The word 'avocado' comes from the Aztec word 'ahuacatl,' which also means a certain male body part.

The word 'OK' may be the most recognized word in the world — it's understood in virtually every language.

Language is transmitted culturally, not genetically — children adopted across language communities learn the local language perfectly.

Profanity activates a different part of the brain than regular language — it's processed more emotionally.

Languages evolve continuously — Shakespeare's English is dramatically different from today's just 400 years later.

The Spanish-American War took place in 1898.

Mozart could write music before he could write words — he composed his first piece at age 5.

Sign languages are complete natural languages — they are not universal and vary by country.

All human languages have nouns and verbs — but many lack adjectives or other categories found in English.