In case you were wondering, here is a list of the 30 most spoken languages in the world and the areas in which they are spoken.
This question is a very interesting one that has a rather complicated answer. Estimates of how many people speak a language are quite general and can vary considerably. For example, English estimates vary from 275 to 450 million, Spanish from 150 to over 300 million, Hindi from 150 to 350 million, and Russian from 150 to 180 million.
To further complicate matters, the definition of "speaker" can be vague. Some surveys of languages give information on native speakers only. Others count both native speakers and secondary speakers (those who use the language regularly or primarily even though it is not their native language).
Lastly, it is important to consider not only the population (number) of language speakers, but also the geographic distribution of these languages. Some languages have relatively large populations of native speakers but are used almost exclusively in a few countries. On the other hand, other languages have relatively small populations of native speakers but are used in many different countries as an official or national language.
The Summer Institute for Linguistics (SIL) Ethnologue Survey (1999) lists the following as the top languages by population:
(number of native speakers in parentheses)
1. Chinese* (937,132,000)
2. Spanish (332,000,000)
3. English (322,000,000)
4. Bengali (189,000,000)
5. Hindi/Urdu (182,000,000)
6. Arabic* (174,950,000)
7. Portuguese (170,000,000)
8. Russian (170,000,000)
9. Japanese (125,000,000)
10. German (98,000,000)
11. French* (79,572,000)
This question is a very interesting one that has a rather complicated answer. Estimates of how many people speak a language are quite general and can vary considerably. For example, English estimates vary from 275 to 450 million, Spanish from 150 to over 300 million, Hindi from 150 to 350 million, and Russian from 150 to 180 million.
To further complicate matters, the definition of "speaker" can be vague. Some surveys of languages give information on native speakers only. Others count both native speakers and secondary speakers (those who use the language regularly or primarily even though it is not their native language).
Lastly, it is important to consider not only the population (number) of language speakers, but also the geographic distribution of these languages. Some languages have relatively large populations of native speakers but are used almost exclusively in a few countries. On the other hand, other languages have relatively small populations of native speakers but are used in many different countries as an official or national language.
This question is a very interesting one that has a rather complicated answer. Estimates of how many people speak a language are quite general and can vary considerably. For example, English estimates vary from 275 to 450 million, Spanish from 150 to over 300 million, Hindi from 150 to 350 million, and Russian from 150 to 180 million.
To further complicate matters, the definition of "speaker" can be vague. Some surveys of languages give information on native speakers only. Others count both native speakers and secondary speakers (those who use the language regularly or primarily even though it is not their native language).
Lastly, it is important to consider not only the population (number) of language speakers, but also the geographic distribution of these languages. Some languages have relatively large populations of native speakers but are used almost exclusively in a few countries. On the other hand, other languages have relatively small populations of native speakers but are used in many different countries as an official or national language.
The Summer Institute for Linguistics (SIL) Ethnologue Survey (1999) lists the following as the top languages by population:
(number of native speakers in parentheses)
1. Chinese* (937,132,000)
2. Spanish (332,000,000)
3. English (322,000,000)
4. Bengali (189,000,000)
5. Hindi/Urdu (182,000,000)
6. Arabic* (174,950,000)
7. Portuguese (170,000,000)
8. Russian (170,000,000)
9. Japanese (125,000,000)
10. German (98,000,000)
11. French* (79,572,000)
This question is a very interesting one that has a rather complicated answer. Estimates of how many people speak a language are quite general and can vary considerably. For example, English estimates vary from 275 to 450 million, Spanish from 150 to over 300 million, Hindi from 150 to 350 million, and Russian from 150 to 180 million.
To further complicate matters, the definition of "speaker" can be vague. Some surveys of languages give information on native speakers only. Others count both native speakers and secondary speakers (those who use the language regularly or primarily even though it is not their native language).
Lastly, it is important to consider not only the population (number) of language speakers, but also the geographic distribution of these languages. Some languages have relatively large populations of native speakers but are used almost exclusively in a few countries. On the other hand, other languages have relatively small populations of native speakers but are used in many different countries as an official or national language.
For the source and more detailed information concerning your request, click on the related links section indicated below. English is the worlds most spoken language. See http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm for further details. The language is the official language of many countries around the world, it is a second language of huge numbers of people and also studied by huge numbers of people; at the time the website above was launched was being stuided by nearly a quarter of China's population.
Mandarin Chinese is the world's most spoken language, with over a billion native speakers.
English
Mandarin Chinese is the world's most spoken language, with over a billion speakers globally.
The world's second most spoken language is Spanish. It is widely spoken in Spain, Latin America, and parts of the United States.
No, English is the most widely spoken language in the world. French is spoken by a significant number of people, but it is not the most spoken language globally.
Spanish ranks as the second most spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated that there are over 460 million native Spanish speakers worldwide.
Spanish is the most spoken language in Latin America. The second most spoken language in Latin America is Portuguese, primarily in Brazil.
Mandarin Chinese is the world's most spoken language, with over a billion speakers globally.
English is commonly considered the world's leading language, with the largest number of native speakers and being widely used in international communication, business, and technology.
The world's most widely spoken constructed language is Esperanto. It was created in the late 19th century by Ludwik L. Zamenhof to promote international communication and understanding. Today, Esperanto is estimated to have several million speakers worldwide.
The world's second most spoken language is Spanish. It is widely spoken in Spain, Latin America, and parts of the United States.
Persian is the most spoken language in Afghanistan.
The most spoken language is Chinese, then the second most spoken is English, and the third most spoken language is Spanish.
The third most spoken language in Austria is Serbo-Croatian, due to the significant presence of immigrants from former Yugoslavia.
The second most spoken language is Irish, spoken fluently by about 1% of the population.The most spoken language is English, spoken by about 98% of the population.
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of native speakers.
Shona is the most spoken native language, but English is a widely spoken second language for many people.
English is the most widely spoken language in the U.S.
No, English is the most widely spoken language in the world. French is spoken by a significant number of people, but it is not the most spoken language globally.