Voinjama Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Apologies if this has already been done, I tried to look but I couldn't find a previous. Feel free to merge if it has already been done. Anyway what do you consider to be the most useful language after English basing this on all different criteria like demographics, business, numbers of native speakers, importance etc etc. And is anyone here fluent in any other language, and no being able to order a pint in Spanish is not fluent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I heard some language expert once on the radio saying that Latin was the most useful as he reckoned even in Africa if you were lost in the wilderness the local tribesmen would understand the Latin names for the human body , plants , animals etc but I'm not convinced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'm sure when I did my dissertation I read that loads of people were taking up mandarin only to find that china still works by and large on a semi corrupt networking system iirc called guanxi meaning that English businesses over there end up employing Chinese people to do all the talking and meetings for them and all they had to do was learn enough to be polite so don't bother getting fluent in mandarin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I would suggest French, German and Spanish in the EU. UK internal translation wise possibly languages such as Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Somali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'd think English is the most useful to know worldwide. Lucky that we won the war I guess. After that? I'd say the other five official languages of the UN. Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, French & Russian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted January 12, 2012 Moderator Share Posted January 12, 2012 With English, French and Spanish you'll be able to communicate with a very large percentage of the world. I wouldn't bother with German as they never had an empire long enough to teach the world their language (Welsh is probably more useful than German) but Spanish will see you through most of South America and French will see you through most of Africa, so with those three languages you'd be able to communicate very well in most places in the world tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Yep. And of course, most places dominated by the German language (basically Germany, Austria and about half of Switzerland) are packed with people who speak English as a second language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 12, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 12, 2012 Re: German. It's quite useful in Eastern Europe, assuming you don't have any Russian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colhint Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 dollars usually work for me, wherever I have been Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I wouldn't bother with German as they never had an empire long enough to teach the world their language (Welsh is probably more useful than German) What a load of rubbish. German is one of the most important business languages in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The top 5 most widely spoken are: 1) Mandarin 2) Spanish 3) English 4) Hindi 5) Arabic So if you know those 5 you would be doing pretty well. Add Russian and French and you would probably struggle to find a part of the world where you couldn't hold a conversation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 12, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 12, 2012 1) Mandarin 2) Spanish 3) English 4) Hindi 5) Arabic So if you know those 5 you would be doing pretty well. Understatement of the week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The top 5 most widely spoken are: 1) Mandarin 2) Spanish 3) English 4) Hindi 5) Arabic So if you know those 5 you would be doing pretty well. Add Russian and French and you would probably struggle to find a part of the world where you couldn't hold a conversation. Awesome I've got 2-5 to a good standard. Rosetta Stone Mandarin it is then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b23avfc Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Tagalog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 12, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 12, 2012 Pidgin. Then you can discuss things like Emile Heskey (him-bigfella-longtime-missee-net). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 With English, French and Spanish you'll be able to communicate with a very large percentage of the world. I wouldn't bother with German as they never had an empire long enough to teach the world their language (Welsh is probably more useful than German) but Spanish will see you through most of South America and French will see you through most of Africa, so with those three languages you'd be able to communicate very well in most places in the world tbh Aye, if you know those three you've got a good chance of getting a good job too. Being able to communicate effectively as well as having a ton of other skills really makes you stand out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 With English, French and Spanish you'll be able to communicate with a very large percentage of the world. I wouldn't bother with German as they never had an empire long enough to teach the world their language (Welsh is probably more useful than German) but Spanish will see you through most of South America and French will see you through most of Africa, so with those three languages you'd be able to communicate very well in most places in the world tbh I am learning German at the moment, and even though I see your point, as someone else pointed out, from a business point of view German is important. Many of the worlds top companies are German. It is also the strongest economy in Europe. In my opinion weighing up everything I think the top 5 in terms of importance are: 1. English 2. Spanish 3. Mandarin Chinese 4. German 5. French German and French joint 4th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 English Mandarin Spanish Arabic Japanese French a close 6th. No point learning German imo, Germans generally speak decent enough English - that's my impression anyway. Many of the world's top companies may be German but do they even use German as their language of business? Oh ya I'm fluent in Mandarin and I understand a little Cantonese and Fujianese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 English Mandarin Spanish Japanese French No point learning German imo, Germans generally speak decent enough English - that's my impression anyway. Many of the world's top companies may be German but do they even use German as their language of business? You lot are making me feel like I am wasting my time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 English Mandarin Spanish Japanese French No point learning German imo, Germans generally speak decent enough English - that's my impression anyway. Many of the world's top companies may be German but do they even use German as their language of business? You lot are making me feel like I am wasting my time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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