the language in Arabic-speaking countries as, for example, French and Spanish.
Tuyuka
This language is one of many spoken in Eastern Amazonia. The sound system should not cause any particular difficulties, but agglutination may shock some. For example, the word hóabãsiriga translated means “I don’t know how to write.” There are about 50-140 classes of nouns (genders) in the language, but the most amazing thing about it is that the speaker needs to use specific verb endings that can make it clear how he knows what he is saying. Let's give a small example. Diga ape-wi translates as "the boy played football", but the speaker can only say this if he himself saw it . And here Diga ape-hiyi - even if it is translated into Russian in the same way, however, in the Tuyuk language the speaker will say so if he assumes or is not exactly sure of the reliability of the information. Such endings are required in this language. Well, if you suddenly want to learn the Tuyuk language, then always first think about where you learned this or that information.
Hungarian
The most complex languages are replenished with the first European language - Hungarian. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, it has 35 cases, which automatically puts the language on the list of the most difficult. In addition, Hungarian is quite difficult to pronounce, and learning the words will challenge even the most erudite.
Japanese
The last one in our TOP. Firstly, difficulties arise in writing, because it differs from pronunciation. Plus, there are 3 forms of writing. The kanji system uses Chinese characters, and two native Japanese syllabaries are used for (katakana) and for writing suffixes, as well as various grammatical particles (hiragana).
and statuses in other states
What is the most common language? If we talk about the territorial superiority of carrier countries, English (Great Britain + dependent territories, Australia, USA, New Zealand, Canada, India, Pakistan, Iceland, Ireland, most states of Oceania and Africa) and Spanish (Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cuba and all South American countries except Brazil).
If we judge by the number of speakers (who consider the language to be their native language), then the most common languages are Chinese (848 million people), Spanish (406 million people) and English (335 million people). Perhaps it will not be a secret to anyone that English is compulsory for learning in many countries of the world, including Russian-speaking ones. However, such a globalization of English could not but affect the language itself, which is why “incorrect” English with distorted words, erroneous use of tenses, and the like is more common around the world (except for states where it is considered official). The most widely spoken language on earth (English) also ranks first in websites (approx. 56%) and percentage of native speakers' contribution to GDP (approx. 29%). When it comes to individual language learning, people often strive to master a “beautiful” and sweet-sounding language, as you can see by looking at the results of many online surveys. These include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. As we can see, most of the leaders belong to the Roman group. The most widely spoken language in the world, English, has repeatedly been included in the TOP 10 most beautiful languages due to its euphonious literary and mass popularization in music and cinema.
1.3 billion people
This unique language, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the most difficult, became the official state language in the PRC, Singapore and Taiwan. It is the working language of the UN. In total, there are more than 1.3 billion of its speakers, living mainly in Southeast Asia. This is precisely the popularity that the historical language of the Han people, who are the main language in China, has achieved over thousands of years. Chinese is one of the oldest languages on the planet. The first information about its existence appeared in the 4th-11th centuries BC. in fortune-telling inscriptions made on the bones of animals for sacrifice.
Interestingly, you can say hello in Chinese by saying "nihao", and say goodbye by saying "zaizen"
Spanish language 450 million people
It is considered the second most popular language in the world. Today there is no exact information about how many people on the planet speak Spanish. According to the roughest estimates, the number of speakers has already exceeded 450 million people. They inhabit almost all countries, including the USA, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the territory of Gibraltar. This language has a second name - Castilian, derived from the kingdom of Castile, where this language group, which belongs to the Romance, originated. Chronologically, Spanish began to take shape in the 3rd century BC. and received its widespread distribution in the era of navigation, the development of trade and foreign relations. Today it is the official language of the UN.
Interestingly, the greeting in Spanish would sound like this: "Hola!", but farewell - how "Adyos!"
400 million people
It is an international language of communication and is recognized as the official state language in many countries of the world - the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Malta. There are more than 400 million native speakers, and English is still spoken more people- approximately one billion. English belongs to the Germanic language group. And for many centuries it has maintained its reputation as the most sought-after on the planet. This is partly associated with the colonial policy of Great Britain, during which many continents came under the country's subordination.
And now in every corner of the planet such words as "Hello"(hello) and "Good Buy"(Goodbye).
260 million people
Without exaggeration, this is the most musical language on the planet, since the words in it are distinguished by duration and vocalism. Hindi is one of the most ancient languages. However, it is not known exactly when it arose. Approximate data also exists regarding the number of native speakers - there are more than 260 million of them in the world. At the same time, Hindi is recognized as the official language in India, partly in Fiji, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Hindi has incorporated both local dialects and has Arabic and Persian roots.
By the way, in Hindi, farewell and greeting can sound the same - "Namaste!", which literally means an abstract wish for all the best.
240 million people
This language is now spoken by more than 240 million people in the world. In addition, Arabic became one of the official languages of the UN General Assembly in Israel, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somaliland, Somalia, and the Comoros Islands. It is recognized as a state language in absolutely all Arab countries, because the Holy Quran is written in classical Arabic. By its origin, Arabic is considered almost the most archaic representative of the Semitic language branch and the Afroasiatic language family.
Like many centuries ago, Arabs greet each other with the phrase "Assailam alaikum", and in parting they say - "Mea assaylam".
Portuguese 203 million people
In terms of its popularity and distribution in countries around the world, it is not inferior to Spanish. Now this is the state recognized language of Angola, Portugal, Brazil, East Timor, Macau, Princely, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome, Mozambique. The number of Portuguese speakers has exceeded 203 million people; in total, there are now more than 300 million people speaking it on the planet. Despite its progressiveness, Portuguese, in comparison with the closely related Spanish, is much more archaic and conservative, because the language supposedly originated before the 8th century BC. And many linguistic cultures, including Arabic, left their mark on it.
The Portuguese say hello like this: "Bon Dia!", and when they want to say “Goodbye” they say - "A te avishta!".
193 million people
Bengali has received official status in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The history of the origin of the Bengali language stretches back to the 10th-12th centuries and is associated primarily with the division of Bengal. This left its mark on the language vocabulary, the majority of which are words in Sanskrit.
What’s interesting is that Bengalis say hello and goodbye in the same way, saying just one word - "nomoskar".
Russian language 137 million people
The most widespread language in terms of geography of use, which is the eighth in the world in terms of the number of speakers and the fifth in the number of speakers. In pure numbers, this is about 260 million people. Russian belongs to the eastern group of Slavic languages. And today it is among the workers at UN meetings, since it is recognized as a global world language. Now Russian has also become the second most popular language on the Internet. In Russia, it is Russian that is recognized as the state language, and in other countries - Belarus, Moldova and partly in South Ossetia it is considered official. Modern Russian is the result of the influence of some East Slavic languages and dialects, multiplied by Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic languages.
Japanese language 125 million people
The most mysterious language, because its genetic roots have not yet been established by scientists. His main feature contained in the original writing. This language is native to 125 million people. According to one of the most famous versions, Japanese has Altai roots and took root at a time when the Altaians subjugated the Japanese islands. This is approximately 3rd century BC.
The sounds of words in Japanese are unique. So, the greeting looks like "oh" or "cannitiva", but the Japanese say goodbye like this - "Saoonara".
Javanese 100 million people
Javanese closes the list of the most common languages. A paradoxical story has happened with this language. Despite being spoken by more than 100 million people and by the majority of Indonesians, it has never received its official state status. In addition, it is also considered the most widespread Austronesian language. It is used by the Javanese living on the island of Java. Students study it in schools during lessons. primary classes, it publishes newspapers, magazines and broadcasts television and radio programs.
Historically, in different countries the world is spoken different languages. Among them there are those who do not have common roots, and whose origin is unique. But there are also those that are used most often.
The most widely spoken language in the world is Chinese. Almost two billion and a quarter people speak it. This is the official language of such countries as:
- Singapore,
- China,
- Malaysia,
- Taiwan.
The leader in actual prevalence is Chinese . As you know, it is perhaps the oldest in the world. It is the official language of four countries, but it remains the mother tongue of millions of Chinese living around the world. There are significant Chinese diasporas in many cities. There are also numerous dialects of it, which are used by over a fifth of the population of the entire planet. In the USA there are rules according to which some documents must be printed in Chinese. By law, this is done where the population is at least one million. In particular, all documents for holding elections are duplicated in Chinese. The hieroglyphics of the country are used in the Democratic People's Republic of China and Japan.
2nd place. 
About three hundred twenty-nine million people define their family as Spanish language. It is also the official language of the UN. And just recently he occupied not the third position, but the second. He is one of the descendants of the Indo-European family.
3rd place. 
The third position is occupied by English . International communication is not as inaccessible as it seems. A striking example is the English language. Sometimes you need to know it in order to achieve career growth. Courses are taught in every country in English, because his knowledge is very prestigious. About one and a half billion people have learned this language, and it is used for communication in most countries. It is of great importance for culture, politics, and trade relations. It is recognized as one of the official languages of the UN. It is widely used in the field of computer technology. One million more people speak Spanish.
4th place. 
Arabic - native to twenty-one million people.
5th place. 
6th place. 
At least ten states communicate in Portuguese . That is, one hundred seventy-eight million people own it.
7th place. 
Bengali is also often used as a means of communication.
8th place. 
Russian language the most popular among Slavic ones. It is the mother tongue of one hundred and forty-four million. This is the official language in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. It is spoken by residents of several communes in Romania and the American state of New York. The degree of interest in the language and the need to study it determines the territorial coverage, as well as trade relations. IN Lately interest in this language has increased. It has become the object of study in many countries, taking one of the ten most common places in the world. It has long been used by participants in the Paris Forum of Linguists, where it has long enjoyed great attention. This is how the “popularity index” of languages is determined.
9th place. 
Japanese use one hundred twenty-five million.
10th place. 
On Mandarin almost a billion people communicate. It is included in the list of 6 official UN languages. This language exists in 1200 million variants. It is the lingua franca of northern and southwestern China. Mandarin is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family. It is difficult to master and has several dialects, each with many tones. Almost every region uses its own version of the language.