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The Languages of the World
There is approximately 6700 languages around the world, and several die every year. Some are found in remote regions of vast countries and are spoken only by a single village of people. Some by only a few people, and when those people die or forget their native tongue, the language becomes extinct, because even though written accounts of the language remain, the pronunciation and precise grammar usage will be lost forever. As mass globalization increases, the problem is becoming more prevalent. People are losing part of their cultural identity.
In China, there is two official languages: Mandarin (pu-tong-hwa) and Cantonese. There are also hundreds of smaller languages scattered across China, in remote deserts, mountains and villages, where people are being forced to learn Mandarin (in order to unify the Chinese people under one language). Eventually there will only be one language: Mandarin. The other languages will slowly die and disappear.
The top ten languages of the world are as follows (in order of first-speaking population):
Chinese Mandarin 13.69%
Spanish 5.05%
English 4.84%
Hindi 2.82%
Portuguese 2.77%
Bengali 2.68%
Russian 2.27%
Japanese 1.99%
German 1.49%
Chinese Wu 1.21%
In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese (Yue) and Wu speakers in China, there is another 8% of the world population who speaks a different Chinese language. It is estimated that by the year 2050, all of China, which comprises roughly 24% of the world's population will be speaking Mandarin as a first language. The other Chinese languages are dying. In addition, the Mandarin language is also spreading overseas. Interest in Chinese language and culture in North America for example is growing, not just for educational purposes, but also for economic reasons. Business people are learning Mandarin Chinese because it is the key to international wealth and power.
English and Spanish, as you can see above, are small in comparison. Note however that there are many people who speak Spanish and English as a 2nd language. English has been a powerful language during the last 50 years, and its spread has been largely an economic one. But at South America grows in power, its becoming obvious that English speaking countries like the United States now have steady competition from both Spanish and Portuguese, both of which are growing as an economic language, especially within the United States.
Within the United States, almost 11% of the population speaks Spanish as their first language, and that percentage is growing. Due to immigration (both legal and illegal immigration) from Central and South America, Spanish is now the fastest growing language in the United States. It is estimated that by 2050, 30% of the United States will be speaking Spanish as a first language.
Due to social issues within many countries, their language speaking population will almost never change. North Korea for example has restricted access with outside countries, and thus speaks 100% Korean, with very little Chinese influence. Indeed, the use of Chinese, Japanese and English words are basically banned from being used in Korean dictionaries in North Korea. Meanwhile in South Korea, students are forced to study English, Chinese and Japanese, and many words found in a South Korean dictionary are actually Chinese, English, or Japanese words. Some of them are even French or German words.
Due to economic and political reasons, languages come and go. Sometimes they just evolve. Germans speaking Deutsch these days sounds a lot like English, because it mixes so many English words into their vocabulary, resulting in Dinglish. Likewise in South Korea, the avid use of English words has created a mix of Korean/English called Konglish. These are just examples, but the trend is found in many countries with a strong English influence. During the next 50 years, as China grows in power, we can expect to see a lot more Chinese words being adopted into other languages. Asian words in general are already becoming popular amongst the younger population of North America. Words like tofu, banzai, chi, teriyaki and phrases like "Ni hao ma?" and "Wo ai ni!" are becoming commonplace.
Overseas many parents resort to private schools and private tutors to help their children learn a new language. In North America this is the same, but the choices of languages these days are changing. 20 years ago, French, German, Italian and Spanish were the popular languages to learn in North America. These days its Japanese and Chinese. Japanese in particular is incredibly popular. University level courses in Japanese are so popular that there aren't enough professors to teach all the students.
At York University in Toronto, the professors have resorted to using large 300 student auditoriums to teach Japanese in, with tutorial classes taught by teaching assistants. The demand is so high that enrolling in the class is a difficult process by itself, with students fighting for seats.
Individual language courses at the same university for European languages don't even have a 10th of that.
During the Cold War era of the last 50 years, the United States deliberately spread false rumours that Asian languages are difficult to learn. In modern times however, that belief has lessened and people are realizing just how easy languages like Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese are.
| Country | Languages (%) |
| Afghanistan | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
| | Akrotiri | English, Greek
| | Albania | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
| | Algeria | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
| | American Samoa | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census)
| | Andorra | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese
| | Angola | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
| | Anguilla | English (official)
| | Antigua and Barbuda | English (official), local dialects
| | Argentina | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
| | Armenia | Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census)
| | Aruba | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
| | Australia | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)
| | Austria | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)
| | Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)
| | Bahamas, The | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
| | Bahrain | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
| | Bangladesh | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
| | Barbados | English
| | Belarus | Belarusian, Russian, other
| | Belgium | Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
| | Belize | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole
| | Benin | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
| | Bermuda | English (official), Portuguese
| | Bhutan | Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
| | Bolivia | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
| | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
| | Botswana | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census)
| | Brazil | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
| | British Virgin Islands | English (official)
| | Brunei | Malay (official), English, Chinese
| | Bulgaria | Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
| | Burkina Faso | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
| | Burma | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
| | Burundi | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
| | Cambodia | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
| | Cameroon | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
| | Canada | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
| | Cape Verde | Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
| | Cayman Islands | English
| | Central African Republic | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages
| | Chad | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
| | Chile | Spanish
| | China | Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
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| Christmas Island | English (official), Chinese, Malay
| | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Malay (Cocos dialect), English
| | Colombia | Spanish
| | Comoros | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
| | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
| | Congo, Republic of the | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
| | Cook Islands | English (official), Maori
| | Costa Rica | Spanish (official), English
| | Cote d'Ivoire | French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken
| | Croatia | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)
| | Cuba | Spanish
| | Cyprus | Greek, Turkish, English
| | Czech Republic | Czech
| | Denmark | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language
| | Dhekelia | English, Greek
| | Djibouti | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
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| Dominica | English (official), French patois
| | Dominican Republic | Spanish
| | East Timor | Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people
| | Ecuador | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
| | Egypt | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
| | El Salvador | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
| | Equatorial Guinea | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
| | Eritrea | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
| | Estonia | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
| | Ethiopia | Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
| | European Union | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed; Irish (Gaelic) will become the twenty-first language on 1 January 2007
| | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | English
| | Faroe Islands | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
| | Fiji | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani
| | Finland | Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)
| | France | French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
| | French Guiana | French
| | French Polynesia | French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)
| | Gabon | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
| | Gambia, The | English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
| | Gaza Strip | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
| | Georgia | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
| | Germany | German
| | Ghana | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
| | Gibraltar | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
| | Greece | Greek 99% (official), English, French
| | Greenland | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English
| | Grenada | English (official), French patois
| | Guadeloupe | French (official) 99%, Creole patois
| | Guam | English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census)
| | Guatemala | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
| | Guernsey | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
| | Guinea | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language
| | Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
| | Guyana | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
| | Haiti | French (official), Creole (official)
| | Holy See (Vatican City) | Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
| | Honduras | Spanish, Amerindian dialects
| | Hong Kong | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official
| | Hungary | Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
| | Iceland | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
| | India | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
| | Indonesia | Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
| | Iran | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
| | Iraq | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
| | Ireland | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
| | Israel | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
| | Italy | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
| | Jamaica | English, patois English
| | Japan | Japanese
| | Jersey | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
| | Jordan | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
| | Kazakhstan | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
| | Kenya | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
| | Kiribati | I-Kiribati, English (official)
| | Korea, North | Korean
| | Korea, South | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
| | Kuwait | Arabic (official), English widely spoken
| | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz (official), Russian (official)
| | Laos | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
| | Latvia | Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
| | Lebanon | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
| | Lesotho | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
| | Liberia | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
| | Libya | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
| | Liechtenstein | German (official), Alemannic dialect
| | Lithuania | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
| | Luxembourg | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
| | Macau | Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
| | Macedonia | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)
| | Madagascar | French (official), Malagasy (official)
| | Malawi | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census)
| | Malaysia | Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan
| | Maldives | Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
| | Mali | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
| | Malta | Maltese (official), English (official)
| | Man, Isle of | English, Manx Gaelic
| | Marshall Islands | Marshallese 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English widely spoken as a second language; both Marshallese and English are official languages
| | Martinique | French, Creole patois
| | Mauritania | Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof
| | Mauritius | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4% (official), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
| | Mayotte | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population
| | Mexico | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
| | Micronesia, Federated States of | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
| | Moldova | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
| | Monaco | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
| | Mongolia | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
| | Montserrat | English
| | Morocco | Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
| | Mozambique | Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8% (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe 7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%, other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census)
| | Namibia | English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama
| | Nauru | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
| | Nepal | Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English
| | Netherlands | Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
| | Netherlands Antilles | Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
| | New Caledonia | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
| | New Zealand | English (official), Maori (official)
| | Nicaragua | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
| | Niger | French (official), Hausa, Djerma
| | Nigeria | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
| | Niue | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English
| | Norfolk Island | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
| | Northern Mariana Islands | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census)
| | Norway | Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
| | Oman | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
| | Pakistan | Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
| | Palau | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
| | Panama | Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
| | Papua New Guinea | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 715 indigenous languages - many unrelated
| | Paraguay | Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
| | Peru | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
| | Philippines | two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English; eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
| | Pitcairn Islands | English (official), Pitcairnese (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)
| | Poland | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
| | Portugal | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
| | Puerto Rico | Spanish, English
| | Qatar | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
| | Reunion | French (official), Creole widely used
| | Romania | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
| | Russia | Russian, many minority languages
| | Rwanda | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
| | Saint Helena | English
| | Saint Kitts and Nevis | English
| | Saint Lucia | English (official), French patois
| | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | French (official)
| | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | English, French patois
| | Samoa | Samoan (Polynesian), English
| | San Marino | Italian
| | Sao Tome and Principe | Portuguese (official)
| | Saudi Arabia | Arabic
| | Senegal | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
| | Serbia and Montenegro | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
| | Seychelles | Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)
| | Sierra Leone | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
| | Singapore | Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
| | Slovakia | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
| | Slovenia | Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census)
| | Solomon Islands | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages
| | Somalia | Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
| | South Africa | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
| | Spain | Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%; note - Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally
| | Sri Lanka | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
| | Sudan | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process
| | Suriname | Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
| | Svalbard | Norwegian, Russian
| | Swaziland | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
| | Sweden | Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
| | Switzerland | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages
| | Syria | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
| | Taiwan | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
| | Tajikistan | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
| | Tanzania | Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
| | Thailand | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
| | Togo | French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
| | Tokelau | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English
| | Tonga | Tongan, English
| | Trinidad and Tobago | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese
| | Tunisia | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
| | Turkey | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek
| | Turkmenistan | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
| | Turks and Caicos Islands | English (official)
| | Tuvalu | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
| | Uganda | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
| | Ukraine | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%; small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities
| | United Arab Emirates | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
| | United Kingdom | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
| | United States | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
| | Uruguay | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
| | Uzbekistan | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
| | Vanuatu | local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
| | Venezuela | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
| | Vietnam | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
| | Virgin Islands | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)
| | Wallis and Futuna | Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
| | West Bank | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
| | Western Sahara | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
| | Yemen | Arabic
| | Zambia | English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
| | Zimbabwe | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
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