Do you know what the second largest language in the world is?

The main language or lingua franca of a country is often also the second most spoken language in many cases, such as Mandarin Chinese in China, Japanese in Japan, English in the United States, and Italian in Italy, among others.

However, most countries have more than one language or dialect, and these languages or dialects also serve as important carriers of local culture, reflecting the distribution of ethnic groups in the country, the history of immigration, and the inheritance and development of local culture.

So, what are the second most spoken languages or dialects in countries around the world?

Although English and other Indo-European languages are the first languages in many countries, they are also the second most spoken languages in many countries.

English is the second most spoken language in 55 countries, making it the most popular second language.

Countries where English is the second language are mainly concentrated in Western Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

French is the second most spoken language in 14 countries, and Russian is the second most spoken language in 13 countries.

English is particularly common as a second language in neighboring countries of English-speaking countries or places with a history of immigration.

The distribution of the second most spoken languages ​​by region is as follows:

In Europe, Polish is the second most spoken language in the UK, reflecting the large number of Polish immigrants there.

Similarly, in Ireland, Gaelic is the second most spoken language.

In Germany and Austria, Turkish is the second most spoken language because they have millions of Turkish immigrants.

In the French-speaking regions of Switzerland, French is the second most spoken language, while in the Baltic states and Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia, Russian is the second most spoken language.

In Asia and Oceania, Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language in Australia and Singapore,

reflecting the number, history, and influence of Chinese or Chinese immigrants in the local area.

In Japan, Korean is the second most spoken language, while in Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, Russian is the second most spoken language.

In Africa, English is the second most spoken language in Egypt, Sudan, and Cameroon, while Arabic is the second most spoken language in Arab countries such as Chad, South Sudan, and Somalia.

In sub-Saharan African countries, their second most spoken language is often the language of the largest ethnic group, such as Hausa in Nigeria and Niger, as the arrival of European colonizers ultimately led to the language of the colonizers becoming the first language.

In North America, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, while French is the second most spoken language in Canada.

In Central America and the Caribbean, English is the second most spoken language in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico, while French dialect variants are the second most spoken language in Jamaica and several Caribbean island countries.

In South America, Quechua is the second most spoken language in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, while in Brazil, Spanish is the second most spoken language.

In summary, the second most spoken languages ​​or dialects vary by region, reflecting the immigration history, ethnic distribution, and cultural inheritance of each country.