What are the world’s main business languages?

Article

The current climate of globalisation has meant that people communicate with each other in a small group of languages that allow us to be understood, even though have different origins. In global terms, the current five most widely-spoke languages are: Mandarin Chinese (>900 million speakers), English (>500 million), Spanish (>500 million), Hindi (nearly 500 million) and Russian (>200 million).

Alongside the most widely-spoken languages, we find those that have established themselves as the world’s main business languages. This, in turn, has had a large influence on the origins of the world’s leading multinationals and its most powerful markets. Consequently, nowadays, executives and those who work in international business environments must have the best possible command of these languages, which they will need to use for conversations, meetings, conferences or business events.

As we’ve said, the most present business languages on a global level are somewhat different to the ones most popular in terms of sheer numbers of speakers. Because of this, English takes the lead as the most popular business language. The main multinationals and the most powerful international markets have established English as a reference language for business. The biggest companies’ events use English as a vehicular language for communication between those attending, and for most meetings and business negotiations we find that English is the predominant language.

This is followed by: Portuguese, due to the importance of the Brazilian market; Mandarin Chinese, because of the immense power of the Asian market on a global scale; Russian, widely used in business environments concerning science, technology or engineering; and German, which shows the global strength of the German market.

These languages, together with others such as Japanese, Arabic and French, for example, have a strong presence in professional environments. It is because of this that every person who frequently finds themselves needing to speak in professional environments must work to have the best possible command of the language in question.

A manager’s success depends on their ability to communicate

For starters, English is the basis of all business communication: the success of a manager depends on their communicative abilities. A better command of the language, its pronunciation, fluency, grammar or vocabulary can be crucial when it comes to successfully closing a deal, projecting a positive image of the company or showing personal prestige.

Here at BBLTranslation, we know what is expected of leaders and it is for them that we develop initiatives like the phonetics workshop BBLsaʊnd®, so that executives and business professionals can improve their pronunciation and, with this, their confidence and abilities in the language. Preparation is key for standing out in important conversations, therefore if there exists a main business language, it must be worked on daily basis in order to achieve perfection. Original, stimulating and exceptional content are the main strengths of our phonetics workshop, BBLsaʊnd®.

BBLsaʊnd® is an innovative workshop comprising of a total of 6 sessions focusing on improving English pronunciation, a specialised workshop for those wanting to stand out and improve their pronunciation and aural comprehension. The sessions are dynamic, with a theoretical basis but centred in the practical, and always in groups limited to 8 people. We have selected the most expert and sought-after teachers; the very best.

Want to meet them?
More information on BBLsaʊnd® here

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In accordance with the regulations applicable to the protection of personal data, and the new provisions contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR), directly applicable from 25 May 2018, Bibielle Global Translations, SL informs you of the following:
i. Contact details of the Data Controller: Bibielle Global Translations, SL (hereinafter BBL), with Tax Identification No. B65336885, registered office at Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025, Spain, and contact e-mail legal@bbltranslation.eu.

ii. Purposes: Data collected through the contact e-mail address, or service quotation request form, will be incorporated into files owned by BBL with the purpose of handling, managing and responding to your request or contact. The data provided will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

iii. In addition, and on a voluntary basis, you may provide your consent (by ticking the corresponding box or registration) to us sending commercial communications, by any route and/or electronic means, and keeping you informed about the services which, being similar to the current ones, may interest you, and which BBL offers to its Clients and users under more advantageous conditions, and to carry out market or customer satisfaction surveys.

iv. Retention: The data will be retained for the time necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, in order to respond to the subject of your request or contact, and while there continues to be a mutual interest. It will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for such purposes, the commercial or contractual relationship ends, unless its retention is required by law.

If you provide your consent to the sending of commercial communications, personal data will be processed actively while you have the status of User, or until you withdraw your consent.

v. Data communication: In no event will your data be transferred or communicated to a third party, unless required by law; nor will it be transferred internationally, except with the unequivocal consent of the data subject, and prior information about the possible recipients, purpose and, where appropriate, country of destination.

vi. Duty of secrecy: BBL complies strictly with the duty of secrecy and confidentiality of personal data, and for this reason has implemented technical, organisational and security measures to prevent its unauthorised alteration, loss, processing and/or access, taking account of the state of the art, the nature of the stored data and the risks to which they are exposed, all of this as established by Spanish and European legislation on the Protection of Personal Data.

vii. Rights of the data subject:

a. To exercise the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, limitation of treatment, data portability and not being the subject of automated individual decisions, by writing to Bibielle Global Translations, SL, Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain or at legal@bbltranslation.eu indicating the subject of your request, and attaching a [copy of your] national identity card or passport.
b. To complain to the Supervisory Authority: if a user considers that their data is not being used properly, and this matter is not addressed by BBL, they may submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.

Important warning: we recommend that you carefully read the contents of this legal text prior to providing any personal data through the website of Bibielle Global Translations, SL, owner of and responsible for the correct application of the Privacy Policy.
In accordance with the regulations applicable to the protection of personal data, and the new provisions contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR), directly applicable from 25 May 2018, Bibielle Global Translations, SL informs you of the following:
i. Contact details of the Data Controller: Bibielle Global Translations, SL (hereinafter BBL), with Tax Identification No. B65336885, registered office at Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain, and contact e-mail legal@bbltranslation.eu.

ii. Purposes: Data collected through the contact e-mail address, or service quotation request form, will be incorporated into files owned by BBL with the purpose of handling, managing and responding to your request or contact. The data provided will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

iii. In addition, and on a voluntary basis, you may provide your consent (by ticking the corresponding box or registration) to us sending commercial communications, by any route and/or electronic means, and keeping you informed about the services which, being similar to the current ones, may interest you, and which BBL offers to its Clients and users under more advantageous conditions, and to carry out market or customer satisfaction surveys.

iv. Retention: The data will be retained for the time necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, in order to respond to the subject of your request or contact, and while there continues to be a mutual interest. It will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for such purposes, the commercial or contractual relationship ends, unless its retention is required by law.

If you provide your consent to the sending of commercial communications, personal data will be processed actively while you have the status of User, or until you withdraw your consent.

v. Data communication: In no event will your data be transferred or communicated to a third party, unless required by law; nor will it be transferred internationally, except with the unequivocal consent of the data subject, and prior information about the possible recipients, purpose and, where appropriate, country of destination.

vi. Duty of secrecy: BBL complies strictly with the duty of secrecy and confidentiality of personal data, and for this reason has implemented technical, organisational and security measures to prevent its unauthorised alteration, loss, processing and/or access, taking account of the state of the art, the nature of the stored data and the risks to which they are exposed, all of this as established by Spanish and European legislation on the Protection of Personal Data.

vii. Rights of the data subject:

a. To exercise the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, limitation of treatment, data portability and not being the subject of automated individual decisions, by writing to Bibielle Global Translations, SL, Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain or at legal@bbltranslation.eu indicating the subject of your request, and attaching a [copy of your] national identity card or passport.
b. To complain to the Supervisory Authority: if a user considers that their data is not being used properly, and this matter is not addressed by BBL, they may submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.

viii. If you receive commercial communications by electronic means, in accordance with the Spanish Law of Information Society and Electronic Commerce Services (LSSICE), you may withdraw your consent, unsubscribe or modify your data using the same channel, through the e-mail address legal@bbltranslation.eu, which will be specified in each communication.