Estimated that up to 7,000 different languages are spoken around the world.
100
What language is said to be easiest for an English speaker to learn.
Dutch
100
How many languages are at risk of extinction?
2,500 languages
100
Name a few of the oldest languages.
Sanskrit, Sumerian, Hebrew, Basque
100
Why should English speakers learn another language?
75% of the population doesn't speak any English
200
How many languages have only a single speaker?
46
200
List five of the supposedly most difficult languages for native English speakers.
Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean
200
Why are some languages endangered?
Globalisation and cultural homogenization
200
What do studies say about why we evolved to have language?
Languages may have evolved to replace grooming as a better way of forging social ties amongst our ancestors.
200
What effect does second language knowledge have on your brain?
Studies suggest that speaking two languages can help slow down the brain's decline with age.
300
What percent of languages are used by less than 100,000 people?
90%
300
What effect does your native language have on your ability to speak a second language?
The closer the second language is to your native language, the easier acquisition will be.
300
How many languages are lost every year?
About 25
300
What is the most widely used writing system?
The Latin (Roman) alphabet.
300
After what age does it become significantly more difficult to learn languages?
Around 10 years old.
400
How many languages can be found in Asia?
2,200
400
What language did French and Spanish evolve from?
Latin
400
How many artificial languages have been created since the 17th century?
Around 200 artificial languages have been created since the 17th century.
400
Where and when did the Latin alphabet originate?
In Phoenicia around 1100 BC.
400
How many Americans can hold a conversation in a second language?
About 1 in 4.
500
How many languages can be found in Europe?
260
500
What makes French easy to learn for English speakers?
About 30% of English words come from French.
500
How many people speak Esperanto?
Approximately 2 million people.
500
Name 5 of the world's most widely used alphabets which are still in use today.
Amharic
Arabic
Bengali
Burmese
Chinese script
Cyrillic
Devanagari
Georgian
Greek
Hebrew
Japanese script
Khmer
Korean
Lao
Latin
Sinhala
Thai
Tibetan
500
What is the best way to learn a foreign language?
It depends on your learning style, but most people benefit from some kind of immersion, especially by travelling to or living in a country where the language is spoken.