eLearning Translation Most Popular Target Languages
The majority of eLearning translation projects we take on start out with material in the English language. For the clients’ reasons unique to them, they require the eLearning material translated into another language. The target audiences might be located outside the United States (e.g., a non-US office location), or they can be aimed for non-English speakers within the US (e.g., immigrant communities).
Below we list the most popular target languages for eLearning translation projects, based on requests we’ve received over the years. Summary information on each of the languages is included. While Spanish and French are among the most commonly requested target languages for translation of eLearning materials, the rest of the languages listed are in no particular order.
Spanish
- Number of native speakers: 480 million
- Primary geographic regions: Latin America, Spain, US
French
- Number of native speakers: 78 million
- Primary geographic regions: France, Canada, Africa
German
- Number of native speakers: 90 million
- Primary geographic regions: Germany, Austria, other European countries
Italian
- Number of native speakers: 69 million
- Primary geographic regions: Italy
Russian
- Number of native speakers: 150 million
- Primary geographic regions: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other neighboring post-Soviet states
Portuguese
- Number of native speakers: 223 million
- Primary geographic regions: Brazil, Portugal
Arabic
- Number of native speakers: 310 million
- Primary geographic regions: Countries of the Arab League, minorities in neighboring countries and some parts of Asia, Africa, Europe
Chinese
- Number of native speakers: 1.2 billion
- Primary geographic regions: People’s Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan)
Japanese
- Number of native speakers: 125 million
- Primary geographic regions: Japan
Korean
- Number of native speakers: 77 million
- Primary geographic regions: North and South Korea
