From book “Babel, Around The World In 20 Languages” by Gaston Dorren.
“The world’s 20 biggest languages, which are the subject of this book, are causing the decline of hundreds, even thousands of smaller ones.”
"Among them, these 20 languages are the mother tongues of no less than half the population of the world. Take second-language speakers into account, and the numbers are much larger still. Again, the figures are debatable, but it’s safe to claim that at least 75 per cent of people on this planet are able to communicate in one of the Babel Twenty. A less pertinent but more exact figure would be this: over 90 per cent of humankind live in countries where one or more of the twenty are routinely used by central government."
20 Vietnamese | 85 million
19 Korean | 85 million
18 Tamil | 90 million
17 Turkish | 90 million
16 Javanese | 95 million
15 Persian | 110 million
13 Japanese | 130 million
12 Swahili | 135 million
11 German | 200 million
10 French | 250 million
9 Malay | 275 million
8 Russian | 275 million
7 Portuguese | 275 million
6 Bengali | 275 million
5 Arabic | 375 million
4 Hindi-Urdu | 550 million
3 Spanish | 575 million
2 Mandarin | 1.3 billion
1 English | 1.5 billion
…
231130:
17-Turkish language
Chat GPT:
The Turkish language, spoken predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, belongs to the Turkic language family, which is part of the larger Altaic language family.
It is one of the official languages of Cyprus and is spoken by millions of people worldwide, primarily in Turkey.
Some key aspects of the Turkish language include:
Alphabet:
Turkish uses the Latin alphabet with a few additional characters like "ç," "ğ," "ı," "ö," "ş," and "ü."
The language underwent a script reform in 1928, replacing the Ottoman Turkish script with the Latin-based alphabet.
Grammar:
Turkish is an agglutinative language, meaning words are formed by adding suffixes to a root.
It follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order.
Nouns have no grammatical gender, and there are no definite or indefinite articles.
…
From Google search:
Definite articles
Used to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. Can be used for singular or plural nouns.
Examples: "The woman screamed", "The book fell out of her hand"
Indefinite articles
Used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known.
Examples: "I like chocolates", "I like that milk chocolate"
…
Vowel Harmony:
Turkish has a system of vowel harmony, where vowels in suffixes change according to the vowel sounds in the root word.
There are front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) and back vowels (a, ı, o, u), and suffixes harmonize with the vowels in the root word.
Politeness Levels:
Turkish has different forms of pronouns and verb conjugations to indicate levels of formality and politeness.
There are different ways to address individuals based on familiarity and social hierarchy.
Vocabulary:
Turkish vocabulary has been influenced by various languages over time, including Arabic, Persian, French, and English, among others.
It has also borrowed words from other Turkic languages.
Regional Dialects:
There are various regional dialects and accents within Turkey, differing in pronunciation, vocabulary, and sometimes grammar.
Overall, Turkish is a fascinating language with a rich history and a unique structure that makes it distinctive among other languages.
It continues to evolve while preserving its cultural significance.
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