Portal:Language

Introduction

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 include Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky. (Full article...)

Outline of linguistics • Index of language articles

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Izi (Izii, Izzi) is an Igboid language spoken in Ebonyi state in Nigeria. It forms a dialect cluster with the closely related languages Ikwo, Ezza, and Mgbo. (Full article...)

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... that Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia founded a printing house after President Sukarno banned the importation of Indonesian-language Bibles?
... that there is an Irish-language parody of Mean Girls?
... that a spokesman for the Kaw Nation credited Robert L. Rankin with single-handedly preserving their language?
... that Bad Bunny was the first Spanish-language Latino solo artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show?
... that a historian lamented the lack of English-language translations for the work of Aracy Amaral despite it being "a vital reference for the study of art history in Brazil"?
... that the newspaper Qizil Tugh (Red Banner) provided a publishing platform for young Uyghur-language poets and writers in the Soviet Union?

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...that there are seven dialectal groups of the Polish language, each primarily associated with a certain geographical region?
...that the Noric language is attested in only two inscriptions, one from Grafenstein, Austria, and the other from Ptuj, Slovenia?
...that Soviet literature declared Russian the "world language of internationalism", denouncing French as the "language of fancy courtiers" and English as the "jargon of traders"?
...that the Himariote Greek dialect retains several archaic features no longer found in standard modern Greek?

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Location of Mayan speaking populations. See below for a detailed map of the different languages.

The Mayan languages are a language family spoken in Mesoamerica, both in the south of Mexico and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least six million Maya people, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight within its territory.

The Mayan language family is one of the best-documented and most studied in the Americas. Contemporary Mayan languages descend from the Proto-Mayan language, which has been partially reconstructed using the comparative method. The proto-Mayan language diversified into at least six different branches: the Huastecan, Quichean, Yucatecan, Qanjobalan, Mamean and Chʼolan–Tzeltalan branches. (Full article...)

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Credit: © Hans Hillewaert

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek.

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Language News

19 July 2026 – AI boom

Mathematician and Anthropic employee Levent Alpöge presents an explicit counterexample to the Jacobian conjecture in three-dimensional space that disproves the

n

-variable conjecture for

n>2

using the large language model Fable 5. The Jacobian conjecture for

n=1

remains true. (VNexpress) (NewScientist)

9 July 2026 – AI boom

OpenAI releases the large language model tool GPT-5.6, with significant advancements in cybersecurity. (Axios)

12 June 2026 – Regulation of artificial intelligence in the United States

The U.S. Department of Commerce orders artificial intelligence company Anthropic to ban non-Americans from accessing its large language models Claude Mythos and Fable 5. (BBC News) (CNBC)

23 May 2026 – Ukraine–Vietnam relations, Kazakhstan–Ukraine relations

In accordance with bilateral agreements, Vietnam grants 40 scholarships to Ukrainians for the 2026–2027 academic year for bachelor's, master's, and postgraduate degrees, including a one-year language course for those who do not speak Vietnamese. Kazakhstan also grants 40 scholarships for similar degrees. (Interfax-Ukraine)

27 February 2026 – Artificial intelligence in government

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects a U.S. Department of Defense request to loosen security safeguards on the Claude large language model for potential use in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems. (BBC News) (SRF)

9 February 2026 – Immigration to Sweden

Swedish migration minister Johan Forssell announces the implementation of stricter naturalization requirements from June 6, extending the residency period from five years to eight, imposing a minimum income threshold of 20,000 kr (US$2,225), requiring language and civic knowledge tests, and lengthening waiting times for applicants with criminal records. (Reuters)

Language news from Wikinews...

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