Random Language Facts

    41 facts tagged with Language Facts

    Floccinaucinihilipilification, the declaration of an item being useless, is the longest non-medical term in the English language.
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    Ioannis Ikonomou
    Ioannis Ikonomou
    The Chief Translator for the European Parliament can speak 32 different languages fluently.
    36
    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
    'Go', is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
    236
    There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”:
    tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
    175
    When Washoe, the first chimp to use sign language, was told that her caretaker's baby had died, she signed "CRY."
    20
    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 United States does not have an official language.
    88