Top 10 Spoken Languages in the World in 2012

When you decide to make your career in the online world, it is important not to forget that the audience you are targeting to, is huge-and-diverse. This means that you are lucky enough to have readers from all over the world, that is, people who have different cultures and languages. There is no doubt about the fact that a wise businessmen is the one who choose the platform that can turn out to be a profiting considerably as compared to the other options available. Language has always played an important part. Imagine yourself visiting an Arabic Website if you are not a native Arab, It would obviously leave you clueless and you would try to find your stuff somewhere else. In Order to understand the required profitable grounds in the world, it is a good practice to analyze where do you have a good audience to focus on. Here are top 10 most spoken languages in the world, therefore, if you are looking for something new, you may target your readers on the basis of number of speakers of the language you are good at. Have a look!

1. Mandarin

Number of speakers: 1 billion+

Mandarin Chinese tops the list of most spoken world languages, with over a billion speakers. It is frequently called Chinese by non-speakers, but it is actually only one of many Chinese languages. Mandarin is the largest of the Chinese languages and also the official language of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. Surprisingly, it is one of four official languages of Singapore. In addition, large scale immigration from both mainland China and Taiwan have brought large populations of Mandarin speakers to the United States and Europe. Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese are two writing systems of Mandarin, but speaking Mandarin is really a tall order as its each word can be pronounced in four different tones that change the entire meaning of a word.

Want to say hello? Here you go!
To speak “hello” in Mandarin, say “Ni hao” (Nee HaOW). (“Hao” is pronounced as single syllable, but the tone requires that you let your voice drop midway, and then raise it again at the end.)

2. English

Number of speakers: 508 million

The second place is captured by English. The largest population of English speakers lives in the United States, by about 309 million speakers.  Interestingly, English is the official language of 53 countries, including Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Jamaica, and New Zealand, as well as it is the de facto language of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.  It also has large speaking populations in several African and Oceanian countries, and is a “subsidiary official language” in India. English is also an official language of several organizations, counting the UN, NATO, and the European Union. You can say Hi, Hey or Hello to greet some one!

Well let’s move on to third most popular language.

3. Hindi

Number of speakers: 497 million

Hindi is the official language of India, and it stands on third position. Most of its words sounds parallel to Urdu language. Despite the fact that many predict that the population of India will soon exceed that of China, the importance of English in India prevents Hindi from outshining the most popular language in the world.

If you want to say Hello in Hindi, say “Namaste” (Nah-MAH-stay).

4. Spanish

Number of speakers: 392 million

Spanish is a member of the West Iberian branch of the Romance languages, closely linked to Portuguese.  Spanish is one of the most widely distributed languages in the world; it is the official language of over 20 countries, along with the official language of nearly every state in Latin America, excepting Brazil, Belize, etc.  In addition, large populations of native speakers have immigrated to the United States, and Spanish is now one of the most common languages in the American southwest.  It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Spanish is furthermore famous among high school students.
Say “Hola” (HO-la), if you wish to say Hello.

5. Russian

Number of speakers: 277 million

The Russian language is a member of the East Slavic family of languages, a family which also embraces the Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn languages.  Most of Russian’s 144 million orators live in Russia, speak their official language ‘Russian’. New countries with large Russian-speaking populations include Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.  Russian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Let’s say Hello in Russian, its “Zdravstvuite” (ZDRAHST-vooy-tyeh).

6. Arabic

Number of speakers: 246 million

Arabic is most often well-known with the Middle East and North Africa, and is the official language of 26 countries. It meets together with Hebrew as the official language of Israel, and has huge populations of speakers in both Europe and North America. Further, its classical variant is the language of the Qu’ran. Arabic is written in the Arabic script.

“Al salaam a’alaykum” (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom) is a word to say Hello.

7. Bengali

Number of speakers: 211 million

Bengali is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family, along with languages such as Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.  Most of its speakers live in the country of Bangladesh, where it is the official language. Orators also reside in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam, as well as in Europe, the United States, and even Saudi Arabia.  Bengali has a rich literary practice and is a focal point of Bengali nationalism. Moreover, Bengali is written in the Bengali script, which is related to the Sanskrit and Hindi scripts.

Try to say Hello in Bengali, its “Ei Je” (EYE-jay).

8. Portuguese

Number of speakers: 191 million

With the shocking number of speakers, Portuguese language sets at eighth place. It is the official language of both Portugal and Brazil, where most native speakers reside.  Also, it is the official language of Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, and is a mandatory subject of study in schools in Uruguay and Argentina.  It is presently the fourth most learned language in the world, with 30 million learners.

To say “hello” in Portuguese, say “Bom dia” (bohm DEE-ah).

9. Malay-Indonesian

Number of speakers: 159 million

Take back! The mixture of Malaysia and Indonesia, ‘Malay-Indonesian’, is standing in ninth place when it comes to figure out most spoken languages in the world. It is commonly spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Hello in ‘Indonesian’ can be pronounced like “Selamat pagi” (se-LA-maht PA-gee).

10. French

Number of speakers: 129 million

Well, French language has rolled up some figures of its speakers and now it is declared as tenth most spoken language in the world! Frequently called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in plenty of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Haiti. Oh, and France too. Surprisingly, people (particularly students) are more passionate to learn French.

“Bonjour” (bone-JOOR) is a word to say Hello in French.

Hope you may have speaking command on at least one of the above mentioned languages. If not, then do the best and power up yourself to learn any one of these languages!

Best Wishes