GUIDE TO NATIONAL LANGUAGES IN ASIA


Compiled by Johannes Tan

One who doesn't know the topography of mountains and forests
cannot maneuver the army.
One who doesn't employ native guides
will not secure the advantages of terrain.

-SUN TZU, The Art of War



Country National Languages Country National Languages
Afghanistan PASHTU, DARI Maldives DHIVEHI
Bahrain ARABIC Mongolia MONGOLIAN
Bangla Desh BANGLA*, ENGLISH Myanmar BURMESE
Bhutan DZONGKHA Nepal NEPALI*, NEWARI, BHUTIA, MAITHALI
Brunei MALAY*, ENGLISH, CHINESE Oman ARABIC*, ENGLISH
Cambodia KHMER*, FRENCH Pakistan URDU*, ENGLISH*, PUNJABI, SINDHI, PASHTU, BALUCHI
China CHINESE, MANDARIN Philippines TAGALOG*, ENGLISH, ILOKANO, CEBUANO
Hong Kong CANTONESE Qatar ARABIC*, ENGLISH
India HINDI*, ENGLISH*, BENGALI, GUJARATI, KASHMIRI, MALAYALAM, MARATHI, ORIYA, PUNJABI, TAMIL, TELUGU, URDU, KANNADA, ASSAMESE Saudi Arabia ARABIC
Indonesia INDONESIAN Singapore ENGLISH, MANDARIN, MALAY, TAMIL
Iran FARSI*, KURDISH, ARABIC Sri Lanka SINHALA, TAMIL, ENGLISH
Iraq ARABIC*, KURDISH Syria ARABIC
Israel HEBREW, ARABIC, ENGLISH Taiwan MANDARIN
Japan JAPANESE Tajikistan TAJIK
Jordan ARABIC*, ENGLISH Thailand THAI*, ENGLISH, CHINESE
Kazakhstan KAZAKH*, RUSSIAN Turkey TURKISH
Korea KOREAN Turkmenistan TURKMEN*, RUSSIAN, UZBEK
Kuwait ARABIC*, ENGLISH U.A.E. ARABIC, FARSI
Kyrgyzstan KYRGYZ*, RUSSIAN Uzbekistan UZBEK*, RUSSIAN
Laos LAOTIAN*, FRENCH, ENGLISH Vietnam VIETNAMESE*, FRENCH, ENGLISH, KHMER, CHINESE
Lebanon ARABIC*, FRENCH, ENGLISH Yemen ARABIC

(*) Designated as the Official Language(s) in bilingual or multi-lingual countries.

This list is exclusively compiled to aid Translation Agencies and Globalization Strategists,
not to ignite civil wars or bar-room brawls.