Page 146 - DK Children's Encyclopedia

Language SEE ALSO

▸ ▸ Ancient Rome
p.20

Language is how people communicate. Across the world, ▸ ▸ Storytelling
people speak many different languages. There are more pp.42–43
than 7,100 in total, some spoken by millions of people and ▸ ▸ Books p.44

others by just 100. These languages often sound very ▸ ▸ World p.275
different from one another, and can look different ▸ ▸ Writing p.280
when written down.

The most-spoken languages
There are almost 7.5 billion people in the
world today. About one-third of them
speak one of five languages, which are
used by countries all over the world.

nee-how
Hello Mandarin

This is the most
Hola spoken language
marr-hah-bah in the world.
Forms of Mandarin
Chinese are used
o-la all over China.
nuh-muh-stay

Arabic Hindi English Spanish
This is spoken This is one English is now This is spoken in
across North of the official spoken in every Spain and parts
Africa, the languages of continent and in of South and
Middle East, and India. It is also an many countries, Central America,
in many other official language including eastern Asia,
countries. in Fiji. the US. and Africa.

295 310 360 405 955
million million million million million

Sign languages
People sometimes use hand shapes, body Dead languages
movements, and facial expressions to talk, Some languages die out when
rather than spoken language. This is called a their speakers start using
sign language. It is useful if someone cannot another language. Latin
was once spoken in the
hear or speak. Roman Empire, which
”Yes” in American included much of
”No” in American sign language sign language Europe. It’s now a
dead language, but
can still be read
and written.

Latin words
from the
Roman Empire.

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