Fast languages, slow languages

There are over 6,000 languages worldwide. But all have the same function. They help us exchange information. This happens in various ways in every language. Because every language behaves according to its own rules. The speed with which a language is spoken also differs. Linguists have proven this in various studies. To this end, short texts were translated into several languages. These texts were then read aloud by native speakers. The result was clear. Japanese and Spanish are the fastest languages. In these languages, almost 8 syllables per second are spoken. The Chinese speak considerably slower. They speak only 5 syllables per second. The speed is dependent on the complexity of the syllables. If the syllables are complex, speaking takes longer. German contains 3 sounds per syllable, for example. Therefore it is spoken relatively slowly. Speaking quickly does not mean, however, that there is a lot to communicate. Quite the opposite! Only a little information is contained in syllables that are quickly spoken. Although the Japanese speak quickly, they convey little content. On the other hand, the "slow" Chinese say a great deal with a few words. English syllables also contain a lot of information. Interesting is: The evaluated languages are almost equally efficient! That means, he who speaks slower says more. And he who speaks faster needs more words. In the end, all reach their goal at about the same time.

Guess the language!

Slovenian is counted among the South Slavic languages. It is the native language of about 2 million people. These people live in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Italy and Hungary. Slovenian is similar in many ways to Czech and Slovakian. Many influences from Serbo-Croatian can also be seen. Although Slovenia is a small country, many different dialects exist there. This is due to the fact that the language region looks back at a checkered history. This manifests itself in the vocabulary too, as it contains many foreign language terms.

Slovenian is written with Latin letters. The grammar distinguishes six cases and three genders. There are two official phonologies in the pronunciation. One of them differentiates precisely between high and low sounds. Another peculiarity of the language is its archaic structure. Slovenians have always been very open with respect to other languages. So they are even happier when someone is interested in their language!