In the world there are between 6000 and 7000 languages. We know that the first form of written language is the Cuneiform script. Sign languages come from the Abbé de l'Epée, the first person who recognized the importance of using a sign language for the instruction of deaf children. It isn't universal, because there are many varieties and there can actually be more than one signed language in a country, just as for oral languages. The country with the highest number of languages is Russia, that has from 130 to 200 spoken languages (depending on the criteria). The European Union has, today, 24 official and working languages. The language most spoken mother tongue in EU is German, but the language most spoken in EU is English. We also know that the official language of Azerbaijan is called Azeri. Cymraeg is the name of the Gaelic language spoken in Wales.
Germanic languages are: Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Swedish.
Slavic languages are: Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian and Czech.
Romance languages are: Romanian, Occitan, French and Sardinian.
Hebrew and Arabic are written from right to left. Japanese is written from top to bottom. Maltese is written from left to right.
We can finally say that the words educated people use can reach some 50.000 words; the words they know but do not use is somewhat larger.
