Comparative table of languages and language profiles

8/2/2019 Comparative table of languages and language profiles

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The undisputed king of languages in science,business and international exchange of any

kind. The choice for a first foreign language,English will give you instant access to anunmatched wealth of books, newspapers,magazines, movies, websites and people from

all over the world.


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Difficulty (1 to 5) : 2

Popularity(1 to 5) : 5

Transparency (1 to 3) : 3

GDP(USD billions) :$14129

Countries : 12

Speakers (millions) : 618


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Easy, logical and useful language that is on topof most people's list. Very handy when travelling

in the many Spanish-speaking countries, it alsobrings its own rewards through books, musicand films. A must on any language lovershopping list.


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Popularity (1 to 5) : 4


GDP (USD billions) :$3198

Countries : 25



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A very chic but difficult romance language, Frenchwill open you the door of the most visited countryon earth and let you in to a fascinating culture.

Literature, philosophy, architecture andgastronomy are areas where a command ofFrench can bring intense satisfaction even if you

do not live in France.


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Transparency (1 to 3):

3


Countries:17

Speakers (millions) :213


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This fascinating language is less difficult tolearnthan its reputation and gives you the key notonly to Russia, but also to the large group of ex-

Soviet countries. Plus it gives you instant accessto a enormous amount of highly interestingreading material you can get for free off theinternet.


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Transparency (1 to 3)

: 2


Countries : 8



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Mandarin Chinese is a very difficult language toread and write, but it is not as hard to speak asyou might think. With the humongus Chinese

economy behind it, it definitely is a language ofthe future. Even if you do not work with China,you can get plenty of opportunities to practice itat home with the many Chinese travellers and

the wealth of Chinese cinema.


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: 1


Countries : 4

Speakers (millions) :1,036


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This important European language is quite difficultto learn, but gives you access to one of theworld's great economies as well as to a wealth

of cultural material.


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: 2


Countries : 3 Speakers (millions) :

91


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Arguably the most beautiful spoken language thereis, a must for the arts aficionado. It is very easyto fall in love with this language and its country.

If you already know another Romance language,make sure you learn it : you can learn Italian at80% off the price by taking advantage of thestrong similarities in grammar and vocabulary

with Spanish, French and Portuguese.


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: 3



58


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A fascinating language for a fascinatingcivilisation. However this is probably one of themost difficult language you can find. Very

complex writing system and grammar. Theworld's second largest economy.


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: 1



127


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A united writing system based on the Koran helps learninga language with many different dialects.


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: 0 GDP(USD billions) :

$694


285


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The most popular deadlanguage ever - a greatintellectual adventure for thosewho study other Romance

languages. Difficulty (1 to 5) : 4




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$208

Countries : 1 Speakers (millions)

:234


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Thai is a demanding languagebut you can thank the Thais forwriting with an alphabet.

Difficulty ( 1 to 5) : 4

Popularity (1 to 5) : 2 GDP (USD billions) : $143

Countries : 1



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Very interesting language anda great country but one of themost difficult languages tospeak fluently.



GDP(USD billions) : $605

Countries : 2



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The most influential Chinese dialect afterMandarin. Despite the fact that it has less total

speakers, the geographical spread of Cantonesehas historically been much greater and largelyremains so to this day.


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$400


100


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Somewhere between English and German, Dutchmight not be the most beautiful language but it isthe national language of two very dynamic and

friendly countries: Belgium and the Netherlands,as well as a close cognate, Afrikaans, in South

Africa.


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$713


30


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Indo-European language that opens you hugeareas of one of the most intriguing country of theworld - India, as well as most of Pakistan where

the same language is written in Arabic script andcalled Urdu. Despite its captivating writingsystem, the language is not too difficult tomaster and is one of the most spoken in the

world.


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GDP(USD billions) :

$276 Countries : 2

Speakers (millions) :

487


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Easy language to learn for those who alreadyspeak another Romance language, Portugueseis usually not the first choice in this group unless

you have a special reason. Pity, since it is abeautiful language from two endearingcountries.


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$666


203


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A wonderful grammar and agreat civilization all clad in theroman alphabet should beenough to convince you.




Countries : 1



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If you want to try an artificiallanguage, Esperanto is themost famous and mostwidespread.





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Probably the most difficultEuropean language youcan learn, but ratherfascinating.




Countries : 1



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GDP(USD billions) : $221 Countries : 1



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Speakers ( millions) : 5


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The most important Scandinavian language. Verysimilar to Danish and Norwegian. A command ofDutch or German will get you started.


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Unique, highly demanding language that is thehallmark of an accomplished language lover.You may learn Spanish for many reasons, but

Hungarian really shows you either love Hungary,or your love languages.


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Countries : 1 Speakers (millions) : 14


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Modern Greek uses the same alphabet as itsancestor, ancient Greek, but is much simpler tolearn. It gives you access to a small but very

interesting country and lets you speak withwords that have been in use for 2500 years.


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Countries :2 Speakers (millions) : 11


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Seen as either a political construct or a commonlanguage across the Balkans, Serbo-Croatian isa charming slavic language that you can enjoy

during great beach vacations on the Adriaticsea.


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Attractive language of acharming central Europeancountry, Czech has influencesfrom its many neighbors.





Countries : 2



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The language of Vlad Dracul and a uniqueRomance language, Romanian has three wordgenders, six futures and uses cases like a Slavic

language. Despite all this, it is still relatively easyif you speak another Romance language.


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Closely related to Russian,Ukrainian is much less studiedthan its older brother sincemost people in the Ukrainespeak Russian.



Transparency ( 1 to 3) : 2




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Intriguing language that is not so difficult to learnif you already speak another indo europeanlanguage. The language of Iran but also an

official language of Afghanistan and Tadjikistan. Difficulty (1 to 5) : 3




Countries : 2



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Difficulty (1 to 5) : 4 Popularity (1 to 5) : 1

GDP(USD billions) :

$20 Countries : 1


Comparative table of languages and language profiles

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