Duolingo: Number of Welsh learners hits three million for first time
The language-learning app's annual report analyses date from its 84 million monthly users. Over 32 million people now study more than one language course.
Monday 4 December 2023 10:27, UK
The number of people learning Welsh on language app Duolingo has hit three million, according to a new report.
The milestone has been reached after the company confirmed in October that updates to the course would be "paused".
Politicians in Wales expressed concern about the impact it could have on the Welsh government's target to reach a million speakers by 2050.
App data showed Welsh grew 38% in 2023 compared with last year when it grew by 26%.
The fourth of Duolingo's language reports, published every December, analyses data from its 84 million monthly learners.
Over 32 million people now study more than one language course on Duolingo.
Scottish Gaelic reached 1.8 million this year, four years since the course launched.
The top 10 most popular languages for the year were English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Hindi, Chinese and Portuguese.
Portuguese makes the list for the first time, bumping Russian out of the top 10 amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Read more:
Duolingo hopes to support Welsh target despite update 'pause'
'More support than ever' for Welsh language - govt claims
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Dr Cindy Blanco, senior learning scientist at Duolingo, said "language is a bridge between cultures".
"We see trends reflected in the data of our 84 million monthly learners around the world," Dr Blanco added.
"We've seen interest in Korean entertainment, like K-Pop and K-dramas, increase recently and that's reflected in Duolingo's data.
"We can see the growing demand for Korean language study, especially from younger learners."