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There are thousands of languages spoken throughout the world, but what is the most widely spoken? This may be more of a quiz question than one of interest to most people, but in business this is actually quite important. In 1999 the Summer Institute for Linguistics Ethnologue Survey gave us a list of the languages in order of the number of people who speak them as their primary language.

Over the centuries the major nations of the world have expanded their empires, and with that, the number of people who speak their language. With the Pilgrims, English became the official language spoken in North America. The Conquistadors adventures to Central and South America meant that Spanish became widely spoken. The French empire spread south through North and West Africa, leaving the language wherever it went. The empires have long since shrunk, with very few countries still under the control of these three major nations, however the language has often left with the settlers.

The French Colonies were spread all over the globe, from Canada to Polynesia, however many of these colonies were taken over by other nations. The changes in power have meant that a lot of the countries who once had French as their national language now have languages such as Spanish or Arabic. Despite these changes French is still number 11 on the list of the most spoken languages.

Although no longer under the control of Spain, many of the South and Central American countries have Spanish as their national language. Could this be the most widely spoken language in the world? No, Spanish is number 2 in the list.

English is often thought, especially by its residents, to be spoken everywhere. The empire stretched far and wide, from North America to Australia, and was once the largest empire in the World. With the residents of three of the best known nations in the world having English as their national language could this be the most widely spoken language? No, English is number 3.

So if it isn't one of these three nations, who could it be?
The Arabs and Portuguese were both known for their conquering, and both appear on the list numbers 6 and 7 respectively. German appears at number 10 on the list, with Japanese at number 9. Russian is number 8, then Bengali and Hindi are 4th and 5th. So what is number 1?

The Most Widely Spoken Language according to the SIL in 1999 is Mandarin Chinese. With approximately 885 million people speaking the language, Mandarin Chinese is definitely something which businesses need to be aware of. It is important therefore to have a way to carry out Chinese Translation. By offering your information in multiple languages your business is more likely to grow and expand, and Mandarin Chinese is the first step.

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Interlingua Translations. Interlingua offer a professional translation and related services for businesses and governments, including interpreting.