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Which is the mostuseful languageto learn?
A special feature for parents, business people andanyone with an eye on the future.
Contents
iii) Introduction
iv) Chinese Mandarin
v) Spanish
English
vi) Arabic
Hindi
vii) Portuguese
Bengali
viii) Russian
Japanese
ix) German
Turkish
x) Polish
Amharic
xi) Swahili
British Sign Language
ii
www.languageiseverything.com
Which is the most usefullanguage to learn?
"We are about to embark on a renaissance inlanguages in schools and beyond."
So said Alan Johnson, the then educationsecretary, in March 2007. Mr Johnson wasresponding to the publication of a report1 byLord Dearing recommending that languagelearning become compulsory for all 7-year-oldchildren.
We took part in Lord Dearing's consultationfor his report, and we raised a fundamentalquestion: which languages should our childrenbe learning in the 21st century?
"Although there are over 6,000 languagesspoken in the world," we argued, "just 3 ofthese - French, German and Spanish - accountfor 94% of GCSE entries for modern foreignlanguages. French alone accounts for 59% ofGCSE entries, although it is not one of the tenmost commonly-spoken mother tonguesworldwide. The EU operates in 23 officiallanguages, yet only 9 of these are available asGCSEs. Arabic and Chinese are widely tipped tobe two of the four most influential languagesover the next fifty years, but - across the wholeof the UK in 2004 - there were less than 4,000GCSE entries for Chinese, and less than 3,000GCSE entries for Arabic.
"If more children are to become excitedabout languages, if more individuals are to beenfranchised in the global village, and if UKbusiness is to become more competitive, webelieve there needs to be a clear signal that theadventure of learning a foreign language can -and must - extend far beyond the traditionalpath of French, German and Spanish."
So which is the most useful language tolearn? In this special feature we present thecase for fifteen languages.
We look at the world's top ten most widely-spoken 'mother tongues', from Mandarin andSpanish (ranked first and second) to Japaneseand German (ranked ninth and tenth).
We present the case for two 'new EU'languages: Turkish (Turkey is the largest of thethree official candidate countries for EuropeanUnion membership) and Polish (Poland was thelargest of the ten new member states thatjoined the EU in 2004).
We highlight two of the most widely-spokenAfrican languages: Amharic (which uses thehistoric Ethiopic alphabet) and Swahili (the onlyAfrican language to have been adopted as anofficial language by the African Union).
And we look at British Sign Language, whichbecame officially recognized by the UKgovernment in 2003.
Clearly, our list of fifteen languages barelyscratches the surface. It is possible to make apowerful argument in favour of any language,living or dead. The objective of our list issimply to encourage a debate. If you would liketo join in, please send us your thoughts by e-mail to [email protected].
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Number of speakers (as first language)873 million2
World ranking1st
Number of countries where it is official3 (China, Taiwan, Singapore)
Language familySino-Tibetan, Sinitic subgroup3
AlphabetThere are between 40,000 and 50,000different Chinese characters
How to say "Hello" in ChineseNi hao [nee haOW]
Chinese words you already knowtea, typhoon, kowtow
Chinese Mandarin
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Reasons to learn ChineseChinese Mandarin is easily the world's mostcommonly-spoken mother tongue: it hasmore first language speakers than Spanish(ranked second), English (third) and Arabic(fourth) combined. There are many otherdialects of Chinese, including Cantonese,which is an official language of the specialadministrative region of Hong Kong.
Our expert says"Chinese culture is one of the oldest in theworld. Learning Chinese helps youunderstand Chinese culture, literature andhistory. Also, China will soon become UK'smost important export market. UKcompanies need Chinese speakers."Yali Quan, Chinese linguist, Language isEverything
Number of speakers (as first language)309 million
World ranking3rd
Number of countries where it is official58. The top 10 by number of speakers is:
1. USA2. UK3. Canada4. Australia5. Ireland6. South Africa7. New Zealand8. Jamaica9. Trinidad & Tobago10. Guyana
Language familyIndo-European, Germanic subgroup
English
Number of speakers (as first language)322 million
World ranking2nd
Number of countries where it is official21 (including Spain, Mexico, Colombia,Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile)
Language familyIndo-European, Romance subgroup
AlphabetRoman
How to say "Hello" in SpanishHola [OH-lah]
Spanish words you already knowpatio, maana, cargo
Reasons to learn SpanishSpanish is widely spoken throughout thewestern hemisphere, from the US states ofNew Mexico, Texas and California (wheremore than a third of the population use itas their mother tongue), through Mexico,the Caribbean, and Central and SouthAmerica. It is also spoken in the Africancountries of Morocco and Equatorial Guinea.
Our expert says"Business, development and theenvironment are at the top of theinternational agenda, and South America isat the forefront of these issues. Spanish isnot a difficult language to learn, and it willopen doors for your career."Isolda Montero, Spanish linguist, Languageis Everything
SpanishEspaol
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Our expert says"It is estimated that around 1 billionpeople use English as a second language,and this number is set to increase rapidlyover the next ten years. But the morepeople speak English, the more important itbecomes for English-speakers to learnanother language. As David Graddol, aresearcher and applied linguist, explains ina recent report for the British Council4:'Monolingual English speakers face a bleakeconomic future... The competitiveadvantage which English has historicallyprovided its acquirers (personally,organisationally, and nationally) will ebbaway as English becomes a near-universalbasic skill. The need to maintain theadvantage by moving beyond English willbe felt more acutely.'"Graham Jones, former English teacher andcompany secretary, Language is Everything
Number of speakers (as first language)177 million
World ranking5th
Number of countries where it is official1 (India)
Language familyIndo-European, Indo-Iranian subgroup
AlphabetSanskrit
How to say "Hello" in HindiNamasthe [nah-mah-STAY]
Hindi words you already knowcot, shampoo, juggernaut
Hindi
Number of speakers (as first language)206 million
World ranking4th
Number of countries where it is official25 (including Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia)
Language familyAfro-Asiatic, Semitic subgroup
AlphabetArabic
How to say "Hello" in ArabicAl salaam a'alaykum [ahl sah-LAHM ahah'LAY-koom]
Arabic words you already knowalcohol, giraffe, sofa
Arabic
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Reasons to learn ArabicArabic is the official language of a band ofcountries reaching from Mauritania andMorocco on the Atlantic coast to Oman onthe Indian Ocean. Arabic has many dialects,but Modern Standard Arabic is used as auniversal language throughout the region.It was adopted as an official language ofthe United Nations in 1974.
Our expert says"Learning Arabic - or any other language -is like discovering a new sense. It's likeopening a new source of information thatenables you to learn more and get a betterunderstanding of people from differentcultures and traditions."Ali Khaireddine, Arabic linguist, Language isEverything
Reasons to learn HindiAt least 150 languages are spoken in India,but Hindi is the mother tongue for morethan one-third of the population. Hindi isvery similar to Urdu, the official language ofPakistan. One of the main differences isthat Hindi is written in the Devanagariscript, whereas Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Our expert says"India, the largest democracy in the world,is on its way to becoming an economicsuperpower. Hindi is India's nationallanguage, so bilingual skills are becomingincreasingly important for businesses. Plus,Hindi is an easy and fun language to learn!"Anjlee Kohli, Hindi linguist, Language isEverything
Number of speakers (as first language)171 million
World ranking7th
Number of countries where it is official2 (Bangladesh, India)
Language familyIndo-European, Indo-Iranian subgroup
AlphabetBengali
How to say "Hello" in BengaliEi je [EYE-jay]
Bengali words you already knowbungalow
Bengali
Number of speakers (as first language)177 million
World ranking6th
Number of countries where it is official8 (including Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique,Angola, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor)
Language familyIndo-European, Romance branch
AlphabetRoman
How to say "Hello" in PortugueseBom dia [bohn DEE-ah]
Portuguese words you already knowsamba, piranha, China
Portugueseportugus
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Reasons to learn PortugueseSimilar but different from Spanish,Portuguese provides access to fourcontinents. The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries has eight members:Portugal (Europe), Brazil (South America),Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau,Mozambique, So Tom and Prncipe(Africa) and East Timor (southeast Asia).
Our expert says"Add samba, carnival and a wonderfulnatural happiness to your life. Learn how tosmile. Learn the melodious BrazilianPortuguese, the language of the people withno doubts about the meaning of life: youare here on Earth to be happy."Claudio Solano, Brazilian Portugueselinguist