Top 10 Most Spoken Languages

The development of spoken languages is probably the most significant development in communications in the history of the world. 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. 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. Common phrases in Japanese includekonichiwa(hello),arigato(Thank you), andsayonara(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 144 million speakers live in Russia, where it is the official language.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 (referring to Rome). It is the official language of both Portugal and Brazil, where most native speakers live. Common Portuguese phrases includeBom dia (Good day),Como esta(how are you?), 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. Common Bengali phrases include;moshkar (Hello),Apnar nam ki?(What is your name?), andEktu (please). 5. Arabic (221 million speakers) Arabic is a member of the Semitic language family, which includes HebrewNeo-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. Common Arabic phrases includeas-salaamu ¡®alaikum(Peace be with you, a formal greeting),Na¡¯am(yes), andismaHli(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. 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. 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.