The 3 most important world languages

Iryna   Tue May 20, 2008 8:00 pm GMT
I would like to know which are the 3 most important world languages. I do not like another stupid war between French & Spanish speakers. So, I say 3, and not 2.

I think that English, Spanish and French can be the answer more writen. I am not sure about other languages like German, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. You can say more than 3 if you want.

Thanks.
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 8:04 pm GMT
In 25+ years:

1 - Chinese
2 - Hindi
3 - Arabic
Guest2   Tue May 20, 2008 8:10 pm GMT
Spoken (native): Chinese, Spanish, Hindi

Economic: English, Japanese, Chinese

Diplomatic: English, French, Spanish

Internet users: English, Chinese, Spanish
Skobelev   Tue May 20, 2008 8:10 pm GMT
1 - English
2 - German
3 - Russian
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 8:22 pm GMT
I more or less agree with gest2 but i'd say that In science and technology i only find english useful because it's the language that is leading the way.
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 8:53 pm GMT
<<The Romans based their culture on the Etruscan one. >>

Was Latin based on Etruscan?
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 8:58 pm GMT
No but many words are of Etruscan origin, for example Rome is Etruscan.
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 9:05 pm GMT
ROMA = AMOR if you read in reverse, isn't it romantic?
Guest   Tue May 20, 2008 9:33 pm GMT
ROMA = ROMA people = LOVELY people = AMOR.
JLK   Tue May 20, 2008 11:36 pm GMT
These sorts of threads do tire me. You should learn languages that interest you and the languages that are spoken a nation or region that you could see yourself spending a lot of time. Anything else is of no consequence. Language popularity is an in and out fad just as much as the clothes in your wardrobe. The current fads are Mandarin and Arabic, but in 5 years it will be something else. It's silly and utterly futile to go along with the trend merely for the sake of it.

<<In 25+ years:

1 - Chinese
2 - Hindi
3 - Arabic>>

Chinese could very well be an important one 25 years from, providing it doesn't get involved in a WWIII. There are many barriers to prevent it from becoming a lingua franca though. Geographically, it is a very limited language too.

Hindi, definitely not. In a nation where English is already an official language, Hindi doesn't stand a chance. Again, geographically, very limited.

Arabic might be an important language in security organizations and mosques but nothing more. Oil is the Arab economy and 25 years from now there will not be a market for oil due to alternative fuels. The Arab states are screwed. To say nothing of the whole dialect mess...


<<Economic: English, Japanese, Chinese>>

I think Spanish has surpassed Japanese as far as economics are concerned. The GDP, natural wealth, and labor force of the Spanish speaking world is massive and growing rapidly. It wouldn't surprise me if the Hispanophone nations surpass China in economic might a few years from now.