Facts About language is very important for linguistic student.There are over 6,000 languages and dialects, on each of them can say something interesting and surprising. Here are just a small selection of interesting facts about the languages of the world.
Language is a Social Phenomenon.
The physical organs which constitute the speech mechanism were designed for other physiological functions, yet of necessity man has learned to utilize these organs to interact socially.
Language Changes:
Over an extended period of time corruption often becomes standard. If this were not so, then the language of Beowulf would be the language of Hemingway. Since language changes, any attempt to describe the language is relative to usage. No rules of grammar are absolute; therefore, approaches to the study of language are subject to re- examination and revision.
You Must Know The Facts About Language In Every Direction
- Language is Behavior.
Much of the behavior in which human beings engage is verbal.The human being acts within a social context through verbal behavior in the form of language. Language becomes the major medium of interaction among individuals
within the social context. Thus patterns of behavior are expressed in verbal patterns which compose the patterns of language. The study of language is really a description of what is socially acceptable “verbal behavior within a social context.
- Usage Determines Standards.
The way the language is used by those who speak it determines what is standard. This becomes apparent when any language is viewed within its historical framework. Usage has levels ranging from the vulgate to the
formal.
Each of the levels of usage has unique qualities which must be considered in any study of language. In addition there are differences between the language in its written form and its spoken form.
5 Language Expresses Meaning.
Man uses languages to make himself known. Through language he relates himself to others by expressing his ideas, needs, and emotions. Language is simply a way of transferring meaning from one central nervous system to another by the uses of arbitrary symbols.
6.Grammaticality Is Not Enough.
A sentence may be grammatically perfect, yet devoid of sense and meaning; for example, “Dog’s wear sunglasses” and “The poly woggles a wiggle” are grammatically perfect but senseless. Sentences should make sense.
One of the curiosities of human language is that, although there are so many thousands of languages , about 12% of humanity speaks the same language: Mandarin . As is known, the Chinese have a large population and that is what generates this high percentage.
And just as there are so many living languages, it must also be said that there are about 9,200 dead languages . That means that there are more languages that have died, than those that remain alive. Languages such as Dalmatian, Manx, Classical Egyptian or Latin itself did not survive time.
The most serious thing is that it is currently estimated that a language dies every 14 days, in general, these belong to small communities. The Bible is the most translated book into other languages: 2,454 in total. And it must be said that the ATMs in the Vatican do have instructions in Latin.
