Mandarin
Quebec, which is the French speaking Province.
While Mandarin Chinese probably has the greatest number of people speaking it, if we consider the question as "what language do the most people know how to use", then it would be English. If we take it as "what language can be spoken world wide by the most people", that would be English. And if we take it as "what is the most popular secondary language to learn", that would be English. While over a billion people in China do then speak Mandarin, the fact that there are over a billion people in India who learn English as a second language balances that nicely. And of course, people in China often learn English.
The native language of a people is called their mother tongue or first language.
It's difficult to get statistics on this if only because the difference for a lot of people between secondary mother language, school language, and language-they-learned as an adult, is small and difficult to define. The answer at this point in history is most likely English. Many kids in many non-English speaking countries are trying to learn English because of its business applications, especially as concerns the USA and Europe (most European businessmen, especially in Western Europe, have a decent command of English).
More people speak Mandarin Chinese as their mother tongue compared to English. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world by native speakers, with over a billion people speaking it as their first language. English has a large number of native speakers as well, but Mandarin Chinese holds the top spot.
English
Mandarin has the greatest number of speakers. English is the most widely spoken language.
Quebec, which is the French speaking Province.
While Mandarin Chinese probably has the greatest number of people speaking it, if we consider the question as "what language do the most people know how to use", then it would be English. If we take it as "what language can be spoken world wide by the most people", that would be English. And if we take it as "what is the most popular secondary language to learn", that would be English. While over a billion people in China do then speak Mandarin, the fact that there are over a billion people in India who learn English as a second language balances that nicely. And of course, people in China often learn English.
people say mother tongue when they talk about the first language that they learned or the language they do best at. for example, my first language is icelandic and my mother language is English because im better at it.
The native language of a people is called their mother tongue or first language.
Your mother tongue is the language you grew up speaking. For most people, that would be the language their mother speaks.
Irish language
Jeremy Bentham
A person's 'mother tongue' is the main language that they spoke when they were growing up. Usually this will be the language which they used with their mother (which explains the name): but obviously there are exceptions to this (if your mother was a Bangladeshi immigrant who married a mid-Westerner, and you grew up in Boise, then your mother tongue is probably American English - though you might still speak some Bengali with your mother). Recent language research suggests that the main language for most people is the language they speak with their childhood friends, not the language they speak at home: so 'mother tongue' may be a misnomer. It's still a useful idea though: and one that most people understand. Your mother tongue is your first language, the language you are most at ease in , the language in your dreams.
It's difficult to get statistics on this if only because the difference for a lot of people between secondary mother language, school language, and language-they-learned as an adult, is small and difficult to define. The answer at this point in history is most likely English. Many kids in many non-English speaking countries are trying to learn English because of its business applications, especially as concerns the USA and Europe (most European businessmen, especially in Western Europe, have a decent command of English).
Tamil is mother language for Tamilnadu people and Tamil Eelam people and srilankan language is sinhalam who are living in south & west island of Ceylon Tamileelam is north & east island of Ceylon