Languages

The most common and widely spoken form of the Chinese language is Mandarin. However, there are many other varieties, often which bear no resemblance to each other. There are 1.2 billion Chinese speakers in the world and the language has been around, in written form, for at least 3,000 years.

With its roots in Germanic languages, Danish is spoken by around 5.5 million people. It has been around for many centuries, and originated as a form of Old Norse, along with other Scandinavian languages. Its the official language of Denmark, and also recognized in Germany, the Faro Islands and Greenland, (which is officially Danish territory).

English is the native language of around 400 million people, with many others speaking it as a second language. English is classified as a West Germanic language and is thought to have first been expressed in the early middle ages, over 1000 years ago. It has much in common with the Frisian and Romance languages.

French is a language that is Indo-European in origin, and part of a subgroup known as the "Romance Languages." The use of French spans the globe, as it is the official language in 29 countries, with over 76.8 million speakers, and 100 million secondary speakers. It is also a primary language in many critical global organisations.

German is a Germanic language and is widely spoken across central Europe in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. German is classified as a West Germanic language, which comes from what we would now consider Scandinavia. German is considered to be a world language and is known for its harsh sounds and complex grammar system.

Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and Vatican City and is one of a few official languages in Switzerland. However, it is spoken right across the world. A Romance language which borrows heavily from its Latin predecessor, Italian is the third most spoken language in the European Union.

Japanese is the official language spoken in the East Asian country of Japan. Like most languages in the region, Japanese is mostly used in one country. That does not make it an unpopular language though; it is spoken by about 128 million people in the world. Over time, Japanese has acquired loanwords, especially from the English language.