The Euros kicked off last week and brings together 24 nations to compete against each other to win the crown of International European Champions. We thought we’d take this opportunity to take a quick overlook at Euro 2020 Languages and celebrate the languages on offer at the Euros and… who knows, maybe the competition might inspire you to learn one of the languages!
Euro 2020 Languages
Group A
Turkey
Turkish is spoken by around 70 to 80 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and is also spoken by groups in Iraq, Syria, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia
Nasilsin? – How Are You?
Iyi Yolculuklar – Good Journey
Gurusuruz – See You Later
Italy
Italian is the second most widely spoken native language in the European Union with 67 million speakers (15% of the EU population) and is spoken as a second language by 13.4 million EU citizens (3%).
Ciao! – Hello/Goodbye
Piacere – Nice to meet you
Va bene – All right
Wales
English is the primary official language of Wales. Nearly 30% of the population of Wales aged three or more is able to speak Welsh, with 16.3% (496,300) of the population reporting that they speak Welsh daily. The Welsh government plans to double that by 2050.
Su’mae – Hello
Sut wyt ti? – How are you
Diolch yn fawr iawn! – Thanks
Switzerland
In 2017, the population of Switzerland was 62.6% native speakers of German; 22.9% French; 8.2% Italian; and 0.5% Romansh, which has been recognized as a national language of Switzerland since 1938.
Group B
Denmark
Danish is spoken by about six million people, principally in Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and has minority language status in the region of Southern Schleswig in northern Germany.
Hej – Hello
Hvordan går det? – How are you?
Tak – Thanks
Finland
Finnish is spoken by 87.3% of the population.
Kuinka voit? How are You?
Hauska tavata Pleased to meet you
Kippis! Cheers
Belgium
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well.
Russia
Russian is spoken by more than 258 million worldwide and is the most spoken Slavic language, the most spoken native language in Europe, as well as the most geographically widespread language in Eurasia. Russian is the world’s seventh-most spoken language by number of native speakers, and the world’s eighth-most spoken language by total number of speakers and is the second-most widespread language on the Internet, after English.
Preevyet – Hi!
Kak pazhivayesh? – How are you?
Spaseeba – Thank you
Group C:
Netherlands
Dutch is spoken by about 24 million people as a first language in a country where it is the only official language countrywide. Dutch is spoken by 5 million people as a second language outside The Netherlands and about 60% of the population of Belgium (as one of three official languages). It is the native language of the majority of the population of Suriname where it also holds an official status, as it does in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
Hoe gaat het? – How are you?
Ja – Yes
Aangename kennismaking – Pleased to meet you
Ukraine
Ukrainian is the native language of 67.5% of Ukraine’s population. The Ukrainian language has been in common use since the late 17th century, From 1804 until the Russian Revolution, the Ukrainian language was banned from schools in the Russian Empire
Ahov – Hello
Jak ty požyvajesh? – How are you?
Prijemno poznajomytysia – Pleased to meet you
Diakuju – Thanks
Austria
Austrian German is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria. Similar to British English and American English, the German varieties differ in minor respects (e.g., spelling, word usage and grammar) but are recognizably equivalent and largely mutually intelligible.
North Macedonia
Macedonian serves as the official language of North Macedonia, spoken as a first language by around two million people. Macedonian is also a recognized minority language in parts of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Serbia and it is spoken by emigrant communities predominantly in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Zdravo! – Hi!
Kako si? – How are you?
Blagodaram – Thanks
Group D:
England
English is the largest language by number of speakers and the third most-spoken native language in the world, just behind Chinese and Spanish. It is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states.
Croatia
Croatian is the official and literary standard of Croatia and one of the official languages of the European Union. Croatian is also one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a recognized minority language in Serbia and neighboring countries.
Bok – Hello
Kako si? – How are you?
Drago mi je – Pleased to meet you.
Lijep ti dan želim! Have a nice day
Scotland
Today, the main language spoken in Scotland is English, while Scots and Scottish Gaelic are minority languages. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English.
Czech Republic
Czech is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group and is spoken by over 13 million people.
Jak se máš? How are you?
Těší mě – Pleased to meet you.
Na zdraví! – Cheers
Group E:
Spain
Spanish is a global language with nearly 500 million native speakers, with most speakers being in Spain and the Americas. It is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Chinese and the world’s fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi.
Hola – Hello
¿Cómo estás? – How are you?
Hasta luego – See you later
Sweden
Swedish is spoken natively by at least 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish.
Hur är det? How are you?
Trevligt att råkas – Pleased to meet you
Skål! – cheers
Poland
There are over 50 million Polish speakers around the world. It is the sixth-most-spoken language of the European Union. Polish is spoken by approximately 38 million people as their first language in Poland. It is also spoken as a second language in eastern Germany, northern Czech Republic and Slovakia, western parts of Belarus and Ukraine as well as in southeast Lithuania and Latvia.
Cześć – Hello
Miło mi – Pleased to meet you
Dziękuję – Thanks
Slovakia
Slovak is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, spoken by approximately 5 million people as a native language, primarily ethnic Slovaks.
Ako sa máš? How are you.
Teší ma – Pleased to meet you
Pekný deň! – Have a nice day
Group F:
Hungary
Hungarian is spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries including Slovakia, western Ukraine, central and western Romania, northern Serbia, northern Croatia, northeastern Slovenia and eastern Austria. Hungarian is also spoken by Hungarian diaspora communities worldwide, especially in the United States and Canada and Israel. It has 13 million speakers worldwide
Hogy vagy? How are you?
Szép napot! Have a nice day.
Thanks Köszi
Portugal
Portuguese is the sole official language of Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Brazil, and also has co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau. There are approx 215 to 220 million native speakers and 50 million speakers of it as a second language. It is usually listed as the sixth-most spoken language and the third-most spoken European language in the world in terms of native speakers.
Obrigado – Thanks
De nada! – You’re welcome
Então? tudo bem? How are you?
France
French is an official language in 29 countries across many continents and is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union. Amongst Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU.
Bonjour – Hello
Ça va? – How are you?
Oui – Yes
Germany
The German language is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. German is a native language to almost 100 million people worldwide and is spoken by a total of over 130 million people. It is the most spoken native language within the European Union.
wie geht’s? – How are you?
bis zum nächsten Mal – See you next time
Freut mich – Nice to meet you
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