Hello, Kaiho, Nihau, good,

Hello, Salern, yes, ano, chao, cháo,

Hello, Vita.

Hello, you're listening to 20,000 Hertz.

I'm Dallas Taylor.

Of all the sounds that it's possible for us to make, nothing comes more naturally than what I'm doing right now.

Talking to you, in my native language.

When you think about it, the noises that come out of our mouths can be strange.

But they're the basis for how we do pretty much anything.

The languages that we've developed to communicate with are really central

to who we are. But as the world changes, many languages may be under threat.

I've always been fascinated by language.

That's Professor Lara Boroditsky. She's a cognitive scientist based out of UC San Diego.

She spent her career thinking about language and how important it is to us humans.

Language is a uniquely human gift.

There are no other creatures that have the incredible complex system of communication that we have.

Of course, animals do communicate.

Birds have beautiful and complex songs that they use to attract mates and stake out territory.

Whale calls can be heard for thousands of miles across the ocean.

And even insects have their own coat of clicks,

buzzes, and squeaks made by the percussion on their hard outer shells.

There are lots and lots of smart, clever creatures out there, but there are a couple of really important differences

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