Scientists have counted approx. 6500 languages, half of which are, however, threatened to die off soon, as they are no longer passed on.
Not counted in above figure are pure sign-languages or computer-languages.
Non-linguists are often confused- as they consider the written language as the more important side of any language. However, the opposite is true amongst language-specialists: true linguists - masters in their trade - consider the sound of a language as the important part and treat its written representation with nonchalance.
Phonetic and phonology busy themselves with the lowest units of a language (tunes, sounds).She considers the production and transfer and conception of sounds.
Whereas the phonology brings sounds into a system that differentiates sounds according to their meaning. Sign language - including body language - gestures with hands, feet etc. very often do not stand alone but rather underline sound language. There's a joke going round: bind an Italian his hands and he's at a loss of words!
As of 2012 there are about 7 billion people in the world, and slightly less than half of them are believed to be at least bilingual.
about 28 milion people can speak balochi language in the world.
It is estimated that around 3-4 million people around the world speak Japanese as a second language. This includes individuals who have learned Japanese for work, study, or personal interest.
Approximately 90 million people around the world speak Spanish as a second language.
About 280 million.
Over a billion people worldwide speak Chinese as their native language, making it the most spoken language in the world. There are also many second language speakers of Chinese, further increasing the total number of individuals who speak the language.
Approximately 1.2 million people in the world speak Tibetan as their native language.
Many countries in the world were occupied for tens of years by the BritishEnglish language is the first world scientific language
Approximately 341 million people speak Hindi as their first language, primarily in India. It is also spoken by millions more as a second language around the world.
About 417 million people today speak Spanish.
Approximately 76 million people speak German as their first language.
Approximately 76 million people around the world speak French as a second language, while about 220 million people speak it as a first or second language.
Approximately 460 million people speak Spanish as their primary language worldwide.