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___ Languages of the World

Language is the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using

complex systems of acoustic as well as kinesic signals to express
thoughts and feelings, and language is used for the exchange of
knowledge and experiences.

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The problem on this planet is the language systems vary greatly from
region to region. The variety may be so different that one individual does
not understand the language of a member from another region or
country.

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Geographic Distribution of Living Languages (2009)

Total Living Percentage
Languages
Africa
Countries in Africa

Number of speakers

2,110

30.5 %

726,453,403

993

14.4 %

50,496,321

Asia
Countries in Asia

2,322

33.6 %

3,622,771,264

Australia/Pacific
Countries in Australia/Pacific

1,250

18.1 %

6,429,788

234

3.4 %

1,553,360,941

6,909

100 %

5,959,511,717

The Americas
Countries in the Americas and the
Caribbean

Europe
Countries in Europe
Total

Source: Ethnologue

Top 20 of the most widely spoken languages by "First language" speakers (2009)
Rank

Language

Primary Country

Number of total
countries where
the language is
spoken

Speakers (millions)

Chinese

China

31

1,213

Spanish

Spain

44

329

English

United Kingdom

112

328

Arabic

Saudi Arabia

57

221

Hindi

India

20

182

Bengali

Bangladesh

10

181

Portuguese

Portugal

37

178

Russian

Russian Federation

33

144

Japanese

Japan

25

122

10

German, Standard Germany

11

Javanese

12

43

90.3

Indonesia

84.6

Lahnda

Pakistan

78.3

13

Telugu

India

10

69.8

14

Vietnamese

Viet Nam

23

68.6

15

Marathi

India

68.1

16

French

France

60

67.8

17

Korean

Korea

33

66.3

18

Tamil

India

17

65.7

19

Italian

Italy

34

61.7

20

Urdu

Pakistan

23

60.6

Source: Ethnologue

More about Languages:

Even more about Languages:

Official and National Languages of the World by Continent.

Most spoken Languages of the

List of Languages most widely s

Languages of Africa
List of Languages of Africa by Countries.

Countries by Languages

Languages of the Americas

List of Languages of the Americas and the Caribbean by Countries.
Languages of Asia
List of Languages of Asia by Countries.
Languages of Australia and the Pacifics
List of Languages of the Pacifics by Countries.
Languages of Europe

Megalanguages around the Wo

English, Spanish, Arabic, Portu
speaking countries.

Languages around the World w

Codes
Languages of the World and wh
of Language Names in English
Alpha-3 as well as some of the
identification codes.