English is known asa magpie languagethat picks up words from almost every other language and civilization it comes in contact with , fromAbenakitoZulu . And although some languages have clearly widened the English vocabulary more than others , modern English dictionaries carry more of a geographic melting mint than ever before .
Listed here — in parliamentary law by number of native speakers — are the world ’s top 20 language ( concord to Ethnologue , a global catalogue of the 7000 language currently in use worldwide ) . Alongside each entry on the list are just some of the row which English has take up from it .
1. CHINESE: 1197 million native speakers (MANDARIN: 848 million)
Linguistically speak , Chinese is a “ macrolanguage ” that comprehend dozens of unlike forms and accent that together have just short of 1.2 billion aboriginal speakers . By farthe most widely spoken variety of Chinese , however , is Mandarin , with 848 million Speaker alone — or roughly 70 percent of China ’s entire universe . According to theOxford English Dictionary , Chinese words have been recorded in English since the mid-16th century , with the other deterrent example admit the like oftai chi(1736),ginseng(1634),yinandyang(1671),kumquat(1699 ) andfeng shui(1797 ) . One of the earliest of all islychee(1588 ) .
2. SPANISH: 399 million
One after part of the man ’s 399 million Spanish speakers live in Mexico , although other importantHispanophone countriesinclude Colombia ( 41 million ) , Argentina ( 38.8 million ) , and Venezuela ( 26.3 million ) ; there are almost as many aboriginal Spanish speakers in the United States ( 34.2 million ) as there are in Spain ( 38.4 million ) . In English , Spanish loan are characterized by terms from munition and the military ( guerrilla , flotilla , armada , machete ) , beast name ( Chinchilla laniger , alligator , roach , iguana ) , and terms from solid food and deglutition ( potato , banana , anchovy , vanilla ) .
3. ENGLISH: 335 million
accord to Ethnologue , the English nomenclature ’s 335 million native speakers include 225 million in the United States , 55 million in the United Kingdom , 19 million in Canada , 15 million in Australia , and just shortly of 4 million in New Zealand . But English is one of the world ’s most far-flung spoken language : mother - tongue speakers are recorded in101 unlike state and territoriesworldwide , 94 of which class it as an prescribed speech . Moreover , if the number of people who habituate English as a second words orlingua francawere included , the global total of English talker would easily rise to over one billion .
4. HINDI: 260 million
The humankind ’s 260 million native Hindi speaker unit are mainly find in India and Nepal , while an estimated 120 million more people in India practice Hindi as a 2d words . As with all Indian spoken communication , a groovy many Hindi loanwords incur in English were take on duringthe British Rajin the nineteenth and former 20th C , but long before then the likes ofrupee(1612),guru(1613),pilau(1609),pukka(1619),myna(1620 ) andjuggernaut(1638 ) had already begun to appear in English schoolbook .
5. ARABIC: 242 million
Like Chinese , Arabic is technicallyanother macrolanguagewhose 242 million aboriginal speakers — circularise across 60 different state worldwide — apply a range of different forms and variety show . The first Arabic loan in English date from the fourteenth one C , although many of the early examples are jolly uncommon and disused words likealkanet(a type of dye , 1343 ) andhardun(an Egyptianagama lizard , 1398 ) . Among the more familiar Arabic contribution to English arehashish(1598),sheikh(1577 ) , andkebab(1698 ) .
6. PORTUGUESE: 203 million
The population of Portugal is just under 11 million , but the globalLusophonepopulation isboosted enormouslyby Brazil ’s 187 million aboriginal speakers . Etymologically , Lusitanian and Spanish loan are often tricky to specialize because of the similarities between the two languages , but according to theOED , Portuguese is creditworthy for the likes ofmarmalade(1480),pagoda(1582),commando(1791),cuspidor(1779 ) , andpiranha(1710 ) .
7. BENGALI: 189 million
After Hindi , Bengali is the secondmost widely spoken speech communication of Indiawith just over 82 million native loudspeaker . But the largest native Bengali population in the world is establish in Bangladesh , where 106 million people utilize it as their first linguistic process . The bit of Bengali words take on into English , however , is relatively small , with only 47 instances — includingjute(1746),almirah(a destitute - standing cupboard , 1788 ) , andjampan(a type of sedan chair , 1828)—recorded in theOED .
8. RUSSIAN: 166 million
One hundred and thirty - seven million of Russian ’s 166 million native speakers live in the Russian Federation , with humble populations in Ukraine ( 8.3 million ) , Belarus ( 6.6 million ) , Uzbekistan ( 4 million ) and Kazakhstan ( 3.8 million ) . The earlier Russian loanword start out to look in English in the 16th century , among themczarortsar(1555),rouble(1557 ) , andbeluga(1591 ) .
9. JAPANESE: 128 million
Japan ’s 128 million people comprise the language ’s entire native utterer population , enough to make it the 9th most widely spoken voice communication in the earthly concern . Japanese word have been appearing in English schoolbook since the sixteenth century , with some of the early loan includingkatanaandwacadash(both types of samurai sword , 1613),miso(1615),shogun(1615 ) , andsake(1687 ) .
10. LAHNDA: 88.7 million
Lahnda is the collective name given to a group of related Punjabi language and dialects speak predominantly in Pakistan . Panjabi words adopted into English are rare , but nevertheless includebhangra(a local traditional dance form and medicine trend , 1965 ) , andgurdwara(a Sikh temple , 1909 ) .
11. JAVANESE: 84.3 million
Java is the most thickly settled island on Earth , home to almost two - one-third of the integral population of Indonesia . More than half of its 139 million inhabitants talk the local Javanese spoken language , enough to earn it a spot just outside of the global top 10 here . The wordsbatik(1880),gamelan(1816 ) andlahar(a volcanic mudflow , 1929 ) are all of Javanese line .
12. GERMAN: 78.1 million
Seventy million of the world ’s 78 million native German speakers live in Germany , with the remaining 8 million found in the likes of Austria , Switzerland , Belgium and Luxembourg . As English itself is classed as a Germanic linguistic communication , historically the two languages portion out a close relationship and ultimately many of the one-time English words could be argue to have German roots . More recent verbatim German loanwords , however , includesauerkraut(1633),pumpernickel(1738),doppelgänger(1851 ) , andfrankfurter(1894 ) .
13. KOREAN: 77.2 million
Korean loanword in English are relatively rarified , with none at all show by theOEDbefore the 19th century . Among the most familiar arekimchi(1898 ) andtaekwondo(1967 ) , while rarified model includekono(a traditional Korean board game , 1895 ) , andkisaeng(the Korean equivalent of a Nipponese geisha girl , 1895 ) .
14. FRENCH: 75.9 million
The world ’s 75 million native Gallic speakers are divided among 51 countries and territories , including 7.3 million in Canada , 4 million in Belgium , and 6 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( home to the 2d largestFrench - speak populationin the existence ) . Thanks largely to the Norman Conquest , roughly three out of every 10 English words are think to have French roots , and the trend has continued ever since : English has adopted more loanwords now from French — absinthe , blancmange , concierge , dauphin , envoi , fête , gourmand , hollandaise , impasse — than from any other hold out language .
15. AND 16. TELUGU: 74 MILLION AND MARATHI: 71.8 MILLION
Telugu and Marathi are India ’s third and fourth most used languages , with just over 74 and just abruptly of 72 million native speakers , respectively . Neither is responsible for for a dandy many English loanwords , however , and the vast absolute majority of those that have found their way into the language incline to be pretty rare and unfamiliar , likedesai(a revenue office or a junior-grade stealer , from Marathi , 1698),chawl(an Native American housing house , from Marathi , 1891 ) , andpodu(an arena of hobo camp cleared for farming , from Telugu 1938 ) . By far the most well known isbandicoot , which isthought to literally mean“pig - rat ” in Telugu .
17. TURKISH: 70.9 million
Sixty - six million of the creation ’s 70 million Turkish talker are in Turkey , with little population found in Greece , Bulgaria , Romania , Cyprus , and Kazakhstan . Turkish words in English date back to the sixteenth C , withvizier(1562),tulip(1578 ) andcaftan(1591 ) being among the early to arrive .
18. TAMIL: 68.8 million
Tamil is India ’s fifth most spoken language , as well as being one of the prescribed spoken language of Sri Lanka and Singapore . Catamaran(1697),pariah(1613),poppadum(1820 ) andpatchouli(1843 ) are all Tamil words , as iscurry(1598 ) .
19. VIETNAMESE: 67.8 million
TheOEDrecords just 14 Vietnamese loanword in English , the early of which is the name of the Vietnamese currency , dông(1824 ) . Among the fistful of others ispho(a traditional Vietnamese soup , 1935),ao dai(a woman ’s luxuriously - necked tunic , 1961 ) , and bothhaoandxu(1968 ) , the name for one - tenth part and one - hundredth of adông , severally .
20. URDU: 64 million
Urdu is the sixth Native American terminology to make the global top 20 , with its planetary total comprised of 51 million aboriginal Amerind speakers , a further 10 million in Pakistan , and little population in Nepal and Mauritius . Urdu words have been adopted into English since the fifteenth century , with surprisingly early example includingmogul(1577),cummerbund(1613 ) , andbungalow(1676 ) . Earliest of all , however , isshrab — an previous Anglo - Indian nickname for an alcohol-dependent drink , the first book of which in English date from 1477 .
