If an alien landed on planet earth and had to decide which language to speak, read and write, it would be….English.
No surprises there but would you be surprised to learn that Arabic would be the fifth most useful?
This is according to the findings of Kai L. Chan, who works at INSEAD, in his publication Power Language Index.
It was the very question as to what an alien would find the most useful language on Earth that led to Chan coming up with the idea.
Based on 20 indicators such as the number of countries it is spoken in, geographic coverage, internet content, use in diplomacy, published academic journals in a language, tourism, etc he devised the math behind the league language table published in his findings.
The indicators were created according to 5 simple criteria:
1. Geography: The ability to travel
2. Economy: The ability to participate in an economy
3. Communication: The ability to engage in dialogue
4. Knowledge and media: The ability to consume knowledge and media
5. Diplomacy: The ability to engage in international relations
The Top 10 Most Powerful World Languages?
According to the Index, the 10 most useful languages from the 124 assessed are:
- English
- Mandarin
- French
- Spanish
- Arabic
- Russian
- German
- Japanese
- Portuguese
- Hindi
It is no coincidence that these languages also feature heavily within the translation industry, further illustrating their importance on the global stage.
Why Arabic?
So, why did the Arabic language come in at number 5?
Well, it is a solid all-rounder as the numbers in the chart below show us.
Arabic has good geographical representation across North Africa and the Middle East; it also spreads beyond its natural linguistic borders through the religion of Islam (Classical Arabic is the liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims ).
It also comes within the top 10 for its use within the economy/commerce, diplomacy (Modern Standard Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations) and communication. It is spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world making it the fifth most spoken language in the world.
The one area it falls short is in knowledge and media which is about the use of Arabic in academic journals, media, internet, etc.
Although the likes of English and Mandarin are leading the way, we are happy to see the Arabic language becoming recognised as a power-player on the global stage!
