Dear anyone,
Your duolingo forum registration isn't automaticaly transferred to duome forum so in order to join duome forums you need to register with your existing or any other username and email; in any case it's advised that you choose a new password for the forum.
~ Duome Team

New languages coming to Duolingo Topic is solved

We are not Duolingo, we cannot solve any problems directly, but we can provide community-based advice.


User avatar
panyamnyenyekevu
Ukraine

New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by panyamnyenyekevu »

I am noticing languages not yet added, when I click on “other languages” from the browser form of duolingo.

Seeing these listings there makes it look more official than just being on duolingo’s incubator site.

In just a few days, supposedly, on 6.30:

Cantonese for Mandarin,

At the end of July:

German for Mandarin

And at some point: (there are dates listed for some of these if you click on the flags, presumably mirroring dates listed on the incubator site).

English for:

*Bengali

*Tamil

*Telugu

For Russian speakers:

*Swedish

*Ukrainian

For Turkish speakers:

*French

For Arabic speakers:

*Spanish

For Korean speakers:

*Chinese

🇺🇦

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

I wish they would stop focusing on courses with no English involved (like Swedish from Russian wtf) and instead added the missing European national languages (Bulgarian, Slovak, Slovene, Albanian, and the Baltic countries' languages) 🤬

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

btw the Swedish for Russian course has been in the incubator since 2015 already 🙄

and the Indian languages since 2016 :?

User avatar
Sofia222677

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Sofia222677 »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:49 am

I wish they would stop focusing on courses with no English involved (like Swedish from Russian wtf) and instead added the missing European national languages (Bulgarian, Slovak, Slovene, Albanian, and the Baltic countries' languages) 🤬

The world and DL do not revolve just around Europe. Why should Duolingo prioritize European languages over non-European ones?

:it: N - :gb: B2 (working towards C1) - Learning :de: - Dabbling in :cn:, :ru:

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Sofia222677 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:17 pm
LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:49 am

I wish they would stop focusing on courses with no English involved (like Swedish from Russian wtf) and instead added the missing European national languages (Bulgarian, Slovak, Slovene, Albanian, and the Baltic countries' languages) 🤬

The world and DL do not revolve just around Europe. Why should Duolingo prioritize European languages over non-European ones?

they should prioritize courses from English (or teaching English) because that's by far the most widely spoken language
if you do a course from English it's available to people all around the world whereas Swedish for Russian or French for Turkish has a very limited audience
ofc there is nothing wrong with those courses existing it's just that I don't understand why they can't add the missing languages first and only then focus on courses teaching existing languages from other existing languages

User avatar
Sofia222677

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Sofia222677 »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:25 pm

they should prioritize courses from English (or teaching English) because that's by far the most widely spoken language
if you do a course from English it's available to people all around the world whereas Swedish for Russian or French for Turkish has a very limited audience

Since your argument revolves around the size of the prospective audience, are you really convinced there are more people looking to learn small European languages (which you explicitely advocated for in your previous comment) than Koreans looking to learn Mandarin or Mandarin speakers wanting to learn Cantonese? From a business point of view, it's perfectly sensible for Duolingo to prioritize courses not from English but still from languages with many speakers over courses of the European languages you wished for.

:it: N - :gb: B2 (working towards C1) - Learning :de: - Dabbling in :cn:, :ru:

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Sofia222677 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:45 pm
LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:25 pm

they should prioritize courses from English (or teaching English) because that's by far the most widely spoken language
if you do a course from English it's available to people all around the world whereas Swedish for Russian or French for Turkish has a very limited audience

Since your argument revolves around the size of the prospective audience, are you really convinced there are more people looking to learn small European languages (which you explicitely advocated for in your previous comment) than Koreans looking to learn Mandarin or Mandarin speakers wanting to learn Cantonese? From a business point of view, it's perfectly sensible for Duolingo to prioritize courses not from English but still from languages with many speakers over courses of the European languages you wished for.

it's not about how many people are gonna learn in total but rather how widely it will be available, like Chinese might be more spoken but it's spoken only in 1 place whereas English is spoken all around the world (and Koreans can already learn Mandarin from English)

and it's ok to add courses for regional languages that don't involve English (like Cantonese for Mandarin or Catalan/Guarani for Spanish) or Ukrainian for Russian would be ok

what I don't like is when they add random languages for random languages like Russian for Turkish or Esperanto for Portuguese, that makes no sense (even from a business point of view)

also many courses like Yiddish or Haitian Creole make no sense for business (probably most people don't even know that such languages exist) but they're still adding them (which is a good thing obv)

User avatar
Sofia222677

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Sofia222677 »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

it's not about how many people are gonna learn in total but rather how widely it will be available, like Chinese might be more spoken but it's spoken only in 1 place whereas English is spoken all around the world (and Koreans can already learn Mandarin from English)

Duolingo is a business, and businesses think in terms of people willing to buy your product. Let's say there are 500K people willing to do the Slovak course, and 5 million Chinese willing to do the German course. It would be outlandish to prioritize the former over the latter, just because the language of the latter "is spoken in just one place".

edit to add:
Besides, based on your logic, DL shouldn't have created courses of non-English languages from other languages, which thankfully isn't the case. Have you considered that not 100% of Koreans are fluent or comfortable enough with English? My country, Italy, is not renowned for its English proficiency, and thankfully for Italians there are also courses of Spanish, French and German from Italian.

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

what I don't like is when they add random languages for random languages like Russian for Turkish or Esperanto for Portuguese, that makes no sense (even from a business point of view)

Russian for Turkish speakers is not random at all. Russians make up a sizeable share of the tourists in Turkey, even more so currently given the recent events.

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

also many courses like Yiddish or Haitian Creole make no sense for business

They belong in the same category as Navajo: languages on the verge of extinction, and one of DL's missions is to teach them.

:it: N - :gb: B2 (working towards C1) - Learning :de: - Dabbling in :cn:, :ru:

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Sofia222677 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:46 pm
LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

it's not about how many people are gonna learn in total but rather how widely it will be available, like Chinese might be more spoken but it's spoken only in 1 place whereas English is spoken all around the world (and Koreans can already learn Mandarin from English)

Duolingo is a business, and businesses think in terms of people willing to buy your product. Let's say there are 500K people willing to do the Slovak course, and 5 million Chinese willing to do the German course. It would be outlandish to prioritize the former over the latter, just because the language of the latter "is spoken in just one place".

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

what I don't like is when they add random languages for random languages like Russian for Turkish or Esperanto for Portuguese, that makes no sense (even from a business point of view)

Russian for Turkish speakers is not random at all. Russians make up a sizeable share of the tourists in Turkey, even more so currently given the recent events.

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

also many courses like Yiddish or Haitian Creole make no sense for business

They belong in the same category as Navajo: languages on the verge of extinction, and one of the DL's missions is to teach them.

well the point is that German and Russian are already available for English speakers so it would make more sense to prioritize languages that aren't yet available for any speakers

and clearly business isn't the only factor in play, like for example Finnish was like the most requested language for years and they only recently added it (whereas they have no problem adding High Valyrian or 4 Esperanto courses)

also Haitian Creole is hardly on the verge of extinction, it's the main language of Haiti and more people speak it than the European languages I mentioned not yet added

User avatar
Drymice

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Drymice »

Sofia222677 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:46 pm
LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

also many courses like Yiddish or Haitian Creole make no sense for business

They belong in the same category as Navajo: languages on the verge of extinction, and one of DL's missions is to teach them.

I'm just curious; does anyine know if the yiddish and hatian creole courdses are btter than the navajo (it was only one checkpoint, and I didn't learn anything really.)

I'm as dry as a mouse.

User avatar
Sofia222677

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Sofia222677 »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:13 pm

well the point is that German and Russian are already available for English speakers so it would make more sense to prioritize languages that aren't yet available for any speakers

As I said, businesses look at the number of people who will buy their products. A course of a major language from a non-English language with many speakers will bring them more ad revenues and subscriptions (and ultimately more $$) than a course of, say, Albanian.

Also, have you read my edit? Not all people on the planet are 100% fluent in or comfortable enough with English. And Duolingo clearly intends to cater also to learners not fluent in English.

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:13 pm

and clearly business isn't the only factor in play, like for example Finnish was like the most requested language for years and they only recently added it (whereas they have no problem adding High Valyrian or 4 Esperanto courses)

You have to bear in mind that DL courses used to be created by volunteers (aka users who created the vast majority of its courses for free).

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:13 pm

also Haitian Creole is hardly on the verge of extinction, it's the main language of Haiti and more people speak it than the European languages I mentioned not yet added

I stand corrected on this, but this further proves my point.
edit to add: the Haitian Creole course had been in the incubator for 4 years before its realease, which indicates it was started by volunteers. Italian from German has also been released recently and I know for a fact it had been in the incubator for several years, that is to say it was also created by volunteers (who had the option to apply for a paid position when DL ditched the volunteer scheme).

:it: N - :gb: B2 (working towards C1) - Learning :de: - Dabbling in :cn:, :ru:

User avatar
pawndemic
Germany

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by pawndemic »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:24 pm

what I don't like is when they add random languages for random languages like Russian for Turkish or Esperanto for Portuguese, that makes no sense (even from a business point of view)

Well, that it is a very subjective view. What might be for you a random combination of languages could be for others very a desired one. I consider all combinations of languages which I don't want to learn as random.

But I guess, all this business talk is not very important. As I understand, courses in Duolingo were created from people who want to create one. That was not a top-down strategy. Maybe now their resources of english speaking people to create other courses for English speakers are limited. Therefore they offer new courses of language combinations where they have the needed human ressources available.

native: 🇩🇪, B2 - C1: 🇬🇧 🇪🇸, A1: 🇫🇷 🇮🇹

Upbeat 88
Mexico

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Upbeat 88 »

panyamnyenyekevu wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:17 am

I am noticing languages not yet added, when I click on “other languages” from the browser form of duolingo.

Seeing these listings there makes it look more official than just being on duolingo’s incubator site.

In just a few days, supposedly, on 6.30:

Cantonese for Mandarin,

At the end of July:

German for Mandarin

And at some point: (there are dates listed for some of these if you click on the flags, presumably mirroring dates listed on the incubator site).

English for:

*Bengali

*Tamil

*Telugu

For Russian speakers:

*Swedish

*Ukrainian

For Turkish speakers:

*French

For Arabic speakers:

*Spanish

For Korean speakers:

*Chinese

yes we need english for the ukrianan refugees coming over here to live because not everone knows Ukranian yet

Upbeat 88
Mexico

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Upbeat 88 »

LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:25 pm
Sofia222677 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:17 pm
LICA98 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:49 am

I wish they would stop focusing on courses with no English involved (like Swedish from Russian wtf) and instead added the missing European national languages (Bulgarian, Slovak, Slovene, Albanian, and the Baltic countries' languages) 🤬

The world and DL do not revolve just around Europe. Why should Duolingo prioritize European languages over non-European ones?

they should prioritize courses from English (or teaching English) because that's by far the most widely spoken language
if you do a course from English it's available to people all around the world whereas Swedish for Russian or French for Turkish has a very limited audience
ofc there is nothing wrong with those courses existing it's just that I don't understand why they can't add the missing languages first and only then focus on courses teaching existing languages from other existing languages

umm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm do forget spanish

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]Drymice[/mention] I can't speak for Creole, but Yiddish has 5 checkpoints and also teaches you the characters. It is a first tree which means not all sentence alternatives will accepted. The information says it is still in Beta but the language list doesn't show that, so it might have just graduated. Knowing German will give you leg up as well as knowing the Hebrew alephbet. Lessons have tips.

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]Upbeat 88[/mention] Ukranian sounds like a good language to learn right now.

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

[mention]Sofia222677[/mention] [mention]pawndemic[/mention]
the people who don't speak English well just have to deal with the fact that nowadays it's a pre-requisite to speak English (and it's a way to improve their English at the same time)

also the excuse "they don't have the volunteers" is complete bs, like there were dozens of volunteers who applied for the Finnish course and I regularly saw people applying for other courses as well like Lithuanian or Estonian
the only reason they aren't added is because duolingo doesn't want to do it (doesn't find it a priority), they prefer Klingon or High Valyrian 💩

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Upbeat 88 wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:52 pm
panyamnyenyekevu wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:17 am

I am noticing languages not yet added, when I click on “other languages” from the browser form of duolingo.

Seeing these listings there makes it look more official than just being on duolingo’s incubator site.

In just a few days, supposedly, on 6.30:

Cantonese for Mandarin,

At the end of July:

German for Mandarin

And at some point: (there are dates listed for some of these if you click on the flags, presumably mirroring dates listed on the incubator site).

English for:

*Bengali

*Tamil

*Telugu

For Russian speakers:

*Swedish

*Ukrainian

For Turkish speakers:

*French

For Arabic speakers:

*Spanish

For Korean speakers:

*Chinese

yes we need english for the ukrianan refugees coming over here to live because not everone knows Ukranian yet

there's been an English for Ukrainian course for years already :roll: (plus most people there speak Russian as well so that's 3 more courses available)

User avatar
panyamnyenyekevu
Ukraine

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by panyamnyenyekevu »

I really take issue with the idea that English should - for some reason - be the world’s lingua franca. One could argue that it already is (and one could also argue that it is not). But why should it be? English speaking countries are leading the way. In destroying our planet. Why cater to them especially?

🇺🇦

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

panyamnyenyekevu wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:31 pm

I really take issue with the idea that English should - for some reason - be the world’s lingua franca. One could argue that it already is (and one could also argue that it is not). But why should it be? English speaking countries are leading the way. In destroying our planet. Why cater to them especially?

well that's just how things worked out, you can't just decide that now this language is gonna be the lingua franca and force people to use it

also not sure if the final argument is serious or not... firstly you are confusing language with politics, secondly you have English speaking people in every country, for example the Nordic countries are probably the most environmentally friendly in the world and here everyone speaks English, and in other countries as well many people consider completely normal to use English when communicating with people who don't speak your language

also I've always considered not speaking English as your native language as an advantage as in that case you have your native language+English whereas English speakers usually just speak 1 language (i.e. they have no incentive to learn another one)

User avatar
panyamnyenyekevu
Ukraine

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by panyamnyenyekevu »

well that's just how things worked out, you can't just decide that now this language is gonna be the lingua franca and force people to use it

This is the argument you are making (that I am arguing against) and I believe it also has political ramifications.

🇺🇦

User avatar
Stasia
Poland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Stasia »

LICA98 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:46 pm

you have English speaking people in every country,

That is true, however, in some areas of the world the percentage of population that speaks English is very small.

In Latin America, Spanish is the predominant lingua franca, not English - bridging people for whom Spanish is their native language, with those whose first language is one of the native languages.

In countries of the old Soviet block in Eastern/Central Europe, Russian is the lingua franca, especially for people older than me (I was literally the first generation that had a choice between Russian and other languages, rather than just Russian, in school).

In Asia, there are other linguas francas (Hindi comes to mind for India, Russian for the chunks that have been under Soviet rule, and I'm guessing maybe Mandarin for East Asia).

So [mention]panyamnyenyekevu[/mention]'s question, why cater to English speakers rather than others, remains valid.

Native: :poland:; Fluent: :es:, :us:; Getting there: Image; Intermediate: :fr:; Beginner: :ukraine:

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

[mention]panyamnyenyekevu[/mention] I'm not saying that English should be the lingua franca but rather that it is

[mention]Stasia[/mention]
in Latin America literally people speak their native language to other speakers of their native language :roll: even when Spanish and Portuguese speakers speak to each other usually each uses their own language (rather than both using Spanish) as they're mutually intelligible

in Central Europe Russian hasn't been the lingua franca for a long time, like a Polish person speaking to a Hungarian or Romanian would much more likely be speaking English (btw this is an example why lingua franca can't just be imposed, Russians tried to force their language on these countries for decades but it all disappeared almost instantly once they stopped being under Russian control)

(and this data is from 10 years ago, so English knowledge has only gone up since then whereas Russian down)

it's only the ex USSR where it remains as a lingua franca (and even there in the Baltic states Russian is gradually fading out in favor of English and in Georgia it's already happened)

in India English is almost as used as Hindi, and Southeast Asia for example ASEAN uses English as their working language

so it's just a fact that the percentage of people speaking English is globally much higher than any other language, idk why people keep denying this when it's completely obvious :roll:

User avatar
panyamnyenyekevu
Ukraine

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by panyamnyenyekevu »

LICA98 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:44 pm

@panyamnyenyekevu I'm not saying that English should be the lingua franca but rather that it is

Seems to me you are making both claims and saying because it already is (a claim you expect us to accept because you say it’s obviously so) it also should be so let’s continue to accelerate this process so everyone can understand each other (via English). No?

🇺🇦

User avatar
Stasia
Poland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Stasia »

LICA98 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:44 pm

@panyamnyenyekevu I'm not saying that English should be the lingua franca but rather that it is

@Stasia
in Latin America literally people speak their native language to other speakers of their native language :roll: even when Spanish and Portuguese speakers speak to each other usually each uses their own language (rather than both using Spanish) as they're mutually intelligible

I totally agree that Brazilian Portuguese is closer to Spanish than Portuguese from Portugal, allowing for a basic conversation between speakers of these two. Been there, done that! :)

That does not change the fact that Spanish is the lingua franca. Indigenous languages are not mutually intelligible, hence the need to use Spanish as the common language. So when a Quechua native speaker meets an Aymara native speaker, they will usually converse in Spanish. Unless they are monolingual (then hand gestures have to suffice), or at least one of them is trilingual (Aymara, Quechua, and Spanish) allowing for a conversation in one of the native languages.

in Central Europe Russian hasn't been the lingua franca for a long time, like a Polish person speaking to a Hungarian or Romanian would much more likely be speaking English

What you say is true for people under 40, give or take, in urban areas. Older people tend to be either monolingual or know their language and Russian. Rural people of all ages tend to be monolingual. In Romania, in my personal experience (not a scientific study, just a few weeks hitchhiking), it's similar, rural people tend to be monolingual, but if they speak a second language it could be any European language, like German or French. In Hungary, the longest conversation I ever had with a Hungarian, was in Spanish. :D

Of course you are not going to note that, if you come to, say, Poland, and stay within the beaten tourist track. In the foreign-tourist areas every barista knows enough English to sell you a latte (but don't expect a deep conversation about the nature of human nature). But if you venture out of the foreign tourist enclaves (into rural areas, or even within the cities, but away from the tourist areas), your English won't take you far - you'll have to go back to hand gestures.

And as you rightfully say, Russian was forced, so you will find people who understand Russian, but won't admit it. Back to hand gestures again, unless they're selling and you're buying, then they usually miraculously remember their Russian. 8-)

Similarly, you will find people in Latin America who resist learning English because they feel that English/American influence is forced. Which again steers us into the dangerous waters of the intersection of language and politics, so I'll just leave it at that.

so it's just a fact that the percentage of people speaking English is globally much higher than any other language, idk why people keep denying this when it's completely obvious :roll:

Sure, when you combine numbers of native speakers and English as a second language speakers (which I'm guessing, but don't know for a fact, includes people who can sell you a latte but cannot have a meaningful conversation). But if you just look at the numbers of native speakers of each language, the picture is somewhat different:

Image
Image (2017 statistics) source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/ ... languages/
Data from 2021: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the- ... -the-world

Native: :poland:; Fluent: :es:, :us:; Getting there: Image; Intermediate: :fr:; Beginner: :ukraine:

mathemajician
United States of America

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by mathemajician »

Stasia wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:18 pm

In Hungary, the longest conversation I ever had with a Hungarian, was in Spanish. :D

Heh -- mine was in German -- she struggled with that as well but it was definitely the language where we had most in common.

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]Stasia[/mention] Those numbers are interesting. Languages like German and French which Duolingo teaches don't even factor in that graph of native speakers. However when it comes to the number of speakers of spoken languages they are there.

![](https://www.uopeople.edu/wp-content/upl ... able-4.jpg)

List Of 12 Most Spoken Languages In The World Will Surprise You

Myself I like that Duolingo is not trying to rule the world with English. Yes, it opens the door for more people to learn English but it also acknowledges the diversity of our planet. After all if we all spoke English the other languages would become extinct! We lose all those fascinating quirks and cultural flavors of the languages.

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

panyamnyenyekevu wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:50 pm
LICA98 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:44 pm

@panyamnyenyekevu I'm not saying that English should be the lingua franca but rather that it is

Seems to me you are making both claims and saying because it already is (a claim you expect us to accept because you say it’s obviously so) it also should be so let’s continue to accelerate this process so everyone can understand each other (via English). No?

I'm just saying that since English is the lingua franca it makes sense to speak it and expect situations where it is necessary to know it

if it was another language I would be saying that you should learn it instead

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Stasia wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:18 pm
LICA98 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:44 pm

@panyamnyenyekevu I'm not saying that English should be the lingua franca but rather that it is

@Stasia
in Latin America literally people speak their native language to other speakers of their native language :roll: even when Spanish and Portuguese speakers speak to each other usually each uses their own language (rather than both using Spanish) as they're mutually intelligible

I totally agree that Brazilian Portuguese is closer to Spanish than Portuguese from Portugal, allowing for a basic conversation between speakers of these two. Been there, done that! :)

That does not change the fact that Spanish is the lingua franca. Indigenous languages are not mutually intelligible, hence the need to use Spanish as the common language. So when a Quechua native speaker meets an Aymara native speaker, they will usually converse in Spanish. Unless they are monolingual (then hand gestures have to suffice), or at least one of them is trilingual (Aymara, Quechua, and Spanish) allowing for a conversation in one of the native languages.

in Central Europe Russian hasn't been the lingua franca for a long time, like a Polish person speaking to a Hungarian or Romanian would much more likely be speaking English

What you say is true for people under 40, give or take, in urban areas. Older people tend to be either monolingual or know their language and Russian. Rural people of all ages tend to be monolingual. In Romania, in my personal experience (not a scientific study, just a few weeks hitchhiking), it's similar, rural people tend to be monolingual, but if they speak a second language it could be any European language, like German or French. In Hungary, the longest conversation I ever had with a Hungarian, was in Spanish. :D

Of course you are not going to note that, if you come to, say, Poland, and stay within the beaten tourist track. In the foreign-tourist areas every barista knows enough English to sell you a latte (but don't expect a deep conversation about the nature of human nature). But if you venture out of the foreign tourist enclaves (into rural areas, or even within the cities, but away from the tourist areas), your English won't take you far - you'll have to go back to hand gestures.

And as you rightfully say, Russian was forced, so you will find people who understand Russian, but won't admit it. Back to hand gestures again, unless they're selling and you're buying, then they usually miraculously remember their Russian. 8-)

Similarly, you will find people in Latin America who resist learning English because they feel that English/American influence is forced. Which again steers us into the dangerous waters of the intersection of language and politics, so I'll just leave it at that.

so it's just a fact that the percentage of people speaking English is globally much higher than any other language, idk why people keep denying this when it's completely obvious :roll:

Sure, when you combine numbers of native speakers and English as a second language speakers (which I'm guessing, but don't know for a fact, includes people who can sell you a latte but cannot have a meaningful conversation). But if you just look at the numbers of native speakers of each language, the picture is somewhat different:

Image
Image (2017 statistics) source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/ ... languages/
Data from 2021: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the- ... -the-world

the point is that all Latin American countries (except 🇧🇷) are Spanish speaking so you kinda have to know it just if you're living there whereas many people know English in countries where it's not spoken at all

Chinese and Spanish may have a lot of speakers in a certain area but virtually no speakers elsewhere, whereas English has speakers everywhere (and as [mention]Corinnebelle[/mention] pointed out English got more overall speakers if you count non native ones)

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: New languages coming to Duolingo

Post by LICA98 »

Corinnebelle wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:05 am

Myself I like that Duolingo is not trying to rule the world with English. Yes, it opens the door for more people to learn English but it also acknowledges the diversity of our planet. After all if we all spoke English the other languages would become extinct! We lose all those fascinating quirks and cultural flavors of the languages.

no they wouldn't, knowing English doesn't make you forget your native language 🤔

for example the Nordic countries almost everyone speaks English but that doesn't mean that Swedish or Finnish is becoming extinct

also you got many African countries where English is an official language and spoken by most people but almost nobody speaks it as their native language

Post Reply

Return to “Duolingo”