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The 10 most influential languages | ||
Tags: Language Importance | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Marc Frisch Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6665 days ago 1001 posts - 1169 votes  Speaks: German*, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Persian, Tamil | Message 33 of 40 26 March 2010 at 8:45pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I really don't see what would make stock market capitalization an important criterion. Many companies are based in the U.K. and Switzerland because they offer more favourable business conditions than many other countries, yet if you compare European countries by GDP, both Germany and France are bigger than the U.K. and Italy's economy is more than four times bigger than Switzerlands. And when you do business that's far more important. For example, I currently work on a project for a Norway-based company, but I only need to know German, since their IT is in Germany. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 6034 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes 5 sounds | Message 34 of 40 26 March 2010 at 9:21pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
My thinking goes as follows: The part of the universe you're referring to is a tiny speck in the vastness of the Cosmos; On the grand scale these "universally important languages" are equally insignificant, and small, as the minor languages on our tiny planet. It doesn't make much of a difference if you study French or Navajo, as long as you can get something of personal significance out of it. Edited by Sennin on 26 March 2010 at 9:23pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| vikramkr Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6069 days ago 248 posts - 326 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese | Message 35 of 40 26 March 2010 at 9:25pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I completely agree. I don't base my decisions regarding which languages to learn solely on their utility. They have to sound pleasant, I have to be interested in the associated culture(s), and they have to personally mean something to me, for me to be truly motivated to learn them. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 6034 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes 5 sounds | Message 36 of 40 26 March 2010 at 9:45pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Yea, and also it's not necessary the biggest languages that have the greatest utility. Sometimes it can turn out to be a better deal to learn a smaller language, because the competition is less severe ( unique = valuable ;-). Edited by Sennin on 26 March 2010 at 9:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Cyrus Diglot Newbie France Joined 5508 days ago 39 posts - 70 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Mandarin | Message 37 of 40 27 March 2010 at 12:09am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Ok for Mandarin. but don't you think that the author overvalues the importance of "Arabic", given that it covers a
lot of languages, and also that speak the "common Arabic" do not makes you able to speak with many others "Arabic" speakers ? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| vikramkr Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6069 days ago 248 posts - 326 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese | Message 38 of 40 27 March 2010 at 12:12am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I actually just spoke to an Arab about this Arabic 'issue'. He says that yes, most dialects lack mutual intelligibility, but if that is the case they just speak to each other in MSA. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| apatch3 Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 6185 days ago 80 posts - 99 votes Speaks: Pashto, English* Studies: Japanese, FrenchA2 | Message 39 of 40 08 April 2010 at 10:07pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I don't speak arabic but from my perspective the regional dialects of arabic are like Spanish french and Italian are to latin. In essence If one was to learn arabic he'd be forced to learn two separate languages, it is this suspicion that has kept me from learning arabic (of course its not the best sounding language either if you ask me).
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| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5340 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 40 of 40 13 April 2010 at 5:09pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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To me, the most influential languages have to have a substantial impact in my life, ie. for career purposes, social life, the environment I am in, interest for a particular culture, its movies, its technology, its history, its literature. Of course, everyone has his/her point of view in this matter.
1. English is definitely the most influential language for me - in terms of professional life, in terms of international mobility, in terms of accessing a wide range of information on the Internet... 2. Mandarin is to me the next most influential language for me - perhaps there might still not be that many international Chinese corperations, but coming from Singapore, it certainly is VERY important in terms of socialising with others. Of course, English plays a role, but to further deepen a relationship, knowing Chinese (sometimes) deepens a relationship further. 3. Japanese. Japan has so many companies internationally, and being able to speak the language opens career opportunities tremendously. And not forgetting that there's a sizeable Japanese community worldwide and from the region where I come from. Furthermore, Japan still offers great mangas, great technology etc. 4. French. Though in my opinion, French doesn't (no longer?) play an important role in Asia, where I come from, I mean, most Asian countries nowadays no longer speak French, but the knowledge of French does help. It certainly helped me to get my first overseas position in Paris! Besides, I appreciate alot reading French novels, its newspapers, its TV programs which very often encourage critical thinking and debate. 5. Definitely German - offers great career opportunities esp when I am living now 6. Italian? Since I am currently living in Switzerland, knowing Italian helps me to explore Ticino better, and not forgetting that Italy is just around the corner, which offers great cultural scenic places. Knowing Italian would help you to communicate better with the locals, and not getting cheated by some taxi drivers! 7. Korean? To me, Korean is definitely in the top 10 list, since it is one of the major East Asian countries. Knowing its language would help me to better understand the culture and history of this part of the world. 8. Russian? - I have to think about first... 9. Spanish? Here in Switzerland, nor in Singapore nor other parts of Asia (with the exception of the Philippines I think), I have not yet come across situations whereby I have to speak Spanish to survive. Perhaps in the US, Spanish is immensely influential, but so far in my personal life nor career life, it doesn't have any impact on me. BUT, I have to say that, I love the language, the culture (when I travelled to South America) and its people. They are such nice fun people! Love them! Hmm...I think it should belong to position 8 now... 10 Malay! This under-rated language deserves to be in the top 10. So much trade is done between Singapore and Malaysia, plus knowing Malay certainly does show respect and interest to one of our ethnic minority groups in Singapore. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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