Most spoken languages in the world

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

- Nelson Mandela

Languages are not only a form of communication, but also an art in its own way. There are different versions of each language, and one language can be spoken in different styles. Language has contributed to understanding of feelings; and has made exchange of ideas easier. It omits barriers between people, and is the facilitator of connections between people. Language is thought to have originated when early hominids - the precursor to Homo sapiens - first started cooperating, adapting earlier systems of communication based on expressive signs to include a theory of other minds, and shared intentionality. Languages evolve and diversify over time.

Comparison

Human language is unique in comparison to other forms of communication, such as those used by animals, because it allows humans to produce an infinite set of utterances from a finite set of elements; and because, the symbols and grammatical rules of any particular language are largely arbitrary; so that the system can best be acquired through social interaction.

The known systems of communication used by animals, on the other hand, can only express a finite number of utterances that, mostly are, genetically transmitted. Human language is also unique in that its complex structure serves a much wider range of functions than any other kinds of communication system.

The learning of one's own native language - typically that of one's parents - normally occurs spontaneously in early human childhood and is biologically driven.

A crucial role of this process is the ability of humans, from an early age, to engage in speech repetition; and so quickly acquire a spoken vocabulary from the pronunciation of words spoken around them. There are approximately 7,000 current human languages.

Here are some of the languages spoken by the largest number of humans: Mandarin is often called Chinese by non-speakers, but it is in fact only one of many Chinese languages. Mandarin is the largest of the Chinese languages, and is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.

It has over 845 million speakers. It is also one of four official languages of Singapore; the others being English, Malay, and Tamil. In addition, large scale immigration, from mainland China and Taiwan, has brought large populations of Mandarin speakers to the United States and Europe.

Spanish is a member of the West Iberian branch of the Roman languages, closely related to Portuguese. Spanish is one of the most widely distributed languages in the world. It is the official language of over 20 countries, and is the official language of nearly every State in Latin America, excepting Brazil and Belize. Additionally, 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 with over 329 million speakers.

English is a member of the West Germanic language family. It originally sprouted from the Anglo-Saxon language (Old English) and borrowed heavily from Latin and French due to the Norman conquest of England. Though it developed in the British Isles, the largest population of English speakers live in the United States, with about 309 million speakers.

English is the official language of 53 countries, including Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Jamaica, and New Zealand, and is the commonly spoken language of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. It also has large-speaking populations in several African countries, and is a "subsidiary official language" in India.

The number of speakers is around 328 million.

Language

Hindi-Urdu is a member of the Indo-Aryan family, alongside Bengali.

It is a pluri-centric language and has two official forms, Standard Hindi and Standard Urdu, although the two forms are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Hindi is the official language of India, whilst Urdu is the official language of Pakistan.

Urdu and/or Hindi is also spoken in the Middle East and parts of Europe and North America where there are heavy Indian and Pakistani immigrant populations. The estimate of the number of speakers who communicate with this language is about 242 million.

Arabic is a member of the Semitic language family. Arabic is often identified with the Middle East, and North Africa; and is the official language of 26 countries. It is spoken by about 221 million speakers, all over the world. It sits alongside Hebrew as the official language of Israel, and has large populations of speakers in both Europe and North America.

Bengali is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family, alongside languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu. Most of its speakers live in the country of Bangladesh, where it is the official language. Speakers also live in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam.

Speakers also live in Europe, the United States, and even Saudi Arabia. Bengali has a rich literary tradition and is a focal point of Bengali nationalism. More than 181 million speakers communicate through this language.

The Portuguese language is a member of the Italic-Western branch of the Roman language family. Like the other Roman languages, it is a descendant of Latin. It is the official language of Portugal and Brazil, where most native speakers live. This has 178 million speakers all over the world. In addition, it is the official language of Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe, and is a mandatory subject of study in schools in Uruguay and Argentina. It is currently the fourth most learned language in the world.

The Russian language is a member of the East Slavic family of languages, which also includes the Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn languages. Most of Russia's 144 million speakers live in Russia, where it is the official language. Other countries with large Russian-speaking populations include Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

Speakers

The Japanese language is a member of the Japonicas language family, which also includes the Ryukyuan language spoken on the island of Okinawa.

Most Japanese native speakers live in Japan and its territories, but native Japanese speakers also live in Korea, the United States, and Europe. Japanese is the official language of Japan, and enjoys official status in Palau. There are about 132 million speakers in Japan.

German is a member of the West Germanic language family, alongside English. German, as its name suggests, is spoken in Germany where it is the official language. However, it is also the official language of Austria, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and is one of three official languages of Belgium (alongside Dutch and French) and one of four official languages of Switzerland.

This is also the official language of the Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen.

In addition, it is recognised as a minority language in several countries, including Poland, Denmark, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

There are approximately 90 million speakers, for whom German is the language of communication.

Well folks, such being the use of language by the majority inhabitants of this one and only world of ours, think where Sinhala and Tamil - the languages we fight over and kill each other for - fits into the order of things? How petty could our minds be that we waste so much energy and effort over such trivialities.

All people ought to take pride in, and be proud of, the language they speak. But, only the fools of humanity will resort to the kind of things we employ to resolve man made differences.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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