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A language that is geographically widespread and makes it possible for people from a variety of language communities to communicate is referred to as a “world language” in the field of sociolinguistics. The term “world language” can also be referred to as “global language” or “international language.” In some contexts, the word is also used to refer to built varieties of international auxiliary languages like Esperanto.
The most widely spoken language in the world, and according to some reports, the only one, is English. Beyond that, there is no general agreement among scholars over which languages are considered to be world languages; Arabic, French, Russian, and Spanish are some of the other likely candidates. There are some authors who believe that Latin was once a major language spoken all throughout the world.
Arabic
According to Salikoko Mufwene, Arabic is a world language, despite the fact that it is a second-tier language after English and French due to its limited use as a lingua franca. The reasoning behind this description is that Arabic is a liturgical language among Muslim communities all over the world.
Mohamed Benrabah criticises this argument due to the fact that use of the language in rituals does not necessarily translate into spoken proficiency outside religious contexts. Despite this, Mohamed Benrabah still classifies it as a world language on the grounds that it is a super central language in de Swaan’s global language system.
English
The vast majority of scholars agree that English is one of the world’s languages, and some, like the British linguists David Crystal and David Graddol, even go as far as to say that it is the only language that matters. However, authors who take a pluralist approach still believe that English holds a special place as the dominant language in the world. For instance, in Abram de Swaan’s global language system, English is the only language that holds the hypercentral position, which is the highest position in the hierarchy. “[t]here is essentially no descriptive criteria or indicator for the international or global rank of a language which, if applied to today’s languages globally, does not position English at the top,” as stated by German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon [de]. Crystal focuses on the geographical dispersion of the English language, whereas Ammon and Mufwene both argue that the usage of English as a lingua franca is what distinguishes it as the most important language in the world.
It has been said that French is a world language because of its position as a supercentral language in de Swaan’s global language system. Additionally, Salikoko Mufwene considers it to be a world language due to the fact that it is used as a lingua franca or vernacular by people who are not ethnically or nationally associated with it outside of France.
It has been determined that Russian is a world language due to the fact that it is a supercentral language in de Swaan’s global language system. Additionally, Salikoko Mufwene has determined that Russian is a world language due to the fact that it is used as a vernacular or lingua franca by people who are not native speakers of the language outside of Russia.
The fact that English is recognised as an official language in 59 countries gives it the title of the most widely used official language in the world. These countries are distributed as follows: 24 are in Africa, 16 are in the Americas, 12 are in Oceania, 4 are in Asia, and 3 are located in Europe. It is important to point out that the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are the only countries in which English is not the de jure, or legal, language; yet, English is the de facto language in all of these countries. Because these nations were all formerly a part of the British Empire, English has developed into the dominant tongue in the majority of them and serves as the official language. Eritrea and Rwanda, on the other hand, defy this trend and prove that exceptions can be made. In addition, the language of the Commonwealth of Nations as well as the European Union, the United Nations, and the International Olympic Committee all recognise English as an official language.
Spanish
As a result of its position as a supercentral language in de Swaan’s global language system, Spanish has been designated as a world language. Additionally, the Spanish language is regarded as a world language by the German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon [de] due to the fact that it is used as a foreign language all over the world. Because it is spoken as a vernacular language by people who are not ethnically or nationally associated with it outside of Spain, Salikoko Mufwene considers it to be a world language as well. However, he places it in the second tier of world languages, after the English and French languages, due to its limited use as a lingua franca.
French
French is the official language of the second highest number of countries after English. There are 29 countries in the world that have recognised French as their official language. In 13 of these countries, French is the only official language; in the other 16 countries, it is one of the official languages, but it is shared with one or more other languages. The following is a breakdown of its official status according to the continents: There are 21 countries located in Africa, 5 countries in Europe, 2 countries in the Americas, and one country in Oceania. These nations have a combined total population of 434,578,054, according to the latest estimates. Countries that were once under French colonial rule now use French, along with English, as their official language. There are now a total of 12 dependent entities that have designated French as their official language. These locations consist of one town in India, one TAAF District in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, six Overseas Collectivities, two British Crown Dependencies, two British Overseas Territories, two British Union Territories, and two French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
Conclusion
Official languages are those recognised by a region or country. Official languages are used in legal, administrative, and written government communication. Official languages don’t control how civilians communicate, but how the government does. 101 countries have 2 or more official languages, and 77 have 1. This article examines the world’s top 3 official languages.
