More people speak Malay than Hindi?

[D.G.Damle]

Probably uninformed, unresearched rubbish.  If only 50% of the nearly 1000 milllion Indians speak Hindi, and far more than that do, that's far bigger than 250 million.  In fact, far more than 50% of Indians speak Hindi now due to the Bollywood movies and so o, even many of them speak other languages and English as well.   Whether all the different varieties of Hindoi count as one language might be argued, but than is no different to the many varieties of English and Chinese.
 
Dileep Damle

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: South Asian Linguists on behalf of Harold F. Schiffman 
	Sent: Fri 27/05/2005 15:52 
	To: VYAKARAN at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU 
	Cc: 
	Subject: More people speak Malay than Hindi?
	
	

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	What say you Hindi-wallahs to the claim in this article that Malay
	is the fourth most frequently spoken language in the world, after Chinese,
	English and Spanish?
	
	Hal S.
	**************************************************************************
	
	Local Language Experts Attend Secretariat Meeting Of Mabbim
	By Rosli Abidin Yahya
	
	Bandar Seri Begawan - In an effort to promote the Malay language and
	civilisation, seven experts recently attended the four-day 9th Secretariat
	Meeting of Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia Language Council (or
	Mabbim) in Bogor.
	
	Led by Hanafiah Hj Zaini, a senior language officer with the Brunei
	Language and Literature Bureau (DBP), the event took place at Hotel Puncak
	Raya in Cisarua from May 10.
	
	The opening ceremony was officiated by the Head of Indonesia Language
	Centre, Dr Dendy Suguno. The local delegates were divided into four
	clusters. Hanafiah, Dk Sainah Pg Hj Mohammad and Hjh Saddiah Ramli
	represented Brunei in the secretariat sector, Dr Sylviana Moris in dental,
	Dr Hj Jaludin Hj Chuchu and Alipudin Hj Omarkandi in analysis with Rasiah
	Hj Tuah in publication. The gathering was also a follow up to resolutions
	taken during the 44th Mabbim Executive Conference that was held in Mataram
	last March 9 and 11.
	
	The respective tasks of member nations will be discussed at the 19" Mabbim
	Specialist Conference to be held in Brunei this September. Mabbim has been
	able to unify spelling systems and formed hundreds of thousands of
	terminology in a variety of subjects.
	
	Malay, spoken by 250 million people, is now the fourth most commonly used
	language in the world after Chinese, English and Spanish. Mabbim was
	formed on May 23, 1972 with country members comprising Indonesia and
	Malaysia.
	
	Before the Sultanate joined, the body was known as the Language Council of
	Indonesia and Malaysia (MBIM). Brunei was fully admitted as a member on
	November 4, 1985, after which the council adopted its present name
	
	http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May05/200505/nite25.htm