I have this knack for languages. As a kid, I was the most brilliant student and the blue-eyed pupil for my language teachers. My Urdu was as good as my English. As a teenager, I always wanted to learn German, Chinese, and Arabic.
When I had kids, I tried teaching them Urdu. I put them in French school so they could learn the second official language of the country they are born in. They also attend an evening school where they have just begun to learn Arabic. Plus number two already speaks gibberish some times, telling me it is Chinese.
I try to communicate with them in Urdu as advised by so many language experts. It is because I believe no matter where they go and what they do, being the children of a Desi household they must know the language of their parents and family. I truly admire people from far-East and also Indian Punjab, and Arabs as they make sure their kids know and speak their language at home or amongst the family, while I find Urdu and Hindi speaking people more shy to use their own language and feel proud that their kids do not speak but in English-guess 200 or so years of British slavery does that to people!
So I just found this amazing article on Twitter, that was actually interesting for number 1, as she is just like me when it comes to languages. She is often a bit shy to speak Urdu, so I showed her this and made her read it.
I am sure some numbers would be as surprising for you as are for me.
This is the chart that caught her attention most as I bragged about how widely spoken my language is, even more than hers:)
Here’s the link to the actual article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-worlds-languages-in-seven-maps-and-charts-a6791871.html