ESL-Ethnologue List List

Professor   Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:21 am GMT
This list gives the most spoken languages in terms of secondary speakers the world according to the SIL-Ethnologue, the most prestigious reference for languages around the World. It is based on the 16th edition (2009):

1. French (190 million)
2. English (150 million)
3. Russian (125 million)
4. Portuguese (28 million)
5. Arabic (21 million)
6. Spanish (20 million)
7. Chinese (20 million)
8. German (9 million)
9. Japanese (8 million)

http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm
Zorro   Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:42 am GMT
This is NOT a SIL-Ethnologue list. This list is based in a George Weber report (1997). This list is completely wrong.

For example, English has more secondary speakers. There are more secondary speakers, only in Asia.

George Weber consider for French all people that can say "Bonjour". These data are completely inflated. I guess he is a Francophile.

Francophonie considers that there are 195 million of French speakers, including secondary ones (Ethnologue consider only 173).


Chinese has over 200 million of secondary speakers, only in China, not 20. Spanish the same: only in European Union are 20 million of secondary speakers. You must add USA, Brazil, Philippines and all other countries.
http://20mars.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/FICHE_03_Nombre_de_francophones.pdf
Reynard   Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:29 am GMT
<< Chinese has over 200 million of secondary speakers, only in China, not 20. Spanish the same: only in European Union are 20 million of secondary speakers. You must add USA, Brazil, Philippines and all other countries. >>

Up to now you still can't distinguish secondary from non-native speakers.

Secondary speakers of Spanish are from Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aragonese, Leonese, Asturian, Guarani, Quechuan, Aymaran, Quiche, and Nahuatl speakers only.
Reynard   Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:55 pm GMT
Zorro,

I don't know why you like the Ethnologue webpage whose headquarters is in Texas near the Mexican border. You must be more serious: all the data are old and some of them are wrong.

Obviously, the SIL-Ethnologue list of the first message is right. It can't be manipulated by La Francophonie. This Institute is not so powerful.

Well, Spanish according to an updated report, Conseil économique et social de Paris, is spoken by 500 million people. The data are from 2000. So, I think that in 2009 can be spoken by 650 million.

http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/francophonie.htm
Reynard   Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:13 pm GMT
Zorro,

I don't know why you like the Ethnologue webpage whose headquarters is in Texas near the Mexican border. You must be more serious: all the data are old and some of them are wrong.

Obviously, the SIL-Ethnologue list of the first message is right. It can't be manipulated by La Francophonie. This Institute is not so powerful.

Well, French according to an updated report, Conseil économique et social de Paris, is spoken by 500 million people. The data are from 2000. So, I think that in 2009 can be spoken by 650 million.

http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/francophonie.htm