How Many Languages in the World? – Unraveling Earth’s Tongues

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Do you have any idea how many languages are spoken across the globe?

No?

Well, let’s find out together, shall we?

Here’s a breakdown of what we’ll cover:

 

Language Stats 2023 (Top Picks)

Here are five key insights into the world’s languages:

• There are currently approximately 7,000 languages spoken worldwide
• Almost 90% of these languages are spoken by less than 100,000 people
• Asia is home to the highest number of languages, with over 2,300 distinct languages
• English is spoken by approximately 1.3 billion people globally
• Nearly 50% of all languages are at risk of extinction 

For further detail and more statistics, please read on.

 

Number of Languages in 2023

The latest data suggests that there are approximately 7,000 languages spoken across the globe.

However, many of these languages are on the brink of extinction, with only a handful of speakers remaining.

Asia leads the charge with the highest linguistic diversity, followed closely by Africa.

 

Languages at Risk of Extinction

Sadly, nearly 50% of all languages are on the verge of becoming extinct, spoken only by a small number of elderly speakers.

These languages are gradually replaced by dominant languages in their respective regions.

Here’s a list with highly endangered languages from around the world:

• Ainu (Japan): Originally spoken by the indigenous Ainu people in parts of Japan
• Livonian (Latvia): Once widespread, today only a handful of speakers remain
• Yuchi (USA): Spoken by the Yuchi people, with fewer than 12 native speakers left
• Sentinelese (Andaman Islands, India): Spoken by the isolated Sentinelese tribe
• Wukchumni (USA): A Yokutsan language from California with very few speakers
• Toda (India): Spoken in the Nilgiri Hills with only a small number of speakers left
• N|u (South Africa): A Khoisan language known for its distinctive click sounds
• Dusner (Indonesia): A language from Papua, Indonesia with very few known speakers
• Chulym (Russia): A Turkic language spoken in Siberia with a dwindling number of speakers
• Caddo (USA): Spoken by the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma, but only a handful of elderly speakers remain

 

 

Global Language Diversity

Language diversity is immense, with Papua New Guinea being the most linguistically diverse country, boasting over 800 languages. 

Some of the most widespread and popular languages in Papua New Guinea include:

• Tok Pisin: A creole language widely spoken and one of the country’s official languages
• Hiri Motu: Another official language of Papua New Guinea with a strong presence in the southern part of the country
• Enga: The language of the Enga province, spoken by a significant number of people
• Melpa: Predominantly spoken in the Western Highlands
• Kuman: Spoken in the Simbu Province
• Nakanai: Common in West New Britain
• Wahgi: Spoken mainly in the Jiwaka and Western Highlands provinces
• Medlpa: Found in the Western Highlands
• Goroka: Spoken in the Eastern Highlands Province
• Binandere: Common in the Oro Province

Indonesia, Nigeria, and India also rank high in terms of linguistic variety.

 

Which Region Boasts the Most Languages?

Asia, given its vastness and cultural diversity, has over 2,300 languages.

Africa, despite being smaller in terms of landmass, boasts an impressive 2,100 languages.

Europe, largely homogeneous, has approximately 230 languages, while the Americas together account for around 1,000.

 

Dominant Languages Worldwide

The global linguistic landscape is characterized by a handful of dominant languages.

Mandarin Chinese, English, and Hindi are at the forefront when considering native speakers.

Spanish, French, and Arabic are also widely spoken.

Each of these languages has hundreds of millions of speakers.

However, when we take both native and non-native speakers into consideration, then English tops the list. 

The table below showcases this distribution, considering both native and non-native speakers:

Rank	Language	Number of Speakers (Approx.)	Predominantly Spoken In
1	English	1.5 billion	USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and many others globally due to colonial history and globalization
2	Mandarin Chinese	1.1 billion	China, Taiwan, Singapore
3	Hindi	602.2 million	India, Fiji, Nepal
4	Spanish	548.3 million	Spain, most of Latin America, USA
5	French	274.1 million	France, Canada (Quebec), parts of Africa, Belgium, Switzerland
6	Modern Standard Arabic	274 million	Middle East, North Africa
7	Bengali	272.7 million	Bangladesh, India (West Bengal)
8	Russian	258.2 million	Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
9	Portuguese	257.7 million	Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, others
10	Urdu	231.3 million	Pakistan, India

Source: The Ethnologue

 

Language vs. Dialect: A Complex Classification

The categorization of speech varieties as languages or dialects is a very difficult one. 

This leads to varying estimates on the number of languages worldwide. 

While a language is often defined as a system of communication used by a particular community, a dialect is seen as a regional or social variety of a language.

However, the distinction between the two is not always clear-cut. 

Let us have a look at a couple of reasons: 

 

Mutual Intelligibility

One common criterion to differentiate a language from a dialect is mutual intelligibility.

If speakers of two varieties can understand each other without much effort, they are typically considered dialects of the same language.

However, there are cases where mutually intelligible varieties are considered separate languages due to socio-political reasons.

For instance, this is the case with Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. 

 

Socio-political Influences

Politics and socio-cultural factors can play a significant role.

For instance, Hindi and Urdu are linguistically similar but are classified as separate languages due to their cultural and political histories.

On the other hand, varieties of Chinese, such as Mandarin and Cantonese, are often referred to as “dialects” even though they are not mutually intelligible, largely due to political unity (I studied Mandarin Chinese for almost a decade but can hardly understand any Cantonese, just to give you an idea!)

 

Standardization and Prestige

Often, one dialect gains prestige and becomes the “standard” language (again, Mandarin Chinese would be a good example here), which is used in media, education, and governance.

Other dialects of the same language might then be seen as inferior or non-standard.

 

Linguistic Continua

In some regions, there’s a dialect continuum where neighboring dialects are mutually intelligible, but dialects at opposite ends of the continuum are not. This poses challenges for classification.

 

Historical and Cultural Connections

Sometimes, speech varieties are classified based on their historical origins or cultural connections rather than purely linguistic characteristics.

 

 

Conclusion

There are over 7000 languages out there and almost half of these are endangered.

Let that sink in!

Action needs to be taken IMMEDIATELY, so that all these beautiful languages are preserved!

A language is so much more than just words; it carries with it CULTURE, HISTORY, EMOTIONS….

Or, as Ludwig Wittgenstein would put it: “The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”