Google trends can be very illuminating, especially when they reveal the topics that are trending in a range of different subjects. Language is no different, so we have dived into Google trends to discover the topics which have been trending in the language world this year.
In this article, we’ll look at the top English language Google searches worldwide over the last 12 months, including the highest and lowest global language-related searches by country and more.
Top English language Google searches over the last 12 months
Google as the most popular search engine in the world can tell us a lot about the interest in a range of areas. More than two trillion search requests have been made per day on Google in 2021, hinting at the staggering number of subjects that users are curious to learn about via Google.
Read on to discover some of the top English language Google searches across the globe in 2021.
The Language of Love
The search term “love languages” proves to be the most popular throughout 2021. Our first thought when seeing this is the Romance languages. But what this really means isn’t language focused at all; moreover it is about different people with different personalities giving and receiving love in different ways.
Maybe it’s as a result of lockdown providing time for self-reflection and the need for deepening our connections to our loved ones. Apparently, by learning to recognise these preferences in yourself and in your loved ones, you can learn to identify the root of your conflicts, connect more profoundly, and truly begin to grow closer.
On exploring the phrase “Love languages” on Google, we learn that interest peaked in February 2021, prompting us to wonder whether the term pertains to matters of the heart, and whether searchers were keen to find out more during Valentine’s Day.
Related queries included “Different types of love languages”, “Questions to ask your boyfriend” and “Ring that says I love you in 100 languages.”
We suppose love and how you communicate your affection to your partner is as much a language as English or French. Translation, after all, means “carried across” so how we carry across and communicate our love for one another is incredibly important.
Different Strokes…
“Different languages” was the fourth most popular language-related term throughout 2021. What prompted so many people to search for this topic this year? Related searches give us a clue, as they included “What are the different love languages” and “What are the 5 different love languages”.
The enduring popularity of the subject of love languages continues as a theme as we reconnect with our loved ones in the post-pandemic era.
Linguistic Curiosity
Another popular language-related search term was “How many languages”, while related searches included “How many languages are there in the world” and “How many languages exist in the world today”.
This is a question that has fascinated language scholars and enthusiasts for a long time. The answer is that this is always in flux; languages die out regularly and many are under the threat of extinction currently. We recently wrote about this subject, specifically the debate of whether niche languages should be kept alive.
Highest global language-related searches
The following countries have shown the most interest in language-related searches over the last 12 months. Nepal has a high search interest for language-related keywords of 100, which is almost double that of Nigeria, with an interest in “language” terms of 56.
Lowest language-related searches
The list of countries below has shown the least interest in language-related searches over the previous 12 months. Fascinatingly, searchers in Japan have shown the least interest in other languages. This could be because of the relatively low number of immigrants into Japan, which has a more homogenous population than many other countries. In fact, the top 10 languages spoken in Japan are all of Japanese origin.
So how do 2021 language trends compare to 2020?
Last August, we explored the language trends of 2020, learning that the top language search term of 2020 was “Language learning with Netflix”. But the trend of using TV and film to learn a new language hasn’t abated in 2021.
By mid-October 2021, Duolingo reported a 76 per cent increase in users in the UK looking to learn Korean, while a 40 per cent increase was also reported in the US. This could be related to the recent popularity of Squid Game, a Korean-made series which made its debut on Netflix just a few short weeks before.
Language experts with a finger on the pulse
As you can see, we have our finger on the pulse when it comes to language trends. Our translators follow the zeitgeist – meaning they are always observing the shifting fashions in languages.
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