The Language OF THE FUTURE

Multiple factors move a language higher in the most sought-after languages list: Economics, business, education, science, technology, diplomacy, entertainment, media, aerospace and of course number and the medium age of the users. There are currently 10 languages which can potentially move to the top list of the most popular languages. The significant point is that these languages can ensure job security as they can potentially switch business concentration on other economic areas with more customers especially at the time of economic breakdown. Besides, nations with more foreign language speakers boost the economy with more innovative workforce and more successful exports.

1- Chinese (Mandarin)

China’s rapid economic growth and its consequent impact on the world economy along with the highest number of native speakers makes Chinese almost the best candidate for the language of the future. It is already the second biggest economy.

2- Spanish

More than thirty countries around the world use Spanish as their native language. Spanish is also spoken by a large population in the US. Many countries where Spanish is either the leading language or one of the official languages are among the world’s economic leaders.

3- Indo-Aryan languages

Hindi is the native language of India. Urdu is also widely spoken by 170 million people around the world. India is developing in many areas such as Information Technology and is a centre of the global business.

4- Arabic

There are 313 million Arabic native speakers in the Arab world. Many of Arab countries re-export products to various destinations worldwide.

5- Russian

150 speakers use Russian in 38 territories, and more than 110 million use Russian as their second language. Russia has obviously an impact on the world economy as it exports a large variety of products. The Russian Federation still holds the title of the largest country in the world.

6- German

There are about twenty-eight German speaking countries with almost 133 million German speakers. Germany is one of the biggest global economies. German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union and an official language in seven countries.

7- Japanese

Japanese has 126 million native speakers. Almost the same number use it as their second language around the world. Japan economy is also among special ones and Japanese have special work skills especially in IT.

8- Portuguese

Portuguese is spoken in Portugal, Spain, France, Brazil, Africa, and Macau, all with a growing contribution to the world economy. The 230 million population who use Portuguese globally can assist the growth of any business.

9- French

Almost 300 million French speakers are spread in 53 countries around the world, including but not limited to France and Canada. France itself is one of the biggest economies of luxury goods and cosmetics, in addition to services and products in the realm of railways, aerospace and automobiles which all together add to the significance of French language. No need to mention that this country has an active role in EU policy making and EU market.

10- English

More than 1.2 billion of English speakers of which 411.8 million are native speakers makes English an undeniable Lingua Franca. With the ease of travel, telecommunication, mobile and internet connections, it is more probable that considerable number of today’s English vocabulary will become obsolete gradually, replaced with new ones used in more powerful economies and cultures.

Which language do you think will win the title of the language of the future?

Raheleh Ghiasvand GH

Write Co. Ltd, Director

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