The Top 10 Languages in Demand by Global Businesses

Written by Vic

1. English is still top of the languages necessary for communication, especially in the business world.
   
   

2. Mandarin might overtake English as the language of international communication in the not-too-distant future, as this Sino-Tibetan language is spoken by over 955 million people, all of these are native speakers. It is estimated that there are more than a billion speakers around the globe.
   Mandarin is spoken in Singapore, and Taiwan as well as in China. However, as China has been recruiting native English speakers to teach English as a Foreign Language in private schools across the country, and also there are hundreds of teachers who teach online, perhaps English will remain the most spoken world language for some time yet.  Translationz performs a lot of Chinese translation services so this is not a surprise.
   
   

3. Spanish is the third most commonly spoken language. In the US there are more than 37 million Spanish speakers, although most also speak English. Of course, Spanish is also spoken in Latin America, in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, and Ecuador. Perhaps surprisingly, there are few English speakers in Spain. However, as in China, native English speaker teachers are employed in private language schools all over the country.
   
   The 2016 Australian Census figures show that there are 140,817 Spanish speakers in the country. Spanish translation services also make up a significant part of our business.
   
   

4. Arabic is spoken by an estimated 295 million speakers around the world. It is an official language in 28 countries, although there are varieties of the language. An estimated 422 million people around the world have Arabic as their first language. In Australia, according to the 2016 Census figures, Arabic is the third most spoken language. Arabic and the various dialects is in demand for interpreting and Arabic translation services.
   
   

5. German has at least 95 million people who have it as their first language. It is spoken in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Lichtenstein. Germany has the largest economy in the European Union, so the ability to speak German is extremely useful and required in the business world. We believe that it is a little surprising the amount of German translations we do given most Germans are so proficient at English. 
   
   

6. Portuguese is spoken in South America as well as in Portugal and its former colonies, which are mainly in Africa. After Spanish, it is the second most spoken language in South America. It is spoken in Brazil which is one of the countries that are of interest to business people from around the world. 
   
   Portuguese is currently the fastest growing European language (apart from English, that is) according to UNESCO.  
   
   

7. Russian is the 8th most common language in the world, with 155 million native speakers with the majority of speakers living in Russia and central and eastern Europe. It is the second most common language used on the internet. Russia has a growing economy and is the top oil producer in the world at the moment. Not many Russians have a very good command of English, so translators and interpreters who speak the language are in high demand. 
   
   

8. French has an estimated 75 million native speakers in 39 countries around the world. There are also approximately 220 million people whose second language it is. It is spoken in France’s former African colonies, including Mozambique, Rwanda, and Tanzania. It is also spoken in Algeria, Morocco, Vietnam, and Cambodia. 
   
   

9. Japanese has 130 million speakers who mainly live in Japan. It is the third largest economy in the world. As the Japanese are leaders when it comes to robotics, businesses around the world are hiring Japanese speakers to operate their robotics, machines and other high-tech devices. should consider hiring people who speak Japanese.

   
   

10. Hindi has about 260 million native speakers, mainly living in India. It ranks 5th as the most spoken language in the world and is also important because Urdu speakers can understand spoken Hindi, although the writing systems of the languages are different. 85% of the population does not speak English. It is the second most populated country in the world, surpassed only by China. 
    
    In comparison, the top 10 languages spoken in Australia (other than English), according to the Australian 2016 Census figures, are: -

11. Mandarin

12. Arabic

13. Cantonese

14. Vietnamese

15. Italian

16. Greek

17. Tagalog (mainly spoken in the Philippines)

18. Hindi

19. Spanish

20. Punjabi