Since the winter issue of the ACTFL Newsletter editor, Geoffrey Kingscott. The article appeared under appeared reporting in a brief paragraph a ranking of the rubric "Geolinguistics." We decided to reprint the the world's "ten most influential languages," we have article in its entirety, despite its length, because its den- repeatedly seen the same paragraph appear in state sity and its complexity make it difficult to summarize or and local foreign language newsletters. While the para- extract other than in the very brief form we have all graph cites some criteria used in the ranking, it has seen, as previously indicated. We hope you will find it left us curious about the original article. After much interesting as well as be warned away from any sense searching we were able to find the British publication of security or smugness about the second place of Language Today (Vol. 2, Dec. 1997) and the specific French after English. article reprinted here, with the kind permission of the TOP LANGUAGES the ne hardly risks controversy with the statement ments make sense only if one looks at the world-wide that today English was a more influential lan- picture, not just parochial bits of it. Word's Oguage world-wide than Yanomami. To a child's What does 'influential' mean in this context? Each 10 Most question why that should be language carries considerable cul- so, the well-informed paren- tural, social, historical and psycho- Influential tal brush-off would be that number of logical baggage. As anyone who has English had hundreds of mil- primary speakers ever had to learn a foreign language Languages (native or home speakers) lions of speakers while 1 knows, doing so in many ways al- Yanomami could with diffi- ters one's attitudes and world view. socio- number of culty scratch together literary 6 2 secondary To what extent, in what form and how by 16,000. Really difficult and prestige speakers deeply such changes actually mani- well-informed off-spring could fest themselves in the individual George Weber economic number and then point out that in this power of learner depends on many factors, population countries case, Chinese would be the of countries the circumstances that have led to using the using the most important language of language 5 3 the decision to learn the foreign lan- the world. At this point, the language guage, the learner's character, intel- experienced parent would 4 ligence, education and background. send the brat off to annoy number of major fields Theories on this subject need not someone else. (science, diplomacy, etc) detain us here. The very discovery using the language Every language, including internationally that one can actually express the Yanomami, is the most im- same thing in different words or look portant language of the world FIG. 1. Factors that make a language influential at something in totally different ways - to its speakers. Rather than alone widens many a mental hori- 'important' we shall here, there- zon. But not all. There are polyglot fanatics and it would fore, use the world 'influential' be naive to claim that knowing a foreign language nec- number of 1. English 37 points in its stead. Chinese is a very essarily reduces aggression and the risk of war. It helps points 2. French 23 points 40 3. Spanish 20 points influential language, no doubt if other conditions are right, but more than linguistic skill 4. Russian 16 points about it, but is it more so than is needed to bring that about. Leaders in what used to 5. Arabic 14 points English? Clearly not. The num- be Yugoslavia spouting murderous sentiments in near- 35 6. Chinese 13 points 7. German 12 points ber of speakers is relevant but perfect English provide sufficient warning of exagger- 30 8. Japanese 10 points quite insufficient for a meaning- ated hopes in this respect. 9. Portuguese 10 points ful ranking of languages in or- No people are more acutely conscious of the long- 10. Hindi/Urdu 9 points 25 der of current world-wide influ- term influence that knowledge of another language can ence, the stress being on the have on its learners than the French. No other lan- 20 word 'world-wide'. There are guage is promoted so aggressively all over the world. many other factors to be taken The French clearly understand that their language is 15 into account and this is what we the main carrier of la civilisation française. Speakers of 10 shall attempt to do in the fol- most other major languages think along similar lines. lowing. However, two major civilisations, the Chinese and to a 5 Ranking the world's current lesser extent the Japanese, actually take the opposite top languages is not just an idle attitude. They consider their civilisations so manifestly pastime. The world is growing superior that pressing their language on foreigners was HJW closer and this historical devel- really doing them too much honour. They also tend to Arabic French English opment is matched by large- think their languages far too complex to be mastered Spanish Russian German Chinese Japanese Hindi/Urdu scale linguistic adjustments, the by clumsy strangers, although they are far too polite to Portuguese most dramatic of which being say so openly. FIG. 2. The real the explosive growth of the English language. It does Languages expand and shrink on the back of the matter how major languages stand and evolve in rela- social, cultural, military, scientific, technological, strength of the top tion to each other. Like the weather, many develop- organisational and other strengths and weaknesses of ten languages 22 AATF National Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 3 (January 1999) their speakers. What is today called, over-simplistically lish quickly but the majority take years before even and geographically incorrectly. 'The West' dominates the preliminary figures come out and by the time they do, world in countless subtle and not-so-subtle ways. While they are long out of date. In this is often denied for reasons of self-respect, even very large and populous stand-offish China has for half a century embraced an countries such as India and 450 ideology of Western origin. With the introduction of China, the sheer size and Western technologies Western ideas slip in quietly, along variety to be counted is stag- in million 400 with Western attitudes and languages. That these ef- gering. The Indian Census people 350 fects can be absorbed without abandoning one's cul- is indeed one of the statisti- 1200 tural identity has been shown with huge success by the cal marvels of this world. 1150 300 Japanese and Koreans. Not all cultures and languages Even the best censuses <highest estimate share the inherent strengths of those two. More fragile of the best-organised coun- 1100 250 cultures can feel seriously threatened by Westernisation tries can only ask a few but if they wish to participate in the ongoing simple questions about lan- 1050 200 industrialisation of the world they have little choice be- guages and must depend on yond making protesting noises. the self-assessment and 1000 150 <lowest Fig. 2 shows that, as far as languages are concerned, honesty of the interviewed estimate "The West" means first and foremost the English lan- citizenry. Just what does 950 100 guage, followed only after a rather large gap by French "knowing" a language mean and Spanish. It cannot be stressed enough that it is exactly? The spectrum 900 50 not inherent superiority, not linguistic but historical fac- ranges from a Chulalong- tors that have put English, French and Spanish where korn University professor of HJW they are now. Whatever the historical factors that have English to a street seller in Arabic French English Spanish Russian Chinese pushed English into the top position, they are still at a Bangkok tourist area who German Japanese Hindi/Urdu work and look like continuing. It should be a sobering has a few dozen English Portuguese thought to any triumphalist impulse than in 100 AD Latin words and no grammar to looked set to dominate its slice of the world forever. rub together. Both the pro- FIG. 3. Uncertainty: In a Third World country which shall remain name- fessor and the seller make their living from their knowl- how estimates vary less because it is not the only guilty one, it is common edge of the English language. If asked in a census, (e.g. primary practice for companies to have three sets of books. One both could honestly claim to "know" English. for the government, a second for the government's tax If a linguist reports that language X uses gram- speakers) inspector to assess the size of the bribe he can de- matical feature Y, one can mand for officially accepting the first set of books, and go out into the field and a third set showing the real figures to the owners. It is, verify the fact. No single in million 1. Chinese >1100 million 20.7% of course, the first set of figures that enter government person can go out and people 2. English >330 million 6.2% 3. Spanish >300 million 5.6% statistics. World-wide statistics not only add up the fig- verify statistical facts. They 1100 4. Hindi/Urdu >250 million 4.7% ures supplied by individual countries, they also add up are like the two sexes 5. Arabic >200 million 3.8% 1000 6. Bengali >185 million 3.5% all the falsifications supplied along with them. among humans, one has to 7. Portuguese>160 million 3.0% Economic data is easy to collect by comparison to accept the other the way it 8.