The task of defining which are the most spoken languages in the world is not an easy one. Even experienced linguists find this process difficult. Although they themselves have established classification criteria based on similarities, they come up against issues such as dialects and languages spoken in the same country.
However, we tried to list which 10 most spoken languages in the world. However, we warn you: the first and third positions compete for the difference between mother tongue and configuration as a second language. You see, how difficult it is to measure which languages are most practiced?
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According to the Ethnologue website, around 1 billion people speak Mandarin. First place goes to the language because it is official from China, owner of a large population contingent. However, the language is practiced in over 32 countries, mostly in Asia. In addition, scholars around the world have sought to learn the language.
But, here's a warning: because it's tonal and endowed with ideograms, it can take some time to learn.
Yet another language spoken in an overpopulated country, India. Over there, there are 23 official languages, but Hindi/Urdu occupies the lead, especially in the north of the country and in regions of Pakistan, in addition to Nepal. It is estimated that approximately 565 million people speak Hindi. There are about a hundred languages similar to Hindi.
The language has even been proposed as a substitute for English in Indian schools, but the proposal has met with resistance. Oh, and did you know that we use many words from Hindu in our daily lives? For example, bangalow and shampoo!
Well, if we consider English as a mother tongue, it is estimated that around 545 people are speakers of the language in countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. But, when we take it as a foreign language, the number gains more than 500 million speakers, approximately. That's because the language is universal in the world of business, travel and international relations.
So much so that its teaching is mandatory in Brazilian schools, for example, and not having it in your curriculum can make you miss out on good professional opportunities. It seems that the power exercised by the United States over the economy, politics and culture could make English very soon become the most spoken language in the world.
The Spanish language is spoken by around 450 million people in 30 countries, including Spain, Latin America and some parts of the United States. However, its importance is notable, both as a mother tongue and as a foreign language, also being mandatory in the Brazilian basic education school curriculum.
About 250 million people spread across 60 countries have Arabic as their mother tongue. Like several languages, it has dialects that often make its natives not even understand each other. For example, the modern pattern, shall we say, is related to the Arabic classic of the Qur'an, the holy book.
However, in countries like Oman and Morocco, the spoken forms are quite different. This is because Arabic is divided into distinct dialects.
Yes, our Portuguese language ranks sixth with around 218 million speakers. Its expansion is linked to the colonization process, so it is spoken in Portugal, Brazil and in several countries in Africa and Asia. Want examples? Goa, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Macau and East Timor.
Furthermore, it is practiced by inhabitants of countries with a vast territorial dimension and population contingent, such as Brazil itself.
Bengali or Bengali is spoken by about 200 million people, especially in India and Bangladesh.
Obviously, a giant country like Russia had to be on this list! It is estimated that around 150 million people speak Russian not only in the World Cup country but also in 15 countries in Central Asia. With its peculiar grammar and typical Cyrillic alphabet, it is one of the six most spoken languages of the United Nations.
The language of charming France is spoken, in addition to the European country, in Canada, West and Central Africa. Like English and Spanish, its expansion is due to colonization, but it is also among the most sought after languages by those who want to learn a foreign language.
Last but not least is Japanese, spoken by around 130 million native speakers! With two distinct writing systems, hirogana and katakana, it also has expressive speaking groups in Brazil, the Philippines and the United States. Despite this, it is considered an isolated language due to its geographic concentration.
