Comments on: The World’s Top 20 Languages http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:32:38 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: learn english online http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-374 learn english online Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:07:55 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-374 Wikipedia has a list that ranks languages by the number of native-language speakers, while including some data for second languages. The top languages, in this kind of ranking, are: 1. Mandarin (Sino-Tibetan & Chinese) 2. Urdu/Hindi (Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, & Indo-Aryan 3. Spanish (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance 4. English (Indo-European, Germanic, & West) 5. Arabic (Afro-Asiatic & Semitic) 6. Portuguese (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance) 7. Bengali (Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, & Indo-Aryan) 8. Russian (Indo-European, Slavic, & East) 9. French (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance) 10. Japanese (language isolate, or Altaic) 11. German (Indo-European, Germanic, & West) Wikipedia has a list that ranks languages by the number of native-language speakers, while including some data for second languages. The top languages, in this kind of ranking, are:

1. Mandarin (Sino-Tibetan & Chinese)
2. Urdu/Hindi (Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, & Indo-Aryan
3. Spanish (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance
4. English (Indo-European, Germanic, & West)
5. Arabic (Afro-Asiatic & Semitic)
6. Portuguese (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance)
7. Bengali (Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, & Indo-Aryan)
8. Russian (Indo-European, Slavic, & East)
9. French (Indo-European, Italic, & Romance)
10. Japanese (language isolate, or Altaic)
11. German (Indo-European, Germanic, & West)

]]> By: pocketcultures http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-103 pocketcultures Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:23:09 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-103 Hello. We did a post on this recently (unfortunately I didn't see yours first!) My list was based only on Nicholas Ostler's top 20. There was some discussion about why Arabic was not on the list and I think I agree with you that there is a good case for including it. It was also commented elsewhere that Bahasa Indonesia should be included. I don't really know anything about that, maybe because its main role is as lingua franca and not a native language in its own right. Do you have any view? Glad I found your site - it's very interesting. Hello. We did a post on this recently (unfortunately I didn’t see yours first!)

My list was based only on Nicholas Ostler’s top 20. There was some discussion about why Arabic was not on the list and I think I agree with you that there is a good case for including it.

It was also commented elsewhere that Bahasa Indonesia should be included. I don’t really know anything about that, maybe because its main role is as lingua franca and not a native language in its own right. Do you have any view?

Glad I found your site – it’s very interesting.

]]> By: Ryan http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-55 Ryan Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:18:50 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-55 Colin: What a fascinating subject of study. It's true: the mere number of people that speak a common language is not the only factor in determining its importance. Colin: What a fascinating subject of study. It’s true: the mere number of people that speak a common language is not the only factor in determining its importance.

]]> By: Colin Roberts http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-53 Colin Roberts Fri, 30 May 2008 19:10:53 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-53 I don't think the number of speakers of a particular language has as much to do with its power as many other factors (i think it's quite a bit player). If you are writing this list in terms of communicability with people in their native language, then this would be a good top 20. However if it is a list of "the 20 languages one should learn to be able to communicate with the most people" i think it would help to look at it a little differently. For example, I would likely remove hindi from this list. I have traveled in India and Hindi is not the unifying language of the subcontinent, English is. Look at this list above and see. We have: Hindi/Urdu in the north and northwest, Tamil in the extreme south, Bengali in the northeast, Telugu in the south, etc...These people would learn a common lingua franca (ie: English). Think about it from a cultural perspective: if you were a native Tamil speaker, Hindi may not be seen as a national language, it may considered a language of another group of Indian people culturally, historically, socially, etc different from yourself (potentially) - a stigma English may not have in the same manner. India is also one of the most educated countries in the world (if not the most educated, per capita). Because of this, and to help itself snag a spot in the global spotlight, India has focussed a great emphasis in teaching English from elementary school on all of which is obivously conducive to the spread of English in India as a common language. Another good example for how the economic/political throw a language's speakers has vs. number of population would be the relationship between Mandarin and Cantonese in the past few decades. I am a university student studying socio-economic international development in Asia and East Asian comparative philology and I can say that it is very evident that there has been a recession of Cantonese in and around Guangdong province in China and even in Hong Kong - long held to be a bastion of the Cantonese language. This is all because The Party promotes is standardized, simplified Mandarin - Putonghua, as THE language of the mainland, and, while one may continue to speak Cantonese with friends and family, when barraged with a different language in school, on televesion and in other forms of media - especially when being pushed by such a ruthless government, it becomes inevitable that the new language will irk out a spot for itself. Just a few thoughts -Colin I don’t think the number of speakers of a particular language has as much to do with its power as many other factors (i think it’s quite a bit player). If you are writing this list in terms of communicability with people in their native language, then this would be a good top 20. However if it is a list of “the 20 languages one should learn to be able to communicate with the most people” i think it would help to look at it a little differently. For example, I would likely remove hindi from this list. I have traveled in India and Hindi is not the unifying language of the subcontinent, English is. Look at this list above and see. We have: Hindi/Urdu in the north and northwest, Tamil in the extreme south, Bengali in the northeast, Telugu in the south, etc…These people would learn a common lingua franca (ie: English). Think about it from a cultural perspective: if you were a native Tamil speaker, Hindi may not be seen as a national language, it may considered a language of another group of Indian people culturally, historically, socially, etc different from yourself (potentially) – a stigma English may not have in the same manner. India is also one of the most educated countries in the world (if not the most educated, per capita). Because of this, and to help itself snag a spot in the global spotlight, India has focussed a great emphasis in teaching English from elementary school on all of which is obivously conducive to the spread of English in India as a common language.
Another good example for how the economic/political throw a language’s speakers has vs. number of population would be the relationship between Mandarin and Cantonese in the past few decades. I am a university student studying socio-economic international development in Asia and East Asian comparative philology and I can say that it is very evident that there has been a recession of Cantonese in and around Guangdong province in China and even in Hong Kong – long held to be a bastion of the Cantonese language. This is all because The Party promotes is standardized, simplified Mandarin – Putonghua, as THE language of the mainland, and, while one may continue to speak Cantonese with friends and family, when barraged with a different language in school, on televesion and in other forms of media – especially when being pushed by such a ruthless government, it becomes inevitable that the new language will irk out a spot for itself. Just a few thoughts
-Colin

]]> By: Ryan http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-30 Ryan Thu, 15 May 2008 15:56:00 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-30 Omniglot,<br/><br/>Thanks for the link and your participation on this site. The info from that link is interesting. As I wrote in the post after this one, I think that what makes a language truly important is largely individual, though the factors you mention are undeniably important. For example, as an American, and especially as someone from the South West, I have currently have very little use for French. If I were from Europe, or many places in Africa, that wouldn’t be the case. The people living in those places have little use for Thai and yet if you are Laotian, Cambodian or Vietnamese, Thai is a very important language to know. Then there is the issue of personal interest and motivation but if I’m not careful this comment could end up being as long as a post. In any case, this is a fascinating subject and one that I will probably visit again on the blog. Omniglot,

Thanks for the link and your participation on this site. The info from that link is interesting. As I wrote in the post after this one, I think that what makes a language truly important is largely individual, though the factors you mention are undeniably important. For example, as an American, and especially as someone from the South West, I have currently have very little use for French. If I were from Europe, or many places in Africa, that wouldn’t be the case. The people living in those places have little use for Thai and yet if you are Laotian, Cambodian or Vietnamese, Thai is a very important language to know. Then there is the issue of personal interest and motivation but if I’m not careful this comment could end up being as long as a post. In any case, this is a fascinating subject and one that I will probably visit again on the blog.

]]> By: omniglot http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-28 omniglot Thu, 15 May 2008 15:16:00 +0000 http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-worlds-top-20-languages/#comment-28 The number of native speakers alone doesn't necessarily determine the importance of a language. It's also worth considering such factors as the number of countries where they're spoken, the economic strength of those countries, and the number of major fields in which the languages are used. You can find a breakdown of these factors on <a HREF="http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm" REL="nofollow">this site</a>.<br/><br/>The most important languages, according to that site, are: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Hindi/Urdu. The number of native speakers alone doesn’t necessarily determine the importance of a language. It’s also worth considering such factors as the number of countries where they’re spoken, the economic strength of those countries, and the number of major fields in which the languages are used. You can find a breakdown of these factors on this site.

The most important languages, according to that site, are: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Hindi/Urdu.

]]>