Thank you for using our ASK! service.
You asked how many languages there are in the world and how to go about learning them.
There are about 6,700 languages that still exist in the world, and some of the more popular ones include Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi. The following table lists the language and the number of native speakers there are in the world:
Language No. of speakers (who speak it as a first language)
English 341 million
Mandarin 867 million
Spanish 352 milliom
Hindi (Hindi-Urdu) 180 million
Japanese 122 million
Malay 25 million
German 95 million
French 51 million
Italian 55 million
You can find out more about the above languages and other languages which I've not listed at the following websites:
- http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/
- http://www.ethnologue.com/
(all sites last accessed 26 Dec, 2007.)
(For the above weblinks, you are advised to please click through to the respective site's main page to read their Terms & Conditions for use of the site before continuing)
If you wish to learn a certain language, you can go to any library and look for the shelf with the call no. 400. There are books on languages such as German, French and Italian on this shelf. Alternatively, you can check availability of the books at our online catalogue, http://vistaweb.nlb.gov.sg.
You can also enquire with language schools in Singapore on the rates they charge for language courses. The following website lists some language schools in Singapore and their respective contact numbers: http://www.worldwide.edu/ci/singapore/flschools_adult.html
Thank you for using ASK! and do contact us again if you require further assistance.
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