25 Facts About Language That Might Astonish You

Table of Contents

• 25 Amazing Facts About Language
• Key Takeaways
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Our communication rests on the fulcrum of language. Without language, it would have been challenging to convey emotions, express ourselves, and communicate with others, if not absolutely impossible. Language plays a crucial role in the evolution of mankind and the development of the various modes of communication that we use today. 

Language is what helps us in interacting effortlessly with others. While the evolution of language is an amusing subject in itself, several interesting facts about language will surely astonish you. Let’s take a look at some of the intriguing language fun facts!

25 Amazing Facts About Language

Our world is full of a wide variety of languages. If you are planning a fun fact game for language trivia or are looking forward to learning more about the intriguing and exciting bits of language, here are some fun facts about different languages. Let’s start with some astonishing ones.

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1. You must have surely heard of Klingon or Dothraki. Well, these two do not exist. They are made-up languages from television and films. More than 200 artificial languages from books, movies, and TV shows are made up and actually do exist. One of the most amusing facts about language, isn’t it!

2. What language is most prevalently used in the United Kingdom? Well, English isn’t the answer. It is a general misconception that British English is the only language spoken in most of the UK. But did you know French is the primary foreign language taught in the UK? 

3. Next on the list of facts about language is an interesting bit about Basque. Have you ever heard of it? Probably not. Basque is the language spoken in the mountain areas between France and Spain. Since the Basque people did not get the opportunity to venture out much, Basque holds no relation to any other language.

4. The official language of the US is what? English, right? Well, that is not the right answer. There is no official language in the United States. Most people generally assume it to be English.

5. While most spoken languages adhere to either of the two genders—masculine or feminine, German has three genders—masculine, feminine, and neuter.

6. Have you heard of Papua New Guinea? While they might not be such a popular name, they have 840 languages alone, which is the most number of languages in the world. 

7. This one on the list of fun facts about foreign languages is Hindi. While it is assumed that Hindi is the national language in India, this is not true either. There is, in fact, no national language in India. Hindi, written in the Devnagiri script, is the official language in India. The country has at least 22 other important and widely spoken languages other than Hindi. 

8. The next fact is related to the Pope. As astonishing as it sounds, it is true that the Pope tweets in 9 languages. Also, his Spanish account has the largest following out of all his accounts.

9. Italian is not the official language of Italy. Florentine is an Italian dialect and is the chosen official language of Italy. 

10. When discussing facts about language, one surely cannot miss out on the Chinese language. Chinese is the most spoken language around the globe. In contrast, English is the second most spoken language in the world. Most of us generally think that English is the most prevalently spoken language, but Chinese combines several dialects, thus making it the most widely spoken worldwide.

11. One of the most exciting languages, French is the primary foreign language taught in the United Kingdom; it is also the most spoken language in Paris. Paris has the most significant number of native French speakers, making it the most prominent French-speaking city globally.

12. English is the most evolving language in the entire world, with as many as 4,000 new words being added to its dictionary almost every year.

13. While discussing interesting languages, one cannot just skip Khmer. Khmer is a Cambodian language, and it has the most significant number of characters for a single alphabet. The shortest alphabet in Khmer is made up of 12 characters. Astonishing? 

14. Fun facts about the language French? Well, here’s another one. Some of the French words have been derived from the English language.

15. Sanskrit, Hebrew, Basque and Sumerian are the oldest documented languages worldwide.

16. The Holy Bible is the most translated book ever. It has been translated into 683 plus languages, and certain sections of the Bible are available in more than 3000 languages. 

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17. Have you ever wondered if there is a language that only a handful of people speak? Well, there is. Only eight people across the world speak the Busuu language. It is the language of Southern Bantoid Cameroon. Eight people spoke Busuu in 1986, and only three knew it in 2005.

18. North Koreans and South Koreans speak different languages, with separate grammatical rules and even different vocabularies. 

19. What is the language of love? French is known worldwide as the most romantic language, getting it the title of “the language of love.” It also owes to the fact that Italy and France are the most popular love destinations in the world, and everything about France is just so romantic – be it the streets, the food, the words, and tourist spots.

20. Japanese speakers are known to be the fastest in the world. 

21. Now that we have discussed the language of love let’s find out the language of war. Russian, an excellent language, is considered by many people as the language of war. According to many people, Russian words tend to sound angry, hence getting it this name.

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22. English is the official language in most countries around the globe.

23. Next among the most amusing facts about language is the language of the air. Well, it sounds bizarre, but it truly exists. English is the official language of the air. The aviation crew and the pilot worldwide have to know English everywhere in the world mandatorily.

24. Chinese Mandarin is a language that is mainly composed of symbols. There are as many as 8000 plus symbols that the Chinese locals know. And even to read something as simple as the newspaper (in Chinese), one would need to know at least 3000 plus symbols of Mandarin. 

25. The first-ever printed language in the world was German. It was published in a book.

Key Takeaways

• There are more than 200 made-up languages from books, TV shows, and films. 
• French is the primary foreign language taught in the UK.
• While English is assumed to be the official language of the US, there is no official language in the United States.
• Papua New Guinea has 840 languages alone.
• Hindi is not the national language of India, but it is the official language of the union.
• Chinese is the most spoken language around the globe. At the same time, English is the second most spoken language in the world. 
• Paris is the largest French-speaking city in the world.
• The shortest alphabet in Khmer (Cambodian language) is composed using 12 characters.
• The Holy Bible is the most translated book ever. It has been translated into more than 2500 languages.
• Only 8 people speak the Busuu language in the entire world. It is the language of Southern Bantoid Cameroon. 
• French is known worldwide as the most romantic language, getting it the title of – the language of love. 

Conclusion

There is literally no end to the infinite fun facts about language. While most of the world’s population is bilingual, some people learn foreign languages faster and better than their native tongue. Language is not simply a mode of communication; it gives you insight into the culture and beliefs of a place or its people. 

FAQs