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Earlier quoted context omitted.
The research the article talks about was done in 1990, so the dynamics as to the influence of top-spoken languages may well have changed. Chinese is presently the most spoken language in the world (native and secondary speakers combined), so if you suspect the winner is going to be a winner in some 'network effects' situation, it might be Chinese. [1] Chinese also has a very strong internet presence. [2] On a slightl…
Chinese is presently the most spoken language in the world (native and secondary speakers combined) It was a claim like this that motivated me to begin studying Chinese back in the 1970s. But if we are talking about one language community, all of whose members can genuinely converse with one another, today English just might have more speakers than (standard) Chinese has. Social science surveys by the Chinese governm…
Back in 1970s, interesting! Some questions, if you don't mind:
1) The Chinese language seems to be the odd duck in that it demands significantly more time to get a good grip of it. I've read a number of blogs where the language-learner in the end regrets having spent time learning Chinese[1], (something I seldom see for other languages). My question for you: if you had to decide at this point, in this day and age, would you go ahead and spend the time learning Chinese?
2) What interesting employment opportunity can be expected do you think, after having learned Chinese? I've read over and over again that every big Chinese company has strong ties to the Chinese gov't, and that no foreigner has ever been able to successfully pull it off (a good example is Zuckerburg -- even though the guy himself speaks a bit of Mandarin and has a Chinese girlfriend). Does that pretty much rule out entrepreneurial success in China for foreigners?
[1]: http://thelinguafranca.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/why-you-shou...
Спасибо за статью. Печально, что русский язык не входит в десятку наиболее используемых языков в Internet.
What? The USA doesn't have an official language (like in one recognized by government)? That's news for me, and it's interesting to think on the implications. I'll point that next time an american complains to me on the web to "speak english".
That said, you (and your potential interlocutors) will likely benefit from using the lingua franca, which is currently English, whether or not you're exhorted to do so by an American.
Is this a winner-takes-all, network effects situation? Are we going to see the entire world speaking English as at least a second language in the next 50-100 years?
The winner of the "Top Language of 100 AD" should go to Chinese circa 100 A.D.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Xenic
The following languages are heavily influenced by written chinese:
Korean http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanja
Japanese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji
Vietnamese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_language
As well as a variety of other languages (though the regions where they are from are now considered part of China):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters#Other_langua...
Moderately influenced:
Mongolian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_language
Thai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_language
Here is a picture of Han China and Roman Empire circa 100 A.D.
http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/empire/extent/rome-china-co...
Written Chinese still dominate its slice of the world.
While not all chinese are conversant with Standard Mandarin, (I am not), almost all of them can read and write chinese.