Power languages

Bilingual Jobseekers – Do you Speak a ‘Power Language’?

For bilingual jobseekers living in multilingual markets and countries where a second language is in high demand, the ability to speak one of the world’s dominant languages can greatly enhance not only their job prospects – but also their earning potential.

There’s no doubt that mastery of a second language gives power to the speaker, but that is more the case with some languages than others. English is still the dominant language around the world, but there is also a growing group of incredibly powerful languages that can unlock a host of opportunities and enhance the speaker’s life prospects significantly.

What is a ‘power language’?

The power of a language is based on more than just how many speakers there are. Languages are deemed to be powerful if they are used by economic or political groups. For example, in colonial countries, it is not uncommon to see a smaller language group dominate a much larger language population.

The Power Language Index (PLI) takes into account a diverse range of factors when measuring the power of a language. That includes things like:

  • The ability to travel widely
  • The ability to earn a livelihood
  • The ability to acquire knowledge and consume media
  • The ability to communicate with others
  • The ability to engage in diplomacy
  • The number of world-class universities that teach in the language

One of the most important factors in this list is whether mastery of a particular language enables the speaker to consume media and acquire knowledge. This is significant because the ability to access and understand online content and academic journals directly impacts the opportunities that are available.

And the results are in…

Perhaps not surprisingly, English has been ranked the most powerful language in every one of the factors that was measured. In terms of knowledge acquisition, a significant proportion of online content is written in English, as are the majority of leading academic journals. Many of the world’s top universities also teach in English – it is also spoken in eight of the world’s ten leading financial hubs and is the main language of diplomacy in the UN and the IMF.

Although Mandarin is growing significantly in power, it is still a distant second to English, with French, Spanish and Arabic filling the next three positions. Interestingly, even if all the Chinese languages/dialects (Mandarin being the largest) were measured as a whole, it would still not change the ranking.

The top ten looks like this:

  1. English
  2. Mandarin
  3. French
  4. Spanish
  5. Arabic
  6. Russian
  7. German
  8. Japanese
  9. Portuguese
  10. Hindi

The benefits of speaking a powerful language

Language is undoubtedly a tried and tested tool for success for many individuals, with the type of opportunities available dependent on an individual’s country of origin and their native tongue. Studies have shown that, in mature markets – such as the UK or the United States, speaking a second language can certainly lead to economic benefits. However, it is people born in developing markets or whose native language is less prominent who can really reap the rewards of speaking a powerful language.

Native speakers of powerful languages can still benefit from bilingualism, if not economically – then certainly culturally and personally. Becoming bilingual can also improve problem-solving skills and build the tools people need to lead a fulfilling life.

Apply for bilingual jobs today

Put your powerful language skills to the test by applying for a top bilingual job on the English South Coast. Send us your CV or browse our current vacancies online.