Language List by Country and Place

Adapted from

Improving

the use of

translation

and

interpreting services:

A guide to

Victorian

Government policy and procedures,

Victorian Office

Multicultural Affairs,

2003. This is not

exhaustive

list.

Country

Language

Afghanistan

Pashtu, Farsi, Dari, Hazaragi, other Turkic and minor

languages

Albania

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Algeria

Arabic, French, Berber dialects

Andorra

Catalán, French, Castilian, Portuguese

Angola

Portuguese, Bantu and other African languages

Antigua and Barbuda

English, local dialects

Argentina

Spanish, English, Italian, German, French

Armenia

Armenian, Russian

Australia

English, Indigenous languages

Austria

German, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Turkic, Russian, Armenian, other

Bahamas

English, Creole

Bahrain

Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Bangladesh

Bangla, English

Barbados

English

Belarus

Belorussian (White Russian), Russian, other

Belize

English, Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole

Benin

French, Fon, Yoruba, tribal languages

Bhutan

Dzongkha, Tibetan and Nepalese dialects

Bolivia

Spanish, Quechua, Aymara

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian (all formerly known as Serbo-

Croatian); written languages use Latin and Cyrillic script

Botswana

English, Setswana

Brazil

Portuguese, Spanish, English, French

Brunei Darussalam

Malay, English, Chinese

Bulgaria

Bulgarian; secondary ethnic languages

Burkina Faso

French, Indigenous African (Sudanic) languages

Burundi

Kirundi, French, Swahili

Cambodia

Khmer, French, English

Cameroon

French, English; 24 major African language groups

Canada

English, French; Indigenous languages

Cape Verde

Portuguese, Criuolo

Central African Republic

French, Sangho, Arabic, Hansa, Swahili

Chad

French, Arabic, Sara, more than 120 languages and

dialects

Chile

Spanish

Country

Language

China (PRC)

Cantonese, Mandarin, also local dialects (Daur, Kalmyk-

Oirat, Lu, Peripheral Mongolian, Central Tibetan, Uyghur,

Xibe, Zhuang)

Colombia

Spanish

Comoros

Arabic and French, Shikomoro (Swahili/Arabic blend)

Congo, Republic of

French, Lingala, Monokutuba, Kikongo, many local

languages and dialects

Congo (DRC)

French, Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba

Costa Rica

Spanish, English

Côte d’Ivoire

French, African languages (Diaula esp.)

Croatia

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian (all formerly known as Serbo-

Croatian), Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, German, and

other languages

Cuba

Spanish

Cyprus

Greek, Turkish, English

Czech Republic

Czech

Denmark

Danish, Faeroese, Greenlandic (Inuit dialect), German,

English

Djibouti

French, Arabic, Somali, Afar Dominica: English, French

patois

Dominican Republic

Spanish

East Timor

Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesian, English, other

Indigenous languages, including Tetum, Galole, Mambae,

and Kemak

Ecuador

Spanish, Quechua, other Amerindian languages

Egypt

Arabic, English, French

El Salvador

Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Equatorial Guinea

Spanish, French, pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Eritrea

Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic

languages

Estonia

Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other

Ethiopia

Amharic, Tigrigna, Orominga, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic,

English, 70 others

Fiji

English, Fijian, Hindustani

Finland

Finnish, Swedish, small Sami (Lapp), Russian

France

French regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian,

Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Gabon

French, Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira,

Bandjabi Gambia, The: English, Mandinka, Wolof, Fula,

Serer-Sine, Sarahole, Pulaar, Maninkakan, Mandjaque,

Mandingo, Jola-Fonyi, Creole

Georgia

Georgian, Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Abkhaz

Germany

German

Ghana

English, Indigenous languages (Brong Ahafo, Twi, Fanti,

Ga, Ewe, Dagbani)

Greece

Greek, English, French

Grenada

English, French patois

Guatemala

Spanish, Amerindian languages (23 officially recognised

Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel,

Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

Guinea

French, Indigenous languages (Malinké, Susu, Fulani)

Guinea-Bissau

Portuguese, Criolo, African languages

Country

Language

Guyana

English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu

Haiti

Creole, French

Honduras

Honduras: Spanish, Amerindian dialects, English

Hong Kong Special

Administration Region (SAR)

Cantonese, Mandarin

Hungary

Magyar (Hungarian), other

Iceland

Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German

India

Hindi, English, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam,

Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada,

Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi, and 1600+ dialects

Indonesia

Bahasa Indonesia, English, Dutch, Javanese, and 580+

languages/dialects

Iran

Farsi (Persian), Azari, Kurdish, Arabic

Iraq

Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian Neo Aramaic

Ireland

English, Irish Gaelic

Israel

Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian

Italy

Italian, German, French, Slovene

Iran

Farsi (Persian), Azari, Kurdish, Arabic

Iraq

Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian Neo Aramaic

Ireland

English, Irish Gaelic

Israel

Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian

Italy

Italian, German, French, Slovene

Iran

Farsi (Persian), Azari, Kurdish, Arabic

Jamaica

English, Jamaican Creole

Japan

Japanese

Jordan

Arabic, English

Kazakhstan

Kazak (Qazaq), Russian

Kenya

English, Swahili, 25 ethnic group languages

Kiribati

English, I-Kiribati (Gilbertese)

Korea, North

Korean, South: Korean Kuwait: Arabic, English

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz, Russian

Laos

Lao, French, English

Latvia

Latvian, Russian

Lebanon

Arabic, French, English

Lesotho

English, Sesotho, Zulu, Xhosa

Liberia

English, tribal dialects

Libya

Arabic, Italian, English

Liechtenstein

German, Alemmanic dialect Lithuania: Lithuanian, Polish,

Russian

Luxembourg

Luxermbourgish, French, German

Macedonia, former Yugoslav

Republic of

Macedonian (uses the Cyrillic alphabet), Albanian,

Turkish, other

Madagascar

Malagasy, French

Malawi

English, Chichewa

Country

Language

Malaysia

Malay, Chinese, Tamil, English

Maldives

Dhivehi, Arabic, Hindi, English

Mali

French, African languages

Malta

Maltese, English

Marshall Islands

Marshallese, English

Mauritania

Arabic, Wolof, French

Mauritius

English, French, Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori

Mexico: Spanish, Indian

languages

Spanish, Indian languages

Liberia: English, tribal

dialects

English, tribal dialects

Libya: Arabic, Italian, English

Arabic, Italian, English

Liechtenstein

German, Alemmanic dialect Lithuania: Lithuanian, Polish,

Russian

Micronesia

English, Chukese, Pohnpeian, Yapase, Kosrean

Moldova

Moldovan (similar to Romanian), Russian, Gagauz

(Turkish dialect)

Monaco

French, English, Italian, Monégasque

Mongolia

Mongolian, Turkic, Russian, Chinese

Morocco

Arabic, French, Berber dialects, Spanish

Mozambique

Portuguese, Bantu languages

Myanmar

The Myanmar language (formerly Burmese), Karen, Chin,

Rohingya

Namibia

Afrikaans, German, English, several Indigenous

languages

Nauru

Nauruan, English

Mongolia

Mongolian, Turkic, Russian, Chinese

Morocco

Arabic, French, Berber dialects, Spanish

Nepal:

Nepali, Newar, Maithali, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, and

others

The Netherlands

Dutch, Frisian

New Zealand

English, Maori Nicaragua: Spanish

Niger

French, Hausa; Songhai; Arabic

Nigeria

English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, 200+ others

Norway

Bokmål, Nynorsk (forms of Norwegian)

Oman

Arabic, English, Indian languages

Pakistan

Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki (Punjabi variant), Pashtu, Urdu,

Balochi, Hindko, Brahui, English, Burushaski, and others

Palau

Palestinian territories

Arabic, Hebrew, English, French

Spanish, English

Papua New Guinea:

English, Tok Pisin (Melanesian Creole English), Hiri Motu,

and 717 distinct Indigenous languages

Nepal

Nepali, Newar, Maithali, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, and

others

The Netherlands

Dutch, Frisian

New Zealand

English, Maori Nicaragua: Spanish

Niger

French, Hausa; Songhai; Arabic

Country

Language

Nigeria

English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, 200+ others

Paraguay

Spanish, Guaraní

Peru

Spanish, Quéchua, Aymara, and other Indigenous

languages

The Philippines

Filipino (based on Tagalog), English, regional languages:

Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, others

Poland

Polish

Portugal

Portuguese

Qatar

Arabic, English

Romania

Romanian, Hungarian, German

Russia

Russian, others

Rwanda

Kinyarwanda, French, English

Paraguay

Spanish, Guaraní

Peru

Spanish, Quéchua, Aymara, and other Indigenous

languages

The Philippines

Filipino (based on Tagalog), English, regional languages:

Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, others

Poland

Polish

St. Kitts and Nevis

English

St. Lucia

English, Patois

St. Vincent/the Grenadines:

English, French patois

Samoa

Samoan, English

San Marino

Italian

São Tomé and Príncipe:

Portuguese

Saudi Arabia

Arabic, English widely spoken

Senegal

French, Wolof, Serer, other ethnic dialects

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbian, Albanian (once known as Serbo-Croatian);

written language uses Latin and Cyrillic script

Seychelles

English, French, Seselwa (a creole)

Sierra Leone

English, Mende, Temne, Krio

Singapore

Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), Tamil, English

Slovakia

Slovak, Hungarian

Slovenia

Slovenian; Serbo-Croatian

Solomon Islands

English, Solomon Pijin (an English pidgin), 60 Indigenous

Melanesian languages

Somalia

Somali, Arabic, English, Italian

South Africa

Xhosa, Zulu, English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Sesotho sa

Leboa, Sesotho, Swati, Xitsonga, Setswana, Tshivenda

South Sudan

English, Arabic, Dinka, Nuer, Zande

Spain

Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque Sri Lanka:

Sinhala, Tamil, English

Sudan

Arabic, English, Dinka, tribal dialects

Suriname

Dutch, Surinamese (lingua franca), English widely spoken

Swaziland

English, Swazi

Sweden

Swedish

Switzerland

German, French, Italian, Romansch

Country

Language

Syria

Arabic, Kurdish, French and English widely understood

Taiwan

Chinese (Mandarin)

Tajikistan

Tajik, Russian, Uzbek

Tanzania

Swahili, English, local languages

Thailand

Thai (Siamese), Chinese, English

Togo

French, Ewé, Mina (south), Kabyé, Cotocoli (north), and

many dialects

Tonga

Tongan (an Austronesian language), English

Trinidad and Tobago

English, Hindi, French, Spanish

Tunisia

Arabic, French

Turkey: Turkish, Kurdish

Turkish, Kurdish

Turkmenistan

Turkmen, Russian, Uzbek

Tuvalu

Tuvaluan, English

Uganda

English, Swahili, Luganda, Ateso, Luo

Ukraine

Ukrainian

United Arab Emirates

Arabic, English as a second language

United Kingdom

English, Welsh, Scots Gaelic

United States

English, sizable Spanish-speaking minority

Uruguay

Spanish

Uzbekistan

Uzbek, Russian, Tajik, other

Vanuatu

Bislama (a Melanesian pidgin English), English, French

Vatican City

Latin, Italian, and various other languages

Venezuela

Spanish, various Indigenous languages in the remote

interior

Vietnam

Vietnamese, French, English, Khmer, Chinese

Western Sahara region

Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Yemen

Arabic

Zambia

English, local dialects