The development of spoken languages is probably the most significant development in communications in the history of the world. Since mankind first developed language, languages have developed into a multitude of varieties, a diversity which endures to this day. Here is a list of the top ten languages, grouped by the number of native speakers.
10. German (over 90 million speakers)
German is a member of the West Germanic language family, alongside English. German is primarily spoken, as its name suggests, in Germany, where it is the official language. However, it is also the official language of Austria, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and is one of three official languages of Belgium (alongside Dutch and French) and one of four official languages of Switzerland (alongside French, Italian, and Romansch) and is the official language of Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen. In addition, it is recognized as a minority language in several countires, including Poland, Denmark, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Common German phrases include Guten tag (Good day), Sprechen sie Deutsch? (Do you speak German?), and auf wiedersehen (Goodbye).
9. Japanese (132 million speakers)
The Japanese language is a member of the Japonic language family (which also includes the Ryukyuan language spoken on the island of Okinawa). Most Japanese native speakers live in Japan and its territories, but native Japanese speakers also live in Korea, the United States and Europe. Japanese is the official language of Japan, and it also enjoys official status in Palau.
Common phrases in Japanese include konichiwa (hello), arigato (Thank you), and sayonara (goodbye).
8. Russian (144 million speakers)
The Russian language is a member of the East Slavic family of languages, a family which also includes the Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn languages. Most of Russian’s 144 million speakers live in Russia, where it is the official language. Other countries with large Russian-speaking populations include Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Russian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet.
Common Russian phrases include ????????????. (ZDRAHST-vooy-tyeh; hello), ??. (dah: yes), and ???????. (spuh-SEE-buh; thank you).
7. Portuguese (178 million speakers)
The Portuguese language is a member of the Italo-Western branch of the Romance language family. Like the other Romance languages, it is a descendant of Latin (“Romance” referring to Rome). It is the official language of both Portugal and Brazil, where most native speakers live. In addition, it is the official language of Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, and is a mandatory subject of study in schools in Uruguay and Argentina. It is currently the fourth most learned language in the world, with 30 million learners.
Common Portuguese phrases include Bom dia (Good day), Como está? (how are you?), and Não (No).
6. Bengali (181 million speakers)
Bengali is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family, alongside languages such as Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Most of its speakers live in the country of Bangladesh, where it is the official language. Speakers also live in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam. Speakers also live in Europe, the United States, and even Saudi Arabia. Bengali has a rich literary tradition and is a focal point of Bengali nationalism. Bengali is written in the Bengali script, which is related to the Sanskrit and Hindi scripts.
Common Bengali phrases include Nômoshkar (Hello), Apnar nam ki? (What is your name?), and Ektu (please).
5. Arabic (221 million speakers)
Arabic is a member of the Semitic language family, which includes Hebrew Neo-Aramaic languages such as Syriac and Neo-Chaldean. Arabic is most often identified with the Middle East and North Africa, and is the official language of 26 countries. It sits alongside Hebrew as the official language of Israel, and has large populations of speakers in both Europe and North America. Additional, its classical variant is the language of the Qu’ran. Arabic is written in the Arabic script.
Common Arabic phrases include as-salaamu ‘alaikum (Peace be with you, a formal greeting), Na’am (yes), and ismaHli (excuse me).
4. Hindi-Urdu (242 million speakers total)
Hindi-Urdu is a member of the Indo-Aryan family, alongside Bengali. It is a pluricentric language and has two official forms, Standard Hindi and Standard Urdu, although the two forms are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Hindi is the official language of India, whilst Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. Urdu and Hindi are also spoken in parts of Europe and North America with heavy Indian and Pakistani immigrant populations. It is written in both the Hindi alphabet and the Arabic alphabet (for Urdu due to Islamic influence).
3. English (328 Million speakers)
English is a member of the West Germanic language family. It originally sprouted from the Anglo-Saxon language (Old English) and borrowed heavily from Latin and French due to the Norman conquest of England. Though it developed in the British isles, the largest population of English speakers lives in the United States, with about 309 million speakers. English is the official language of 53 countries, including Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Jamaica, and New Zealand, and is the de facto language of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. It also has large speaking populations in several African and Oceanian countries, and is a “subsidiary official language” in India.
English is also an official language of several organizations, including the UN, NATO, and the European Union.
2. Spanish (329 million speakers)
Spanish is a member of the West Iberian branch of the Romance languages, closely related to Portuguese. Spanish is one of the most widely distributed languages in the world; it is the official language of over 20 countries, and is the official language of nearly every state in Latin America, excepting Brazil, Belize, etc. Additionally, large populations of native speakers have immigrated to the United States, and Spanish is now one of the most common languages in the American southwest. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Common Spanish phrases include hola (hello), Que pase un buen día (Have a good day), and ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?).
1. Mandarin (over 845 million speakers)
Mandarin is often called Chinese by non-speakers, but it is in fact only one of many Chinese languages, which include Cantonese and Xiang, in the Sino-Tibetan language family. Mandarin is the largest of the Chinese languages, and is the official language of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. It is also one of four official languages of Singapore (the others being English, Malay and Tamil). In addition, large scale immigration from both mainland China and Taiwan have brought large populations of Mandarin speakers to the United States and Europe. Mandarin has two writing systems; Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
Common Mandarin phrases include N? h?o! (Hello!), W? míngzi jiào… (My name is…), and Hu?nyíng! (You’re welcome!)
by Justin Jurek
83 Comments
Italian is also official in Bolzano, not just German. In fact, in a 2001 study, over 73% spoke Italian in Bolzano, while only 26% spoke German.
what happend to tamil then? it’s one of the oldest ancient language in the world…
still nobody knows the exact founded period.
English is way undercounted. Native speakers should be closer to 400 million. Fluent secondary speakers are that many more. Its definitely still the #2 language in the world, especially where business is concerned. Spanish will eventually pass it in native speakers but it will never be the number two language in the world.
Where is Indonesian Language? it has 230 million native speaker, according to Indonesian population
Either way, i speak english, spanish, and portuguese. I ended up here because i thought i would find out what my fourth language would be. I’m still undecided. 🙁
You already know Spanish and Portuguese, so it would be easy for you to learn Italian or French. Or Romanian, which is a beautiful language.
I’d say, choose an exotic one! There are so many beautiful languages out there…
You should definitely consider:
– Irish or Welsh because they sound awesome!
– Czech or Slovakian are amazing languages. And they are rich in culture and music.
– Latin if you love grammar and history. (I do and it really helps to understand the structure of any other language)
– Navaho if you are really really adventurous…
Well, just pick any language you like.
Ektu means little.. Not please in bengali. Please is “doya kore” in bengali
my god.. relax. french was the lingua franca who knows how many centuries ago, currently it’s english. but even the number of native english speakers these days are on the decline. English only became the lingua franca because USA spoke english, and it was a major power back then, so it had a huge influence.
Keep an open mind. What does it matter if your language is or isn’t in the top 10? That bit of pride, is it worth bickering about…? Geesh. Whether it be because of politics or pop culture, language is always changing, and so does its preference.
PLEASE INCLUDING KASTHURI KANNADA ALSO.N IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE TOP SPOKEN LANGUAGE…SIRIGANNADAM GELGE…………..
i speack spanish mother lenguage.but i speak english and german and is very funny to now more lenguages.cause i have more oportunities to meet people and make a partyyyy yiiiiiiiiiiihaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!
German is number 10 phooie
Thought that English would be 2nd, Spanish 3rd and French 4th?!
I do too!!
Just one thing, I live in Argentina and Portuguese is not a mandatory subject in schools. English is.
It does not matter who ranks better.
Out of 90 millions German speakers 82 are from Germany 8 from Austria. One can hardly define the German language as being �global�. The right question is do German people speak other languages?
That the Germans actually speak German does not exactly reveal a cultural supremacy if that was the purpose of this ranking. Same goes with Portuguese (Brazil+Portugal), or Mandarin (China only). No big surprise there.
Food for thought: In 2011 in USA it is estimated that only 18% of young Americans learn a second language, compared to a staggering 98% in Europe. (Great Britain aside) I do not know the figures in China but I am confident they are even lower than USA.
One country�s apparent strength could be perceived as a weakness by others. For instance, I have very little doubts that the Chinese government is more worried about the Chinese people discovering a wider access to social welfare, capital and education than how many foreigners speak Mandarin Worldwide.
My native language is German (Bavarian), I speak nearly fluent English and French and a little bit of Spanish and Czech, but I’m far from fluent there. And I know at least enough Russian to introduce myself, order beer or ask for the direction. (I can read and translate Latin but I don’t know if that counts. It certainly helped me with any language I ever learned or tried to learn!)
I used to travel a lot and normally the “lingua franca” amongst us bagbackers has always been English (except for Spain, I really had to learn Spanish there to talk to anybody!). But wherever I go, I consider it as kind of respect to the country to learn at least some basic expressions. It’s fun and people like it. Consequently, if I meet Americans or Australians in my country and they try to talk English to me without even the slightest attempt of speaking some German, I only shrug my shoulders and walk by. Like I said, respect.
Speaking a popular language is no excuse for not learning another one. And you miss out on really great literature too, translations are rarely ever as good as the original.
but spanis is not only spoken in america.also in spain,andorra,equatorial guinea,canary island,westh sahara,north marroco,philippines as a mother lenguage
328 Million english native speakers ? I thought it would be bigger then Spanish!!!
need to think which language i should learn first . best way is make a friend with foreign language, talk with him/her. you will learn that in few day 🙂
if any one want to talk http://preply.com/en/skype/english-native-speakers