Do you know how many languages there are in the world? There are more than 7,000!
Do you know how many languages there are in the world? There are more than 7,000!
If you have ever traveled or if you live in a city with tourists, it is likely that you have had the opportunity to hear other people speak in a different language. The origin of languages is linked to the moment in which human beings began to speak. But do you know how many languages there are in total?
How many languages exist on our planet
Perhaps you know that there are languages that are similar to each other, despite not being the same. For example, Spanish, which is what we speak, Italian, French and Portuguese have very similar grammar, since they all come from Latin. Furthermore, the words used are also very similar. So much so that sometimes it is possible to understand each other, without even knowing those languages!
This is because many years ago the number of languages spoken was smaller. And it is believed that initially there was only one on the entire planet, but it is very difficult to verify. Nowadays, it is not easy to know how many languages there are, since there are so many people that we would have to study what is said in every corner.
Still, there are some rough figures about how many languages there are in the world, and our jaws dropped when we found out. Nothing more and nothing less than... 7,000 different languages! Imagine if we had to study them all!
Although there are so many, not all of them are equally important. Some languages are spoken by a million people, while others do not reach 100,000. If there are around 30 of you in your class, get an idea of how many schools you would have to join together to reach that many!
International Literacy Day
This is not the first time we have talked to you about the celebration of international days, since a few months ago it was the yellow day and also him Earth Hour challenge . Taking advantage of the fact that we have talked about how many languages there are, we also want you to know about International Literacy Day. It is celebrated on September 8 of each year.
This word refers to the ability of people to read and write. Not other languages, but their own, which is known as their mother tongue. Although for us going to school to learn is the most normal thing in the world, in many parts of the planet not all people are as lucky.
The poorest areas are the ones with the least chance of going to school, since they must stay at home to work there or on the land. Or they are simply too far from a school and cannot attend it.
This year, the celebration takes place in Paris, and will talk about literacy and multilingualism. Therefore, we wanted to tell you how many languages there are. The purpose of this day is to make visible the inequality between countries and their inhabitants, and to fight so that every child, and also every adult, can enjoy an education, just as we do in this part of the world.
Now that you know how lucky we are to be able to learn new things, as well as how many languages there are, we invite you to try studying new ones. Have you ever wondered how many people you could talk to around the world?
