When I got back to work this week, the boss had an assignment ready for me to do and it was a little different from the usual - we have a client that specializes in translating materials used in New Drug Applications (NDAs) that are submitted to the appropriate regulatory authority (such as the FDA for the USA) in other countries.
The task given me was to determine what language the materials have to be written in as well as the name and address to send them - along with any official website the regulatory authority might have - for nearly 130 different countries. I learned a bit about our world attempting to do this - and thought I'd share.
India's official language, "used by the Union", is Hindi in the Devanagari script (alphabet) but Hindi is the primary language of only 20% of the population most of which live in the in the area known as the 'Hindi-belt' or the 'cow-belt' of northern India.
English enjoys a special status and remains the additional official language of India. It is the authoritative legislative and judicial language. In fact, one could say that English is the official language of India for all practical purposes.
However, there are the various regional languages. Each state has its own language which is generally its official language. The Constitution of India lists 22 such regional languages!
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It could and can be "worse". The country of Angola, with a population of 17 million people and located in the southern part of Africa was a colony of Portugal at one time - and it's primary official language is Portuguese... but... they have twelve national languages, six of which are taught in school!
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However, Angola might be considered rather "progressive".
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, once known in turn, as the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (gasping for air here), with a population of 58 million (confused) people and located in central Africa is "a whole 'nother story". It lists Koongo, Lingala, Luba-Kasai, Congo Swahili, and French as it's official languages...and its citizens speak any one (or more) of 214 different languages!
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The tiny Republic of Singapore, population around 4.5 million, lists Mandarin Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and English as it's official languages. However the situation gets complicated when you check into what the people speak - If I understand things right and I'm no expert, they speak 7 or 8 different varieties of Chinese and even Mandarin Chinese has a number of distinctive dialects and no written form! One might speak Mandarin but would write traditional or perhaps simplified Chinese.
55 countries have English as the official language.
29 countries: French
24 countries: Arabic
20 countries: Spanish
10 countries: Portuguese
7 countries: German
5 countries: Russian
5 countries: Dutch
Mandarin Chinese is the primary language of approximately one billion people and is not even closely followed by Hindi, Spanish, English, and Arabic.
English is however spoken by 1.5 billion people either as a primary, second or even third language which makes it the largest spoken language in the world but even so, that leaves at least 5 billion people unable to read this entry (for better or worse).
Truly saddening is the fact that nearly 1 billion people cannot read at all (and 34% of them live in India and 10% of them live in the People's Republic of China).
10 comments:
What an interesting assignment. I greatly admire those who speak multiple languages. We have a sweet young lady who runs a local Chinese restaurant and she speaks excellent English. Then she turns arouns and gives the order to the kitchen help in rapid Chinese. And if they aren't moving fast enough, she becomes what I describe a fish wife with wild gestures and shrill Chinese. Then she calmly turns to the next customer and sweetly asks in English how she can help them.
This is so interesting! I love languages and wish I had the time to learn them all (so far I only have English and Spanish fully on my plate with a side of French and currently asking for some Italian for dessert).
I also admire those who grew up speaking multiple languages. I'll try to do the same with my kids, but will probably end up confusing them as I yell at them in four different languages.
Thanks for the info and for your sweet words this morning.
Very interesting. I'd of gone nuts when given the assignment...I don't think I would of been able to decipher it!
Kewl. So I gather you were really busy? *laffs*
I have a MySpace buddy that I "met" through an American Idol forum a few years back (season 4). She lives in Singapore and speaks multiple languages rather fluently.
wow..that sounds hard..but fun...i actually know some words in swahili..it's actually called 'kitchen swahili' that i know ...just about 6-8 words..did know a lot more..but im old and i forgets.
Ive never been good with other languages, jebus I can barely speak me own lol
Iggy..... you humble me with you intelligence.... Im quite a thickhead compared to you :)
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Very interesting post. :)
Absolutely fascinating!
I'm amazed that The Congo has a regulatory authority for New Drug Applications. Do the new drugs ever make it to the people? I remember in junior high when it was called Zaire. It's so hard to keep up with all the name changes.
I can certainly understand India keeping English as their unofficial official language. It made everything easier when they were no longer a British colony.
And those African nations, with all those jungle tribes, each probably speaking their own dialect or language, no wonder there are so many languages in each of them.
I hope you had fun doing all that research.
I want to leanr as many languages as possible...English/Spanish and French just isn't enough. I want to learn Italian. Have you ever been to Macaroni Grill, they play Italian phrases over and over with the English translations...perhaps one of these days I'll just sit on the sink and learn. LOL
It's all clicks and whistles to me. LOL!
That is a pretty cool assignment though. It seems right up your alley!
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