There is approximately 6700 languages around the world, and several die every year. Some are found in remote regions of vast countries and are spoken only by a single village of people. Some by only a few people, and when those people die or forget their native tongue, the language becomes extinct, because even though written accounts of the language remain, the pronunciation and precise grammar usage will be lost forever. As mass globalization increases, the problem is becoming more prevalent. People are losing part of their cultural identity.
In China, there is two official languages: Mandarin (pu-tong-hwa) and Cantonese. There are also hundreds of smaller languages scattered across China, in remote deserts, mountains and villages, where people are being forced to learn Mandarin (in order to unify the Chinese people under one language). Eventually there will only be one language: Mandarin. The other languages will slowly die and disappear.
The top ten languages of the world are as follows (in order of first-speaking population):
# Chinese Mandarin 13.69%
# Spanish 5.05%
# English 4.84%
# Hindi 2.82%
# Portuguese 2.77%
# Bengali 2.68%
# Russian 2.27%
# Japanese 1.99%
# German 1.49%
# Chinese Wu 1.21%
In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese (Yue) and Wu speakers in China, there is another 8% of the world population who speaks a different Chinese language. It is estimated that by the year 2050, all of China, which comprises roughly 24% of the world's population will be speaking Mandarin as a first language. The other Chinese languages are dying. In addition, the Mandarin language is also spreading overseas. Interest in Chinese language and culture in North America for example is growing, not just for educational purposes, but also for economic reasons. Business people are learning Mandarin Chinese because it is the key to international wealth and power.
English and Spanish, as you can see above, are small in comparison. Note however that there are many people who speak Spanish and English as a 2nd language. English has been a powerful language during the last 50 years, and its spread has been largely an economic one. But at South America grows in power, its becoming obvious that English speaking countries like the United States now have steady competition from both Spanish and Portuguese, both of which are growing as an economic language, especially within the United States.
Within the United States, almost 11% of the population speaks Spanish as their first language, and that percentage is growing. Due to immigration (both legal and illegal immigration) from Central and South America, Spanish is now the fastest growing language in the United States. It is estimated that by 2050, 30% of the United States will be speaking Spanish as a first language.
Due to social issues within many countries, their language speaking population will almost never change. North Korea for example has restricted access with outside countries, and thus speaks 100% Korean, with very little Chinese influence. Indeed, the use of Chinese, Japanese and English words are basically banned from being used in Korean dictionaries in North Korea. Meanwhile in South Korea, students are forced to study English, Chinese and Japanese, and many words found in a South Korean dictionary are actually Chinese, English, or Japanese words. Some of them are even French or German words.
Due to economic and political reasons, languages come and go. Sometimes they just evolve. Germans speaking Deutsch these days sounds a lot like English, because it mixes so many English words into their vocabulary, resulting in Dinglish. Likewise in South Korea, the avid use of English words has created a mix of Korean/English called Konglish. These are just examples, but the trend is found in many countries with a strong English influence. During the next 50 years, as China grows in power, we can expect to see a lot more Chinese words being adopted into other languages. Asian words in general are already becoming popular amongst the younger population of North America. Words like tofu, banzai, chi, teriyaki and phrases like "Ni hao ma?" and "Wo ai ni!" are becoming commonplace.
Overseas many parents resort to private schools and private tutors to help their children learn a new language. In North America this is the same, but the choices of languages these days are changing. 20 years ago, French, German, Italian and Spanish were the popular languages to learn in North America. These days its Japanese and Chinese. Japanese in particular is incredibly popular. University level courses in Japanese are so popular that there aren't enough professors to teach all the students.
At York University in Toronto, the professors have resorted to using large 300 student auditoriums to teach Japanese in, with tutorial classes taught by teaching assistants. The demand is so high that enrolling in the class is a difficult process by itself, with students fighting for seats.
Individual language courses at the same university for European languages don't even have a 10th of that.
During the Cold War era of the last 50 years, the United States deliberately spread false rumours that Asian languages are difficult to learn. In modern times however, that belief has lessened and people are realizing just how easy languages like Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese are.
And to demonstrate what we mean, we are going to point out what languages we have studied ourselves:
# Charles Alexander Moffat has studied French, German, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic, Danish, Polish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese, and lived in Asia for two years.
# Suzanne MacNevin has studied French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese.
Suffice to say, we're both language buffs and amateur linguists, but we encourage you to do the same. Learn a major language and do some travelling. In fact, try to learn a language that not many people speak (like Polish or Scottish Gaelic) and travel to places that speak those rare languages. You will enjoy it for many years to come, we can guarantee. The Top Ten Languages of the World
NUMBER OF VIEWERS
Hit Counters
No comments:
Post a Comment