Did you know that a map about the most popular languages on an app isn’t as straightforward as it seems? In fact, it can reveal long complex histories of imperial influence and situations developing currently. Also, learning a new language has many benefits. It improves listening and memory skills, and increases your odds when you’re searching for a job. Learning another language also slows down cognitive decline and helps delay disorders like Alzheimer’s and Dementia. This is because the language learning process stimulates your brain and enhances it. You’ve probably heard of Duolingo, the language learning app that has quickly become one of the most popular apps around the world. It is a great tool for education and it is completely free and accessible to users across the world. This map shows the most popular language people studied on Duolingo in each country in 2022. The information may just appear random but we can clearly view and analyze the history and current social, political, and economic situations of countries through this information. A map can show the spaces in which languages exist and it shows linguistic relationships between countries all over the world.
English is by far the most popular language on Duolingo, ranking first place in one-hundred-nineteen countries. Almost the entirety of Latin America, and the vast majority of Asia, Europe, and Africa appear to have a strong preference for learning English. This is not surprising due to the fact that English is the de facto language of the modern world. It is the language used most often on the internet, and it is considered the “International language.” This is a legacy of the British colonial empire, which at one point spanned 13,700,000 square miles or roughly twenty-four percent of the world’s total land area. The rise of the United States of America in the twentieth century also plays an important role in the expansion of the English language. Since becoming a superpower, the United States has meddled in the affairs of countless nations, having invaded 84 nations and has been militarily involved with 191 of them. Also, the U.S is the birthplace of the internet, and its presence on media and the internet have been huge since the day of its birth. These are some factors which help maintain the status of the English language as the lingua franca. English is the language used globally and it looks like it’s here to stay and will keep expanding.
In the Balkans, we can see a cluster of countries who prefer to study German rather than English, sticking out from the rest of their neighbors who choose to learn English. Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Kosovo all chose to learn German over English. One thing in common they have is they all were formerly part of Yugoslavia. Neighboring Albania, although never officially part of Yugoslavia, also prefers learning German. These countries all tend to perform poorly compared to the rest of the continent in terms of GDP per capita, HDI, and the quality of life. After the brutal conflict that concluded the breakup of Yugoslavia, these countries were left devastated. Many people flocked to wealthier countries in search of better opportunities and arrived as guest workers. These nations hold large diasporas in German speaking countries like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Many of the current youth still choose to emigrate to these countries for better opportunities, creating generational trends.
If you look closely at the map, you can see that Sweden is an anomaly. It is one of the only nations that prefer learning their own language rather than a foreign one. This is because most of the people learning Swedish on Duolingo are foreigners, rather than Swedes themselves. Since the 2015 European Migrant Crisis, Sweden has offered refuge to hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing from war and crises. Refugees in Sweden mostly originate from Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In order to adjust to their new lives and integrate into Swedish society, these newcomers must learn Swedish. Fortunately, Duolingo is free and it seems that many people in Sweden seem to take advantage of this resource, which shows how important this language learning app is, especially for refugees.
In Tanzania, Swahili and English are both the official languages. Swahili is the most popular language among Duolingo users in Tanzania. Unlike Sweden, it is the native people of Tanzania who are learning their national language. Although Tanzania has two official languages, more than 120 languages are spoken throughout the country. In order to communicate with other people in the country, many people are learning Swahili. It’s important to remember how many borders were formed without regard to ethnic and linguistic differences by colonizers. This is one of the remaining effects of colonialism. Language and colonialism have such a complex relationship because even non-colonial languages can spread as a result of colonialism. In this case, Swahili became popularized in Tanzania, because the colonists created arbitrary borders, and the people of Tanzania needed a common language to communicate with each other.
This map was selected as map of the week because it shows how modern technology is a tool which is beneficial. It also shows the deeply ingrained effects of colonialism, and it makes you look at the world through a different light. Denis Wood talked about counter-mapping and how it helped movements fighting against colonialism and occupation. Although this map does not directly show that, we can still see social remnants of post-colonialism spread throughout the world. For one, English is the most dominant language on the map, as the British and Americans were the most successful colonizers. You can see that French still has a lot of influence in Africa, and Japanese is popular in its former colonies in Southeast Asia. Learning a language is an important skill, but it is important to note that the majority of languages considered most beneficial today are the languages of nations which were the most successful colonizers. These trends will likely remain, but it is important to acknowledge the motivations and the context behind the incentive to learn these different languages.
Sources
Craib, Raymond B. Decolonizing the Map: Cartography from Colony to Nation; Ed. by James R. Akerman. UNIV OF CHICAGO Press, 2017.
Kamm, Henry. “Yugoslav Refugee Crisis Europe’s Worst since 40’s.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 July 1992, www.nytimes.com/1992/07/24/world/yugoslav-refugee-crisis-europe-s-worst-since-40-s.html.
Kelly, Christopher, and Stuart Laycock. America Invades: How We’ve Invaded or Been Militarily Involved with Almost Every Country on Earth. Book Publishers Network, 2014.
“Tanzania Language Focus: What Do You Know about the Language Spoken in Tanzania?” Tomedes, www.tomedes.com/translator-hub/tanzania-language. Accessed 6 Oct. 2023.
This is a great post, Bilguun. As someone who spent a lot of time on Duolingo learning Chinese and Spanish, reading about the trends in global Duolingo usage was very interesting. I loved the perspective of looking at why people want to learn certain languages from a colonialist point of view. The idea that what languages people seek to learn reflects how much power the language’s original country has over the world is very compelling. Personally, I can see why most people would want to learn English to get the most usage out of their language skills; my parents would always tell me how much they studied English in China to eventually immigrate more smoothly. I also have many international friends who have been trained extensively in either English or another common language such as Spanish and French. A recommendation I propose to this post would be to include a map of colonialism over the centuries to really drive home the connection between a country’s desired choice of language on Duolingo and what country had significant influence over their development. Overall, this is a very well developed and thought-provoking post.