Language and nationalism

THERE are approximately 7,000 living languages in the world today, although these are obviously not evenly distributed across countries. While Papua New Guinea may have an estimated 840 languages — the country with the greatest number of languages recorded — South Korea only has five, and it is not even the country with the least number of languages.

We usually associate a particular language with one country or ethnicity. For example, Japanese is associated with Japan or Italian with Italy, and that is not surprising. But while Mandarin is associated with China, it is not that country's only language, nor is Mandarin only spoken there, for there also are other Chinese-speaking countries. It is the same with German. Indeed, German could be associated with Germany, but it is also an official language of Austria and Switzerland. In fact, it is the sole official language in Austria — and there is no "Austrian language"!