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 a 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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Callaecian is the pre-Roman language, or languages, spoken by the ancient Callaeci in northwestern Iberia. The region became the Roman province of Callaecia, which is now divided between the Spanish regions of Galicia, the western parts of Asturias, León and Zamora, and the Norte Region of Portugal. The linguistic situation of pre-Roman Callaecia is complex, as it combines linguistic materials that resemble Celtic features and others that do not, probably related to Lusitanian. (Full article...)

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... that a search engine for pirated books has been used to train large language models?
... that Michael Gardener preached a sermon in Inuktitut even though he did not yet understand the language?
... that the Canaanite ivory comb contains the earliest known sentence in a Canaanite language?
... that the Women Lawyers Association in Malawi has worked with Amal Clooney to create a chatbot that gives women free legal advice in their native languages?
... that in 1903, Georg Forchhammer invented a system to help his deaf students see the sounds of spoken Danish?
... that there was recently interest in reviving the extinct Torá language, but no one knew enough of the language to move forward with the idea?

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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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Languages and dialects of metropolitan France

French is the sole official language in France according to the second article of the French Constitution. French, a Gallo-Romance language, is spoken by nearly the entire population of France.

In addition to French, several regional languages are also spoken to varying degrees, such as Alsatian, an Alemannic variety (spoken by 1.44% of the national population); Basque, a language isolate; Breton, a Celtic language (spoken by 0.61%); Corsican, an Italo-Dalmatian language; and various other Gallo-Romance languages (Langues d'oïl 1.25%, Occitan 1.33%). Some of these languages are also spoken in neighbouring countries, such as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra, or Spain. (Full article...)

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The Phoenician alphabet was a non-pictographic consonantal alphabet, or abjad. It became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world, where it evolved and was assimilated by many other cultures. The Aramaic alphabet, a modified form of Phoenician, was the ancestor of modern Arabic script, while Hebrew script is a stylistic variant of the Aramaic script. The Greek alphabet (and by extension its descendants such as the Latin, the Cyrillic and the Coptic), was a direct successor of Phoenician, though certain letter values were changed to represent vowels.

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Language News

20 August 2026 – Sudanese civil war

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu regains control of Kauda, South Kordofan, following two days of clashes with Otoro fighters. (Sudan Tribune)

8 August 2026 – Sudanese civil war

A tribe leader in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan accuses the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North of launching attacks on Otoro villages in Kauda. Additionally, four aid workers are reported to be detained. (Sudan Tribune)

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)

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