Scientists (A) ________ that the youngest language in the world is Afrikaans, spoken by South Africans. Dutch and German Protestants avoided persecution from the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th and 18th centuries to (B) ________ in the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the southern point of Africa.

By the early 20th century Afrikaans had developed from Dutch, German and other influences into a(n) (C) ________ independent language with its own dictionaries. It is the third most spoken language in South Africa (Zulu being the most spoken, the Zulu people being the largest ethnic group there). New languages develop as different cultures meet and (D) ________.

For instance, about 700 different languages are spoken in London. In some suburbs of big cities (E) ________ London and New York, English is now a second language. The same is happening — or has taken place — in cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and Singapore. Already the Internet and mobile phone texting are influencing the development of languages as people communicate (F) ________ across cultural and regional borders.

The smallest country in the world is the Vatican. It also is the only country where Latin is the official language. Somalia is the only country in the world where all the (G) ________ speak one language, Somali.