Languages Essay Examples and Topics

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176 samples

There are many different points you should consider when writing an essay on languages. Various tongue can show a vast array of dissimilarities, in terms of both written and spoken language.

For example, many Oriental hieroglyphs cannot be read directly and have to be interpreted before pronunciation. For this reason, languages such as Japanese have several fully usable alphabets.

As such, you want to provide a comprehensive overview of all the aspects of a language. Discuss their history, purposes, and applications in both formal and informal contexts.

Remember that you should try to infer the rules of a language instead of searching for pre-existing ones.

Rules that are normal and commonplace in English may not exist in other tongues. Sentence structure is an excellent example: in Russian, you do not have to follow a specific order when constructing one. Instead, you modify the endings of words to imply relationships.

Initial adjustment to such a method may be challenging, but the end result allows for considerable freedom of expression. You should acknowledge the differences without making judgements and look for ideas.

Here are some suggestions for your paper:

  • Note if a language is more primitive than English, but try to avoid misconceptions. A language can be highly advanced and have few different sounds.
  • Discuss all applications of a language, both formal and informal. While they are used for communication, representation of ideas is their primary purpose.
  • Do not assume that a language is hard to learn based on some characteristic. There are likely millions of people who have mastered it by hearing it since childhood.

Find languages essay topics, language research titles examples, and short essays on languages as well as other samples on IvyPanda!

176 Best Essay Examples on Languages

Nature of Translation and Its Process

Translation expresses that human beings have the ability to understand the facts and significance of the mind of the people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest, and the culture [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1351

The differences between American and British English

On the other hand, the English language being spoken by the people living in the British Commonwealth countries is what is referred to us as British English. One point in which the British and American [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Multilingualism

This is because learning the second language involves learning new things or aspects about the language. The third and last phase is a product of first and second language learning.
  • 2
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

Paweł Zielinski’s Report on Bilingualism

This text aims to find the correct definition of the term 'bilingual', by identifying the characteristics that define a bilingual, the distinctions caused by the different times a language is learned, and whether learning a [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1651

Real Time and Apparent Time Studies

The dimensions of variations in the sociolinguistic paradigm includes the adoption of theoretical aspects such as the concept of function, stylistic and social meaning, variation and linguistic change, bi-directional relations between the synchronic and the [...]
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 3223

Semantics

A group of words or a phrase that has been used to refer to the same object or concept is called a semantic field or a semantic domain, and gives meaning to a word in [...]
  • 2
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 639

The Meaning of the Word “Bitch”

This paper will discuss the derogatory connotations of the word 'bitch' and the various changes the meaning of this word has undergone over time.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2010

What is a Language

Therefore, the grammar of a language is a description of the rules of the language, rules of a kind that human beings are innately disposed to learn.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 748

Bilingualism and Multilingualism

However, to discuss the aspects of bilingualism and multilingualism, it is necessary to focus on the factor of the social motivation and psychological peculiarities of the ability to use two or more languages for interactions.
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  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1044

Everyday Language as a Social Practice

This kind of language use indicates that a speaker can use the language as a tool of power in relation to the identity the language gives him/her. The language used by a specific group of [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 596

Religious Studies: Marcel Mauss Theory of Magic

Among the most common practices in the Christian fraternity, which, for the purpose of this paper, can be classified as magical, one could mention the practice of speaking in tongues. Can the practice of speaking [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 610

English vs. Arabic Phonology and Syntax

English dispersed to the rest of the world becoming a leading language of international communication due to the extensive influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4316

The Norman Conquest of the English Language

The conquest resulted in the development of two categories of the English language called the Old English and Middle English. Old English refers to the language used before the Norman Conquest, while the Middle English [...]
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2747

Differences in Languages between Arabic and English

The teachers should assist the learners with the good writing skills or patterns while understanding that they are changing writing and thinking patterns also rather than being irritated on the repetition of endless sentences by [...]
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  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 819

Status of English as the Global Language

However, I tend to differ with that school of thought and cite the following reasons as to why the future of English remains assured globally: the large numbers of English speakers and learners, the simplicity [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 599

Beowulf: Role of Women

Female characters in Beowulf are very important, as they help to understand of the entire poem and also the culture of the people in ancient times.
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  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1391

Code Switching and Code Mixing

Suwito in Sutana says that "in the phenomenon of code mixing the dependent characteristics are indicated by the relationship between the function and role of language.
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  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2396

Definition: What is news?

Its purpose is to update on the latest state of a news item. Therefore, a fitting definition of news is an item of communication through mainstream, official and personal means of communication that passes on [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 573

Mongolian Language: All the Aspects

The Mongolian languages are spoken by about 6 million people who live mainly in three regions: the Republic of Mongolia, the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China, and the region of Lake Baykal in Siberia.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2496

Linguistics of the Gurbetcha Dialect

The aim of this project is to identify the roots of the dialect Gurbetcha and compare it to the other Cypriot dialects and varieties and Cypriot Turkish dialects in particular.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1171

Is Arabic Superior to Other Languages?

One of the primary factors that have made Arabic to remain the most superior language on earth is the amount of splendor and potency of most Arabic words.
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  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 793

Syntactic Properties of Phrasal Verbs in English

With the help of evaluation of past studies in the same area, the reader gets a wonderful opportunity to clear up what is already known about phrasal verbs, why it is necessary to classify phrasal [...]
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2457

Mandarin Chinese

Teacher's Evaluation of Student Performance Assessment is an inherent component of a learning process and teacher's task here is to be consistent in marketing students' achievement pursuant to the material as well as approaches to [...]
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2488

Arabic Language and Linguistics

It is fundamental to know the verbal and non-verbal linguistics of the Arabic dialect to categorize the aspect categories. Equally, the intentum and signum categorized the functionality of conjunctions in the Arabic contexts.
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3117

Explicature and Implicature in Relevance Theory

In other words, the theory suggests that the message recipient is prone to seek the meaning of a specific message in any circumstances and will only cease to analyze the message once the implicit meaning [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 841

English Language in Canada

Over a third of the people in Canada speak the Standard Canadian English while the rest of the population is either multilingual or Anglophone.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2851

The Characteristics of Generative Syntax

C-command is the structural relationship between two elements in a syntactic tree such that one can be said to c-command the other one if that other element is located in the area of the tree [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1496

Mouth Morphemes in Sign Languages

Mouth actions are the focus of this paper, and researchers distinguish two types of mouth actions: mouth gestures and mouthings. However, the meaning of similar mouth gestures rarely coincides in different languages.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 956

The Ivilyuat Language of the Cahuilla Tribes

The expansion of the British colonists into North America through the 17th and 18th century, later followed by the complete takeover of the continent by the independent American colonists throughout the 19th and into the [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 872

Global English Language Development

As the paper reveals, irrespective of the dialect, the number of people who speak the English language across the world continues to rise.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1719

Language Difficulties Among Foreign Students

The best solution to this problem is to allow out of class language practice; for instance, foreign students can speak with the native speakers inside and outside the school.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 558

Superman and Me: Reading Challenges

It can be argued that the supporting content used by the author is effective to the extent that it demonstrates how the author was exposed to reading materials early in life, and how this exposure [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 835

Observer’s Paradox

In cases where the interlocutor is of higher social status, the effect to the informant would be either that of aspiration to illustrate same social status to that of the interlocutor's or one that is [...]
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3291

Spanish vs. English: Similarities and Differences

The aim of this analysis is to identify the similarities and differences between the two languages, and to gain a deeper understanding of how the phonological systems of Spanish and English shape the way words [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 447

Understanding Modern English

It is the above-mentioned changes in the international system that caused the rise of the English language, and so some linguists separate one more stage of development of the English language, Late Modern English or [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 575

Cohesive Devices and the Process of Translation

The research was limited to the study of the written translations of cohesive devices in English and Arabic languages. The main question concerns the level of usage of cohesive devices in Arabic and in English.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

Linguistic and Religious Diversity

In the study of linguistics, it has been established that there are thousands of languages that were incepted in the history of mankind.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 576

Ethnolinguistic Situation in Rwanda

French is still used in many urban areas in Rwanda; however, the government is keen on propagating English as the leading language of science, commerce and economic development in the country and in its interactions [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 666

Languages: Social and Regional Varieties of English

The study of dialects is called Dialectology, it entails studying the geographical and social diversities of language, as well as the speech convention of the number of people who share the norms for the language [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 626

Languages: Canadian English

Taking into account the fact of the geographical neighborhood of Canada and the USA, which is one of the biggest English speaking countries in the world, it should be clear that the USA has the [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 571

French’s Customs and Language

The French language is also used as an instrument to tarnish customs consequently promoting the growth of French language and customs. In French customs, the language is used as a representation of unity.
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  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 882

A New Role for Contrastive Analysis

Considering the following quote from Fries' paper: "The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the language to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 601

Syntax-Semantic Roles

In the sentence "The boy hit the ball," The ball is the patient because the action of hitting affects it directly.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1331

Origins of Human Languages

This hypothesis was put forward in the year 2004 to try and get a solution to the problem of language origin.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 883

Language Identity of Scots in the UK

This paper will examine the history of Scots as a language and its impact on politics, media, and society to prove the validity of linguistic distinction in Great Britain.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 853

Latin: The Dead of the Language

Further, the phenomenon of language death can be well-discussed on the example of Latin as this language is one of the most prominent languages in the history of humanity, and it is also a progenitor [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1404

Are There Good or Bad Accents?

The phoneme /r/ is almost absent except in the case of linkage /r/ in the elite English pronunciation of the educated south east Londoner.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1644

The Yucatec Mayan Language: Description and Analysis

These characteristics make the Yucatec Mayan language quite similar to other Mayan languages, with the principle of articulation being prominent in the Mayan language family due to the recurrent use of the vowel-vowel sequence. Therefore, [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 846

Languages: Models of World English

The spread of English led to the development of such concepts as World English and English as Lingua Franca. As has been mentioned above, English as Lingua Franca is the concept that appeared due to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 568

Language Skills Acquiring Process

The information provided below was retrieved by recording the dialogues between the child and the members of his family, as well as the utterances that the child made in the course of playing or interacting [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1414

Language and Culture Impacts on Sports Reporting

The first reason is that in the process of translation, it is important that the translator realize that the ultimate goal of the process is to have the meaning, the content of the text, and [...]
  • Pages: 16
  • Words: 4395

Sexism in the English Language

The significance of Piercey's discussion is the attempts to prove the idea that the English language is sexist in the nature, thus, the topic of the gender inequality is discussed with references to the linguistic [...]
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  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 833

Language and Misinterpretations

The issue of misinterpretation in language use is tricky because it is likely to have several valid interpretations of one utterance.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 860

English vs. Russian Adjectives

Role of adjectives in Russian Due to the differences in language structures, the role of different parts of speech in Russian and English also differs.
  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4148

Benefits of Bilingualism Among Kindergarten Children

The purpose of this report is to show the benefits of learning more than one language among kindergarten children. The purpose of this report is to analyse the benefits of learning two languages among kindergarten [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1134

Theoretical Approaches to Syntax

The paper delves into the characteristics of the theme as highlighted in the theory and the problems with the SFG Notion of Theme.
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  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4285

Grammatical Paradox in English Language

This is because the latter statement does not necessarily refer to the material used to build the house but to the ownership and occupancy of the structure.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 275

Bonds of an Individual’s Identity with Language

Partially, this can be explained by the fact that, as of today, there is a tendency among more and more cultural scientists, to refer to the concept of language in terms of an identity-forming tool.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

English Language Dictionaries and Thesauruses

Defining the Role and the Intended Audience of the English Language Dictionaries Language is the basic instrument for rendering and expressing human emotions, thoughts, and ideas.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1930

Korean and Japanese Honorific Systems

Subject and predicate have to match while using honorifics and it is impossible to attach a marker to the predicate when the subjects are categorized as group of nouns which are not in agreement with [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1267

Hypothesis of the Pronunciation Words

What is needed in this particular case is a hypothesis that focuses on a specific subject and concise method of application in order to create a statement that leaves little confusion as to the type [...]
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2517

Figurative vs Literal Language

The use of figurative language does not include the literal meaning of the words. A cliche is used to denote the loss of originality of the phrase.
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  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 912

Linguistic Diversity in the US Schools

The paper will argue that, in order to respond to the needs of the multilingual US society better, US schools should introduce a foreign language to their curricula.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 351

Knowledge of Mandarin for Business People

The paper below will outline the ways in which the knowledge of Mandarin can advance the position of an individual's understanding of business, culture, and language learning more so than a number of other languages.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1405

Memory Techniques in Learning English Vocabulary

'Word' is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as follows: "1a: something that is said b plural: the text of a vocal musical composition c: a brief remark or conversation 2a: a speech sound or series [...]
  • Pages: 25
  • Words: 6881

Optimality Theory Perspective on Beijing Mandarin Phonology

Examples 6 and 6 indicate how well onset, as well as coda clusters, are transferred from English to Mandarin, "with the insertion of vowels to satisfy the syllable structure constraint". Another is omitting consonantal clusters [...]
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2660

Language Extinction in East Africa

Most of the languages in the world fall under the endangered languages category with UNESCO approximating the percentage of endangered languages to be around 60%-80%.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1827

“Viva Bilingualism” by James Fallows

In his article Viva Bilingualism, James Fallows analyzes such issue as bilingualism in the United States, in particular, the author argues that two or even more languages can successfully co-exist in America and it will [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 979

English: Analysis of Learner Language

English being the global language of business and speaking English being a prerequisite to procure admission in a prestigious institution is one of the most popular second language or learner languages across the world.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1850

Inflectional and Derivational Morphology

An analytic language is a language in which all relations between members of a phrase or a sentence are conveyed by grammatical means only, i.e.by means of the fixed word order, by the place of [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 982

Langue and Parole Related to Culture Comparison

Speech is the individual phenomenon, and language is "a social product of speech ability, set of the necessary conditions acquired by the public collective for the realization of this ability at separate persons".
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1723

Bilingual Education: Pros and Cons

In this system, English is a secondary language geared to making students catch up with their academics until they can get comfortable enough to join mainstream English classes.'Bilingual education is a step backward in our [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1690

Aboriginal Languages in Canada

For instance, census data in the past few decades never revealed the existence of such a large number of aboriginal languages in Canada.
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  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 566

Arabic Language Profile and Features

Secondly, the learners have considerable difficulties in handling the English language because of the differences in grammatical and syntactical structures of the Arabic language and the English language.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1464

Discovery of Offensive Language

In support of this, Lawrence argues "offensive language is the source and function of the words themselves". Lawrence is against the idea of using offensive language, which disgraces and depreciates women.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1466

The Status of Somali Language

Various language and literacy policies implemented in Somalia before the 1990's fostered the development of language in the country, but after the collapse of the state, when the existing political structure was destroyed, the position [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2242

Sign Language in the US

It will give a review of its history, evolution in the US, common misconceptions about the language, and the importance of the teaching children with hearing impairments sign language from a young age. A significant [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1483

Popular Languages, Their Dominance and Threats

The majority of the countries are on the African continent, parts of the United Arab Emirates, and parts of Europe. A total estimate of the diverse and widespread English speakers can reach a billion making [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2253

Innate Syntax Theory by Noam Chomsky

This, of course, accentuates the phenomenological overtones of the notion of syntax, as such that cannot be discussed outside of what happened to be the particulars of the affiliated person's amental wiring'.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1389

Minimalism and Question Affix

For instance, the Arabic language influence on the English language is quite outstanding, and this aspect mainly initiates the study of the Standard Arabic structure and formations in the English grammar approach.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1377

Wolof Language, Its Structure and Use

There are generally two types of Wolof, that is, Gambian Wolof spoken mainly by the Gambian people and the Senegal Wolof, which is the standard form of the language.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1420
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