Mother language, or more commonly known as 'mother tongue' refers to the language that an individual learns from birth or speaks better than any other language.
Below are some interesting facts about mother language that you may not know about:
- There are an estimated 7,097 languages spoken worldwide, but this number constantly fluctuates as languages go extinct, discovered and even invented.
- Some 33 per cent of languages, especially tribal ones are under threat of extinction across the world. This is due to the languages having less than 1,000 speakers.
- It is said that there are over 800 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea!
- Half of the world speaks only about 0.3 per cent of the world's languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, English, and Arabic.
- About 14.4 per cent of the world speaks Mandarin - not surprising given the fact that almost 20 per cent of the world's population are the people of China.
- An estimated 300 languages are spoken in London, the United Kingdom.
- Forty per cent of the world's populaton is unable to access education in a language they understood.
- Every two weeks, a language disappears, certain studies show.
What's your mother tongue, and why do you think it's more special than other languages?
Source: europelanguagejobs.com, unitedlanguagegroup.com
Photo source: Unesco