| @Jelle: Yes, I thought that too. According to Wikipedia Turkish has 77 million first language speakers (Telugu 74m). But according to Ethnologue, the source linked on the quiz, it has only about 50 million, which puts it behind Tamil as well (about 66m on both Wikipedia and Ethnologue).
@Folio: If you click through to the source you can find Arabic broken down by the many countries where it is a major first language. The Wikipedia figure for French as a first language is 136 million (mainly Europe and North America), as a second language about 190 million (mainly Africa), plus about 200 million as an acquired foreign language.
I don't know why Wikipedia seems to be giving higher figures than Ethnologue for native speakers for some languages. There's some discussion of methodology in the Ethnologue introduction page, which also gives the Ethnologue definition of native speaker - someone who learned the language off their parents as a child and uses it for everyday communication. |
Most Spoken Languages (Native Speakers)
Southernmost Countries (A-Z)
Zelda Alphabet
