DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES
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Languages of the World
Language is the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of acoustic as well as kinesic signals to express thoughts and feelings, and language is used for the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
The problem on this planet is the language systems vary greatly from region to region. The variety may be so different that one individual does not understand the language of a member from another region or country.
Level Test / https://ihworld.com/learn/ih-english-language-level-test/
| Geographic Distribution of Living Languages (2020) | |||||
| Total Living Languages | Percentage | Number of speakers | |||
 AfricaCountries in Africa |
2,110 | 30.5 % | 726,453,403 | ||
| The Americas Countries in the Americas and the Caribbean |
993 | 14.4 % | 50,496,321 | ||
| Asia Countries in Asia |
2,322 | 33.6 % | 3,622,771,264 | ||
| Australia/Pacific Countries in Australia/Pacific |
1,250 | 18.1 % | 6,429,788 | ||
| Europe Countries in Europe |
234 | 3.4 % | 1,553,360,941 | ||
| Total | 6,909 | 100 % | 5,959,511,717 | ||
| Source: Ethnologue | |||||
| Top 20 of the most widely spoken languages by “First language” speakers (2009) | ||||||
| Rank | Language | Primary Country | Number of total countries where the language is spoken | Speakers (millions) | ||
| 1 | Chinese | China | 31 | 1,213 | ||
| 2 | Spanish | Spain | 44 | 329 | ||
| 3 | English | United Kingdom | 112 | 328 | ||
| 4 | Arabic | Saudi Arabia | 57 | 221 | ||
| 5 | Hindi | India | 20 | 182 | ||
| 6 | Bengali | Bangladesh | 10 | 181 | ||
| 7 | Portuguese | Portugal | 37 | 178 | ||
| 8 | Russian | Russian Federation | 33 | 144 | ||
| 9 | Japanese | Japan | 25 | 122 | ||
| 10 | German, Standard | Germany | 43 | 90.3 | ||
| 11 | Javanese | Indonesia | 5 | 84.6 | ||
| 12 | Lahnda | Pakistan | 8 | 78.3 | ||
| 13 | Telugu | India | 10 | 69.8 | ||
| 14 | Vietnamese | Viet Nam | 23 | 68.6 | ||
| 15 | Marathi | India | 5 | 68.1 | ||
| 16 | French | France | 60 | 67.8 | ||
| 17 | Korean | Korea | 33 | 66.3 | ||
| 18 | Tamil | India | 17 | 65.7 | ||
| 19 | Italian | Italy | 34 | 61.7 | ||
| 20 | Urdu | Pakistan | 23 | 60.6 | ||
| Source: Ethnologue | ||||||