POWER LANGUAGE INDEX
Kai-Chan_Power-Language-Index-full-report_2016_v2
Kai-Chan_Power-Language-Index-full-report_2016_v2
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Power Language Index (May 2016)<br />
Kai L. Chan, PhD<br />
However, language is much more than just a collection of words. It is intertwined with culture and is an<br />
emotional aspect of human character.<br />
Moreover, studies have shown that multilinguals solve problems more critically. 8 Likewise, personality<br />
has been shown to change according to the language in which a person functions. 9 In short, translation<br />
devices will never fully replace the human voice and the benefits of learning languages. Just as Google<br />
has not made all humans researchers, neither will translation devices, per se, make us more empathetic<br />
or knowledgeable of other cultures.<br />
Although English is now the dominant language, might Mandarin (or another language) one day<br />
challenge its supremacy? This leads to another interesting question: which languages will be the most<br />
powerful in 2050? Table 3 is a forecast of the PLI based on the expected values of the 20 indicators that<br />
will prevail in 2050. 10<br />
RANK SCORE <strong>LANGUAGE</strong><br />
Table 3: Power Language Index ranking (2050)<br />
NATIVE<br />
(MM)<br />
GEOGRAPHY<br />
ECONOMY<br />
COMMUNI-<br />
CATION<br />
KNOWLEDGE<br />
& MEDIA<br />
DIPLOMACY<br />
1 0.877 English 541.6 1 1 2 1 1<br />
2 0.515 Mandarin 940.5 6 2 1 2 6<br />
3 0.345 Spanish 589.0 3 5 3 6 3<br />
4 0.325 French 88.4 2 8 6 5 1<br />
5 0.295 Arabic 494.1 4 7 4 18 4<br />
6 0.242 Russian 134.1 5 10 10 8 5<br />
7 0.155 German 88.6 10 3 9 4 7<br />
8 0.149 Portuguese 273.4 7 9 8 12 9<br />
9 0.138 Hindi 489.1 11 4 7 3 10<br />
10 0.110 Japanese 106.1 30 6 17 7 8<br />
Is it perhaps time to dig out those old Rosetta Stone tapes and get to learning another language?<br />
8<br />
Keysar, Boaz, Sayuri L. Hayakawa & Sun Gyu An (2012): “The foreign language effect: thinking in a foreign<br />
language reduces decision biases.” Psychological Science 2012 23: 661.<br />
9<br />
Danziger, Shai & Robert Ward (2010): “Language changes implicit associations between ethnic groups and<br />
evaluation in bilinguals.” Psychological Science June 2010 21(6): 799-800.<br />
10<br />
GDP growth based on PwC (2015): “The world in 2050: Will the shift in global economic power continue?”<br />
February 2015. Population growth based on UNPD medium fertility projections. Variables correlated with GDP or<br />
population grown according to driver rate(s).<br />
Kai L. Chan, PhD<br />
Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD<br />
E: Kai.Chan@INSEAD.edu W: www.KaiLChan.ca
Change language