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By the time we start school, we do it instinctively, without much thought. It’s uncommon for us to get through a day without using various forms of communication. It feels so automatic that it almost seems ingrained in us—perhaps it is. Yet, there is still much to learn about how our ability to communicate through language developed, where it’s heading, and when we might finally communicate with animals.
10. At What Point Do We Start Recognizing Words?
Babies don’t enter the world knowing how to talk, but they do have the ability to recognize certain sounds. Research by the University of Helsinki reveals that newborns react to the sounds of music they heard while in the womb, and other studies show that babies who are regularly exposed to specific words—even invented ones—will recognize and respond to them after birth. This points to language learning beginning during the third trimester of pregnancy, although, as expected, testing a newborn's language skills has proven quite challenging.
An experiment conducted on babies younger than a month old aimed to determine if they recognized familiar words and sounds. In the study, babies were given a pacifier that triggered exposure to unfamiliar sounds, including a language they had not encountered before. The results showed that when the newborns heard words in their parents' native language, they demonstrated signs of being familiar with the speech patterns.
We still don't know exactly when the process begins or how many of the language skills and memories formed in the womb remain with the child after birth. It's unclear whether being exposed to speech and music in the womb offers any long-term benefits for babies or if it could potentially help accelerate language development.
9. The Effects of Bilingualism on Babies and the Brain
When a child grows up in a household where one language is spoken and simultaneously learns another language at school, it has been suggested that processing both languages could negatively affect the brain. Researchers are carefully investigating this possibility, and while they are confident that no harm is done, they are still unsure how the brain is able to manage and separate the two languages.
Research has shown that babies as young as four months can identify which language is being spoken just by observing the speaker. Additional studies suggest that babies raised in bilingual households can apply their language-switching abilities in other contexts, such as interpreting visual cues from speakers that a monolingual baby might overlook.
We still don't understand how a baby's brain differentiates between two languages or how both languages develop simultaneously. It's also unclear how long babies retain their ability to associate language with visual cues. Researchers believe there are other advantages to being regularly exposed to two languages before the age of four, though they’re still uncertain about exactly what these benefits are.
8. The Challenge of Accurate Translation
While translating between languages is a common practice, researchers are beginning to realize that achieving perfect translation may never be possible. While factors like the translator’s proficiency in the languages involved are obvious barriers to accuracy, there are also other complications at play.
For instance, when researchers depend on others to translate their work, it’s easy for incorrect words to be used, altering the intended meaning. Another challenge is that some words carry deep cultural significance, and even if the translator is aware of this, they may struggle to convey the exact meaning in another language.
Certain concepts are defined entirely differently across languages. For example, what one culture understands as “freedom” or “civil rights” might be completely foreign to another. While it's possible to find words that loosely capture the essence of a concept, there are ideas so ingrained in a culture's emotional fabric—like “freedom”—that it’s unclear how to bridge the cultural divide when translating between languages.
7. The Mystery of Language's Origins
One of the most perplexing questions about language and communication is how it all began. We have no idea how humans transitioned from a state of no language to a system where sounds were combined and understood to convey specific meanings.
There are several theories about how language came to be. One religious perspective suggests that language was a divine gift bestowed upon humanity by God. This theory, however, can never be conclusively proven—unless, perhaps, during the Second Coming.
Another idea is the 'ding-dong' hypothesis, which proposes that language originated when humans began associating words with sounds—such as 'bang' for a loud noise. It is said that languages grew more complex when we began assigning words based on functions. For example, the Basque word for 'knife' literally means 'ouch-ouch,' which seems quite fitting. However, critics of this theory argue that many words have no such direct connection to their meanings. Other similar theories suggest that our language could have developed from involuntary exclamations, like cries of pain, or by mimicking the sounds of surrounding animals.
Another theory posits that humans evolved to have a 'language motherboard' in our brains, a mechanism that developed language as a natural byproduct of our nature—similar to how dogs instinctively bark. However, this theory is also unlikely to be definitively proven.
Charles Darwin also had a hypothesis, though he was never fully confident in it. He suggested that human speech could have originated as a way to enhance hand gestures and other forms of physical communication.
The debate over how humans acquired language continues to this day, but it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a definitive answer. There's no clear way to trace the history of spoken language, and while we know that our ancestors from 100,000 years ago didn’t have the same vocal apparatus we do, that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their own distinct form of communication.
6. How Many Languages Are Lost?
The exact number is unknown, but it’s much higher than you might expect. Currently, around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, and one language disappears roughly every 14 days, with some estimates suggesting the loss happens every three months.
With a global population of seven billion, 78 percent of people speak one of the top 85 most widely used languages. Some languages are down to just a few remaining speakers. In 2009, only one person was left speaking Bikya, and just two people still spoke Lipan Apache. Over 1,000 languages today are classified as endangered, with their status depending on factors like how many children are learning them and whether they’re spoken daily or only on special occasions.
The rapid decline of languages can largely be attributed to the rise of mass media. Even the most isolated communities, once home to unique dialects, now find it essential to learn dominant languages like English, Russian, Mandarin, or Spanish, to engage with media, trade, and connect with larger populations. Parents often prioritize these more widely spoken languages over their native tongues, hoping to ensure their children can communicate globally.
The decline of languages isn’t confined to far-off regions of the world. In 2012, there were only a handful of speakers left of Siletz Dee-ni in Oregon, and only a few people in California still spoke Wintu.
5. Can Human Language Describe God?
Human language is generally used to describe things that are human in nature. However, when we try to describe God, we encounter a fundamental linguistic challenge.
Most religions describe God as being infinite. Language, on the other hand, is inherently finite, which leads to the argument that limited words and concepts can never truly capture or represent something as boundless and unknowable as God.
The issue becomes even more complicated when considering religious texts that assert they contain the absolute truth. Many religious traditions are built around sacred writings that claim to reveal the truth about God. But if our language is fundamentally inadequate to describe something as infinite and powerful as God, it calls into question the sufficiency of all the texts, songs, and teachings that countless people regard as sacred truths.
Given that we are uncertain about how accurately language can capture something as infinite as God, believers are faced with difficult questions about the authenticity of their scriptures. Some philosophers argue that all discussions about God are ultimately meaningless, while others propose that the terms and words used to describe God are purely a matter of one's frame of reference.
4. Why Haven’t We Decoded Animal Language?
Humans generally like to think of themselves as highly intelligent, which raises the question: why are animals so adept at learning our language, yet we struggle to understand theirs?
We are still working to comprehend what constitutes animal language, and some scientists argue that animals don't organize their communications into structured words or vocalizations, suggesting there is no real language to learn. Dolphins, regarded as among the most intelligent animals, have sparked debate. While some researchers are exploring how their vocalizations may fit together, others, like Justin Gregg from the Dolphin Communication Project, believe dolphins don't possess language in the way humans do.
Surprisingly compelling evidence against this view comes from an unexpected species—the prairie dog. Researchers have been able to isolate specific calls and vocalizations, identifying their purposes. They’ve even communicated back with the prairie dogs by replaying calls that have successfully alerted the entire group to danger. The ongoing question of why we haven't learned to communicate with animals like dogs as easily as we might learn Spanish is tied to the concept of status. Now, some scientists are beginning to acknowledge that language, as we understand it, might not be exclusive to humans after all.
3. Why Did English Miss Out On Describing Smell?
English, an extensive and widely spoken language, surprisingly lacks the means to fully describe certain aspects of the world. How would you describe the scent of a lemon, vanilla, or gasoline?
When you try to describe a smell, you quickly realize it's much harder than it seems. There simply aren't any precise words in English that allow you to convey the essence of a particular smell to the point where someone else would truly understand what you're referring to. It's curious that a language as comprehensive as English missed the mark when it comes to describing smells.
This becomes especially striking when you consider that speakers of the Malaysian dialect Jahai, and other similar languages, have a set of words specifically designed to convey smells, much like we use words to describe exact colors or tastes. In contrast, English often defaults to comparisons—saying something smells like something else—which doesn't truly communicate the unique quality of a scent. For instance, in Jahai, there are distinct words for the bloody smell of raw meat, which differs significantly from the bloody smell of a dead squirrel.
When English speakers were asked to describe a scent, their responses tended to be long-winded and imprecise. In contrast, speakers of Jahai can immediately and accurately describe a scent, providing a level of detail that makes it clear to their listeners exactly what they're referring to.
It's unclear how English missed out on this, but it's such a noticeable gap in communication that, for a long time, we simply assumed that smells were beyond description. The truth is, smells are describable—we just don't know how to do it in English.
2. The World’s Oldest Written Language Is Still Undeciphered
While we believe we've discovered what might be the oldest written language in the world, we're still completely in the dark about what it actually says.
Typically, the difficulty in decoding ancient texts arises from the scarcity of available sources. However, that's not the case with proto-Elamite, as we have over 1,600 texts. Used around 3000 B.C. in what is now Iran, the language is believed to date back to the time of the invention of writing—around a thousand years earlier. Strangely, despite its possible connection to the written language of the neighboring Mesopotamians, the proto-Elamites seemingly abandoned that and began anew.
The proto-Elamite language consists of enigmatic symbols carved into baked clay tablets, and it has stubbornly resisted all attempts at decipherment despite extensive study and a wealth of documented material. Recently, linguists at Oxford University have initiated a new attempt through a crowd-sourced project, hoping to enlist the public's help in cracking the code of dots, dashes, and other shapes. Using cutting-edge technology to analyze even the tiniest marks on the tablets, they've identified 1,200 distinct signs—but the meaning of these symbols remains a mystery.
A significant part of the challenge, they believe, is that most of the surviving writing samples are rather poorly executed. Many of the symbols they've cataloged may simply be errors, and they suspect that the quality of the writing deteriorated so much that eventually no one could understand what others had written. It's possible that the world’s first written language was ultimately rendered useless.
1. We Still Don’t Know How Lying And Body Language Works
Communication isn’t just about words; body language plays a crucial role in how we interact with one another—whether consciously or subconsciously. We tend to believe we're skilled at reading body language, and in some cases, that may be true. However, studies reveal that we still don't understand how to train people to accurately assess potential threats or detect when someone is lying.
The TSA recently invested roughly $1 billion to train thousands of its agents in identifying liars by recognizing specific behavioral cues linked to deception. Despite feeling more confident in their abilities after the training, agents were no more adept at spotting liars than ordinary civilians with no specialized training.
Research related to this program found that people were only able to detect lies about 47% of the time. When asked to assess truthfulness, that figure increased to roughly 61%. Ultimately, the training on reading liars' body language proved to be almost as effective as random guessing. The popular belief that body language, such as avoiding eye contact or looking to the right, can reveal when someone is lying is unsupported by evidence.
The notion that there's a direct connection between our expressions and what’s happening in our minds is beginning to lose support. Experts now believe that the most effective way to determine if someone is lying is by listening to what they say. Culturally, we are conditioned to hide our genuine emotions for much of the day. Whether it’s putting on a smile at work or masking our feelings at home, we’ve all learned to grin and bear it.
