This question is not as simple as it seems. It is difficult to give an exact answer as there are several complex issues.
First, what do we mean by spoken language? Do you want to rank languages by the number of native users, or by how many people in total speak the language, native or non-native? These two approaches produce lists that look very different. Masu.
Second, where is the line between languages and dialects? How different do two dialects have to be to be considered different languages? Often there is no one clear answer; Drawing the line can influence a language's position on the “most spoken” list.
That being said, it is possible to submit an approximate bid amount. The best estimates of the most spoken languages in the world at this time are: This should be considered as the total number of users, not just those who are native speakers of a particular language.
Top 5 most spoken languages in the world
1. Mandarin
Number of indigenous people: 918 million
Number of foreigners: 193 million
Total: 1.09 billion
People often refer to “Chinese” as a single language. But in reality, it is a group of different related languages, of which Chinese is the largest. It is the official language of the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. Mandarin's original name, Putonghua, literally means “common language,” but Taiwanese people call it Guogo, which means “national language.” Historically, it was also called “Guanhua”, which means “official language”. Because Mandarin is more common in northern China, it is sometimes referred to as Northern dialect, which translates to “northern dialect.”
Mandarin is written in Chinese characters (sometimes called “Hanji”). This is an old system where each symbol represents a different word. There are two versions:
Traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Simplified Chinese characters used in China, Singapore, and Malaysia.
It is estimated that you need to learn 2,000 to 3,000 characters to read a newspaper. Educated Chinese people know about 8,000 of them.
2. English
Number of indigenous people: 379 million
Number of non-indigenous people: 611 million
Total: 983 million
Thanks to the historical dominance of the British Empire and the recent economic and cultural influence of the United States, English has been established as the world's lingua franca and is the second most spoken language in the world. The name “English” comes from “Angel,” a Germanic people who settled in England in the first millennium of the Common Era. Their name comes from the Anlen region of northern Germany, which of course also gave its name to the area now known as England.
English is essentially a Germanic language. Its vocabulary and sentence structure are closest to modern languages such as German and Dutch. However, throughout its impressive history it has been heavily influenced by other languages. Much of English vocabulary is derived from Latin, which in turn comes from the French-speaking Normans who conquered England in the 11th century.
3. Hindustani
Number of indigenous people: 341 million
Number of non-indigenous people: 215 million
Total: 544 million
Hindustani is an umbrella term for two dialects of the same language: Hindi and Urdu. The name is derived from Hindustan, the historical name for the northern and northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Hindi is spoken in northern and central India and is the official language of the Indian government. Urdu is mainly spoken in Pakistan. Although Hindi and Urdu have differences in vocabulary and pronunciation, people who speak both languages can easily communicate.
The notable difference between Hindi and Urdu is that they use different writing systems. Hindi is usually written using the Devanagari script. Urdu, on the other hand, is written from right to left with an alphabet closely related to the Arabic alphabet.
4. Spanish
Number of indigenous people: 480 million
Number of foreigners: 91 million
Total: 527 million
Sea Senor! In terms of the number of native Spanish speakers, Spanish is the second largest language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese). It ranks 4th overall (including both native and non-native users).
The language we know today as Spanish originated in the Castile region of Spain. For this reason, it is sometimes called “castilla” (castellano in Spanish). Since then, Spanish explorers and conquistadors have spread the Spanish language around the world. It is also spoken in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and even Africa. Equatorial Guinea is the only country in Africa where Spanish is the official language.
Spanish is also the second most common language in the United States, with 40 million Spaniards living in the United States. This makes the United States the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world after Mexico, and it is predicted that within our lifetimes the United States will overtake Mexico as the largest country.
5. Arabic
Number of indigenous people: 290 million
Number of non-Indigenous people: 132 million
Total: 422 million
Arabic is the official language of 26 countries, although some argue that Arabic is not one language but multiple languages.
If we ignore this and assume there is a single language called “Arabic”, that language is a huge language with over 400 million users. It originated in the Arabian Peninsula and later spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Arabic is of course also the language of Islam. Although most Muslims do not have Arabic as their first language, the language has special meaning for the world's second largest religion. Islam claims that God literally spoke Arabic through the angel Gabriel when he dictated the Koran to Muhammad.
That was 1400 years ago, and modern Arabic dialects have changed significantly from the classical Arabic used in the Quran. In addition to local dialects, many Arabs also speak Modern Standard Arabic, an academic dialect based on classical Arabic.
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