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I saw this essay question on a website (not a credible site). I think language is countable here because it's about foreign languages. But the question uses it uncountably. So, should language or languages be used?

Since not all children have a natural talent for language, not all of them should start learning a foreign language in primary school. Do you agree or disagree?

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  • It's most definitely NOT about foreign languages! The whole point of the TRUISM that "children have a natural talent for language", and Chomsky's ideas about "universal grammar" are predicated on the fact that every child easily learns its own native language. And since children are "evolved" to easily learn their mother tongue, it's not surprising they can "transfer" that skill to learning other languages. The idea that some children don't have a natural talent for language sounds spurious to me.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 16 at 20:36
  • @FumbleFingers - Some children do have language disorders that make them slow to learn to talk.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 17 at 10:22
  • Thank you both for your comments. I think what the question really wants to ask is: Since not all children have a natural talent for foreign languages, not all of them should start learning one in primary school. Do you agree or disagree? What do you think?
    – newbie forever
    Commented Jun 17 at 10:57
  • @KateBunting: Yeah - like some children are true hermaphrodites! For all practical purposes, they're not significant, and it's misleading to suggest the (possible) presence of such "rare, pathological" cases should be a consideration in the context of teaching foreign languages in primary schools.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 17 at 12:46
  • Newbie - FumbleFingers and I obviously disagree about this (see my answer).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 17 at 15:02

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Even though foreign languages are mentioned in the second half of the sentence, language in the singular could be understood as meaning 'the skill of expressing oneself in words'. If a child can't yet use their mother tongue effectively, there is no point in trying to teach them another language.

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