Do you want to enhance your employability, boost your creativity, or are you planning to grow your business internationally and need to talk to your foreign business partners on a daily basis? Then learning a foreign language is an ideal solution for you! Besides the obvious pros, it can be a proven way to help you in many aspects of life. It can even enhance multi-tasking abilities.
With ever-evolving technology and globalization, the world has never been so connected as it is nowadays. This increases the demand for learning more than one language.
And even if you are not into learning foreign languages, you may consider hiring a professional translator or have your website translated into one of the most powerful languages of this century. So, which are these most important languages that we are talking about? Keep reading to find out.
1. English
With around 1.5 billion speakers, English is one of the most influential languages in the world, and it remains the best language for international business as well. Almost wherever you go, the English language will be helpful. It also is the most used language in computers and technology. Being omnipresent globally, it is the official language of the United States, Great Britain, and Canada.
2. Spanish
With over 330 million native speakers, Spanish is also one of the most widespread languages in the world and nearly 420 million people use it as their second language.
Further, 35 million people in the United States speak Spanish at their home, making Spanish the primary language in more than 20 countries.
3. Chinese
Chinese has the most number of native speakers, which is equal to 982 million. Although the language is generally spoken in China, it is considered to be the most powerful language because of its worldwide acceptance.
While mastering Chinese really is not an easy task, you may at least learn a few greetings and sentences. Your business partners or Chinese friends will surely appreciate your effort!
4. Japanese
Japanese is also considered an essential language because of the economic strength of Japan. The language has around 127 million native speakers.
If your company is dealing with the modern and latest technologies, you will surely have a lot of contact with the Japanese market and also the language. Learning the language will be a challenge, but if will definitely be worth it!
5. German
If you work in Europe or want to grow your business here, you might want to get yourself acquainted with German. If you have a big organization, there is a big chance that at least one of your business partners will be from Germany. You may especially consider learning German if your business specializes in industry, car industry, or technology.
With around 105 million native speakers and 80 million people using German as the second language, this language is authoritative.
Although the language has some tricky grammar, German is quite easy to learn for the English speakers.
6. French
French is not only a romantic language used in chansons. France is the sixth biggest economy worldwide with 79 million native speakers, so if you are thinking about growing your business to the French market, consider learning at least the basics of the language. French has also been used as the official language for international diplomacies.
7. Russian
With over 150 million native speakers and around 110 million people speaking Russian as the second language, Russian is officially used in about 38 different territories. Russia is a giant market which makes a lot of effort to open its doors to international businesses, so if you are planning to spread your company to this market, by all means give the Russian language a go and learn at least the very basics!
8. Hindi
Hindi is spoken in India and many surrounding countries. With nearly 450 million native speakers and 200 million non-native speakers, Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world.
9. Arabic
Boasting 300 million native speakers, Arabic is widely popular and is the primary way of communication right across the Middle East.
Learning this language will give you plenty of insight into the diverse culture of the region.
10. Portuguese
Portuguese is the primary language of Brazil, Portugal, and several other countries. Also, it is the main language used in the southern hemisphere.
Conclusion
Which one of these 10 languages will benefit you the most in your everyday life? Choose wisely and be persistent – miracles certainly will not happen overnight. But with a bit of determination, good language-learning plan, clearly set goals, and a lot of practice you will make it! It takes some time to be fluent in a language, but take small steps and notice even the smallest progress. Talk to native speakers as often as you can, even the smallest small talk can help a lot. Stay in contact with the language as much as you can – read articles in their newspapers, listen to their local music, watch movies or series … Pretty much just transfer the things you already love doing into another language. Not only will you get better in comprehending the language, you can even learn something new about the topics you are already interested in!
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