Portal:Language
Wikimedia portal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
![]() | Portal maintenance status: (January 2019)
|
Full Language category tree |
---|
Select [►] to view subcategories
|
Introduction
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Tepantitla_mural%2C_Ballplayer_A_%28Daquella_manera%29.jpg/640px-Tepantitla_mural%2C_Ballplayer_A_%28Daquella_manera%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Cuneiform_script2.png/320px-Cuneiform_script2.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Girls_learning_sign_language.jpg/640px-Girls_learning_sign_language.jpg)
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Human languages possess the properties of productivity and displacement, which enable the creation of an infinite number of sentences, and the ability to refer to objects, events, and ideas that are not immediately present in the discourse. The use of human language relies on social convention and is acquired through learning.
Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. Precise estimates depend on an arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both; however, any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writing, whistling, signing, or braille. In other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way to inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gestures.
Depending on philosophical perspectives regarding the definition of language and meaning, when used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings. Oral, manual and tactile languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances.
The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Critical examinations of languages, such as philosophy of language, the relationships between language and thought, how words represent experience, etc., have been debated at least since Gorgias and Plato in ancient Greek civilization. Thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) have argued that language originated from emotions, while others like Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) have argued that languages originated from rational and logical thought. Twentieth century philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) argued that philosophy is really the study of language itself. Major figures in contemporary linguistics of these times include Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky. (Full article...)
Selected language - show another
Papiamento (English: /ˌpɑːpiəˈmɛntoʊ/) or Papiamentu (English: /ˌpɑːpiəˈmɛntuː/; Dutch: Papiaments [ˌpaːpijaːˈmɛnts]) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao).
The language, spelled Papiamento in Aruba and Papiamentu in Bonaire and Curaçao, is largely based on colonial-era Portuguese and Spanish (including Judaeo-Portuguese), and has been influenced considerably by Dutch and Venezuelan Spanish. Due to lexical similarities between Spanish and Portuguese, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of some words. Though there are different theories about its origins, most linguists now believe that Papiamento emerged from the Portuguese creole languages that developed in the West African coasts, as it has many similarities with Cape Verdean Creole and Guinea-Bissau Creole. (Full article...)Did you know (auto-generated)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that Franzisca Baruch designed several Hebrew fonts, the cover of the first Israeli passport, the emblem of Jerusalem, and the logo of the Ha'aretz newspaper, all while barely knowing Hebrew?
- ... that Chow Leung started a language school for children in Chicago before writing Chinese Fables and Folk Stories with Mary Hayes Davis?
- ... that foreign nationals wishing to gain Philippine citizenship need to demonstrate proficiency in English or Spanish as well as a Philippine language?
- ... that the Akademia Nasionala del Ladino in Israel is dedicated to preserving the Judaeo-Spanish language?
- ... that Atlanta's "quicker picker-upper" aired martial arts movies, professional wrestling, jazz music, and Japanese-language programming?
- ... that when students spoke Vietnamese in a graduation speech in Louisiana, the school district proposed banning all non-English languages?
More did you know - show different entries
- ...that Bambaiya Hindi, a pidgin used in Mumbai, is a combination of English, Marathi, Gujarati and several other languages?
- ...that famous epic poems like Beowulf and Judith were written in Late West Saxon?
- ...that the Inuktun language, spoken by 1000 Inughuit people around Qaanaaq in northern Greenland, is related to Canadian Inuit languages?
- ...that most Russian-speakers in the United States are Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union?
Categories
Linguistics: Computational linguistics • Grammar • Historical linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Phonology • Pragmatics • Reading • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Syntax • Writing
Languages: Language families • Pidgins and creoles • Sign languages
Linguists: By nationality • Historical linguists • Morphologists • Phoneticians • Phonologists • Sociolinguists • Syntacticians • Translators
Stubs: Constructed languages • Languages • Linguists • Pidgins and creoles • Typography • Vocabulary and usage • Writing systems
Related portals
Selected topic - show another
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Flag_of_La_Francophonie.svg/640px-Flag_of_La_Francophonie.svg.png)
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, French: La Francophonie [la fʁɑ̃kɔfɔni], sometimes also called International Organisation of La Francophonie in English) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a lingua franca or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are francophones (French speakers), or where there is a notable affiliation with French culture.
The organization comprises 88 member states and governments; of these, 54 states and governments are full members, 7 are associate members and 27 are observers. The term francophonie (with a lowercase "f"), or francosphere (often capitalized in English), also refers to the global community of French-speaking peoples, comprising a network of private and public organizations promoting equal ties among countries where French or Belgian people or France or Belgium played a significant historical role, culturally, militarily, or politically. (Full article...)Selected picture - show another
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Castellano-Espa%C3%B1ol-en.png/320px-Castellano-Espa%C3%B1ol-en.png)
Credit: Phoenix7777 and Bnwwf91 |
Geographical distribution of the preferential use of the terms castellano (Castilian), in red, vs. español (Spanish), in blue, to refer to the Spanish language
Language News
- 19 July 2024 –
- Ukrainian linguist, nationalist politician, and former People's Deputy Iryna Farion is shot and killed in Lviv, Ukraine by an unknown assailant. (Reuters)
- 27 June 2024 –
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a law establishing English as an official language of international communication in Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent)
- 25 April 2024 – International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- The Arabic language spokesperson of the United States Department of State resigns in opposition to U.S. Gaza policy. (Reuters)
Topics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Icon-notepad.svg/43px-Icon-notepad.svg.png)
Languages of Africa: Arabic, Chadic, Cushitic, Kanuri, Maasai, Setswana, Swahili, Turkana, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu, more...
Languages of the Americas: Aleut, Carib, Cherokee, Inuktitut, Iroquois, Kootenai, Mayan, Nahuatl, Navajo, Quechuan, Salish, American Sign Language, more...
Languages of Asia: Arabic, Assamese, Balochi, Bengali, Chinese, Japanese, Hajong, Hebrew, Hindustani, Kannada, Kokborok, Marathi, Khasi, Korean, Kurdish, Malayalam, Manipuri, Meithei, Mongolian, Persian, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Sylheti, Tamil, Tanchangya, Tulu, Telugu, Tibetan, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Khowar, more...
Languages of Austronesia: Austric, Fijian, Hawaiian, Javanese, Malagasy, Malay, Maori, Marshallese, Samoan, Tahitian, Tagalog, Tongan, Auslan, more...
Languages of Europe: Basque, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (book), French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Leonese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Ukrainian more...
Constructed languages: Esperanto, Ido, Volapük, more...
Agglutinative language, Analytic language, Constructed language, Creole, Context-free language, Extinct language, Dialect, Fusional language, Inflectional language, International language, Isolating language, Language isolate, National language, Natural language, Pidgin, Pluricentric language, Polysynthetic language, Proto-language, Sign language, Spoken language, Synthetic language, Variety (linguistics)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Nuvola_apps_ksig.png/52px-Nuvola_apps_ksig.png)
Applied linguistics, Cognitive linguistics, Accent (dialect), Computational linguistics, Descriptive linguistics, Eurolinguistics, Generative linguistics, Historical linguistics, Lexicology, Lexical semantics, Morphology, Onomasiology, Phonetics, Phonology, Pragmatics, Prescription, Prototype semantics, Psycholinguistics, Semantics, Stylistics, Sociolinguistics, Syntax
See also: List of linguists
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Phrase_sanskrit.svg/640px-Phrase_sanskrit.svg.png)
Alphabets: Arabic alphabet, Bengali alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Latin alphabet, more...
Other writing systems: Abjad, Abugida, Braille, Hieroglyphics, Logogram, Syllabary, SignWriting, more..
See also: History of the alphabet, Script
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Find a language
Enter an ISO 639 code to find the corresponding language article |