Fascinating language facts you didn't know

[jw5]

Language is a complex and fascinating part of our lives that has evolved century after century. We all use it in some form or another, and truly the way we use languages are endless. Language has come a long way from the days of our early ancestors; some have died, and others developed into the languages we know of today.

 

[jw5]

There are some 2,700 languages with over 7,000 individual dialects -

The world is an incredibly diverse place, which can be seen through its huge variety of languages. The most widely spoken languages are Mandarin, Spanish, English, and Hindi, in that order.

 

[jw5]

Many languages could become extinct -

Some 2,400 of the world’s languages are in danger of becoming extinct. About one language becomes extinct every two weeks.

 

[jw5]

People who speak Mandarin use both sides of the brain -

Researchers have found that people who speak Mandarin use both sides of their brain to understand the language, whereas English only uses the left side.

 

[jw5]

William Shakespeare invented 1,700 words -

William Shakespeare is credited with the invention and introduction of over 1,700 words that are still used in English today. Shakespeare used more than 20,000 words in his plays and poems.

 

[jw5]

There are over 200 artificial languages -

There are over 200 artificial languages in books, movies, and TV shows, such as Klingon ('Star Trek') and Quenya ('The Lord of the Rings'), the latter one of the many Elvish languages created by J. R. R. Tolkien.

 

[jw5]

Hawaiians have over 200 different words for "rain" -

The Hawaiian language, also known as ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, is an important part of the native culture. The relationship between land and language is quite symbolic, which can be displayed in how many words exist for "rain" alone.

 

[jw5]

Basque has no relation to any other language -

Spoken in the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country across northern Spain and south-western France, the origin of the Basque language is completely mysterious. It has no known relation to any other language.

 

[jw5]

Cambodian has the longest alphabet -

The Khmer language has the largest alphabet in the world, with a total of 74 letters, consisting of 33 consonants, 23 vowels, and 12 independent vowels.

 

[jw5]

German words can have three genders - German words can have three genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter (neutral). Most languages only have masculine and feminine.

 

[jw5]

Language is thought to have originated circa 100,000 BCE -

Most linguists agree that language began around the time when modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa with modern skull shapes and vocal cords.

 

[jw5]

The Bible is the most translated book -

The Bible is the most translated book, followed by 'Pinocchio' (1883). The beloved children's tale about the wooden boy has been translated into more than 260 languages.

 

[jw5]

About 30% of English words come from French -

It's estimated that about 30% of English words come from French. The main influx of French words can be traced back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

View attachment 173214

About 30% of English words come from French -

It's estimated that about 30% of English words come from French. The main influx of French words can be traced back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

Wat is the percentage of German n Latin in the pommie language?

 

[jw5]

The word "alphabet" is of Greek origin -

The English word "alphabet" comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. The modern English alphabet with 26 letters started in the 16th century. It had influences from the Semitic, Phoenician, Greek, and Roman scripts.

 

[jw5]

People don't use many words - On average, people only use a few hundred words in daily conversation, while most languages have more than 50,000 words.

 

[jw5]

Russian was the first language spoken in outer space -

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, so it's no surprise that the first language ever spoken in space was Russian. He traveled in the Vostok 1 capsule on April 12, 1961.

 

[jw5]

Over half of the world’s population speak more than one language -

Current estimates predict that around 43% of people are bilingual, with a further 17% being multilingual.

 

[jw5]

Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world -

Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. If you speak it, you can speak to 13% of the world’s population.

 

[jw5]

Language was developed to strengthen social ties among our ancestors -

Studies on monkeys support the idea that languages may have evolved to replace grooming as a better way of forging interpersonal bonds. Two other theories suggest that humans began to develop language by imitating natural sounds, or that it started with the emanation of involuntary sounds.