What Science Says About the Fastest Languages in the World
- Mona Knöttner
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
Author: Mona Knöttner
Have you ever listened to native speakers of another language? Did it sound fast to you? Well, you are not alone in this experience. Studies have shown evidence that foreign languages naturally sound faster than one’s own native language. But are some languages “faster” than others? Let’s find out.
Subjective Viewpoint
You don’t need to be a native speaker to experience a language as “slower.” Of course, the speed of speech will appear a lot faster for someone who has little to no knowledge about the language. However, if you are already at an advanced level, language is naturally easier to understand.
How We Measure a Language’s Speed
Scientists of isochrony, the study of rhythms in human speech, suggest that a language’s speed is measured by the number of syllables per second. In other words, the more syllables a language consists of, the faster it sounds. Furthermore, it is the syllables’ rhythm that makes all the difference.
The Rhythm of Speech
There are three categories of languages. Spanish is known to be syllable-timed, where each syllable has the same length – allegedly, one of the reasons why it appears fast. German, on the other hand, is stress-timed. That means each gap between stressed syllables is equally long. Finally, there are mora-timed languages, where syllables are divided into small parts called morae. Japanese, for example, is such a language.
The Fastest Languages
Although there is not a lot of data yet about the isochrony of languages, a few studies have actively tried to measure the speed of speech. Syllable- and mora-timed languages are known to be the fastest. In fact, Japanese is the fastest with 7.84 syllables per second, followed closely by Spanish with 7.82 syllables. While only a handful of the 7,000 existing languages were measured, research steadily concluded that these two are in first and second rank.
Slowly Spoken Languages
A study published in 2019 concluded that tonal languages usually appear to be “slower.” This group of languages stands out for changing the meaning of a word by its tone or pronunciation. Tonal distinction requires speakers and listeners to perceive precise pitch variations in each syllable and word, a feature that can force speakers to slow down. Therefore, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Thai are seemingly some of the slowest-spoken languages.
Speed vs. Information
While the approach of “syllables per second” is so far the best measure of a language’s speed, the information density needs to be considered. Researchers concluded that in all languages, the amount of information per second is almost the same. Thus, “slow” languages compensate with a higher rate of information with fewer syllables. The theory so far is that the human brain aims to absorb a specific amount of information.
People & Culture
As a matter of fact, social norms influence the speed of a language as well. In Japanese culture, efficiency and conciseness are highly valued. Therefore, people tend to talk faster. In Arabic, on the other hand, the manner of speaking and storytelling are more important. Thus, their conversations can be rather deliberate and slow.
Communication Style
There are a lot more factors that contribute to a language’s speed. In Spanish-speaking countries, emotional engagement and expressiveness are more emphasized than in other cultures. Their communication style is often seen as lively and animated. Hence, speech rhythm is naturally sped up to ensure the conversation stays energetic and engaging.
Learning Fast-Spoken Languages
Usually, when learning a language, teachers expose students to easy and slow listening material. This method makes sense since a complete beginner won’t understand fast-spoken sentences. However, if there is no exposure to the language of native speakers, the discrepancy of comprehension will create a mental mismatch. Therefore, interaction with native speakers is important for learning a fast language.
Conclusion
To sum it up, no language is better because it’s spoken faster. It is the diversity in speech styles and cultures that makes the world of languages so unique. Every language and its culture are not like the others and therefore can’t be compared or put in a rank. No matter if fast or slow, each language is a distinct reflection of its corresponding culture.