A modern language is any Language that is currently in use as a First language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French language and German language) and Extinct language classical languages such as Latin and Classical Chinese, which are studied for their cultural and linguistic value. SIL Ethnologue defines a living language as "one that has at least one speaker for whom it is their first language" (see also Language ยง Linguistic diversity).
Teaching
Modern languages are taught extensively around the world; see second language acquisition.
English language is taught as a
second language or
foreign language in many countries; see English language learning and teaching.
Auxiliary languages
International auxiliary languages are by definition not associated with a particular country or geographic region.
Esperanto is probably the best-known and most widespread.
Interlingua, a much less popular, but still growing auxiliary language, is likewise spoken mainly in
Northern Europe and
Eastern Europe and in
South America, with substantial numbers of speakers in
Central Europe,
Ukraine, and
Russia. Constructed languages from more recent years with sizable user communities are
Klingon language,
Toki Pona and
Interslavic.
See also
-
Modern Language Association
-
Endangered language
-
List of languages by total number of speakers
