FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Do you know that Russian was the first language spoken in Space?
English features the most words compared to other languages in the world. There are more than 250,000 words used by English speakers across the world.
It is interesting to contemplate how we first developed communication and how language originated. It is interesting to discover how language was taught and learned, how the rules of spoken language came about, why there so many languages, and from where most words of different languages were derived from.
Spoken languages are a manmade concept for aiding communication between people and allowing us to connect with each other. Language evolved over the centuries as people communicated, passing on spoken languages, and teaching foreign languages, and writing systems.
Languages have become one of the key phenomena that has led to the evolution and development of human civilization, starting from the very beginning of the human species from cavemen to the current modern community that we have formed. Language helps us interact and develop as a species, and aids communication.
There are so many interesting facts about languages that the more research you put into it, the more fascinating facts you will find out.
Languages can be divided into five major categories:
Historic languages: Historic languages are those which have evolved over time from what they originally were to what is spoken today.
For example, old English is a historic language from which modern English descended.
Historic languages are so classified because these are not dead or extinct, but have just morphed into modern forms or taken the shape of modern language while maintaining their old identity.
An essential of historic languages is the presence of literature in their original form so as to qualify as a historic language.
If there is no literature to document its existence, then it would not be classified as a historic language.
Ancient languages: Any language capable of producing documentation of being alive at some point in history, but dead for more than a millennium, classifies as an ancient language.
Since the criteria for qualifying as an ancient language is so specific and finding evidence over a millennium old is almost impossible, especially finding any literature and the lack of documentation in ancient times, it is incredibly difficult to classify old languages as ancient.
Constructed languages: Languages that have been created with the purpose of promoting and aiding communication, whether it is confined to a specific region or tribe, are known as constructed language.
As with other forms, for a language to be included in the constructed language category, there should be documentation of its use and some literature, defining the parameters of the language.
A language can be considered constructed only when it is complete; for instance, there are rules, vocabulary, and letters that make a language whole.
For example, English has 26 letters in its alphabet, and there are grammatical rules that define the correct and incorrect use of the language.
Additionally, a language should have been in use by at least two generations to be considered a constructed language.
The main objective of this criteria is to see the existence and use of the language.
Computer languages and other artificial languages are excluded from this category.
Extinct languages: Any language that used to exist, but has not been in use for a few centuries, is considered to be extinct.
Identifying these languages is very difficult as identifying them is based solely on accessibility and, since they have not been in use for several centuries, chances of finding documented proof of their existence become a challenge.
Living languages: Living languages are those languages in which the speakers are still alive.
In simpler terms, if there is any language that is becoming rare, but there are still some people alive who learned it as their first or native language, then the language is still categorized as a living language.
For example, any of the modern languages, English, Spanish, Mandarin, Finnish and any of the thousands of languages still spoken across the globe, are all living languages.
Other than these, language can also be divided into the following types:
Native/First language: This is the language that is spoken or used in our homes, the language which we grew up using and learning. A first language is perhaps the easiest to learn for anyone, no matter how difficult it may be for non-native speakers. It can be many people's only language.
Second language: A second language may be defined based on a lot of parameters. A second language can also be the language of the place you reside in (especially if you are of a different origin or have a different language spoken at home).
Similarly, if there is another language that is taught in your school well enough to make you fairly fluent in it, then it becomes your second language.
Lastly, if you learn a second language, just out of interest or for some purpose, then it becomes a second language.
Dialect: A dialect is essentially a manner of speaking that is specific to a particular region. Dialects may or may not have specific words and tones that set them apart.
Sign language: This form of language is used for communicating with those individuals who cannot speak and/or hear.
Individuals use hand signs to communicate. Some words are easily signed using hand gestures while others are spelled out.
While a very simple question, the importance of language is not much thought of. Communication is such a basic feature of human life that we do not stop to think why language was created. Why is it such an important part of our civilization? Well, the reasons are quite obvious.
First and foremost, language is necessary for easier and better communication. It developed and evolved as a means to allow humans to talk to each other and communicate about different things. It is a means to express yourself.
Language allows us to understand things and ask questions. It is only due to language that we are able to question anything and are able to understand why things are the way they are.
When someone explains something new to us, it is easier to understand what it is.
Language allows us to express our thoughts, ideas, and opinions. If there was no language, it would be a lot harder to express our thoughts and ideas to others.
Language is the gateway to communicating our thought processes to other members of our species.
It is necessary to conduct business. Today our world is global, and it is safe to say that a lot of the credit for making this possible goes to language. Without it, there would have been no communication to aid in the growth of business opportunities.
If there was no language, individuals and businesses could not have been able to come together and discuss new things and strategies to implement, and it would be be near to impossible to form an economy.
Language helps us understand how each individual is developing throughout life. Language serves as an easy way to gauge how every child is developing. For instance, if a child is struggling with developmental milestones, language can be an indicator.
Since language is such an integral part of our species, and is such a sophisticated and systematic manner of communicating, it possesses certain features upon which the various languages that we use are based. No matter what language you speak, it will have the following features:
Duality: Duality simply denotes the fact that human languages are composed of two groups.
The first group is letters or alphabet while the other is known as phonemes, which are basically used for speech and may not have a meaning on their own.
However, when these two groups are combined and used together, it sets the human language apart from that of other species.
Arbitrariness: The arbitrariness of languages stems from the fact that there is no correlation or logical sense to explain why things are called or termed or sound the way they do in every language.
There is no logical formula to explain why a table is called a table in English or something else in any other language.
Language has evolved over the years, and was not designed by a group of people sitting together and jotting down words and rules. Thus, there is no singular reason why language is the way it is.
Creativity: Human languages are creative in the sense that a string of letters can mean multiple things.
While in some languages, tone is the differentiator of meaning, in others context is.
For example, in south-east Asian languages like Mandarin Chinese, for example, a word or sentence can have different meanings depending upon the tone of the speaker.
In English, a lot of words mean different things when used in different contexts.
For example, leaves means holidays or vacation days. It also refers to more than one leaf on a plant, and it also means going out of a place that you were in.
Learnability: This feature comes under the bigger umbrella of duality. Learnability, as the name suggests, simply means that humans can learn several languages.
While our mother tongue comes to us naturally, other languages can be learned by us. For example, a person living in the U.S.A would naturally know English but can easily learn the Finnish language or Spanish language, if required.
Displacement: Displacement simply refers to the idea that humans do not need to be in a certain place or situation or be able to see something in order to talk about it.
The fact that you can sit in the company of your friend, playing chess or talking politics is what displacement is all about.
There is no need for humans to be in direct contact with something to be able to talk about it.
Transference: Transference refers to the fact that human languages can be transferred from one generation to another and from one person to another.
This is quite closely interconnected with the learnability feature of language. But what can be used as an example to set them apart is inter-country adoption.
We know that a lot of Western countries allow people to adopt from foreign countries, especially Third World nations. In these cases, a child may be African, for example, but being raised in an American household with English-speaking parents, and taught in schools where the English language is taught, would make English come more naturally. Hearing the national language of the adoptive country would mean native speakers of other languages may soon forget their native language, especially if taught language skills.
There are so many amazing facts about languages that this article is unable to cover them all. But here are some interesting facts we have found for you:
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.
We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.
We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
Was this article helpful?
We’ll send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out.
Check your inbox for your latest news from us. You have subscribed to:
Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter.