Language is the normal way humans communicate . [ 1 ] Only humans use language, though other animals communicate through other means. The study of language is called linguistics .
Human language has syntax , a set of rules for connecting words together to make statements and questions . Language can also be changed, by adding new words, for example, to describe new things. Other animals may inherit a set of calls which have preset functions.
Language may be done by speech or by writing or by moving the hands to make signs . It follows that language is not just any way of communicating. Even some human communication is not language: see non-verbal communication . Humans also use language for thinking .
When people use the word language , they can also mean:
UNESCO says that 2,500 languages are at risk of becoming extinct . [ 2 ]
All languages share certain things which separate them from all other kinds of communication. [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
There are many more things in common between languages. [ 5 ]
The capacity to learn and use language is inherited . Normally, all humans are born with this capability. Which language is learned by a child depends on which language is spoken by the child's community. The capacity is inherited, but the particular language is learned.
Children have a special period, from about 18 months to about four years, which is critical for learning the language. If this is seriously disrupted, then their language skills will be damaged. Older people learn differently, so they seldom learn a second language as well as they learn their native language.
Mathematics and computer science use created languages called formal languages (like computer programming languages ), but these may or may not be 'true' languages. Mathematics itself is seen as a language by many. Some people consider musical notation to be a way of writing the musical language.
Chinese is the language with the most native speakers in the world, but it is not really a language. It is a close family of dialects , some of which are as different as Romance languages are from one another.
The Russian language is one of the largest Slavic languages ever spoken.
English is often called "the international language", or lingua franca . It is the main second language of the world and the international language of science , travel , technology , business , diplomacy , and entertainment . French had a similar status until the 20th century, and other languages had it at other times.
Some languages are spoken only by closed ethnic groups such as Romani , which is an Indo-Aryan language spoken only by Roma .
Some languages are made up so that a lot of people around the world can learn them, without the new languages being tied to any specific country or place. These are called constructed languages , or conlangs. One of the most popular of these languages is Esperanto , which is sometimes called "La Internacia Lingvo," or "The International Language." Another of these languages is called Volapük , which was popular about a hundred years ago but is much less popular now. It has mostly been replaced by languages like Esperanto , Interlingua , and Ido . Dialects are basically other versions of a language. For example, Hoffish is a dialect of Swedish.
Part of the reason that Volapük became unpopular is that some sounds are difficult for people who speak Spanish or English, two of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
Humans started using language, at the latest, 135 000 years ago, according to research ( published in 2025). [ 8 ] [ 9 ]