Yes
but why we'd learn English ?
I often think about it !
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 10:44 PM, Josney Ribeiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 10. French -- Number of speakers: 129 million.
>
> Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in
> tons of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Haiti.
> Oh, and France too. We're actually very lucky that French is so popular,
> because without it, we might have been stuck with Dutch Toast, Dutch Fries,
> and Dutch kissing (ew!).
>
> To say "hello" in French, say "bon jour" (bone-JOOR).
>
>
>
> 9. Malay—Indonesian Number of speakers: 159 million.
>
> Malay-Indonesian is spoken - surprise - in Malaysia and Indonesia.
> Actually, we kindly fudged the numbers on this one because there are many
> dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they're all
> pretty much based on the same root language, which makes it the ninth
> most-spoken in the world.Indonesia is a fascinating place; a nation made up
> of over 13,000 islands it is the sixth most populated country in the world.
> Malaysia borders on two of the larger parts of Indonesia (including the
> island of Borneo), and is mostly known for its capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
>
>
> To say "hello" in Indonesian, say "Selamat pagi" (se-LA-maht PA-gee).
>
>
>
> 8. Portuguese -- Number of speakers: 191 million.
>
> Think of Portuguese as the little language that could. In the 12th Century,
> Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over the world
> with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco DA Gama and Prince Henry
> the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator . . . Could you imagine
> if a guy named "Prince Henry the Navigator" became a florist?) Because
> Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the language established
> itself all over the world, especially in Brazil (where it's the national
> language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.
>
> To say "hello" in Portuguese, say "Bom dia" (bohn DEE-ah).
>
>
>
> 7. Bengali -- Number of speakers: 211 million.
>
> In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people, just about everybody
> speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India
> (where the population is growing so fast, just breathing the air can get you
> pregnant), the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than
> most people would expect.
>
> To say "hello" in Bengali, say "Ei Je" (EYE-jay).
>
>
>
> *6. Arabic -- Number of speakers: 246 million. *
>
> *Arabic, one of the world's oldest languages, is spoken in the Middle
> East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq,
> Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Furthermore, because Arabic is the
> language of the Koran, millions of Moslems in other countries speak Arabic
> as well. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in fact, that in
> 1974 it was made the sixth official language of the United Nations. *
>
> *To say "hello" in Arabic, say "Al salaam a'alaykum" (Ahl sah-LAHM ah
> ah-LAY-kum) .*
>
>
>
> *5. Russian -- Number of speakers: 277 million. *
>
> *Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov Smirnoff are among the
> millions of Russian speakers out there. Sure, we used to think of them as
> our Commie enemies. Now we think of them as our Commie friends. One of the
> six languages in the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother Country,
> but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. (to name just a few places).
> *
>
> *To say "hello" in Russian, say "Zdravstvuite" (ZDRAST-vet- yah). *
> *4. Spanish -- Number of speakers: 392 million. *
>
> *Aside from all of those kids who take it in high school, Spanish is
> spoken in just about every South American and Central American country, not
> to mention Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. There is a particular interest in
> Spanish in the U.S., as many English words are borrowed from the language,
> including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and taco Grande
> supreme. *
>
> *To say "hello" in Spanish, say "Hola" (OH-la).*
>
> * *
>
> *3. Hindustani -- Number of speakers: 497 million. *
>
> *Hindustani is the primary language of India's crowded population, and it
> encompasses a huge number of dialects (of which the most commonly spoken is
> Hindi). While many predict that the population of India will soon surpass
> that of China, the prominence of English in India prevents Hindustani from
> surpassing the most popular language in the world. If you're interested in
> learning a little Hindi, there's a very easy way: rent an Indian movie. The
> film industry in India is the most prolific in the world, making thousands
> of action/romance/ musicals every year. *
>
> *To say "hello" in Hindustani, say "Namaste" (Nah-MAH-stay) .*
>
>
>
> *2. English -- Number of speakers: 508 million *
>
> *While English doesn't have the most speakers, it is the official language
> of more countries than any other language. Its speakers hail from all around
> the world, including the U.S., Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean,
> Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada. We'd tell you more about English, but
> you probably feel pretty comfortable with the language already. Let's just
> move on to the most popular language in the world. *
>
> *To say "hello" in English, say "What's up, freak?" (watz-UP-freek) .*
>
>
>
> 1. Mandarin -- Number of speakers: 1 billion+.
>
> Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken language on the planet is based
> in the most populated country on the planet, China. Beating second-place
> English by a 2 to 1 ratio, but don't let that lull you into thinking that
> Mandarin is easy to learn. Speaking Mandarin can be really tough, because
> each word can be pronounced in four ways (or "tones"), and a beginner will
> invariably have trouble distinguishing one tone from another. But if over a
> billion people could do it, so could you. Try saying hello!
>
> To say "hello" in Mandarin, say "Ni hao" (Nee HaOW). ("Hao" is pronounced
> as one syllable, but the tone requires that you let your voice drop midway,
> and then raise it again at the
>
>
> >
>
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