Anyone who understands language can influence and affect others. With so many languages spoken and written, knowing the variations of language may assist in the maintenance of lesser-known varieties.
Many of us use language as a kind of communication without noticing it. Every day, we say an average of 15,000 words, whether with family, friends or as part of a business presentation.
Regardless, spoken language is not something a scholar or intelligence acquires immediately. Language, the manner we speak, and the words we use are all products of natural development.
Even today, language evolves, with the “happy face” emoji now included in the Oxford dictionary. It is also highly advantageous to learn a foreign language. As the world expands, so do the opportunities for individuals worldwide.
It is also not difficult to learn a foreign language. It becomes much easier to study a foreign language if you engage in excellent foreign language classes. It is pretty simple to improve your foreign language skills when you learn from an expert and have companions assist you.
As a result, foreign language lessons can help you improve and flourish as a professional or a student.
Being brought up by the “dawn chorus” is nothing new for many. Almost all animals communicate with one another via some sound. What distinguishes humans is our capacity to form those sounds into a sequence of words that follow a pattern, generating meaning.
The natural growth of language through time as we identify specific words with an item or activity and how those words are pronounced or heard is the beauty of language.
Our knowledge is then passed down from person to person and generation to generation, culminating in the organic growth of language.
As rich and intricate as it may be, language is about expressing ourselves, offering the potential to make people laugh, weep, ponder, or respond. The following are eight fascinating facts about language, some of which may surprise you.
1. There are almost 7,000 languages spoken in the world.
Many of us will only know a few, yet the globe is home to nearly 7,000 languages. Over half are dialects of the native language. This variety, known as dialects, is influenced by variables such as a country’s geographic location or cultural influences. Surprisingly, approximately half of all languages do not have a written form and only exist in spoken form.
2. The Bible is the most often translated book.
Despite the success of the Harry Potter series, the Bible remains the world’s most translated book. The material has been fully translated into 554 languages and partially translated into 2,900 languages.
Pinocchio is the second most translated book (no, not Harry Potter); however, it falls short of the Bible with just 250 different language translations.
3. Language evolved to build social relationships among our forefathers.
A study of macaque monkeys lends credence to the theory that languages developed to replace grooming as a more effective means of forming interpersonal relationships. Two additional ideas contend that our forefathers began to construct language by mimicking natural sounds such as bird cries and animal noises.
Or perhaps human communication began with the emission of involuntary noises: distress cries from pain or astonishment, wails of despair, or screams of joy or success.
4. There are over 300 different sign languages on the globe.
There are now over 300 sign languages in use across the world. Their evolution is complicated, and some of them have family-like lineages. Aside from the many regional sign languages that have been developed, for example, in Sri Lanka, each school teaches a specific version of their sign language, the main sign languages used widely today can be divided into four main trees: BANZSL (from Old British Sign Language), Danish, French, and Swedish.
Are you aware that Old French Sign Language is a direct descendant of American Sign Language? Now you know.
What sign do deaf people communicate when they gather in international venues such as the Deaflympics? Of course, international sign language! This sign language, also known as Gesunto or International Sign Pidgin, has been developed and applied since the 1970s and has over 1,500 motions.
5. Chinese is the language with the most native speakers.
Although English is the most generally spoken language when native and non-native speakers are counted, Chinese is the most widely spoken language when only native speakers are counted. According to Ethnologue, there are currently more than 1.3 billion speakers of Chinese and its variants.
Over half a billion people speak Spanish, the second most spoken language globally. English is third on the list, with less than 400 million speakers globally (another one billion speak it as a second language).
6. The letter E is the most commonly used in English.
According to a text study, the letter E is the most often used letter in English, accounting for 13% of all letters. It is, in fact, one of the most widely used letters in a variety of languages, including several European ones. T comes in second with 9.1 percent, while A comes in third with 8.2 percent.
If we look at the letters in dictionaries, E is also the most common first letter, with a frequency of 11%. S, I, and A follow with 8.7 percent, 8.6 percent, and 7.8 percent, respectively.
The letters J, Q, X, and Z, on the other hand, are at the absolute bottom of the frequency spectrum, with Z being used only 0.074 percent of the time.
When it comes to the first letters of words, T is the most common, followed by O and I. Looking at the letter frequency of words in dictionaries, we can see that S is the most common initial letter, followed by P, C, and A.
7. Japanese is the world’s fastest language.
The speed of a language is measured in syllables uttered per second or minute. The quickest language discovered in a survey is Japanese, with motor-mouth speakers spitting out syllables at a blazing rate of 7.84 per second. Try saying “methyldihydromorphine” 10 times in ten seconds!
On the other hand, Mandarin and German are two of the slowest spoken languages, clocking in at 5.18 and 5.97 syllables per second, respectively.
8. Learning a third language is less complicated than learning a second.
It all comes down to patterns. Learning your first foreign language might be difficult, mainly because you are unfamiliar with new speaking rules. When you begin studying the second foreign language, then the third, and so on, patterns emerge, and you will know exactly where to start with any new language.
Joining foreign language classes, where experienced coaches will educate you, is the most excellent approach to learning a foreign language. As a result, you will discover a foreign language quickly and successfully.
Conclusion:
Without even realizing it, many of us utilize language as a kind of communication. Every day, we utter 15,000 words on average, whether with family, friends, or as part of a business presentation.
Learning a new language is also not difficult. It is considerably simpler to learn a foreign language if you take suitable foreign language classes. It is relatively simple to improve your foreign language skills when you know from an expert and have companions to help you.