Random Language Facts

    41 facts tagged with Language Facts

    In Denmark, "Fart-kontrol" means "Speed check".
    9
    'Go', is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
    236
    In Turkish, the bird we call a Turkey is called "Hindi" ("from India"). In India, it's called "Peru." In Arabic, the bird is called "Greek chicken"; in Greek it's called "French chicken"; and in French it's called "Indian chicken." The bird is indigenous to none of these places.
    44
    The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether
    they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
    120
    The equivalents of the English saying "That's Greek to me" are "This appears to be Spanish" (German), "This is Chinese to me" (Dutch), "It's German to me" (Philippines), "It's Hebrew" (Finnish), "It's Chinese to me" (Hebrew), "Sounds like Mars language/These are chicken intestines" (China).
    10
    More people in Africa speak French than in France itself.
    12
    Floccinaucinihilipilification, the declaration of an item being useless, is the longest non-medical term in the English language.
    125
    Before WWI, German Was the Second Most Widely Spoken Language in the United States
    Before it was repressed during World War I, German was the second most widely spoken language in the United States and many local governments, schools, and newspapers operated in German.
    11