Ever wondered which is the most difficult language in the world? Well that depends on what languages you already speak.

It makes sense that languages which are more similar to your own native language are easier to learn. If you’ve ever been in a Spanish class with an Italian, for example, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Add a different alphabet or writing system and things get even more complicated. When we asked recently if Chinese is difficult the main conclusion was that the characters make things a lot harder.

This diagram gives an idea of which are the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. It shows the length of US Foreign Service intensive language courses. (source: The Atlantic)

That’s right - it takes more than twice as long to learn Chinese or Arabic as Swahili.

For native English speakers this is not good news - apart from Spanish, the fastest growing languages both spoken and on the internet are some of the most difficult to learn.

Do you agree with this list? And, if English is not your native language which languages are most difficult for you?

Read More:
How difficult is Chinese?
Top 20 Languages of the World
World Language Families: main language families of the world
Arabic dialects and their future

Or why you should consider learning a new language / translating your blog.

We recently wrote about the most widely spoken languages in the world. Learning a new language takes a lot of effort so it helps to know which one will get you the most conversation opportunities.

Well, the internet is one of the hottest places to interact with people from different countries so it makes sense to have a look at the top languages used on the Internet as well.

This list is by Internet World Stats, which counts the number of internet users speaking each language. The numbers were last updated in June 2008.

The Top 10 Internet Languages

1. English (431m)
2. Chinese (276m)
3. Spanish (125m)
4. Japanese (94m)
5. French (68m)
6. German (61m)
7. Arabic (60m)
8. Portuguese (58m)
9. Korean (35m)
10. Italian (35m)

So Chinese and English get the top spots, no surprises there.

But number 3 is Spanish, replacing Hindi in the top 3 spoken languages (more on this in a future post).

Chinese is counted as one language here because the different dialects use a common writing system, although their spoken versions (eg Mandarin, Cantonese etc) are quite different.

Languages to watch

In 2020 this ranking could look very different. Chinese now outnumber Americans online, according to a report released this month. How long before Chinese replaces English in the number one spot?

Spanish is also increasing quickly, as is Arabic. With only a small percentage of its native speaker population online, Arabic is likely to rocket up this list in the next few years.

The future of English

As the USA has led the sprint online, English has been the dominant language on the Internet until now. But as online populations grow in the rest of the world, so does the challenge of other languages on the web.

The big question is, will English continue to be used for communication between different cultures, or will the internet split up into self-segregating communities based on preferred language?

In the long term the role of English as a ‘bridge’ language across cultures may give it the upper hand. But this might not help native English speakers - it seems they cannot understand International English as it is spoken by non-native speakers.

Update: Global Culture blog analyses some cultural implications of the increase of Chinese on the web in the post a billion web users.

Read More:
Top 20 Languages of the World
How difficult is Chinese?
Is there an easy way to blog in a different language?

It has been speculated that one of the reasons for the abundance of Chinglish (Chinese-flavoured English) on public signs in China could be a lack of proof reading by someone with experience of the language.

It seems China is not the only place where this happens: the BBC writes about a bilingual road sign in Wales which ended up a victim of this phenomenon. This time, however, it was not just bad Welsh which ended up on the sign - it was the translator’s automatic email response saying he was out of the office.

Welsh is the mother tongue of Wales, although English is also an official language, and all road signs in the country are bilingual. Welsh was in decline until recently, but since the 1990s has staged a comeback. Young, modern-day Welsh speakers are comfortable switching between Welsh and English, and a rival to Chinglish is springing up. It is called Wenglish.

As the use of English as language of global communication is on the rise, an increasing number of conversations in English happen between non-native speakers.

English is the second most spoken language in the world, and it is estimated that by 2020 native speakers will make up only 15% of those using or learning the language.

Photo: The Chinglish Files by olr

According to Wired magazine the massive numbers of Chinese speakers using English in daily life is leading to an English of the future which will take on more and more aspects of Chinese translation quirks. Others believe that Chinglish’s days are numbered.

With increasing use of English as lingua franca between different nationalities (as opposed to conversations with at least one native speaker), it was inevitable that the ‘international English’ used would evolve into a pared down, simplified version of the language. And a native speaker in a room of non-native speakers has to adapt or risk not being understood by the rest of the group.

It remains to be seen whether Chinglish will grow in strength or blend into other versions of ‘international English’ as China-based English speakers come into contact more and more with the outside world.

Read more:
Next week we will be posting an interview with Oliver Lutz Radtke, author of the book Chinglish: Found in Translation. (Read the interview here)

What are the most widely spoken languages in the world? Or, if you are contemplating learning a second language, which will get you the most new conversation opportunities for your effort?

The following list shows number of people speaking a language either as their first or second language. It is taken from Nicholas Ostler’s ‘Empires of the Word’, a detailed (and long!) history of the main world languages.

1. Mandarin Chinese (1,052m)
2. English (508m)
3. Hindi (487m)
4. Spanish (417m)
5. Russian (277m)
6. Bengali (211m)
7. Portugese (191m)
8. German (128m)
9. French (128m)
10. Japanese (126m)
11. Urdu (104m)
12. Korean (78m)
13. Wu Chinese (77m)
14. Javanese (76m)
15. Telugu (75m)
16. Tamil (74m)
17. Yue Chinese / Cantonese (71m)
18. Marathi (71m)
19. Vietnamese (68m)
20. Turkish (61m)

It would be interesting to know how the popularity of these languages is evolving. These figures are nearly 10 years old so in that time the Chinese speaking population has probably increased by around 40 million, for example. Rate of population increase must be the strongest factor in determining whether a language is currently moving up or down this list.

I suspect this list may under-estimate the power of English by not counting those who speak English very competently and use it on a regular basis, but have learnt it as their third or even fourth language. That may sound improbable if you are a native English speaker, but for some it is a necessity. As one example, This post on A Wide Angle View of India blog explains that in many parts of India children grow up learning three languages, of which one is English.

English is currently the most popular choice as language of international communication, but will there come a point where another language becomes so widely spoken that it overtakes English as second language of choice? It may happen sooner than you think.

Update: compiling a list like this involves difficult decisions. The most obvious question is ‘why is Arabic not on this list?’. If included it would come around 5th place. See Ostler’s remarks in the comments below on why he considered Arabic dialects as separate languages. As an alternative view, this post from The Linguist Blogger incorporates different sources of information as well as Ostler’s list.

Read more:
Dedicated follower of Chinglish: interview with a Chinglish spotter
Is Chinglish the future of English?: most English conversations do not involve a native speaker
How to say Hello in 20 languages
Top 10 Languages on the Internet

Has the use of english as global language of international communication gone so far that it will never be overtaken? Or is it destined to go the way of Latin and Ancient Greek as the balance of power between civilisations shifts and other languages gain in importance?

Apparently experts are divided on this question. Across cultures, English is the word is a very interesting article from the International Herald Tribune discussing the issue.

Meanwhile a post from Chinese in Vancouver blog Is Chinese culture going mainstream? highlights the rising importance of Chinese culture and language in Hong Kong, the USA and Canada.