Language is human speech, either written or spoken.All languages have a system of sou
nds, words, a system of word order, and grammar.Word order is more important in English than in some other languages.The sound system is very important in Chinese and in many African languages.
Language is always changing.The earliest known languages had complicated grammar but a small, limited vocabulary.Over the centuries, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew.For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gave names to all the new plants and animals they found.In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies.Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast, too.
There are several major language families in the world.Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divide them differently.The languages in each family are related, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language.
We learn our own languages by listening and copying.We do this without studying or thinking about it.But learning a foreign language takes a lot of study and practice.
(1).What do all languages in the world have?
A.Complicated vocabularies
B.Single grammar
C.Large vocabularies
D.A system of sounds
(2).What does the earliest known languages have?
A.Different word orders
B.Difficult grammar
C.Difficult vocabularies
D.Easy sound system
(3).What did the English and Spanish people who came to America do?
A.They gave names to different animals
B.They found many new plants and animals
C.They changed the grammar of English and Spanish
D.They introduced new words into English and Spanish
(4).Scientists think that the languages in each family_________________________.
A.are related
B.should be divided differently
C.should be separated
D.are not very different
(5).According to the passage, we learn our own language by_________________________.
A.thinking about it
B.practicing it
C.listening and copying
D.studying it