Here at Transparent Language, we believe in the value of every language, regardless of the number of speakers, the economic value, or otherwise. That’s why we offer 100 languages in Transparent Language Online and continue to add new ones each year. For those interested in learning Asian languages, we currently offer courses and learning materials in 13 languages!

Cambodian (Khmer)

Spoken by tens of millions of people in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, Khmer has been spoken since the 7th century. It’s been around so long that many neighboring languages have borrowed from it, including Thai and Lao.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Cambodian includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, alphabet course and grammar reference.

Mandarin Chinese

This is the most spoken language in the world- it is spoken by nearly a billion people! It uses a combination of four tones and one neutral tone to differentiate words. It’s writing system includes over 100,000 unique characters!

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Mandarin includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, business and medical vocabulary, current event exercises and grammar reference.

Hindi

If you speak English, you may already be familiar with more Hindi words than you know! English borrows words like ‘loot’, ‘nirvana’ and ‘shampoo’ among others.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Hindi includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and alphabet lessons.

Hmong

The Hmong people have lived in China, Laos, Thailand, and even Minnesota, but have no official country of their own. Dialects are divided by color: white Hmong, and green Hmong. They amount to being the difference between British and American English.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Hmong includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and grammar references.

Japanese

Unlike many languages, Japanese has no relation to any other, making it a language isolate. There are, however, many familiar loan words, like the word for bread: pan.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Japanese includes an 8-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, as well as Hiragana and Katakana courses.

Indonesian

Deriving from Malay, Indonesian is the 9th most spoken language in the world. In fact, you’re likely to find many Indonesian learners and speakers all over Asia!

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Indonesian includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and alphabet course.

Korean

One of the oldest languages in the world, it is also the largest isolate language (a language with no apparent relatives or ancestors). Despite this, Hangul is actually one of the youngest alphabets. Because Hangul’s shapes mimic the shape your mouth makes when speaking, it is a particular favorite of linguists!

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Korean includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and alphabet courses, and major news lessons.

Malay

Malay is spoken in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and beyond.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Malay includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and grammar references.

Nepali

Nepali is thought to have derived from Sanskrit, and shares many words with that language. It’s written in the beautiful Devanagari script.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Nepali includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, and grammar references.

Tamil

Tamil is the oldest language in the world! So old that it is classified as a classical language by UNESCO. It is so beloved in its native India that it is personified as a Goddess: Tamil Thai, or “Mother Tamil”.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Tamil includes a 10-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, alphabet course, and grammar references.

Thai

Thai is another tonal language, comprised of five tones to differentiate words. It’s mutually intelligible with Lao, so it’s almost like two languages for one!

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Thai includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, alphabet courses, and grammar references.

Urdu

Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. English has borrowed several useful Urdu words, including ‘Pyjamas’ and ‘Typhoon’.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Urdu includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, typing activities, alphabet courses, major news lessons, and grammar references.

Vietnamese

Vietnamese uses six different tones to differentiate words. Originally, Vietnamese had no characters of its own, but rather borrowed Chinese characters. Since the 17th century, it has used the Quốc Ngữ script, derived from the Latin alphabet.

A subscription to Transparent Language Online for Vietnamese includes an 11-unit essentials course with native speaker audio, pronunciation practice, and typing activities.

Ready to start learning an Asian language online? Sign up for a free trial of Transparent Language Online, of find a library near you that offers free accounts!