Language

Language is a structured system of communication that uses grammar and vocabulary to convey meaning. Humans use language in spoken and signed forms, and it can also be written. Every human language has unique rules and words, but they all share the ability to create endless sentences and talk about things that are not right in front of us.

There are between 5,000 and 7,000 languages in the world today. These languages may be spoken, signed, or written using different kinds of stimuli like braille. The study of language is called linguistics, and it explores how languages work and how they have developed over time.

Languages change and branch out from common ancestors, forming groups known as language families. Sadly, many languages may disappear by the year 2100, leaving only a fraction of the languages we have today.

Definitions

Main article: Theory of language

The word language comes from ancient roots meaning "tongue" or "speech." It can describe many kinds of communication systems, but this article focuses on natural human languages studied in linguistics.

Language can mean two things: the general idea of language, or a specific language like French. People have debated for centuries about how language works and where it comes from. Some thinkers believe language starts from human emotions, while others think it helps us think logically.

One way to think about language is as a special ability of the human mind. All children learn to speak without being taught, showing that humans are naturally wired for language. Even when people grow up together without a common language, they can create new ones.

Another view sees language as a system of rules. Just like building blocks fit together in certain ways, languages have rules that let us build words and sentences.

Finally, language is a tool for sharing ideas and connecting with others. It helps us talk about what we need, our feelings, and the world around us. This view looks at how people actually use language in daily life.

Main articles: Animal language and Great ape language

Origin

Main articles: Origin of language and Origin of speech

See also: Proto-Human language

Humans have long wondered how language began. Many cultures have their own stories about this, such as the Biblical myth of the Tower of Babel.

Scholars have different ideas about how language started. Some believe it developed slowly from earlier communication systems used by our ancient ancestors. Others think it appeared suddenly as a special ability unique to humans. Some researchers think language may have evolved from animal communication or even from music. Because language began so long ago, before humans could write, we can only guess how it developed by studying early human fossils and comparing them to animals.

Study

Main articles: Linguistics and History of linguistics

The study of language, called linguistics, has grown into a science over many years. It began more than 2000 years ago in India with early descriptions of languages. Today, linguistics looks at all aspects of language from many different angles.

Linguists study single languages, how languages evolve over time, and how languages are used in social settings. They also explore how the brain processes language, build computer models to understand language, and investigate the universal rules that underlie all human languages.

Physiological and neural architecture of language and speech

Speaking is the main way people with hearing communicate in all cultures. To speak, we need to control our lips, tongue, and other parts of our vocal system. We also need to understand the sounds of speech and have the brain power to learn and use language.

The brain is in charge of all language activities. It helps us both understand and produce language. Scientists have found that two main areas of the brain are important for language. One area helps us understand language, while the other helps us speak clearly. With new technology, scientists can study how the brain works in people who do not have language problems.

Speaking uses our lungs, voice box, and the parts of our upper body used for making sounds. By controlling these parts, we can make many different sounds. These sounds can be simple pieces called segments or larger pieces that give extra meaning, like stress and tone. Segments include vowels and consonants, which combine to make syllables and words. Vowels are sounds made without blocking airflow, while consonants are made by blocking airflow in different ways. Together, these sounds let us speak many languages.

Main articles: Speech production, Phonetics, and Articulatory phonetics

Modality

Human languages can be expressed in two main ways: spoken words and signed gestures. Often, people use both at the same time. For example, when telling stories, some cultures use sign language along with spoken words. In daily conversations, people might use hand gestures to add more detail to what they are saying.

There are also other ways to communicate language, such as writing, which includes braille, or using whistling and drumming. Some special codes like semaphore and Morse code are used to send written messages in different forms. For certain ceremonial languages, writing might be the main way people communicate, with spoken words used less often.

Main article: Mouthing Main articles: Plains Indian Sign Language, Australian Aboriginal sign languages Main article: Case Main article: Iwaidja Main article: Damin Main articles: Writing, Braille, Manually coded language Main articles: Whistling, Drumming Main articles: Semaphore, Morse code, Spelling alphabets

Structure

Language is a system of communication made up of signs, meanings, and a code that connects them. Signs can be sounds, gestures, letters, or symbols, depending on whether the language is spoken, signed, or written. These signs can be combined into words and phrases to convey meaning.

Human language has special properties that make it unique. For example, there is no direct link between a word and its meaning — the word "dog" doesn’t naturally mean the animal. Languages also build complex structures from simpler parts, like how sounds form words and words form sentences. Every language has a finite set of elements that can be combined in countless ways.

Rules govern how signs combine to form words and phrases, known as syntax or grammar. The meaning connected to signs, words, and phrases is called semantics. Language can be studied in terms of its vocabulary, how sounds are used, and the rules that structure sentences. Different languages arrange words in different orders, but all languages have ways to express subjects, verbs, and objects.

Social contexts of use and transmission

Humans learn language by growing up in environments where it is used by others. Children learn from elders and peers, and later teach their own children. Languages help people communicate and solve social tasks. Over time, languages change and diversify, sometimes converging due to contact between different language speakers.

Languages are not just about words; they also carry meaning based on social context. For example, the word "I" refers to the speaker, and "now" refers to the moment of speaking. The study of how context affects meaning is called pragmatics. Language can also be used to perform actions, like naming something or declaring someone married. These actions, called speech acts, have real-world effects.

All healthy children learn to use language, whether it's a sign language or a spoken one. They start by making sounds, then begin to form words and simple sentences. By age three to five, their speech or signing becomes more like that of adults. Learning a second language is possible at any age, though children often achieve better fluency than adults.

Linguistic diversity

See also: Lists of languages and List of languages by total number of speakers

SIL Ethnologue helps us understand how many languages are spoken around the world. Right now, there are about 7,170 living languages. Some languages, like Danish language, can look different depending on who is speaking it.

Many languages have lots of speakers. About 389 languages have more than a million people speaking them. These big languages are spoken by most of the world’s people. But there are also many smaller languages spoken by just a few people.

Languages and dialects

Main article: Dialect § Dialect or language

It can be hard to tell when something is a language or a dialect. For example, Hakka, Cantonese, and Mandarin are all types of Chinese. Even though they sound different, they are often called dialects. Sometimes, what counts as a language or a dialect depends on history and politics, not just how different the sounds are.

Language families of the world

Languages can be grouped into families that share a common history. The biggest family is the Indo-European languages, which includes languages like English, Spanish, French, and Russian. Another big family is the Sino-Tibetan languages, which includes Mandarin Chinese. There are also many smaller families all over the world, especially in places like Papua New Guinea and West Africa.

Language endangerment

Many smaller languages are in danger of disappearing. This happens when fewer and fewer people speak them, especially when young people start using bigger, more common languages instead. Many projects work to help save these languages by teaching them in schools and using them in communities.