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Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary.It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing.
English is either the official language or one of the official languages in 59 sovereign states (such as India, Ireland, and Canada). In some other countries, it is the sole or dominant language for historical reasons without being explicitly defined by law (such as in the United States and United Kingdom). [9]
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language. In other words, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition involves structures, rules, and representation.
An official language is a language having certain rights to be used in defined situations. These rights can be created in written form or by historic usage. [1] [2] 178 countries recognize an official language, 101 of them recognizing more than one.
A spoken language is a language produced by articulate sounds or (depending on one's definition) manual gestures, as opposed to a written language.An oral language or vocal language is a language produced with the vocal tract in contrast with a sign language, which is produced with the body and hands.
A written language is the representation of a language by means of writing. This involves the use of visual symbols, known as graphemes, to represent linguistic units such as phonemes, syllables, morphemes, or words. However, written language is not merely spoken or signed language written down, though it can approximate that. Instead, it is a ...
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. [1] [2] [3] The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds and equivalent gestures in sign languages), phonology (the abstract sound system of a particular language), and pragmatics (how the context of use contributes to ...
Various collaborative online encyclopedias were attempted before the start of Wikipedia, but with limited success. [19] Wikipedia began as a complementary project for Nupedia, a free online English-language encyclopedia project whose articles were written by experts and reviewed under a formal process. [20]