There are more than 7000 languages spoken worldwide, and more than 2400 of them are endangered. Even so, only around half of the world’s population is proficient in more than ten languages. This implies that you are unfamiliar with hundreds or even thousands of languages. Understanding how dynamic language may be can be helpful if you’re interested in languages or are considering learning a second language. Here are ten strange languages that are still spoken in the globe today to give some context for studying a foreign language.
1. Archi
In 8 settlements along the Risor River in Dagestan, Russia, there are currently about 900 speakers of this language. This language faces threats due to its extremely low speaker population. It isn’t the reason it is on this list of strange languages, even though its limited speaker base makes it stand out.
A verb can have around 1.5 million possible conjugations in Archi. Yes, you read that right: 1.5 million possible combinations. Consider the verb “swim” as an example. When a verb is conjugated in English, the possible outcomes are “I swim, he swims, they swim.” To make matters more complicated, you can even alter the tense: “I swam, I will swim, I would have been swimming.” Now picture each of these iterations in 1.5 million distinct configurations. Acknowledging the complexity of Archi can help you appreciate the ease of learning simpler syntax.
2. Silbo Gomero
The Silbo Gomero language, which is spoken on the Spanish coast, is made up only of whistles. These whistles have different pitches and tones, despite their peculiar appearance. These are produced by cupping the hands together to produce a sound that resembles spoken language. This is an extremely effective communication approach, even though it could seem a little excessive to outsiders. Whistles facilitate communication over physical barriers such as canyons and ravines where words would not pass through. Imagine conversing with someone across a distance utilizing only phrases that end in whistles.
3. Xhosa
Speaking Bantu, a language spoken by 8 million people in South Africa, is an option if whistles aren’t your thing. There are fifteen clicks in the tonal language Xhosa that serve as integrated consonants. Foreigners who attempt to replicate the clicks often find it fairly difficult as they fall into three distinct groups. Languages like Afrikaans and English that are spoken nearby have had an impact on Xhosa. That terminology was somewhat absorbed by it.
4. Pirahã
This regional language, spoken by the Pirahã people of Brazil, lacks words for numbers and colors. We could find it hard or impossible to imagine this. Fortunately, Pirahë has options. They characterize it as shades, “light,” and “dark,” rather than specific hues like “red” and “purple.” They designate items as “many” or “few” when talking about numbers and amounts.
While it could be difficult for outsiders to understand, people who speak the language can easily converse intelligibly. Additionally, Pirahë is simpler than other strange languages. There are barely ten or twelve noises in all. To make things even simpler, sometimes folks may only hum and whistle to communicate.
5. Rotakas
Papua New Guinea is home to 830 different languages, including Rotokas. With just 12 phonemes and a 12-letter alphabet, the language used by the Rotokas in Papua New Guinea is the simplest language in existence. There are also no nasal sounds in the language.
6. Taa (ǃXóõ)
Another Khoisan “clicking” language spoken in South Africa is called Taa. Taa is one of the most complex languages, even if Rotokas is among the simplest. Of its more than 160 distinct phonemes, 110 are derived from clicking noises. The tones of clicks can also differ: low, mid, high, and mid-falling. It can be very difficult for foreigners to make the clicks.
7. Tuyuca
Tuyuca should be avoided if you find that learning German can be difficult due to its three genders. This language has more than 100 different word genders. The fact that thoughts are expressed by single words only serves to complicate learning even further. In other words, larger words convey ideas that most people would need whole sentences to convey.
Additionally, Tuyuca employs word ends that convey whether or not you grasp the subject matter at hand. There are only about 1000 speakers of this language in Brazil and Columbia, making it a rare language.
8. Chalcatongo Mixtec
Said to be spoken by about 6,000 people in Oaxaca, Mexico, this language is unlike any other. This language differs from others in that it cannot be used to produce yes/no questions. In Chalcatongo Mixtec, “Are you here?” and “You are here” would be the same expression.
9. Pitjantjatjara
This language is spoken by 3000 aboriginal Aboriginal people in central Australia. This language has a distinctive writing system that is used in many Aboriginal schools around Australia. Pitjantjatjara use the colon (:) to alter the pronunciation of vowels and the underline (_) to emphasize various consonant pronunciations.
10. Esperanto
There are almost 2 million speakers of this strange artificial language in the world. In order to help people overcome linguistic obstacles, Dr. Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof established the language in 1887. Esperanto is intended to serve as a global language. This language of consensus is intended to reduce interpersonal mistrust. Inspiring harmony between diverse linguistic groups is ideally what this does.
A range of vocabulary and structural elements from various languages are used to build the language. Its basis was Latin. Along with Dr. Zamenhof’s native Polish, it was affected by English, German, Russian, and the Romance languages.There are sixteen grammatical structures in Esperanto, which serve as the language’s norms.
Fortunately, there are no exclusions from the regulations. This implies that you won’t have to worry about speaking once you understand them. This indicates that its language-learning curricula are typically quite simple and easy to follow.
Conclusion:-
All languages can seem strange at first. But the more you learn about languages, the more you discover how many of them are distinct from one another. This is only a cursory list. Underlying our general knowledge of languages is an enormous assemblage of diverse and distinct modes of communication.
We can better comprehend language development and obtain insight into alternate ways of communication by learning more about these “weird” languages. I hope this inspires you to pick up a second language. You will at least be able to appreciate these strange languages even if you decide not to learn any of them. Keep Archi in mind the next time you feel that grammar in French or Spanish is difficult.