The 8 Best Low-risk, High-reward Languages for International Business

The 8 Best Low-risk, High-reward Languages for International Business The 8 Best Low-risk, High-reward Languages for International Business The business world is becoming a tougher place every day for monolinguals.The most successful CEOs of the 21st century are presenting business plans in Mandarin and dialing into conference calls in French.Nowadays business is global. Investors in South Korea and Egypt are funding startups in Chile and the Netherlands, who work with contractors in Kenya  and the Philippines and sell to clients in Turkey and Bahrain.Languages like English, Mandarin, Russian and Japanese have dominated global commerce as long as anyone alive today can remember, and while those are four of todays business power tongues, that may not be the case tomorrow.Like everything else in the modern world, the linguistic landscape is changing, and which languages are sitting on the biggest pots of gold  are changing with it. So when preparing to invest in  your financial future with a new language, forget about the typical top 10 lists, the languages with the most speakers or those of todays strongest economies.Inst ead, youve got to think about your investments future: What are the  fastest-growing languages, and  whats the language of choice for the up-and-coming power players of tomorrows big economies? What are the best languages for business in the modern, globalized world of today and tomorrow?Its hard to say which is  the best, but here are eight languages showing the kind of consistently strong performance  that makes a  low-risk, high-return investment for any entrepreneurial language learner. The 8 Best Low-risk, High-reward Languages for International Business1. Portuguese: Doing business across four continentsOnly about 4% of worlds Portuguese speakers are in the languages namesake country; the rest are scattered across some of todays  fastest growing populations and economies.The Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) giant we all know and love is of course Brazil. The country that put the B in the BRICS countriesâ€"the four other countries plus Brazil that together make up the biggest, baddest, boomingest economiesâ€"is  spending countless  reais to influence the world and the way it does business.Under Brazils economic influence, Portuguese is likely to compete with or even displace  English as the most important foreign language in South  America. Its the revving engine of the MERCOSUR trade bloc, whose combined GDP of $4 trillion US  dollars makes it a player of global proportions.But dont be distracted by the headliner: Portuguese-speaking Angola is an oil-rich African nation thats rapidly developing and Macau, Hong Kongs often overlooked sister special administrative region of China which is also a former Portuguese colony, is the fastest-growing economy in the entire world.From Brasilia and São Paulo to Lisbon, Luanda, Goa and Macau, Portuguese has spread itself across established power centers and up-and-comers both, making it one of todays smartest long-term investments for language learners.2. Cantonese: Money talks in Southeast AsiaSpeaking of Macaus n eighbor across the bay, Hong Kong is one of the four East Asian Tigers  that dominate the economics of the East. Like its neighbor and fellow Tiger  Singapore, the de facto language of daily life is Cantonese rather than the Mainlands favored Mandarin.In Hong Kong, Singapore and other key financial centers in southern China like Guangzhou, Cantonese is the language of choice. 60  million  people throughout Southeast Asia and southern China are taking care of business in Cantonese, which spells opportunity for business-savvy language learners.Whats more, Cantonese has spread across most of the world in a unique way. Most Chinese emigrants to Western countries in the 20th century came from the Cantonese-speaking Guangdong area, resulting in Cantonese rather than Mandarin becoming the lingua franca of Chinatowns from Vancouver to London and most places in between.Add to that the fact that the large  Chinese enclaves in Vietnam, Malaysia and other pockets of Southeast Asia are also prim arily Cantonese-speaking, and youve got a formidable linguistic tool for doing business throughout the world.3. Urdu: The language of emerging marketsChina normally steals the spotlight in  The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, but just to the south the Indian subcontinent and its 1.5 billion inhabitants are shaking up the system.By 2030, India is projected to be the worlds largest country by population, and neighboring Pakistan will hold the number six spot, combining to total  a whopping population of 1.75 billion just 15  years down the road.English fluency is high in this part of the world, but never underestimate the impact of learning the local language. Pakistan and most of its 200 million inhabitants speak Urdu, the national language, which spills over into the homes and businesses of 50 million more people in India. With nearly 5% growth per year, Pakistan is designated one of the Next Eleven  economies which promise bountiful business opportunity in the near fut ure.Even better, Urdu is  mutually intelligible with Hindi, and linguists often consider the two to be dialects of one language called Hindustani. Estimates of the total number of Hindustani speakers  range from 400 to 500 million, making it by any count one of the worlds largest languages.With Karachis $78 billion market looking to invest in its  workforce and technology, its easy to see why Urdus stock is soaring.4. Spanish: Anything but business as usual in Latin AmericaTwo of todays  G20 major  economies, Argentina and Mexico, are Spanish-speaking. These Latin American powerhouses  are well-established global forces, but they no longer tell the entire story of how business is done in Latin America.Inconspicuous economies like Chile, Peru and Colombia are quietly pushing forward through initiatives like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and successful measures to reduce corruption and violence in their countries. These growth-leaders will almost certainly bring unprecedented cash flo ws not only into their own borders, but also  to their neighbors through trade unions like MERCOSUR and the Andean Community of Nations.The other Spanish-speaking G20 country that is too often overlooked  on a list like this, the country with the #2 hispanohablante population in the world, is the United States. English is the first language that comes to mind when the USA is named, but its 50 million Spanish speakers and their small and large businesses might kindly remind you that its not the only language spoken in the country.If youre one of the 90 million learners worldwide whos already picked up some Spanish, try brushing up on your business Spanish  to stay on the cutting edge of the business world.5. German: The language of European industrial mightYoud be hard-pressed to overestimate Germanys economic impact on the affairs of the European Union.Europes largest economy is also the fifth largest in the world: 80 million industrious Germans make up one percent of global populat ion, yet they generate an astounding 4.5% of global GDP.By Jonas Henriksson (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsThis and the fact that Frankfurt is home to the European Central Bank is a sure sign that German for business will only continue to grow in importance in the business world.But, as with many of the other languages on this list, its not just the country that gives the language its name that holds the brightest business prospects. German-speaking Austria is another dynamic European economy, and Swiss banks still save and spend  their dollars and francs in Deutsch.To language learners, German might  at times  sound  like an angry chest cold, but to the business leaders and deal closers of Europe, it sounds like money.6. Arabic: The webs fastest-growing languageIf you turn on the news today, you might make the mistake of associating Arabic with conflict and violence. Youd only be seeing a small sliver of whats going o n in the homes, offices and bank accounts of the worlds  nearly 300 million Arabic speakers. Instead, take a glance at Twitter or the latest global financial  news and youll find a different story.Ever since social media catalyzed democratic revolutions in the Arab Spring starting in 2010, Arabic has been the fastest-growing language on the worldwide web. To be exact, online use of Arabic has grown by 2500% in the last ten years, compared to 743% for Spanish and 281% for English.A quick investigation will show you why. In the United Arab Emirates, multi-billion dollar oil deals are arranged in Arabic. In Cairo, its the language of one of the worlds most massive film and television industries. In Doha, stock traders shout to buy or sell in Arabic in the Qatar Stock Exchange. In Beirut, its the language used to advertise the chic high-end fashion of the Middle East.And heres the real news: As of 2013, only about a third of the worlds 300 million Arabic speakers were online. That means theres plenty more room to grow, which should scream opportunity to language learners with an interest in the Middle East.7. Mandarin: The language thats dying to spend its moneyAh yes, theres the Chinese language you thought youd find  on this list.Its the one that you just cant miss when talking about the best languages for business, the duh candidate with its billion plus speakers and largest purchasing power in the world. In fact, we  cant think of a single reason a budding entrepreneur shouldnt learn Mandarin (its really not as hard as they say).The reason this language will only continue to become even more important is because of the nearly mythical economic shift taking place in China. In about 30  years, the country went from one of the poorest countries in the world to its largest middle class. And one of the key factors of any consumer segment labeled middle class is its disposable income. The newly wealthy  are adding to their numbers daily in China, and all those yuan are burning holes in their pockets.8. English: The language of globalizationAnd finally, the other unavoidable giant: English.Its the official language of 67 countries and 27 territories, as well as all of the most important global institutions like the UN, the European Union, NATO and the OECD. With over 350 million native speakers and a mind-blowing 500 million second language speakers in the world, English permeates nearly every aspect of global society, from Wall Street and London to the Internet and international governance.And there doesnt appear to be an economist, entrepreneur or linguist on the map who thinks the unstoppable tide of English will do anything but continue to gain momentum. The British Council predicts that the total number of people learning English will exceed 1.9 billion by the year 2020. Thats in addition to the growing population of native speakers, and 2020 is a short four years away.With the evergreen importance of English in business and life, congratu late yourself on reading this article in the worlds most widely-spoken language, but dont stop there. Business English is a rapidly growing field, and rightly so. The way we talk to colleagues and boards of directors bears little resemblance to the language we use in classrooms, cafes and social gatherings.The best way to close tomorrows business dealsThese are eight of the best and most practical languages for the innovators, investors and in-the-know businesswomen and men of the coming years, but it couldnt be further  from an exclusive list.Deciding on the best language for business depends on your particular aspirations, what kind of work youre good at, what youre passionate about and what corner of the world pulls strongest at your itchy feet. It could just as easily be Swahili, French,  Dutch, Japanese or Thai as any of the eight giants above.Learning a language is for life, not just for business. Itll certainly give you a brighter outlook on the job market or in launching you r innovative startup, but dont forget about all the other benefits that come along with it!What matters is that you learn another language and, hopefully, along with it, another culture. Business life went global years ago, and now our personal lives are becoming more and more global by the day, which makes it all the more important to learn a foreign language and become a better participant in global society.Whether your goal is to make it big on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange or to build schools for Urdu-speaking minorities in Hyderabad, it all starts with taking the plunge and a href=https://www.fluentu.com/blog/becoming-Jakob is a full-time traveler, obsessive language learner and dedicated language teacher. He writes about language, travel and the many places they meet on the road at his blog Globalect.