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Website Index :
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Demographics:
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Languages of the World
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This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population speaking that language.
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Country
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Languages
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Afghanistan: |
Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
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Albania: |
Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
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Algeria: |
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
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American Samoa: |
Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note:
most people are bilingual
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Andorra: |
Catalan (official), French, Castilian
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Angola: |
Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
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Anguilla: |
English (official)
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Antigua and Barbuda: |
English (official), local dialects
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Argentina: |
Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
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Armenia: |
Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
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Aruba: |
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
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Australia: |
English, native languages
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Austria: |
German
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Azerbaijan: |
Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)
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Bahamas, The: |
English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
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Bahrain: |
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
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Bangladesh: |
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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Barbados: |
English
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Belarus: |
Byelorussian, Russian, other
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Belgium: |
Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
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Belize: |
English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole
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Benin: |
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
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Bermuda: |
English (official), Portuguese
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Bhutan: |
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
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Bolivia: |
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: |
Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
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Botswana: |
English (official), Setswana
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Brazil: |
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
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British Virgin Islands: |
English (official)
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Brunei: |
Malay (official), English, Chinese
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Bulgaria: |
Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
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Burkina Faso: |
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
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Burma: |
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
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Burundi: |
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
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Cambodia: |
Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
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Cameroon: |
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
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Canada: |
English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5%
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Cape Verde: |
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
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Cayman Islands: |
English
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Central African Republic: |
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili
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Chad: |
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects
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Chile: |
Spanish
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China: |
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
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Christmas Island: |
English, Chinese, Malay
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Cocos (Keeling) Islands: |
English, Malay
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Colombia: |
Spanish
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Comoros: |
Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
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Congo, Democratic Republic of the: |
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
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Congo, Republic of the: |
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)
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Cook Islands: |
English (official), Maori
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Costa Rica: |
Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
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Cote d'Ivoire: |
French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken
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Croatia: |
Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German)
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Cuba: |
Spanish
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Cyprus: |
Greek, Turkish, English
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Czech Republic: |
Czech
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Denmark: |
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note:
English is the predominant second language
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Djibouti: |
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
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Dominica: |
English (official), French patois
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Dominican Republic: |
Spanish
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Ecuador: |
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
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Egypt: |
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
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El Salvador: |
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
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Equatorial Guinea: |
Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
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Eritrea: |
Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
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Estonia: |
Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other
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Ethiopia: |
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
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Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): |
English
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Faroe Islands: |
Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
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Fiji: |
English (official), Fijian, Hindustani
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Finland: |
Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities
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France: |
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
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French Guiana: |
French
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French Polynesia: |
French (official), Tahitian (official)
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Gabon: |
French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
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Gambia, The: |
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
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Gaza Strip: |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
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Georgia: |
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note:
Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
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Germany: |
German
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Ghana: |
English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
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Gibraltar: |
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian
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Greece: |
Greek 99% (official), English, French
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Greenland: |
Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English
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Grenada: |
English (official), French patois
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Guadeloupe: |
French (official) 99%, Creole patois
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Guam: |
English, Chamorro, Japanese
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Guatemala: |
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
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Guernsey: |
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
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Guinea: |
French (official), each ethnic group has its own language
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Guinea-Bissau: |
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
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Guyana: |
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
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Haiti: |
French (official), Creole (official)
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Holy See (Vatican City): |
Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
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Honduras: |
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
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Hong Kong: |
Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official
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Hungary: |
Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
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Iceland: |
Icelandic
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India: |
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India)
note:
24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible
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Indonesia: |
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
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Iran: |
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
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Iraq: |
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
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Ireland: |
English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
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Israel: |
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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Italy: |
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
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Jamaica: |
English, Creole
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Japan: |
Japanese
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Jersey: |
English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
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Jordan: |
Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
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Kazakhstan: |
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66%
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Kenya: |
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
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Kiribati: |
English (official), I-Kiribati
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Korea, North: |
Korean
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Korea, South: |
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
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Kuwait: |
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
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Kyrgyzstan: |
Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian - official language
note:
in May 2000, the Kyrgyzstani legislature made Russian an official language, equal in status to Kirghiz
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Laos: |
Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
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Latvia: |
Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
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Lebanon: |
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
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Lesotho: |
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
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Liberia: |
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
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Libya: |
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
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Liechtenstein: |
German (official), Alemannic dialect
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Lithuania: |
Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian
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Luxembourg: |
Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
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Macau: |
Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)
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Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of: |
Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%
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Madagascar: |
French (official), Malagasy (official)
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Malawi: |
English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally
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Malaysia: |
Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan
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Maldives: |
Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
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Mali: |
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
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Malta: |
Maltese (official), English (official)
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Man, Isle of: |
English, Manx Gaelic
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Marshall Islands: |
English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese
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Martinique: |
French, Creole patois
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Mauritania: |
Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French
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Mauritius: |
English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori
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Mayotte: |
Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population
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Mexico: |
Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
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Micronesia, Federated States of: |
English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean
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Moldova: |
Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
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Monaco: |
French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
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Mongolia: |
Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
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Montserrat: |
English
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Morocco: |
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
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Mozambique: |
Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects
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Namibia: |
English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama
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Nauru: |
Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
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Nepal: |
Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995)
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Netherlands: |
Dutch
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Netherlands Antilles: |
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
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New Caledonia: |
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
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New Zealand: |
English (official), Maori (official)
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Nicaragua: |
Spanish (official)
note:
English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
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Niger: |
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
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Nigeria: |
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
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Niue: |
Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English
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Norfolk Island: |
English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
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Northern Mariana Islands: |
English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note:
86% of population speaks a language other than English at home
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Norway: |
Norwegian (official)
note:
small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
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Oman: |
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
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Pakistan: |
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
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Palau: |
English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official)
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Panama: |
Spanish (official), English 14%
note:
many Panamanians bilingual
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Papua New Guinea: |
English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region
note:
715 indigenous languages
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Paraguay: |
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
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Peru: |
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara
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Philippines: |
two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English, eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocan, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense
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Pitcairn Islands: |
English (official), Pitcairnese (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)
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Poland: |
Polish
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Portugal: |
Portuguese
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Puerto Rico: |
Spanish, English
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Qatar: |
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
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Reunion: |
French (official), Creole widely used
|
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Romania: |
Romanian, Hungarian, German
|
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Russia: |
Russian, other
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Rwanda: |
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
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Saint Helena: |
English
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Saint Kitts and Nevis: |
English
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Saint Lucia: |
English (official), French patois
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Saint Pierre and Miquelon: |
French
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: |
English, French patois
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Samoa: |
Samoan (Polynesian), English
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San Marino: |
Italian
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Sao Tome and Principe: |
Portuguese (official)
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Saudi Arabia: |
Arabic
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Senegal: |
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
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Seychelles: |
English (official), French (official), Creole
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Sierra Leone: |
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
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Singapore: |
Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official)
|
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Slovakia: |
Slovak (official), Hungarian
|
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Slovenia: |
Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 6%, other 3%
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Solomon Islands: |
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note:
120 indigenous languages
|
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Somalia: |
Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
|
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South Africa: |
11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
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Spain: |
Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
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Sri Lanka: |
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note:
English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
|
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Sudan: |
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note:
program of "Arabization" in process
|
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Suriname: |
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
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Svalbard: |
Russian, Norwegian
|
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Swaziland: |
English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
|
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Sweden: |
Swedish
note:
small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities
|
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Switzerland: |
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, other 8.9%
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Syria: |
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
|
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Taiwan:
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Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
|
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Tajikistan: |
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
|
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Tanzania: |
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note:
Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
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Thailand: |
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
|
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Togo: |
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
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Tokelau: |
Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English
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Tonga: |
Tongan, English
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Trinidad and Tobago: |
English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese
|
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Tunisia: |
Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
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Turkey: |
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek
|
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Turkmenistan: |
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
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Turks and Caicos Islands: |
English (official)
|
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Tuvalu: |
Tuvaluan, English
|
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Uganda: |
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
|
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Ukraine: |
Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
|
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United Arab Emirates: |
Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
|
|
United Kingdom: |
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
|
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United States: |
English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)
|
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Uruguay: |
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
|
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Uzbekistan: |
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
|
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Vanuatu: |
English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)
|
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Venezuela: |
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
|
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Vietnam: |
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
|
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Virgin Islands: |
English (official), Spanish, Creole
|
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Wallis and Futuna: |
French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)
|
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West Bank: |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
|
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Western Sahara: |
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
|
|
Yemen: |
Arabic
|
|
Yugoslavia: |
Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
|
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Zambia: |
English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
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Zimbabwe: |
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
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