Growing up as a child living in the city with my parents where English and vernacular are the most common languages used for communication, my parents will relentlessly stress the importance of also speaking our “mother tongue”(the language common to our tribe).This they said was our identity, it is who we are as a people because through it we are able to preserve and sustain our culture as a group of people. I am sure the same is the case for most young generations as parents try to make their children understand what it really means to come from a particular place and what better way to do it than through their language.
Indigenous language is a language that is spoken by a particular group of people in a community. This means that sometimes the indigenous language is not always the general language spoken in a country. Tradition has seen elders of a community preserve, teach, and pass down, the customs of their people from one generation to another by teaching the importance of speaking their indigenous language.
It is estimated that over 7000 languages spoken all over the world and the greater number of people who speak these languages are indigenous people. These people do not consider language to be a mere tool of communication but the see it as an instrument of preservation of their culture and identity. However, I would like to point out that it has been said that a huge number of these languages are beginning to fade out as less and less people speak them. People are beginning to choose the widely accepted languages spoken in the world example English, French and German.
12 MOST SPOKEN INDEGINOUS LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE WORLD.
1.ENGLISH:
The English language is the commonest and most widely spoken language in the world. It is spoken by approximately 1,130million people as their native language. English language is also the most accepted language and most taught language in the world too. I am aware that it is even said to be the language spoken in the sky as every pilot must be able to speak it in other to fly a plane. I bet that puts it on a different pedestal than any other language.
2.MANDARIN CHINESE
Did you know that mandarin is the one of the most spoken languages of the world second only to the English language? It has over 1,117million speakers, it is the main language of main China, Singapore and Taiwan and it is also one of the 6 official languages of the UN. It is also one of the most complex languages to learn as it tonal and this means, and the meaning of words changes based on how you say them. The mandarin has over 50,000 characters and one will need about 2500 of those characters to be able to read about 90% of Chinese. One interesting thing about the mandarin is that unlike the English language, there are no verbs, gender specific nouns, tenses, and conjugations. A very good reason to want to consider learning the language don’t you think?
3.HINDI
This is the official language of the Indian nation, but it is also spoken in countries such as Mauritius, Guyana, Fiji, and Nepal. With about 615million speakers, no wonder it’s the third most spoken language in the world. It is named after the Persian word “hind” which means quite literally. Did you know that some English words were borrowed from the Hindi language? Yes, it’s a fact! Words such as Yoga, karma, jungle, guru, bungalow, cheetah and avatar are all of Hindi origin.
4.SPANISH
The number of people who speak the Spanish language is put at 534million, 22 countries in more than 4 continents of the world have Spanish as their official language, impressive right? It is the second most studied language in the world after English language. The second most translated book after the Holy Bible was translated in Spanish. it is projected that in the future 10% of the population in the world will be able to speak Spanish and will just have to spend 22 to 24weeks to have a general knowledge of the Spanish language!
5.FRENCH
This is one amazing fact about the French language that is worthy of note 45% of the words in English language originated from French language. It is spoken in different parts of the world from France to Canada and even a few countries in Africa that were colonized by the French. Interestingly, there are about 280million speakers of the French language. Are you a romantic? Then I think you need to take up French language classes as it is said to be the most romantic language in the world.
6.ARABIC
This is sixth most spoken language in the world with 290 million plus speakers. Let me give you a little fun fact about Arabic, it is written from right to left now that is something worth exploring! You won’t believe it, but the Arabic language has 11 different words that means love. And each word tells of the different stages of falling in love. Also, some words in the Arabic language have been adapted by the English language, Portuguese and Spanish.
7.BENGALI OR BANGLA
This language is spoken in Indian and Bangladesh with over 265million native speakers and it is the second most beautiful and 7th most spoken language the world. In Bangla, the different marks on vowel sound changes the meaning of the word.
8.RUSSIAN
The Russian language is the 8th most spoken language in the world and is spoken by 258million speakers all over the world both native and acquired. The Russian vocabulary has only 200,000words and this is why most of their words have more than one meaning. If you were considering taking up a course in astrology, then you need to know that you must have a basic knowledge of Russian language as it is a requirement you must fulfil.
9.PORTUGUESE
This indigenous language widely spoken in the northern part of Portugal and the northwest of Spain. Be that as it may, out of the 215million people who speak the language only 5 percent of the people actually reside in Portugal. It is the official language of the nation of Brazil, and it is also spoken in some countries like Angola, Cape verse, Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea among others. It would interest you to know that it was in the early 2000s that letters k, w, and y were included into their alphabets.
10.INDONESIA
The Indonesian language is a modern version of the Malay language that is spoken in Malaysia. Even though Indonesian is a compilation of different dialects it makes the list as 9th of the most calm and polite languages in the world. There are over 190million speakers of the language.
11.URDU
This is the national language of Pakistan, and quite close to Hindi. It is considered one of the most spoken languages in the world with about 170million people speaking it. Also, it is said to be the language of love together with the French language.
12.GERMAN
This is one of the most spoken indigenous languages in the world.132 million people speak it and its the official language of these nations, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. The language is the most used language in the European Union. It is most adopted by poets, and it has the flexibility and ability to create mew words.
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VALUE OF INDEGINOUS LANGUAGES.
Most people consider their indigenous language to be a form of their identity with regards to their origin from a particular community but also as a way of carrying on the traditions of their ancestors. In the year 2019 which was said to be the international year of indigenous languages, language was said to be a key symbol in protecting human rights, ensuring good governance, and all round development. However, increasingly it is becoming more and more difficult for these languages to exist as so many factors such as Western education which tends to project more of western culture on students. And this will definitely have a negative impact on our society.
A nation can be more United when its people can share same beliefs with regards to their culture as a people and also communicate with each other freely. I would suggest that more parents teach their kids not just the ways of their people but also how important it is for them to have root in their heritage. This can be done at home by parents and also by infusing the study of indigenous languages in our school curriculum.
Everyone wants to have a sense of belonging, no matter where they come from. I know I am proud of my heritage, and you are too. Together, we can ensure that we keep our languages and cultures alive by going a step further to make sure we are the channel through which they are passed down.
