Hello, keef-ga!
First of all, look at this map of Asia to get an idea of how many
possible languages could be spoken in all the countries of that
region! Pretty exciting! http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/Asia.htm
Following is a list of the languages spoken in each country included
in all of Asia: Since there is some overlap in languages among
countries, I could not find a “simple” number. This is actually a more
comprehensive answer concerning which languages are spoken in each
individual Asian country.
Afghanistan -: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages
(primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily
Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Bangladesh - Bangla (official), English
Bhutan: Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects,
Nepalese speak various
Nepalese dialects
Brunei - Malay (official), English, Chinese
Cambodia - Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
China - Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing
dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
(see Ethnic groups entry)
Guam – US (no data)
India - English enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political, and commercial communication,
Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people,
Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil
(official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam
(official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official),
Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit
(official), Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely
throughout northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous
other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually
unintelligible
Indonesia - Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay),
English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is
Javanese
Japan – Japanese
Kazakhstan - Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official,
used in everyday business) 66%
Krygyzstan - Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian - official
language
note: in March 1996, the Kyrgyzstani legislature amended the
constitution to make Russian an official language, along with Kirghiz,
in territories and work places where Russian-speaking citizens
predominate
Laos - Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Malaysia - Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects
(Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu,
Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several
indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and
Kadazan
Maldives - Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from
Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Mongolia - Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian
Myanmar - Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Nepal - Nepali (official), over 20 other languages divided into
numerous dialects
North Korea – Korean
Northern Mariana Islands (US) – no data
Pakistan - Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%,
Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%,
English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most
government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
Palau - English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral
(Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are
official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official)
Philippines - Pilipino (official, based on Tagalog), English
(official)
Russia - Russian, other
Singapore - Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil
(official), English (official)
South Korea - Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high
school
Sri Lanka - Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
(national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently
by about 10% of the population
Taiwan - Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Tajikistan - Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and
business
Thailand - Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and
regional dialects
Turkmenistan - Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Uzbekistan - Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Vietnam - Vietnamese (official), Chinese, English, French, Khmer,
tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Refer to the World Sites Atlas Page on Asia for a wealth of
information on each country, including population, religion, land
area, etc. It is fascinating. For each country, click on the link
under the map. On the following page, click on the “World Factbook
2000.” http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/Asia.htm
I hope this information is helpful in your Asian language quest!
umiat-ga
Google search strategy
Map of Asia
Asian languages total |
