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Most common spoke language in the world

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Now I have always understood this as English and previous to it, it was French....The Spanish language hasn't suddenly took over has it? If it has then I look stupid...but I'm debating with quite an intelligent woman at work and she's adament it's Spanish!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I thought it was Mandarin :chin:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Last I heard it was very close between English and Manderin.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As a first language Chinese is the most spoken. If it includes languages which people speak in addition to their native language its English (which is the most widely spoken as well).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spanish is definately in the top 5 though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spanish has 392 million speakers
    English has 508 million speakers
    Mandarin has over 1 billion speakers
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spanish speakers are breathing like rabbits though :D

    Chances are English will cease to be the majority language in the USA within a generation or so :eek:

    Edited to add: the above should read "breeding" of course...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote:
    Spanish speakers are breathing like rabbits though :D

    How can you breathe like a rabbit :D
    Chances are English will cease to be the majority language in the USA within a generation or so :eek:

    That's alright - the way Franglais is going we'll make up for lost Americans with all the French speaking English instead.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    NQA wrote:
    How can you breathe like a rabbit :D
    Oh dear :o That'll teach me to check posts before clicking the button.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mandarin and then English
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Depends if you mean spoken by the most amount of people or in the highest number of different countries where it is classed as an official language.

    I think Mandarin is still spoken by the highest number of people in the world but I think barring a couple of other countries in SE Asia, nowhere else has it classed as an official language. As far as I am aware, Spanish is official in:

    Spain (obviously), Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua,Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Don't think it's classed as official in the US although a very high number of people there have it as a first language.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spanish is probably spoken in more countries than any other.

    French is lagging behind, only France and a few off her old Colonies speak it now.

    English will continue to be the universal language for a long time yet.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I always thought it was Spanish then Enlgish (my 2 languages :D ). I dont even know where Manderin comes from/sounds like :confused:
    Makoto wrote:
    Spanish has 392 million speakers

    im not surprised it is spoken in so many countries, including South America with the exception of Brazil? correct me if im wrong.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    jenni30 wrote:
    I always thought it was Spanish then Enlgish (my 2 languages :D ). I dont even know where Manderin comes from/sounds like :confused:



    im not surprised it is spoken in so many countries, including South America with the exception of Brazil? correct me if im wrong.

    Yes Brazillians speak Portuguese.

    Mandarin is a Chinese dialect, there's also Cantonese but it's less spoken.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I knew I was right! Wait 'til I get t work tomorrow!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spanish is more widely spoken (ie lots countries), English is used most commonly as a common language and Mandarin Chinese has the most native speakers IIRC.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    NQA wrote:
    How can you breathe like a rabbit :D

    I'm more concerned that you seem to think that we don't :p

    As for the thread, English is also the "international" language - much to the digust of the French, natch - and thus used for pilots etc wherever they are in the world...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ah, the French can go fuck themselves. As a inadvertent polyglot, I have to say that French is the language I enjoyed learning and speaking the least. That and it's irrationally hard and largely spoken by wankers.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You are all wrong.
    The most commonly spoken language in the world is body language.

    :thumb:
    Yes, I will call a taxi.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    migpilot wrote:
    You are all wrong.
    The most commonly spoken language in the world is body language.

    :thumb:
    Yes, I will call a taxi.

    Already done it ..
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    GoodFella wrote:
    Already done it ..

    :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's Mandarin if you're talking numbers of people speaking a language, but English and Spanish are the most widespread.

    What about the least common languages, maybe Cornish, or Welsh?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    What about the least common languages, maybe Cornish, or Welsh?

    There are many languages that Nomadic tribes in West/Northwestern China use that are distinct from Chinese, plus tribal languages used in the Amazon and places like that. Welsh is pretty popular actually. Cornish, Manx and Scottish are dying but I don't think these are spoken by the indiginous people anymore, maybe Scottish people in the countryside but they're languages people like to learn for astheitc reasons and not for everyday use.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bretton is smaller than Welsh, it's a celtic language spoken mainly in Brittany. There are also lots of very recently extinct languages which were obviously small. I think there are hundreds of Aboriginal languages too but they might be more like different dialects I don't know.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yep. its spanish. has been for a while i think.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm

    It's not Spanish. That's for sure.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mandarin is the most spoken language, but English is the most common language, i think, cos any idiot can learn English.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do a quick Google and check a few websites some tell you different things seems to be straight forward:http://www.krysstal.com/spoken.html

    I think Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, and Mandarin will continue to grow in terms of mother tongue speakers but English will grow within the second language group. The three languages mentioned have high birth rates and have fast growing economies so they're bound to be major players in the fastest growing languages.

    Talking of languages, Irish has become the lastest official language in the E.U - pointless and very costly since Brussels will have to employ interpretors.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    luke88 wrote:
    Talking of languages, Irish has become the lastest official language in the E.U - pointless and very costly since Brussels will have to employ interpretors.

    Fuck you ya twat.

    There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who speak Irish ya dick.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But, how many people speak only irish? That's what an interpretor should be for.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote:
    But, how many people speak only irish? That's what an interpretor should be for.

    Bout 70,000 native speakers.

    Plus this is a lot more than just translators, we have pushed for it to be recognised as an official language on cultural grounds too. As for many threatened languages it needs all the help it gets and this recognition is a boost for the language.

    Slán sabhailte agus tabhair aire duit fein sa todchaí!
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