50+ Fascinating Language Facts You Didn’t Know [Infographic]

Looking for interesting language facts? The world is full of diverse and unique languages, from the exotic sounds of Japanese to the romantic expressions of French. How all of these languages originated is often debated.

Ideas such as the “bow wow” theory say that language began with humans imitating the sounds animals make to communicate. Others believe that language was a divine gift, but most agree that all languages developed from a single language into the thousands we have today.

How much do you know about foreign languages? Whether you’re just beginning to learn a new language or you’re fluent in three, you can agree that languages are fascinating- and the more you know about them the more interesting they become! Learning about languages can inspire you to travel, make a new friend, or take a class. At least half of the world’s population is bilingual, and with over 7,000 languages worldwide there’s bound to be one that interests you. Check out the infographic from TakeLessons below for fun facts about various alphabets, cultures, and more. 

Did these fascinating language facts leave you feeling inspired to learn a new language for yourself? Being multilingual opens up many doors from travel opportunities, to friendships, to new careers. It also helps improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

[Transcript]

1. There are over 7,000 languages worldwide, and most of them are dialects.
2. Cambodian has the longest alphabet with 74 characters. Try making that into an alphabet song!
3. The Bible is the most translated book, followed by Pinocchio.
4. The English word “alphabet” comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet – alpha and beta.
5. 2,400 of the world’s languages are in danger of becoming extinct and about one language becomes extinct every two weeks.
6. The first printed book was in German.
7. There are over 200 artificial languages in books, movies, and TV shows, such as “Klingon.”
8. The Papuan language of Rotokas only has 11 letters, making it the smallest alphabet.
9. Only 23 languages account for more than half of the world’s population!
10. About ⅔ of all languages are from Asia and Africa.
11. French is the main foreign language taught in the UK.
12. Of all the language facts, this one fascinates us the most- at least half of the world’s population is bilingual!
13. Many linguists believe that language originated around 100,000 BC.
14. Basque is a language spoken in the mountains between France and Spain and it has no relation to any other known language. (They didn’t get out much).  
15. South Africa has the most official languages with 11.
16. More than 1.5 million Americans are native French speakers.
17. The Florentine dialect was chosen as the national language of Italy. Most regions in Italy primarily speak their own dialect to this day.
18. Kinshasa is the world’s second largest French speaking city, after Paris. Kinshasa is the capital city in the Congo.
19. There are about 24 official languages spoken throughout Europe.
20. Other than English, French is the only language taught in every country.
21. On average, people only use a few hundred words in daily conversation, while most languages have 50,000+ words.
22. German words can have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Most languages only have either masculine or feminine.
23. The United States has no “official language.” Most people just assume it’s English.
24. The language of La Gomera spoken off the coast of Spain consists entirely of whistles. (…but what if you can’t whistle?)
25. Over 20,000 new French words are created each year.
26. About 30% of English words come from French.
27. Botswana has a language made up of five primary “click” sounds.
28. Spanish contains about 4,000 Arabic words.
29. German is the most spoken language in Europe. Four countries have it as their official language.
30. Physical contact during a conversation is completely normal when speaking Spanish.
31. Papua New Guinea has the most languages, at 840.
32. Italian is a minority language in Brazil.
33. Over 300 languages are spoken in London alone. No matter what, you have a pretty good chance of finding someone to speak with!
34. The languages spoken in North Korea and South Korea are different. They have distinct vocabularies and grammatical rules due to being separated for so long.
35. The English language contains the most words, with over 250,000.
36. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world.
37. Multiple studies have shown that learning a second language can improve the memory and slow the process of aging. This is one of our favorite language facts!
38. Argentina still has a high number of Welsh speakers, due to settlers inhabiting the Patagonia mountains hundreds of years ago.
39. Russian was the first language spoken in outer space.
40. People who speak Chinese use both sides of the brain, whereas English only uses the left side.
41. Twenty-one countries have Spanish as their official language, making it a great choice for travelers.
42. Hindi didn’t become the official language of India until 1965.
43. The Pope tweets in nine languages, but his Spanish account has the most followers.
44. Hawaiians have over 200 different words for “rain.”
45. The culinary and ballet worlds use mostly French words and terms.
46. In Indonesian, “air” means “water.”
47. Japanese uses three different writing systems: Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana.  
48. The U.S. has the second highest number of Spanish speakers, after Mexico.
49. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. If you speak it, you can speak to 13% of the world’s population!
50. Cryptophasia is a language phenomenon that only twins, identical or fraternal, can understand.