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For most former, current or potential foreign language learners, one of the most important motivations for doing so involves the language’s future relevance—both as the language is being learned and afterward; in other words, the question of What will learning this language do for me?. Of course, this varies from person to person—as do the more general, unintended circumstances of learning—, but some of the most common motivations include business competitiveness, immigration, travel, and personal study/improvement, among others.
Recent language growth trends shed some light on these motivations, i.e. who they propel to learn foreign languages—or, more importantly, which languages appeal most inclusively to the myriad relevancies and learning circumstances. Currently, the three most widely spoken languages are Chinese, Spanish and English, at 1.2 billion, 329 million and 328 million speakers, respectively. Trends of the Internet, perhaps the most inclusive global communication device, are most useful to contextualizing the figures. In 2000, there were roughly 34, 187 and 20 million online users of Chinese, English and Spanish, whereas in 2011 these numbers had risen to 509, 565 and 164 million.
Given its monumental rise in popularity, it seems that Chinese will likely be one language of the future—perhaps the language, i.e. that which comes to dwarf all others. This is, of course, assuming that the Internet’s influence will continue to rise—to blur geographic boundaries—; for as it stands, Chinese’s geographic reach is far smaller than that of English and Spanish.
Related to this is the fact that traditional methods of language spread have been basically unaffected by the Internet—chief among them, immigration. The United States is a prominent example: each year, 700 thousand to one million people legally migrate to the country, and over half of these come from Spanish-speaking countries. Of the estimated 300 thousand undocumented immigrants that arrive each year, the percentage is even higher. Whether intentional or not, this results in a massive rise of both English and Spanish in the U.S., a process not matched by Chinese beyond its originating region. Besides, the process inevitably transfers and acquires more than just language: there is the speakers’ community and culture too, which further motivates and gives relevance to the learners’ efforts.
Because of nations such as the U.S., with their large populations of native Spanish speakers, native English speakers, and bilingual speakers living closely together, some believe that one language of the future might be more fully developed variant of Spanglish. Considering this alongside the Internet’s seemingly indefinite growth, it’s not difficult to imagine a sort of mutant world language combining not only English and Spanish, but also Chinese, among others.
What do you think? Will the Internet, immigration, and other forces ultimately homogenize languages, or will the majority of popular languages maintain their numbers and continue to thrive independently?
