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When learning a new language‚ it’s easy to get the impression that native speakers can churn out sentences far faster than your brain can process. Surely you don’t speak this rapidly in your mother tongue? Rest assured‚ this isn’t necessarily your poor language skills or linguistic relativism – some languages may indeed be “faster” than others. Of course‚ the speed of speech can vary from person to person. Some folks just speak slowly‚ while others spit out words like a machine gun. Likewise‚ most individuals will change the tempo of their speech depending on the setting‚ their mood‚ and so on.However‚ one of the most widely accepted ways to study a language’s speed is the number of syllables per second. Numerous linguistics studies have looked into this metric and many come to the same conclusion: Japanese is the fastest language.A 2011 study by researchers at the University of Lyon looked at seven different languages and ranked them on their syllables per second. Japan came out on top with 7.84 syllables per second‚ followed by Spanish (7.82 syllables per second)‚ French (7.18)‚ Italian (6.99)‚ English (6.19)‚ German (5.97)‚ and Mandarin (5.18).Interestingly‚ the perceived speed of a language might also have something to do with how much information it can encode.Another study from the University of Lyon in 2019 looked at 17 different languages across Europe and Asia in terms of information per syllable. Although Japanese is apparently spoken quickly‚ it does not pack in much information with each syllable. Perhaps‚ the researchers ponder‚ the language is spoken quicker in a bid to fill the sentences with more meaning. “We find robust evidence that some languages are spoken faster than others (for example‚ Japanese and Spanish speakers produce about 50 percent more syllables per second than Vietnamese and Thai speakers). Also‚ some languages 'pack' more information per syllable due to their phonology and grammar (for example‚ English has about 11 times more types of syllable than are possible in Japanese)‚" Dan Dediu‚ co-author of the 2019 study‚ said in a statement."However‚ more importantly‚ there is a tradeoff between the two such that 'informationlight' languages are spoken faster than the 'informationdense' ones‚ balancing out at a rate of about 39 bits/second in all languages in our sample. Crazy‚ isn't it?" added Dr François Pellegrino‚ lead author of the study.You should take all these findings with a pinch of salt‚ however. Many disagree that solid data backs up the claim that there are significant tempo differences between different languages and dialects.An older study from the 1960s compared the speech rate of six Japanese speakers and six American-English speakers‚ concluding there were no significant differences in speech rate between the two groups.It’s also noteworthy that many of these linguistic studies have focused on European and East Asian languages‚ neglecting the thousands of other diverse languages that exist in the world. While it’s true that almost half of the world’s population speaks one of only ten languages as their mother tongue‚ there’s a wealth of curious and wonderful languages out there that are likely to defy all assumptions. 

This week‚ a CRISPR-edited pig kidney has successfully been transplanted into a living person‚ breeding efforts welcome ridiculous-looking hatchlings of the world’s rarest fish‚ and scientists simulate black holes in the lab using “quantum tornados” for the first time. Finally‚ we investigate the longest solar eclipse on record.Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday and Saturday.Study Claiming Humans Built A 25‚000-Year-Old Pyramid In Indonesia Removed By JournalA journal has retracted a controversial study that claimed that humans had begun constructing a "pyramid" in Indonesia as far back as 25‚000 years ago. In November 2023‚ the study garnered a lot of media attention for its extraordinary claim that a mountain in Indonesia is actually the world's oldest pyramid built by ancient humans. But reactions from archaeologists since publication were highly skeptical about its bold conclusions. Read the full story hereA CRISPR-Edited Pig Kidney Has Been Transplanted Into A Living Person For The First TimeIn a world first‚ doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a living human recipient. The patient‚ 62-year-old Richard “Rick” Slayman‚ had been living with end-stage kidney disease‚ relying on dialysis to survive after a previously transplanted human kidney had begun to fail. Read the full story hereThe World’s Rarest Fish Is Making A Comeback‚ One Ridiculous Baby At A TimeBehold‚ the rarest fish in the world! The red handfish‚ Thymichthys politus‚ is known from just two small patches of reef off the coast of Tasmania‚ thought to be home to around 100 adults. Habitat degradation and climate change have threatened them with extinction‚ but thanks to a breeding program‚ they welcomed 21 hatchlings in 2023 and you have to see them. Read the full story hereFirst-Ever "Quantum Tornado" Lets Scientists Simulate Black Holes In The LabBlack holes are objects at the limit of our physical theories‚ so the better we understand them‚ the better we can test our knowledge of the universe. While astrophysical black holes are studied in so many ways‚ it would be much easier to analyze one in the lab. Unfortunately‚ having one in a lab would lead to the destruction of said lab and probably the planet‚ so scientists have found the next best thing: they have created a simulation using a quantum tornado. Read the full story hereArchaeologists Find Shipwrecks Using Clues From Homer's IliadArchaeologists have used the Iliad‚ an Ancient Greek epic poem written in the 8th century BCE set towards the end of the legendary Trojan War‚ as a guide to locate shipwrecks off the coast of Greece. Researchers have located 10 shipwrecks that sunk at points between 3000 BCE to World War II around the island of Kasos. Among these sources was Homer's Iliad‚ which references Kasos as a trading hub that joined the fight against Troy. Read the full story hereTWIS is published weekly on our Linkedin page‚ join us there for even more content.Feature of the week: When Was The Longest Recorded Solar Eclipse In History?Not all solar eclipses are equal – even if we’re ignoring partial and annular eclipses‚ some are more impressive sights than others. Next month’s North American eclipse will last a lot longer than the 2017 equivalent‚ but how long can an eclipse theoretically last? And when was the longest eclipse of all? Read the full story here More content:Have you seen our free e-magazine‚ CURIOUS? Issue 20 March 2024 is out now. Check it out for exclusive interviews‚ book excerpts‚ long reads‚ and more.PLUS‚ the entire season 3 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast is available now.