I’ve just found a list at this site which lists the most common languages in the world by native speaker.
The top 10 are:
| rank | native speakers | code | name | country of origin | continent |
| 1 | 885000000 | CHN | CHINESE, MANDARIN | China | Asia |
| 2 | 450000000 | ENG | ENGLISH | United Kingdom | Europe |
| 3 | 266000000 | SPN | SPANISH | Spain | Europe |
| 4 | 182000000 | HND | HINDI | India | Asia |
| 5 | 175000000 | POR | PORTUGUESE | Portugal | Europe |
| 6 | 168000000 | BNG | BENGALI | Bangladesh (and West Bengal, India) | Asia |
| 7 | 160000000 | RUS | RUSSIAN | Russia | Europe/Asia |
| 8 | 126000000 | JPN | JAPANESE | Japan | Asia |
| 9 | 122000000 | FRN | FRENCH | France | Eur |
| 10 | 118000000 | GER | GERMAN, STANDARD | Germany | Eur |
It is quite surprising to me that Dutch fairs as badly as it does (45th on this list), given Dutch maritime history and the trade routes they established. I know Dutch isn’t a big international language today, so it’s not surprising that it fairs so badly - what’s surprising is that Dutch hasn’t had more of an impact than it did.
Back to the point, if there is indeed a point. When I see data such as this, it makes me marvel that the most common language taught in UK schools is French, with German and Spanish coming up the rear. Granted, there are good historical reasons for this, and these countries are our nearest big neighbours - but for a child living in, say, Manchester, is much more likely to hear Hindi than French.
If a European language is desired, then why not Portuguese, German, Spanish or Italian? When in Edinburgh the difference between France and Italy is negligable in terms of distance! I’ve seen Spanish and German taught in schools, not Italian though - or Portuguese!
What about the non European languages? I know from experience that it is quite hard to find someone who can teach বাংলা (Bangla/Bengali) where I live, and it is the sixth most common language in the world! More than this, it’s the language from the Calcutta region, where the East India company was based - and hence we have a fairly large number of Bangla speakers in the UK. It’s rare to see Japanese being taught, or Russian.
Looking more broadly, surely with China becoming more important on the world stage, the UK could probably benefit from having Mandarin speakers. We could also use speakers of Hindi (though for historical reasons, English is a de facto language in India). Of course, we do already have Hindi speakers, Gujurati speakers and so forth, but we should not rely long term upon ‘home learning’. I have little doubt that we could also use Arabic speakers in the current political climate.
Fundamentally, native English speakers are quite lazy linguistically due to the predominance of English - arising from an Imperial past. Couple this with the fact that in the UK as we are an island, and so we don’t have the easy movement of peoples across borders as happens in places like Belgium - one simply isn’t exposed to languages.
There are similar issues elsewhere. In the US the country is large and quite insular (there are lots of places to see at home, why go abroad?). With the exception of Spanish (and also French in Canada) one must leave the continent to get a reasonable mix of languages (with the exception of certain areas within some big cities). Australia is in a similar position.
Given that we share a long border; I’d like to see Welsh or Gaelic being offered in England, especially along the border. I won’t hold my breath for this happening in any sizable way, though - the main reason being a lack of teachers, and a lack of demand! Many people simply don’t get the urge to learn a language until later in life.
Combine all these factors lack of exposure with the late start people get in foreign languages in the UK (usually aged 11) and we end up with a nation of essentially monolingual people.
A crying shame - it would be wonderful to be fluent in another tongue, and the best way to fluency is an early exposure.
I’m sick of being functionally monolingual. This is why I’m taking steps to do something about it. I’d like to learn বাংলা (Bangla/Bengali), but for now am learning French (boringly). Given what I’ve said above, why French? Essentially for me it is easier. I live in easy reach of the ferry and like to pop over for day trips. I do have a smattering of schoolboy French, and hopefully this will give me a head start.
The course starts in earnest within about a week. I hope I can maintain my focus and get myself to a reasonable level. Wish me luck - and don’t be surprised if I try the occasional post in French at some point.
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5 Comments
I have to definitely agree with you on the many points that you made in this article. Being an American, I don’t have easy access to many “foreign” languages. In fact, the only ones available are Spanish and French. With our large Hispanic population, that’s all well and good, but I frequently travel to Brazil and have come to need a fluent knowledge of the Portuguese language. Unfortunately, the American mindset is focused, rather narcissistically, on knowing and accepting ONLY English. Maybe someday we’ll be able to see past our own conceited noses to the world around us, and hopefully learn to interact better with that world.
Enjoyed your little article. I was having the same thoughts latley when I found out that Bengali was such a widley spoken language. We definitly live in a wold of supply and demand. Seems like it would be a good idea for the rest of the world to pick up some Chinese or some HIndi. I am currently trying to add spanish as my second language and every day is a challenge. I am living in Argetina now with a family and have come a long way, but I have so much further to go. When I return home I have the oportunity to learn Bengali and now have the motivation to do it. How is your French studying going? Suerte y Bon Chance….I think it is something like that….
(Edit: It’s going. So far my mark average is above 90%, details are elsewhere on the site, categorised under ‘Open University’. I am, however, at quite a low level, I’m still ‘beginner’ standard - Murk)
I strongly agree with many of the points you have made. I am currently, a 16 yr. old American born, ethnically Bengali citizen in Michigan, religiously Muslim citizen, and I am also learning Spanish currently in school. It is rather disappointing that I do not have the chance to enjoy the ability to learn yet another, fourth language due to the pressures of time which I face as a student. Furthermore, it is dissapointing to me that the U.S. has been so pushy-pushy in terms of World Politics in which they have in essence, “forced” other countries to accept the world-wide use of English. Even more, I beileve that the acceptance of different cultures and religions, as well as languages, could actually be the deciding factor of what roles a superpower may play on the world stage. I am very impressed however, that my first aquired language, in which it can be compared as the equivalent of my english, is a widely spoken language throughout the world. Furthermore, I cannot read or write Bengali, however I can read Arabic but not speak nor write it. Spanish and English currently, I can speak, read, and write in; usually without difficulty also. It is very uplifting to me that I am atleast not wasting my time with languages, writings, and readings of Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, and English. I encourage everyone to persue the aquiring of knowledge which includes the learning of new languages. Finally, I know that we currently as a peoples of the same home, the Earth, are currently consumed in war and hatred as well as genocide worldwide. We, as individuals and citizens of this planet, are charged with taking the necessary steps towards keeping our planet, and our brothers and sisters safe; one way we can do this, is by understanding different cultures, religions, and ethnicities, which can be achieved by our aquiring of languages and the histories behind them.
-Nayeem
I thank you for your article. I was searching for a new language to study when I stumbled upon your website.
I currently speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Now for a young American thats not too shabby, considering our nation’s linguistic ignorance. However, a recent holiday in the Philippines opened my ears to Tagalog. Although most filipinos speak English,I wanted to really respect all that the country had to offer, instead I felt rather left out of the cultural experience because I couldnt speak the language. So I came back inspired to learn. Tagalog, French, hell I’ll even take sign language. I just want to feel like a member of the world community. Your list has helped me decide my next conquest.
“We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our school masters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us.”
Charles Louis de Secondat 1689-1750
I really enjoyed your entry! I grew up with Mandarin and English, as well as a Chinese dialect at home, and now I’m learning Spanish. It feels good to be able to say proudly that I speak 3 of the world’s most common languages, and I’m definitely going to learn a few more along the way. Maybe other more widely used languages like French or Italian or Portuguese (I love the romance languages) or German, Russian, Japanese, etc. Actually, every language is beautiful, aren’t they? I wouldn’t mind learning any new language.
To all those who want to learn a new language but are afraid of it being difficult, I say go for it!