Which languages are most important in business?

06 Oct 2015

Speaking one or more foreign languages is something that will help you to find a job. Multilingualism and the skills that go alongside it create links between people and cultures. It increases your employablilty. However, certain languages are more valuable than others in the world of business.

Unsurprisingly, English is one of the most lucrative languages throughout the world, but perhaps its dominance will decrease between now and 2050, and other languages which have more native speakers will benefit. French remains one of the "big-three" languages in Europe, along with English and German.

With the growth of the EU, and increased globalisation, so-called "rare" languages, such as Polish, Lithuanian, Arabic and Chinese are more highly sought after than before. They can open doors into business, international organisations and diplomacy.

If English remains the norm in the business world, knowledge of Chinese is a non-negligable asset to aspiring job-seekers. Do not panic, however, perfect fluency is not yet required!

In a report about linguistic practices in businesses, the OFEM (Observatoire de la Formation, de l’Emploi et des Métiers) surveyed 501 businesses to find out which languages are most commonly spoken by their non-francophone clients. English was the most common language (89%), followed by German (44%), Spanish (36%), Italian (17%), Arabic (6%), Chinese (4%) and Japanese (4%). There are, therefore, the languages which companies most commonly require their employees to speak.

 

 

 

Sources : Le Soir (19 & 20 March 2011), L'Express (26 January 2012),
L’enseignement des langues étrangères comme politique publique : François Grin