ABSTRACT
Every human being speaks a language, but what people think about languages - particularly those about which they know little or nothing - is quite another matter. Languages seem to have special characteristics or personalities: for example, French is romantic; German is scientific; Russian is soulful; Spanish is hot-blooded; Italian is emotional; Chinese is simple and straightforward; Japanese is mysterious, spiritual, and Zen-like; English is logical; and Greek is philosophical. The most common misconception is the belief that unwritten languages are "primitive", whatever that may mean. Those who think that "primitive" languages still exist invariably associate them with societies that laypeople refer to as "primitive" - especially the very few remaining bands of hunter-gatherers. Some think that languages of peoples whose societies are not urbanized and industrialized have "little grammar", meaning that such languages have few, if any, of the sort of grammar rules students learn in school.
