The Languages That Every Translator Should Be Thinking About

For most of us who work in the professional translation sector, a love of languages is at the very heart of what we do and why we do it. After all, could you really translate day in and day out for years on end if you didn’t have a genuine passion for the languages that you work with? 

Some of us are raised to speak two or more languages while others learn through a combination of schooling and life experiences. Whatever the circumstances behind your own linguistic abilities, there are always plenty more opportunities to learn, whether that be picking up new slang in the languages that you speak or studying a tongue that’s entirely new to you. 

How often do you find yourself learning something new about a language? Weekly? Daily? Hourly?! 

If you’re looking to indulge your love of languages, then read on. We’ve rounded up all of the languages that warrant a place on your radar right now, from some of the most in-demand for translation services to some of the most endangered on the planet.

Which of these will pique your curiosity enough to find out more about it? 

The Business World’s Most Sought-after Languages 

When it comes to translation pairings that are in demand, English to Chinese is right up there. Mandarin has around 955 million native speakers, while around 360 million people speak English as their first language (and some 1.5 billion speak it either natively or as a second language). 

China and the US are the world’s two largest economic powerhouses. Statistics Times reports that the United States is the world’s biggest economy, with a nominal GDP of $21,482.41 billion in 2019, while China’s nominal GDP stands at $14,172.20 billion. 

You can click here for further details on where countries rank in terms of their GDP. The data makes for interesting reading for those considering which languages are the most required when it comes to business translation.  

Have you considered the value of learning Japanese, for example? Japan ranks third globally in terms of its nominal GDP, which stands at $5,220.57 billion for 2019. As such, English-Japanese and Chinese-Japanese are both important language pairings for business purposes. 

On that subject, are you aware of the increasing number of non-Chinese young people who are learning Mandarin? In the UK, for example, the number of young people taking Chinese at A Level surpassed those taking German for the first time last year, making Chinese the country’s third most studied language. 

One potential impact of this increase in non-native Chinese speakers is that many will also find it possible to pick up written Japanese, due to the similarities between the languages’ writing systems. Great news for those looking to translate some of the world’s most sought-after business languages! 

Another key language for those looking to make the most of global business trends is Spanish. Spoken by some 6% of the world’s population, with speakers particularly concentrated in Central and South America (as well as in Spain!), Spanish is one of the languages that our clients most often request here at Tomedes, with business purposes topping the list of reasons behind those requests. 

More than 250,000 translation professionals use SDL Trados Studio to pick up the pace of their projects. Are you one of them or are you yet to try it out for yourself?

Some people prefer visuals over text. Here’s a convenient video for those visual learners out there.