Category Foreign Languages

Why are the people and language of Russia special?

Almost 80 per cent of Russians trace their ancestry to the Slavs, who settled in the region almost 1500 years ago. But there are about 120 ethnic groups in Russia, and they speak more than a hundred languages. There are also other major groups such as the Tatars, and Ukrainians.

Russian is the official language of the country. It is a European language that stems from the Slavonic group of languages. Russia is also home to great thinkers and artists like Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, who are still revered for their contributions to literature. Composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and ballet dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev are among others who hailed from Russia and left a mark in their fields.

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HOW MUCH POPULAR IS SPANISH LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD?

Hola, buenas noches, adiós amigos, o despacito, son algunas de las muchas famosas palabras en español que muchos conocen. Español or Spanish is a beautiful language, one of the “romance languages” imbued in our culture today, including songs, movies, dances, sports, etc. Who hasn’t heard about salsa, flamenco, merengue, tango, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Messi, Iniesta or Picasso?

Yes! At least 21 countries have Spanish as their official language, which makes it the second most widely-spoken language in the world. Apart from Spain, twenty countries in Latin America have Spanish as their first language, plus Equatorial Guinea in Africa. A significant number of people from other countries also make use of it.

In total numbers, Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world after Chinese and English and the second most used language amongst businessmen. If you intend to start a business in future, you won’t want to lose a big market of prospect clients or buyers who speak Spanish (many of them do not know English). Spanish can be a great asset for a business. In a globalized world, it is no secret that knowing other languages can open many doors for you in the job market. Language proficiency gives you more value as an employee and can bring you a better income. Speaking Spanish is good for your resume as today more and more companies want to make contacts with Spanish speaking countries.

Besides this, Spanish is the third most used language on the Internet and the second most used in the two main social networks in the world: Facebook and Twitter. In addition, the use of Spanish on the internet has experienced a great growth in the last years, and of the 285 languages in which the contents of Wikipedia  are currently published, Spanish occupies the second position in terms of number of visits.

The Spanish language is one of the top three foreign languages opted for by students in India. There is an increased demand for Spanish in the recent years. One of the major reasons behind the increased popularity for the Spanish language in our country is job opportunities, love for Spanish football, dances, movies and music. Also there is a lot of business between India and all the Spanish-speaking countries. Indians are becoming more aware of the importance of this language, since it is more spoken in the world than French or German.

Are you a travel lover? If you like to travel, knowing Spanish will make your travel much easier and safe. A good knowledge of the language will allow you to travel to Spain and Latin America much more confidently and safely. With so many countries where Spanish is spoken, knowing the language will act as a great advantage that will make your travel experience even more wonderful. Besides, many people in other countries know Spanish as their second language.

And last but not the least, Spain, and the countries of Latin America, are countries full of artists, music, sports and fun. Studying Spanish will open one’s doors to art, literature, theatre, music or cinema. You will be able to enjoy each work in its original version and feel the real emotion that each of them transmits, without intermediaries, without subtitles, in its purest form.

Learn Spanish, it’s a beautiful language, it’s not very difficult and it will open many doors in your life!

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In which country are nearly 850 languages spoken the most in the world?

Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages, making it the most linguistically diverse place on earth. Its official languages are Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu and Papua New Guinean Sign Language.

It is home to about 8.1 million people according to the preliminary census done in 2016. As one of the world’s most rural countries, only about 18% of the population is located in the urban centers of the independent state. But one of the distinguishing characteristics of the state is its linguistic diversity. It’s known to have about 852 living languages although 12 of them have no known living speakers. Many of the inhabitants live in their own communities. The communities in Papua New Guinea are also quite diverse. It seems that this is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Up until now, the state isn’t fully explored, geographically or culturally. So many more people have no contact with the outside world, and like the communities and the languages, it is believed that many more species of animals and plants in the interior of Papua New Guinea are still undiscovered.

It is astonishing that a state which is only 462,840 square kilometers (178,700 square miles) with 8 million inhabitants can have that many living languages. Compare this to India that has 1.3 billion people living in a land that is 3,287,263 square kilometers (1,269,219 square miles), which officially recognizes 22 languages. However, the people here speak hundreds of languages. Yes, some of them unofficially recognized. On the other hand, some are not native to India.

The “Papuan” languages are the oldest group among the hundreds of languages. The first human settlers introduced languages to the area some 400,000 years ago. They might fall under the umbrella of Papuan languages, however, they do not have similar roots. The languages belong to unrelated families. Plus, in many cases, most of them are language isolates. Austronesian languages landed in the state some 3,500 years ago. It is probable that only one Taiwanese source was the origin of these languages. In the 1800s, German- and English-speaking settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea, which added to the number of languages already spoken in the state.

Papua New Guinea has a tribal society, and this is another reason why languages survive in the state. In each tribe, their unique identity is signified by the language they speak. Each tribe is proud of their own language.

Credit : Day Translations

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