With over six thousand languages spoken worldwide, in today’s industry, the various language combinations translation professionals can work with seems almost limitless.
However, particular languages are obviously more in demand than others. In this article, we look at the most popular languages for translation and the reasons behind this.
GERMAN
As Europe’s largest economy, Germany dominates the technological and commercial industries, to name a few.
Also, compared to speakers of French and Spanish, German speakers are a lot harder to come by. It has also been suggested that German is harder to learn than Romance languages. This means there is a always a constant demand for German translators. Also, due to the technical nature of the German industries, translators must specialise in these fields, which again narrows the number of freelancers available.
SPANISH
As the primary language of over 20 countries and with over 400 million speakers worldwide, Spanish has always been popular among language learners and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. There is however, a large amount of competition and there are many experienced and qualified Spanish translators out there.
Many Spanish translators specialise in a particular domain or translate from a second language as well to ensure they receive regular projects. This is much easier for Spanish speakers due to its similarity with other Romance languages such as French, Italian and Portuguese.
FRENCH
As another transcontinental language, French is spoken across numerous countries within Europe, Africa and Asia. It is also one of the Official Languages of the United Nations. As French is spoken as the primary language in so many countries worldwide, there is unlikely to be a drop in demand anytime soon. However, like Spanish, there is a lot of competition, therefore it is recommended that French translators also speak another foreign language.
ARABIC
As one of the official languages of the United Nations and the primary language of over 20 countries, Arabic has become increasingly in demand over the past few years. Due to the political upheaval in many Arab countries, this has led to an increase in demand for translation services, such as legal, political and governmental translations. As well as this, there has been a boom in business and trade in Arab countries, for example, the United Arab Emirates.
MANDARIN
As a member of BRIC, a group of four emerging powerhouses, China has seen exceptional growth over the past decade in various industries such as technology and manufacturing. There has also been an increase in business and trade in China. As the most widely spoken language in the world, there is a huge demand for Mandarin translators.
PORTUGUESE
Brazil, another BRIC member, has also seen economic growth recently and is developing at a steady rate.
Although currently the demand is not as strong as other languages, it is predicted that Portuguese will surpass other European languages in the future as Lusophone countries advance more and more.
