The way we communicate with each other is one of the first things we learn in this life. Babies cry or grasp at the air to communicate a need for something. Deaf people use hand gestures and lip movements to communicate. According to many misnomers, 93 percent of all communication is some sort of physical movement or facial expression. What this statistic was referring to is the expressions and tonality are much more important than the actual words.¹ Even if you were mute and could only use non-verbal expression, this can be a difficult way to effectively communicate. Words were developed to bridge this communication gap and create a common pool of vocal sounds for their language. These vocal sounds developed into a common language in the beginning and evolved into various languages when people were divided by distance and race. Today, there are over seven thousand human languages spoken throughout the world and many more extinct languages from ancient times.² That number is continuing to change as new languages develop and old languages are no longer taught to new generations.
Eastman, Blake. 2021. Nonverbal Group.
How Much of Communication is Really Nonverbal? An Extensive Breakdown.
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https://www.nonverbalgroup.com/general/how-much-of-communication-is-really-nonverbal-an-extensive-breakdown
Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Alison J. Robinson (editors). 2026. SIL Global.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-ninth edition. Dallas, Texas.
[Online]
https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/how-many-languages/