Parrots can learn hundreds of words and use them in context.

Sign languages are complete, independent languages — American Sign Language and British Sign Language are mutually unintelligible.

The world's shortest alphabet, Rotokas, has only 12 letters.

Children typically master the grammar of their native language by age 5 — without explicit instruction.

The word 'silly' originally meant 'blessed' in Old English — its meaning shifted dramatically over the centuries.

The Sumerian language died as a spoken tongue around 2000 BC but continued as a liturgical language for centuries.

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

The word 'set' has the most definitions in the English language — over 430 in some dictionaries.

British English and American English diverged significantly after 1776 — American English preserved older British forms.