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language Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Tower of Babel American Sign Language human vocal organs and points of articulation tongue position for vowel sounds
How does the human brain process language?
Noam Chomsky global use of the English language
What is simultaneous interpretation?
Linear B
For Students
language summary
Quizzes
YOLO "You Only Live Once" written in bright colors and repeated on a purple background (acronym, slang)
Slang Through the Ages Vocabulary Quiz
Fiery heart or heart made of flames with a dark concrete wall background. (love, Valentine's Day)
Love It or Hate It Vocabulary Quiz
Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).
Which Came First? Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
Guinea pig in purple glasses resting on an open book.
Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
Misspelled words (sequel) thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)
Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Portion of the Aleppo Codex, a manuscript of the Hebrew Bible written in the Hebrew language in the 10th century CE; in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Why Do Languages Die?
Chinese pictograph, calligraphy tablet of Huang Tingjian, a famous calligrapher in Ancient Song Dynasty. The background of Chinese cultural elements.
The World’s 5 Most Commonly Used Writing Systems
Happy, smiling, flying pig
7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
A ginger cat sleeps in his soft cozy bed on a floor carpet, soft focus
Lay, Lie, Lied, Lain: When Do We Use Which?
Discover
Confucius statue at a Confucian Temple in Shanghai, China. Confucianism religion
What is the Difference Between Daoism and Confucianism?
Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden
7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
12 Greek Gods and Goddesses
An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

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Photos and Videos

language
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Tower of Babel
American Sign Language
human vocal organs and points of articulation
tongue position for vowel sounds
Noam Chomsky
global use of the English language
Linear B
road sign in English and French, Canada
Old English dialects: distribution
How does the human brain process language?
What is simultaneous interpretation?
Learn about creativity and the influence of creativity in language
Distinctive features of Australia's Indigenous languages
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
American linguist
Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap
German-American philosopher
Gottlob Frege
Gottlob Frege
German mathematician and philosopher
Lorenzo Valla
Italian humanist
Max Müller
Max Müller
German scholar
Schlegel, August Wilhelm von
August Wilhelm von Schlegel
German scholar and critic
N.F.S. Grundtvig
N.F.S. Grundtvig
Danish bishop and poet
Ulfilas teaching Christianity to the Goths, early 20th-century illustration.
Ulfilas
bishop of the Goths
Wilhelm, Baron von Humboldt, oil painting by F. Krüger
Wilhelm von Humboldt
German language scholar
Roland Barthes
French critic
Elijah Bokher Levita
Italian grammarian
Euthymius Of Tŭrnovo
Orthodox patriarch
Adamántios Koraïs
Greek scholar
Schlegel, Friedrich von
Friedrich von Schlegel
German writer
Alexandre de Rhodes
French missionary
William Carey.
William Carey
British missionary
Otto Jespersen
Otto Jespersen
Danish linguist
Abu al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
Persian scholar
Rask, detail of a lithograph
Rasmus Rask
Danish language scholar
St. Isaac the Great
Armenian religious leader

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Guinea pig in purple glasses resting on an open book.
Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
Misspelled words (sequel) thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)
Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz
pile of international newspapers in various languages
Official Languages
Hand with pencil writing on page. (handwriting; write)
Word Nerd Quiz
Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.
Ultimate Vocabulary Test: Part One
Fiery heart or heart made of flames with a dark concrete wall background. (love, Valentine's Day)
Love It or Hate It Vocabulary Quiz
Child tracing letters of the alphabet
English 101
Buddhist engravings on wall in Thailand. Hands on wall. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, science and technology, geography and travel, explore discovery
Languages & Alphabets
Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).
Which Came First? Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
YOLO "You Only Live Once" written in bright colors and repeated on a purple background (acronym, slang)
Slang Through the Ages Vocabulary Quiz
A roulette wheel showing the number 13. 13 letter word quiz.
13-Letter Word Quiz
A young boy dressed in retro 1980s attire, with bow tie and eyeglasses, wears a light bulb idea invention machine to help him think of the next big idea. (nerd, nerdy, thinker) SEE CONTENT NOTES.
Are You An Idiom Savant? Quiz
Young boy with an open book looking at the camera and a globe at his side (East India, asian, student, education).
Geography and Language
Many slips of paper with "thank you" in different languages written on them. Thumbnail for the Dutch, Yiddish, Japanese, or Hindi Quiz.
Dutch, Yiddish, Japanese, or Hindi? Quiz
Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) tilts its head outside its burrow on Marco Island, Florida. (birds)
Curious Origins of Everyday Words Quiz
List
Happy, smiling, flying pig
7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
Chinese pictograph, calligraphy tablet of Huang Tingjian, a famous calligrapher in Ancient Song Dynasty. The background of Chinese cultural elements.
The World’s 5 Most Commonly Used Writing Systems
Demystified
Portion of the Aleppo Codex, a manuscript of the Hebrew Bible written in the Hebrew language in the 10th century CE; in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Why Do Languages Die?