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The World’s Most Spoken Languages Explained: Mandarin, Spanish, English and Beyond
Nearly half of humanity speaks one of just 23 languages. We rank the world's most spoken tongues and explain why the ranking…
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How English Became the World’s Global Language
From a muddy island tongue to the language of 1.5 billion people: the story of how English conquered the world through empire,…
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The Arabic Language Explained: One Language, Many Dialects
Spoken by 400 million people from Morocco to Oman, Arabic is one language and many at once. We explain its dialects, its…
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Mandarin Chinese Explained: Tones, Characters and 1.4 Billion Speakers
Mandarin has more native speakers than any language on Earth. We explain its tones, its characters, and the surprising logic that makes…
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The World’s Writing Systems Explained: Alphabets, Logograms and Scripts
From Egyptian hieroglyphs to the Latin alphabet on your screen, writing has been reinvented only a handful of times. We explain the…
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How Switzerland’s Direct Democracy Works: Referendums, Cantons and Neutrality Explained
Swiss citizens vote on laws four times a year. This explainer shows how referendums, cantons and neutrality built the world's most hands-on…
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Dying Languages Explained: Why Half the World’s Tongues May Vanish This Century
Of 7,000 languages, one dies roughly every two weeks. We explain why languages vanish, what is lost with them, and the global…
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Singapore Explained: How a Tiny City-State Became an Economic Powerhouse
Singapore went from poor colonial port to rich nation in a single generation. This explainer traces how the tiny city-state built its…
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Tea Cultures of the World Explained: From Chinese Gongfu to British Afternoon Tea
Tea is the world's most popular drink after water. We tour the great tea cultures, from Chinese gongfu ceremony to British afternoon…
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TSMC and Taiwan’s Chip Shield: How One Company Made an Island Indispensable
TSMC makes over 90% of the world's most advanced chips. This explainer shows how one firm gave Taiwan a 'silicon shield' and…