What are the Most Useful Languages to Learn?

There are many valid reasons why we should learn at least one second language. One of these is the advantage we could have when we travel to that country whose lingua franca or native language is our chosen second language. For example, if you speak, read and write French fluently, then you should have no trouble mingling with the French when you go to France. You will also have the unique advantage of knowing their culture more intimately. Another advantage of learning a second language is it opens numerous doors for you, such as having a more successful business.  So what are the most useful second languages for us to learn?

1.       French – even though the country itself is quite small, with only about 125 million native speakers, French has a profound influence in the world’s culture. With about 30 countries naming French as its official language and with some world organizations using it as its working language (FIFA, for one), learning it can be very advantageous to you. On the cultural side, some of the best books in the world are written in flowing French and French culture should be reason enough to be fluent in it.

2.       German – Though the events of the World War II greatly diminished the importance and usage of the German language, it is still considered as the next common language in central Europe, next to Russian.  On the business side, Germany has the world’s third language economy, and German culture has had its contributions to the world.

3.       Spanish – Because of its great colonial past, in addition to the 300 million native Spanish speakers in the mother country, Spanish is the official language in about 30 countries, most of them located in South and Central America. You can also use Spanish in Mediterranean Europe and in some Western countries.

4.       Mandarin – I had doubts in including this language as very useful to learn, but then I realized that China is the fastest growing economy in the world, and it has been trying these times to exert its influence in the world. This is probably the most widely spoken language in the world, with over 800 million speakers in China and Taiwan alone. Mandarin is also very much spoken in Chinese communities that are present in all parts of the globe. One downside of Mandarin though is, it is hardly spoken outside China’s borders, which means that you can hardly use it outside of the country.  But this trend may soon change.

5.       Russian – As the official language of the former Soviet Union, Russian is very much the lingua franca in modern Russia and most of Central Europe. But in recent years, Russian has suffered diminished usage in Central Europe because of the emergence of native languages in those former Soviet satellites.

6.       Italian – If you want to learn more than one Romantic language (French, Spanish etc.), then you should start learning Italian. This is because Italian is the core romantic language as it is considered to be the most direct descendant of the ancient Roman language. Learning this language would most certainly offer you hordes of information about the beginnings of the Western civilization.