In the sea of languages...
A friend posted a link to an interesting post which is relavant in this globalized world. In matters of cost-benefit, which languages are best to learn?
I'll bring the list presented by the article with some comments of my own.
The "top tier" with the "most important" languages are
Next, the second tier with languages that may not have the same range of the first, but are still useful in a handful of situations.
The absence of German surprised me at first, but then I remembered that German is important basically because of Germany, which is not doing exceptionally fine lately. And other countries which speak German are mostly European (if not all). Still, I would have given it an importance close to Japanese... or am I being naive?
... On second though, it might just be my engineer side. After all, Germany is still attractive for engineers. Well, sort of.
Of course, the setting also varies depending on where one lives. This list is just an average. In general, languages important in a certain region are the official languages (of course) and languages spoken by neighbor countries - especially economically relevant countries. The top tiers are made by languages spoken by internationally powerful countries or spoken as a native language by a large part of the world's population.
Still, in last analysis, learning a language involves interest in that language and the culture(s) associated with it (especially to understand some nuances). So, more than cost-benefit, one's own interest should direct which languages to learn. Even though knowing languages in the "top tier" has more chances to "pay off", knowing less internationally important languages, but those who one really wishes to learn, may give unexpected opportunities as well - and with few competition.
I'll bring the list presented by the article with some comments of my own.
The "top tier" with the "most important" languages are
- English: the major motive is that it is the current international language. Most information available in the planet is presented in the English language (original or translation). Besides US, UK and Australia, many cities/countries choose that language as a unifying language. Even if US, the major upholder of English as the official international language, loses international influence, English will take some time to fade internationally. (French, the previous international language, is still popular)
- Spanish: more important in the Western hemisphere basically because of the large number of Spanish speaking countries in Latin America. Besides, some jokes say it will become the main language of some areas of the US as the "latino invasion" continues.
- Chinese: some say it is the "language of the future" as China grows more and more in the international scenario. Projections say it will take Japan's position as the 2nd world economy in this year (2009) or the next. The Chinese huge population makes makets salivate for all that customer potential. Besides, there's the Chinese diaspora all around the world. Basically all major cities in the world have some sort of "Chinatown". People just shouldn't forget the differences inside of what many Westeners consider "Chinese language". Even though most are able to speak Mandarin, variations like Cantonese and Taiwanese may be considered different languages.
- French: Two years ago I'd be reluctant of agreeing with French among the top languages. But after then I realized the large number of countries that speak French, even though in many cases it's not only French (like Swiss and Belgium). Also, the prestige of a former international language doesn't fade so fast...
- Russian: I'm slightly reluctant to agree with this one. I'll concede since I agree with the author of the original article when he says it remains the language of intercultural communication in most countries that were under the USSR wing during the Cold War. I also agree that it may not stay in the top for long.
Next, the second tier with languages that may not have the same range of the first, but are still useful in a handful of situations.
- Arabic: especially because of oil, Arabic is an important language. The main reasons it not reaching the top ranks is that not so many people speak the language, especially as native language. And in many important Arabic areas other languages may suffice. Doha and Abu Dhabi are good examples.
- Portuguese: yay! My mother language is here! Well, I have to admit that Brazil - with its large population and increasing economic relevance - gives most of the importance Portuguese language has. (Sorry Portugal people, but even you will have to agree here.) Lack of more important countries and even unity in grammar matters (it is not uncommon for a book to be translated from Portugal Portuguese to Brazilian Portuguese or vice-versa) prevent this language from reaching the top.
- Japanese: although it is the native language of only one country, that one country is the second largest economy in the planet (for now): Japan. Also, Japanese tourists all around the world also put incentives to develop services in Japanese. That is remarkably true for Eastern Asian countries like Korea, China or Singapore, but I saw tours in Japanese and even signs in Japanese as far as in Europe. The importance of Japanese is being shadowed by the increasing influence of China, but Japan stayed on top long enough to solidify the language in some sectors around the globe, so it's not going away so easily (even because not so many Japanese are fluent in English or other languages. Therefore, as long as Japan remains "important"...).
The absence of German surprised me at first, but then I remembered that German is important basically because of Germany, which is not doing exceptionally fine lately. And other countries which speak German are mostly European (if not all). Still, I would have given it an importance close to Japanese... or am I being naive?
... On second though, it might just be my engineer side. After all, Germany is still attractive for engineers. Well, sort of.
Of course, the setting also varies depending on where one lives. This list is just an average. In general, languages important in a certain region are the official languages (of course) and languages spoken by neighbor countries - especially economically relevant countries. The top tiers are made by languages spoken by internationally powerful countries or spoken as a native language by a large part of the world's population.
Still, in last analysis, learning a language involves interest in that language and the culture(s) associated with it (especially to understand some nuances). So, more than cost-benefit, one's own interest should direct which languages to learn. Even though knowing languages in the "top tier" has more chances to "pay off", knowing less internationally important languages, but those who one really wishes to learn, may give unexpected opportunities as well - and with few competition.
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