The Language Edge

It’s my personal belief that learning a language can greatly influence the life you live. When you speak another language, you get introduced to a whole new world that you didn’t know existed. Various media such as songs, movies, Tv shows become more exciting to watch and are more plentiful when consumed in multiple language. This occurred to me when I was bored watching the same English media and I found most of it quite cliché and predictable. As fate would have it, I stumbled upon the Holy Grail of Eastern media...anime. I remember the first anime I watched, Death Note, and my oh my I was hooked within the first episode. The plot, visuals and dialogue were very refreshing and still today am glad I started watching anime. It also ignited a fire in me to learn Japanese as I found it an interesting language to learn. With each passing day, I learnt simple phrases and still continue to do so up to today.

Now to the matter at hand. When it comes to work and business, a second language can give you an edge that will put you ahead of your colleagues. Let’s say you have a Foreign business person who wants to work with the company you work in. The guy is very interested in working with you guys but communication is a problem. Chances are there are few people who will understand let alone converse in that person’s language. So if you are that person who is able to converse with that person and land him as a partner or client...guess who will be getting a promotion soon.

Without further ado, here are some of the best languages you can learn in 2020:

1.) Mandarin Chinese - The business language of the future

Mandarin Chinese is the world's most spoken language currently. It has over one billion native speakers and it's also the most spoken language in China, the country with the second-largest economy in the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the country's economy was seven times larger in 2015 than it was in 2000, and it continues growing. Chinese businessmen and women can now be found throughout the world, and learning Mandarin Chinese is the perfect window into their impressively successful, rapidly expanding world.

2.) German - The European business language

Germany is currently the European country with the most thriving economy and promising future with a GDP of over 2.4 trillion Euros despite the European slump. Apart from the US, Germany is the largest single export market for British goods and remains Europe's largest economy.

It's no surprise that employers (and European employers in particular) are interested in hiring employees with strong German skills.

3.) Arabic - The gateway to the Middle East

With nearly 300 million native speakers, the Arabic language is the world's fifth most spoken language and your gateway into a region of the world where many businessmen only speak Arabic.

The oil, construction and real estate businesses have led many Arabic executives to become the richest people in the world. In addition, investments from the Arabic world have played a crucial role in European markets, especially after the debt crisis of 2010.

4.) Spanish - The language of the fastest growing American market segment

The prominence of Spanish in the Americas and Europe has led Spanish to becoming one of the world's most spoken languages with over 420 million native speakers and a growing number of non-native speakers. It's an official, national, or widely spoken language in 44 countries, including the United States. Believe it or not, the United States has recently been cited as the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, only after Mexico.

 5.) Portuguese - A continent of opportunity

Portuguese is one of the top 10 most spoken languages in the world and the second most spoken language in Latin America. There are over 215 million Portuguese speakers worldwide in Brazil,Portugal and parts of Africa, and Portuguese immigrant communities can be found in nearly every large city. According to UNESCO, Portuguese is the language with the largest potential to become the international language of Africa and South America.

With its big population of native speakers, the wealth of untapped Brazilian natural resources and its presence on the internet (it's currently the fifth most spoken language online), you can bet that learning Portuguese is a great career move.

6.) Russian - The language of diplomacy and trade

Russian's importance is not only due to its large number of native speakers, but also to the undeniable political and economic power of Russia. As the top oil producer in the world, Russia consistently ranks among the top ten international business leaders and an important market for US goods. Russian is also still widely spoken in many of the post-Soviet states, which provides access to fresh and up-in-coming business potential. It's an especially useful language in the fields of engineering and IT and is the seventh most used language online.

7.) French - The former English

French is the official language of over 29 countries throughout the world and is the second-most widely spoken first language in the European Union. The colonial history of France has helped spread this language throughout the world and, as in the case of English, has led to a situation in which there are more non-native French speakers than native speakers.

French was the world's most dominant language before English stole the spotlight and learning French can open the door to businesses on nearly every continent. It has also been cited as one of the most spoken languages on the Internet and serves as one of the United Nations' six official languages.

8.) Japanese - The language of robotics

As one of the world's fifteen most spoken languages, Japanese is the most geographically concentrated language since over 124 million of its total speakers live in Japan and the Okinawa island group. The dense population of these areas contributes to its large number of speakers.
Don't let its concentration fool you, though: the Japanese economy is actually the third largest in the world and provides a wealth of innovative opportunities.

Japan remains at the forefront of the cutting-edge robotics and electronics scene, and speaking Japanese is ideal for many opportunities in these fields. According to Wikipedia, Japan employs over 250,0000 industrial robot workers, and that number is estimated to jump to over one million as the expected revenue for robotics increases to nearly $70 billion by 2025.

 9.)Korean - The language of trust and technology

With over 77 million native speakers, Korean is one of the world's 15 most spoken languages. Korean is the official language of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea, although each nation uses different forms. Apart from being spoken in North and South Korea, there is also a large population of Korean speakers in China.

The Korean culture places high value on personally knowing your business partner, so learning Korean can go a long way to gaining the trust of your Korean partners. In 2014, there were over 6,000 total US job postings asking for Korean.

 10.)  Hindi - One of India's official languages

The standard and Sanskrit register of the Hindustani language known as Hindi is one of India's official languages, and the large population of Hindi speakers has led it to become the fourth most spoken language in the world.

India is consistently ranked among the world's fastest-growing economies, and some economic analysts expect it to overtake many developed economies in the coming years.