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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
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
Discover
Big beaver gnawing on limb at river's edge
6 Animal Species that Mate for Life
NBA Lakers Celtics Finals Kevin Garnett shooting.
10 Great Sports Rivalries
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Alpaca and Llama side by side
What’s the Difference Between Llamas and Alpacas?
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?
Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.
6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

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News •

Chimpanzees use some features of language to talk to each other • May 11, 2025, 6:19 AM ET (NBC)

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
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Key People

Saint Methodius
Christian theologian
Saint Cyril
Christian theologian
Ienăchiƫă Văcărescu
Romanian author
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
Euthymius Of Tŭrnovo
Orthodox patriarch
Roland Barthes
French critic
Elijah Bokher Levita
Italian grammarian
Adamántios Koraïs
Greek scholar
Schlegel, Friedrich von
Friedrich von Schlegel
German writer
Alexandre de Rhodes
French missionary
St. Isaac the Great
Armenian religious leader
William Carey.
William Carey
British missionary

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.
Ultimate Vocabulary Test: Part One
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
Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).
Which Came First? Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
A roulette wheel showing the number 13. 13 letter word quiz.
13-Letter Word Quiz
Hand with pencil writing on page. (handwriting; write)
Word Nerd Quiz
Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) tilts its head outside its burrow on Marco Island, Florida. (birds)
Curious Origins of Everyday Words Quiz
Misspelled words (sequel) thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)
Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 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
Child tracing letters of the alphabet
English 101
Young boy with an open book looking at the camera and a globe at his side (East India, asian, student, education).
Geography and Language
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
YOLO "You Only Live Once" written in bright colors and repeated on a purple background (acronym, slang)
Slang Through the Ages Vocabulary Quiz
Guinea pig in purple glasses resting on an open book.
Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2
pile of international newspapers in various languages
Official Languages
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
List
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
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?