By Number of Speakers:
* Top 10:
1. Mandarin Chinese
2. Hindi
3. English
4. Spanish
5. Arabic
6. Bengali
7. Portuguese
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. German
By Global Influence:
* English: Widely spoken in business, science, technology, media, and diplomacy.
* French: Significant historical and cultural influence, official language in many countries.
* Spanish: Spoken in many countries in the Americas, and also has a strong global presence.
* Arabic: Significant religious and cultural influence, spoken in the Middle East and North Africa.
By Geographical Distribution:
* Indo-European languages: Large family of languages including English, Spanish, Hindi, German, French, Russian, and many others.
* Sino-Tibetan languages: Large family of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Tibetan, and many others.
* Afro-Asiatic languages: Large family of languages including Arabic, Hebrew, Berber, and many others.
By Number of Native Speakers:
* Mandarin Chinese: Has the highest number of native speakers.
* Hindi: Also has a large number of native speakers.
* English: Has a large number of native speakers, although it is surpassed by Mandarin and Hindi.
Ultimately, the "major" languages of the world are those that have the most significant impact on global communication, culture, and politics.
It is important to note that the linguistic landscape is constantly evolving, and the prominence of languages can shift over time.