How many major languages ​​are there in the world. Project work "Language geography

I remember how mom made me to study foreign languages. She argued her opinion by the fact that polyglots get a lot wages, they are appreciated as employees. But it was very difficult for me to learn several languages, because I hardly learned English. I didn't want to go to another tutor. You yourself understand - school years, falling in love and childish naivety (that everything will work out for me). And my mother was right, because my profession is connected with moving and communicating with people. Know a few foreign languages it would not hurt. But on the other side, it's impossible to know everything... Imagine how many dictionaries you have to buy.

How many languages ​​are there in the world

In order to reassure my mother, I found information that there are more than six thousand different foreign languages. She laughed, but did not cancel her unloved lessons. Then I looked at the official statistics and was surprised: on the ground there are seven thousand living languages... Apart from the dialects that exist in different regions.

With the development of information technology, new ways of communication, some foreign languages ​​disappear. Scientists associate this with another factor - the extinction of carriers. Dead languages ​​appear (which people do not speak in live communication). This is Old Russian, Ancient Greek, Latin, Church Slavonic languages.

Difficult language to learn

It's hard for me to learn a foreign language. I am an advocate of the need to constantly hear speech in order to learn it. For example, if you want to know Italian, you need to live in Italy for several months and do not stop lessons with tutor.

Not only is it difficult for me to master a foreign language. There is a ranking of the most difficult languages ​​in the world. Rating:

• Amharic;
• Thai;
• Chinese;
• Japanese;
• Arab;
• French;
• give;
• Burmese.

Linguists have compiled this rating for a reason. The most complex languages spoken in our world has complex grammar, calligraphy and pronunciation. If you consider yourself a person of high intelligence, try to write at least one hieroglyph. Who knows what hidden talents live inside.

It is customary to call a language a system of signs, words, phonetic, lexical and grammatical means that serve to identify thoughts, motives, and actions for a specific group of people. Among scientists, researchers and linguists, attempts have been made more than once to calculate how many languages ​​there are in the world.

According to various studies total number languages ​​on Earth vary from 3000 to 6000 thousand. Such a huge difference is explained quite simply, different cultural and scientific traditions have their own concepts of what exactly is called a language, and what refers to dialects and adverbs.

How many languages ​​are there in the modern world?

When taking into account and identifying the number of all world languages, researchers have to take into account the fact that many less common languages ​​are gradually becoming dead, that is, no one speaks in them anymore. This happens for several reasons, including due to substitution by other languages, or the extinction and mixing of the native people. This trend is observed everywhere:

• many indigenous languages ​​are on the verge of extinction in North America;
• there are tribal languages ​​on the African continent, which are spoken by only a few hundred, and sometimes even dozens of people;
• on the territory of Russia, several languages ​​have disappeared in the last 100 years alone, including Kerek in Kamchatka, and also Symsky in the Yenisei.

Linguists claim that, according to their calculations, by the end of the 21st century, up to 50% of languages ​​that are little used today will disappear from the category of living languages. Today, about 1400 languages ​​are considered endangered.

At the end of the last century, French researchers tried to answer the question of how many languages ​​there are in the world. In the review of the languages ​​of the world, published by A. Meillet and M. Cohen, 2796 languages ​​are described. Scientists attribute more than 3000 thousand languages ​​to the dialects already described. According to various sources, there are about 6000 languages ​​and dialects in the world, only 500 languages ​​are well studied. Two thirds of all languages ​​do not have their own written language.

How many foreign languages ​​are there in the world?

It's hard enough to say exactly how many languages modern world... If we talk about the study of foreign languages, then it should be noted that each widely spoken language has many adverbs and dialects. For example, Spanish, which is official in 58 countries of the world, has several large groups that are very different from each other. A dialect of Spanish, the Castilian language is partially widespread in Spain, in Latin America - Chile, Argentina, Cuba.

According to the census, there are over 700 languages ​​and dialects in India alone. The number of languages ​​that are official in individual states is 14, and each of these languages ​​is not less than 10 million people.

Chinese, which belongs to the category of languages ​​quite difficult to learn, is fragmented into dozens of dialects. Moreover, the difference between them is such that residents of different localities can sometimes hardly understand each other.

How many official languages ​​are there in the world?

If we consider the distribution different languages at the state level, the following picture emerges:

In general, 95 languages ​​are considered official state languages ​​on our planet. Funny that Latin language, which has long been considered dead, is also on this list, as it is the official language of the Vatican.

The world's population speaks almost 7,000 languages. However, only a few dozen of them have official status in certain countries and world significance... For example, the UN has only 6 official languages: English, Arabic, Russian, French, Chinese and Spanish.

Today we have compiled for you Top 15 most spoken languages ​​in the world... The main criterion for assessing the prevalence was the number of people who consider this or that language as their native language.

Native to 60.6 million people.

The language related to Hindi belongs to the Indo-European group and originated in the 13th century. Urdu is spoken by about 7 percent of the population of Pakistan and the population of several Indian states, as well as a small number of peoples in 23 countries.

14. Italian

Native to 61.7 million people.

The language is official in Italy, Switzerland, the Vatican and San Marino. About 2% of the websites on the Internet use Italian.

13. Tamil

Native to 65.7 million people.

The language of the population of southern India, parts of Singapore and Sri Lanka. Tamil originated over 2,300 years ago and is the source of many of the classics literary works literature of the East.

12. Korean

Native to 66.3 million people.

The language is official in North and South Korea, it is spoken by nationalities in 33 countries of the world.

11. French

Native to 67.8 million people.

The language is official in France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg. The International Organization for Cooperation of the Francophone Countries Francophonie unites 56 states.

10. German

Native to 90.3 million people.

The language is official in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium. German is the second most popular language on the Internet, accounting for 6.5% of websites.

9. Japanese

Native to 122 million people.

Despite the fact that Japanese is the official language of only one state, it is used by the peoples of 25 different countries in Asia. Meaning Japanese increases the fact that Japan is the fourth largest power in the world in terms of GDP.

8. Russian

Native to 144 million people.

The Russian language is used for communication by people in 33 states of the world, including in 7 of them the language has the official status. 4.8% of sites on the Internet use Russian.

7. Portuguese

Native to 178 million people.

Colonization contributed to the spread of the native language for the population of small Portugal. Portuguese is the second most popular language in Latin America. It is also official in a number of African countries, for example, in Mozambique and Angola.

6. Bengali

Native to 181 million people.

The Indo-European language, which originated in the X-XII centuries, is the official language in the Republic of Bangladesh and is widely used in India.

5. Hindi

Native to 182 million people.

This ancient language is the most widespread in India and is enshrined in the country's constitution as an official one along with 20 other languages.

4. Arabic

Native to 221 million people.

The language has official status in Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Senegal and many other countries.

3. Spanish

Native to 329 million people.

The language is the official language in Spain, many Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. About 4.5% of the websites on the Internet use Spanish.

2. English

Native to 560 million people.

One of the most spoken languages ​​in the world is recognized as an official language in 59 countries. Almost 57% of the websites on the World Wide Web are in English. Interestingly, about 70% of the words in the language are borrowed.

1. Chinese

Native to 1213 million people.

The most spoken language in the world is official in China, Taiwan and Singapore. 4.5% of Internet websites are in Chinese. There are 10 dialectical groups in Chinese, and the dialects are so different from each other that it is sometimes impossible for residents of different regions of China to understand each other.

Modern researchers-linguists are asked from time to time: "?", Fortunately, their answer is ready: "From three to six thousand"... The significant numerical discrepancy is due to the fact that scientists start from different scientific and cultural traditions.

It is customary for some linguists to include adverbs and dialects in the number of languages. Others consider the language a complete system of written signs and lexical means that is used by only one group of people.

In addition, philologists are puzzled by languages ​​that do not have a written language. Not all scientists are ready to see them as a unit of account, but only in the countries of Northern and South America there are more than 700 of them!

With dialects, too, not everything is simple, for example, in Chinese there are dozens of dialects (adverbs), and in each dialect there are several more dialects. The seven main dialects of Chinese are so dissimilar that most linguists consider them closely related languages, and residents of different cities in China do not always manage to communicate with each other.

Chinese is the most spoken language of the earth, 1 billion 113 million people know him!

How many official languages ​​are there in the world?

According to Wikipedia, in so many countries, the state language is:

• English - 86;
• French - 26;
• Arabic - 24.

Latin, which has been "dead" since the 6th century. n. NS.,

is still alive as the official language of the Vatican State!

Vatican ATM menu in Latin

It is interesting to look at the subject from this side as well. It is clear that the more countries use one language, the stronger its claims to the status of dominant or obligatory learning.

However, there are also directly opposite situations - when in one country the number of linguistic forms is more than one hundred.

The most multilingual is India, languages ​​in it, like the hands of the god Shiva, are countless. According to information collected in 1931, 203 complete languages ​​were counted. According to the information of 1951, in which it was decided to take into account also the dialects, there were over 700 of them. Officially, there are 14 languages ​​in India, each of which is spoken by about 10 million citizens.

The African continent has an innumerable number of ethnic groups with their own languages, dialects and dialects. In Western Africa alone, there are 126 base languages from which hundreds of dialects grow. There are over 1000 linguistic forms throughout the continent.

Modern Vietnam is inhabited by about 70 ethnic groups with their own dialects and dialects.

The Philippines is inhabited by about 40 ethnic speakers of 17 basic languages ​​and their dialects, mutated beyond recognition.

New York is considered the most multilingual city - you can hear as many as 75 languages ​​in it!

Is the number of languages ​​in the world increasing or decreasing?

Decreases.

All researchers are constantly faced with the extinction of languages ​​for the following reasons:

• substitution with another language;
• complete disappearance or confusion of a native speaker with another nationality.

These reasons are common in all countries, without exception:

• from the beginning of the 20th century in North America, the absolute majority of the languages ​​of the indigenous Indians approached the brink of extinction;
• in Africa, due to difficult economic conditions and epidemics, speakers of dialects, and sometimes even full-fledged languages, die;
• in Russia over the past 20th century, only 2 languages ​​have disappeared - Kerek (Kamchatka Island) and Symsky (on the Yenisei).

There are known facts of the "death" of the language that followed the death of their only native speaker.

So, on January 26, 2010 he died the last person, who spoke Aka-Bo, one of the oldest languages ​​in the world.

On February 23, 1998, Fidela Bernat died, for whom the Ronkala dialect of the Basque language was native.

Every year 30-50 languages ​​cease to exist on Earth!

The loss of languages ​​may be more grieving than the extinction of dinosaurs. Let's draw an analogy between the evolution of animals and the development of linguistic forms. In a linguistic, as well as in an animal, environment, the strongest wins! But the course of evolution was aimed at species diversity, and globalization modern society- for the extermination of little-used languages, in the 21st century the rate of their death has become a record - 1 every 14 days!

The death of the dinosaurs was followed by the emergence of a huge number of new mammals. The replacement of many languages ​​of one is comparable to the survival of the only species - man. Maybe he is the crown of creation, and Chinese or English are not the worst languages, but ...

Revitalization of "dead" languages

In contrast to dying, there is a return to life of languages ​​that have not been used for a long time as spoken or written.

The revival of a language can take two forms:

• restoration of a language or dialect, which did not have a single native speaker, with their subsequent transformation into colloquial forms for a certain group of people;
• stopping the process of dying of an endangered language is achieved by deliberately increasing the number of speakers to a number that can ensure its further spread.

High results are achieved when such an initiative of a group of enthusiasts is supported by the state - the "resurrected" language is proclaimed official, and is taught in schools and universities.

The most famous and successful example of the first type of development is the revival of Hebrew as state language Israel. For almost two thousand years, Hebrew was preserved only as a literary one.

I would like not only scientists to strive to preserve the quantitative diversity of languages, but also the direct owners of the lexical richness of each of them!

How many languages ​​are there in the world? It is believed that from 2500 to 7000. The views of scientists on their total number differ due to the lack of a unified approach to what is considered a language and what is a dialect.

How many languages ​​are there in the world?

All languages ​​of the world are subdivided into families, which number 240. The largest and by far the most studied is the Indo-European group, which includes the Russian language. Basis for inclusion different languages in one family there is a significant phonetic similarity denoting basic concepts, and the similarity of grammatical structure.

There are also isolate languages ​​that cannot be placed in any family. An example of such an isolate language, "not remembering kinship," is the Basque dialect "Eusker".

Most common languages

How many languages ​​are there in the modern world that are most common? These include 10: Chinese (Mandarin), English, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Malay-Indonesian, French. The Mandarin language is spoken by over 1 billion people. Each of the nine others of the ten most common are spoken by over 100 million people.

The reason for the popularity Chinese it should be considered that it is spoken in China, Singapore, Taiwan; there are vast Chinese diasporas in almost all countries of Southeast Asia and other countries of the world. We must not forget about the fertility of this people.

The speakers of English were the most active conquerors of overseas lands, the discoverers of the Americas. That is why, if we look at the language map of the world, we will see that these two languages ​​are territorially dominant. English is official in 56 - over 20 countries. The French, just like the British and Spaniards, also at one time created a mighty empire, to which vast territories in North America and Africa were subject. For today French is the first official language in 15 countries of the world.

In the history of European civilization, several languages ​​in the world in different times held a position of interethnic - lingua franca. During the Roman Empire, Koine, a common Greek language, became the lingua franca for the eastern Mediterranean and the ancient Near East. Subsequently, for more than 1000 years, first in the Mediterranean countries and then throughout Catholic Europe, Latin was used as the lingua franca. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the means international communication became French. Since the end of the twentieth century, a means of interethnic communication throughout the world has become English undoubtedly because of the leading position in the world of the English-speaking superpower - the United States.

Dead tongues

In linguistics, there is such a thing as "dead language". This is one that is no longer spoken, and is known about only thanks to written monuments. In some cases, dead languages ​​continue to live on because they are used for scientific or religious purposes. How many languages ​​are there in the world? These include Latin, from which the Romance languages ​​subsequently developed; Old Russian, which became the basis for the East Slavic languages, and Ancient Greek. There are also a number of dead languages ​​that are used for scientific and religious purposes - Sanskrit, Coptic, Avestan.

There is one unique case of the resurrection of a dead language. After World War II, when the state of Israel was created, Hebrew, which no one spoke for 18 centuries, was revived as official language of this country.

Dominant language

In a bilingual (bilingual) environment, one language is dominant. Earlier, during the times of empires, the main reason for the dying of local languages ​​was the mass destruction of the local population. Today more weak tongue dies for socio-economic reasons, and not because its carriers are dying out. Ignorance of the dominant language entails the impossibility of obtaining an education, moving up the social ladder, etc. Therefore, in a bilingual family, parents often prefer not to even speak their native language, so as not to create problems for children in the future. The extinction process is largely influenced by the media using the dominant language.
An important question is how many languages ​​there are in the world. But an even more important problem is their extinction. Every 2 weeks one language disappears from the world. Scientists predict that by the end of the 21st century, 3,500 of them will disappear.

Artificial languages

An interesting phenomenon in the world of languages ​​is artificial dialects. How many languages ​​are there of this type in the world? The most famous are 16, and the most popular of them is Esperanto, created in 1887 by Ludwig Zamenhof. Zamenhof was born in Bialystok, a city where Jews, Poles, Germans and Belarusians lived. The city was very complex, Zamenhof considered them to be the reason for the lack of a single language. Esperanto's goal was to spread ideas of peaceful coexistence among people around the world. Zamenhof published an Esperanto textbook. He translated many masterpieces of world literature into his own language and even wrote poetry in Esperanto. Most of the Esperanto vocabulary consists of Romanesque and Germanic roots, as well as Latin and Greek roots of general scientific significance. About 200,000 articles in Esperanto have been published on Wikipedia.

Now you know how many languages ​​there are in the world, and perhaps you can save the endangered ones by studying them.