5 Best Languages in the World
By: Loredane Nolent
Tags: Language Learning, Language, Habit Building, Rankings, Komai

Let’s face it — we all have limited time and energy…

Our adult life is occupied by career, family and a lot of unnamed responsibilities. To squeeze time for language learning is not as easy anymore. We hope to choose the best language as a wise investment for both our hard-earned cash and limited energy.

Furthermore, globalization stimulates more cultural communication and foster cultural awareness, thus breeding more bilinguals or polyglots.

‘The best’ is a vague word. What is the best language? It’s a very subjective question. What I think is the best language to learn may not be useful in your situation. It all depends on how you are going to use the language and your goals.

The following 5 languages are considered as the most important languages in the 21st century:

Mandarin:

Believe it or not, Mandarin Chinese is one of the most spoken languages in the world. 982 million people are native speakers. Although a majority of users is in China, Chinese are all scattered in the world, making up 1.1. Billion people knowing the dialect.

More people means more buying power. It is believed that China will become the world’s leading economy by 2050. If you want to be on top of the game and get into the Chinese market with great financial potential, you won’t regret learning Chinese

2. Spanish

Spanish is widely spoken in North America, South America, Europe and Africa. It makes up more than 500 million speakers in the world and it’s the second most common language across the continents.

Spanish is a particularly useful language to learn for Americans because there are an estimated 52.6 million Spanish speakers in the U.S.

If you want to do business in the U.S., there is a huge chance you will come across Spanish. Adding Spanish as a skill on your resume will definitely sharpen your competitive edge.

3. English

If you are reading this article, you are one of the 1.5 billion English users. English is the lingua franca in the world, especially when it comes to internet and computer technology. Also, it’s the official language of the US, UK, Canada and Australia which account for the world’s 10 largest economies.

Therefore, English is essentially necessary for international business and relations. Learning English would also synonymous with opportunities and a better quality of life.

Although Chinse is the number 1 language that has the most speakers, as English is much easier to learn comparatively speaking, English will continue to pose great importance and influence to today’s world.

4. Hindi

Hindi is the official language of India and some other surrounding areas. It may not be a common pick for language users.

However, India is the seventh largest economy in the world and it will jump to second position by 2050, which is right after China.

The huge potential financial growth made it a desirable language to learn.

5. Arabic

Arabic is undoubtedly gaining the attention of many language users. Not only the long history and amazing culture that came with the language, it is also the official language of the Arabic League which consists of more than 22 countries. Some of these countries are the wealthiest nations in the world.

Arabic is considered as a ‘critical language’ for national security. You can apply for the Critical Language Scholarship Programme to work in government.

Although there are a few dialects to Arabic, not all of them are mutually intelligible, learning Arabic will for sure open doors for your career.

Which one to choose?

Time=Money

Learning a language requires a huge amount of time and investment. This is the list to provide you some insights about some of the most important languages in the world. But it also comes down to your passion and practicability.