Languages Facts for Kids

Esperanto was invented in 1887 to be a universal second language that everyone in the world could learn easily.

Sanskrit, an ancient language of India, is one of the oldest languages still studied today — it's over 3,500 years old.

In Mandarin Chinese, the word "ma" can mean mother, hemp, horse, or scold depending on the tone you use.

Arabic is written and read from right to left, which is the opposite direction of English.

The Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters — 8 consonants and 5 vowels.

French was the official language of England for over 300 years after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Over 200 constructed languages have been created for movies and TV, including Klingon from Star Trek and Dothraki from Game of Thrones.

Icelandic has changed so little over 1,000 years that modern Icelanders can still read Viking-age sagas.

"Dreamt" is the only common English word that ends in the letters "mt."

The Rotokas language of Papua New Guinea has the smallest alphabet in the world, with only 12 letters.