The hieroglyphic writing system included determinatives—symbols that didn't represent sounds, but clarified the meaning of the word they accompanied. elaborate
Silent languages, like sign languages, aren't universally understood; there are many distinct sign languages around the world, each with its own unique grammar and vocabulary, just like spoken languages. elaborate
Cuneiform writing used over 600 different signs at its peak. elaborate
The word "etymology" itself comes from the Greek words "etymos" (true) and "logos" (word), literally meaning "the study of the true meaning of words." elaborate
Korean has no grammatical gender, meaning nouns aren't categorized as masculine or feminine. elaborate
The Catalan language has more than 10 million speakers, making it one of the most spoken Romance languages despite lacking official status in many areas where it's used. elaborate
One challenge in xenolinguistics is that we don't know if extraterrestrial communication would even be based on sound or language as we understand it – it could be entirely different forms of communication, like pheromones or electromagnetic signals. elaborate