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РусскийIf you’ve landed on this page, it means you have an interest in learning a new language, exploring a new culture, and perhaps a desire for change in your life. So, let’s take a look:
1. By various estimates, there are more than 7000 known languages in the world. A huge number! It reflects the diversity and richness of human cultures.
2. The most widespread languages in the world are Spanish, English, Hindi and Chinese. Below in this article, we will provide a list of the ten most popular languages on the planet.
3. The longest word: in the German language, the longest word is “Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft“, which means “Association of subordinate engineers in the main construction of steamboats on the Danube.” Can anyone other than native German speakers read it? 😉
4. New words: Every year, new words appear in languages. For example, in the English language, hundreds of new words are officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary every year. Studies are conducted on the frequency of using new words, and each year the winning words – the most popular ones – are announced.
The Oxford English Dictionary recognized the word “rizz” as the word of the year for 2023. This word is widely popular among Generation Z youths (born approximately between 1999 and 2012).
“Rizz” describes a person’s possession of style, charm, charisma, and attractiveness, which helps to charm a partner.
The word “rizz” is essentially a shorthand for “charisma”.
This slang term can also be used as a verb. “To rizz up” means to exhibit these qualities, including creating an irresistible impression and maintaining charming conversation.
5. Learning languages helps the brain: Regularly studying foreign languages improves brain functions such as cognitive abilities, memory, and many others. Thanks to this fact, foreign language lessons have become practiced to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
6. Unique alphabets: Arabic, Korean, and Japanese are examples of languages with unique alphabets. Arabic is written from right to left, while Korean and Japanese use complex systems of characters known as Hangul and Hiragana/Katakana respectively.
7. Sad fact: Every two weeks, one language disappears. Preserving linguistic diversity is becoming increasingly important in our time.
8. The most difficult languages: Some languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic, are known for their difficulty due to specific grammatical and lexical features.
9. Sign language is not a universal language. Different cultures may have different sign language systems, and not all gestures mean the same thing in different cultures.
These facts only touch on the richness and diversity of the world’s foreign languages.
And now, let’s list the 10 most spoken languages on the planet:
1. Chinese (Standard Mandarin) – over 1 billion speakers.
2. English – over 1.5 billion speakers (including both native and second language speakers).
3. Spanish – around 460 million speakers.
4. Hindi – around 310 million speakers.
5. Arabic – around 310 million speakers.
6. French – around 280 million speakers.
7. Bengali – around 270 million speakers.
8. Russian – around 260 million speakers.
9. Portuguese – around 250 million speakers.
10. Urdu* – around 230 million speakers.
* Urdu is the official language of Pakistan and is also used in some regions of India. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan, the other being English. Urdu is based on the Arabic alphabet and has many similarities with Hindi, including vocabulary and grammar.
This is just a general overview, and depending on the counting methodology and other factors, the ranking may vary slightly.