Communication

Tokelauan language Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau, American Samoa and by communities in New Zealand; it is closely related to Tuvaluan and is an official language of Tokelau.

Token passing — controlled access method for network communication Token passing Token passing is a network access technique where a special control frame (the token) circulates among stations and grants exclusive permission to transmit, used for deterministic…

Token Ring: a token-passing LAN protocol and its history Token Ring Token Ring is a LAN protocol that controls access by passing a token around a ring of stations. Developed and popularized by IBM, it emphasizes collision-free transmission and pred…

Toki Pona: a Minimal Constructed Language Toki Pona Toki Pona is a minimalist constructed language by Sonja Lang that reduces meaning to a small core vocabulary and combinatory grammar, used for linguistic experimentation, personal…

Toll-free telephone number A telephone number for which the called party, not the caller, is charged. Commonly used by businesses and services; formats and rules vary by country and evolved with telephony an…

Tone language A tone (tonal) language uses pitch differences to distinguish word meaning. Overview, types of tones, distribution across language families, notation, common processes, learning is…

Town Crier: public announcer and ceremonial official Town crier A town crier is a municipal or official messenger who makes public announcements in streets and courts. Historically important before mass printing, today criers survive as ceremon…

Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are the classical forms of Chinese writing, preserved in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and many overseas communities; they retain historical stroke patter…

Traffic sign An overview of traffic (road) signs: purpose, common types, design principles, history, uses, and distinctions from other road controls.

Transatlantic telegraph cable Submarine telegraph cables that linked Europe and North America in the 19th century, enabling near‑instant communication across the Atlantic and paving the way for modern undersea…

Transcription (linguistics): converting speech and sounds into written form Transcription (linguistics) Overview of linguistic transcription: types, major standards (IPA, SAMPA, Pinyin), practical uses, differences from transliteration, examples and common challenges.

Translation: converting meaning between languages Translation Overview of translation: definitions, types (literary, technical, audiovisual), methods, tools, history, professional roles, and the challenges of accuracy, style, and ethics.

Translator: role, skills, history and practical distinctions Translator An overview of translators: what they do, required skills and methods, historical context, applications such as literary and technical translation, and how they differ from interpr…

Transliteration: mapping written characters between writing systems Transliteration Transliteration maps text from one script to another by replacing characters with corresponding characters. It preserves spelling, not pronunciation, and is used in scholarship, pa…

Transmission medium Material or environment through which energy, signals or particles travel; covers mechanical and electromagnetic media, characteristics, history, uses, and practical distinctions.

Transmitter (electronic signal transmitter) Transmitter A transmitter is an electronic device that generates and radiates signals—typically radio waves—by converting electrical power into a carrier wave and imprinting information using…

Tricolour (three-colour flag) Tricolour A tricolour is a flag or banner that features three distinct colours, usually arranged as parallel bands. This article explains forms, history, uses, and notable examples of tricol…

Trill consonant A trill is a consonant produced by rapid vibration of an articulator (e.g., tongue or lips). Common types, production, examples, and how trills differ from taps and fricatives.

Triple Zero (000) — Australia's national emergency telephone number Triple-Zero Triple Zero (000) is Australia’s free national emergency number for life‑threatening or time‑critical situations; it connects callers to police, fire or ambulance. Alternative acce…

Trust, but verify (proverb) Trust, but verify A concise overview of the proverb 'Trust, but verify', its meaning, Cold War popularization, modern applications, and distinctions in practice.

Tse (Cyrillic letter Ц) Tse (Cyrillic) Tse (Ц, ц) is a Cyrillic letter representing the voiceless affricate /ts/. Used across several Slavic languages. This article covers its form, pronunciation, history, orthographic…

Tsonga (Xitsonga) language Tsonga language Tsonga (Xitsonga), also called Changana, is a Southern Bantu language of the Tswa–Ronga group spoken mainly in South Africa and Mozambique, with distinctive noun classes, agglutina…

Tswana (Setswana): language, history, characteristics, and status Tswana language Tswana (Setswana) is a Bantu language of the Sotho group spoken by about five million people in Botswana and South Africa. This article covers its features, history, dialects, writ…

Turkish language (Türkçe): overview, classification, script and features Turkish language Comprehensive overview of Turkish (Türkçe): its classification within Turkic languages, writing system history, phonology, grammar traits, cultural role and modern use.

Tuvaluan language Tuvaluan is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian family, spoken in Tuvalu and by diaspora communities. It has distinctive Polynesian phonology, two main dialect groups, and ab…

Twenty Questions (parlor game) Twenty Questions A guessing game in which players identify a secret person, place or thing by asking up to twenty yes/no questions; common in parlors, on radio/TV, and as electronic/web implementat…

Ü — the letter U with umlaut or diaeresis Ü Letter U with two dots (Ü/ü), used in many languages to mark a front rounded vowel or a pronunciation marker; distinct in Turkish and German orthography and historically derived fr…

U (Cyrillic) — the letter У (uppercase У, lowercase у) U (Cyrillic) The Cyrillic letter У (У, у) typically denotes the close back rounded vowel /u/. It derives from Greek upsilon, corresponds to Latin U in transliteration, and appears in many Cyril…

Ukrainian language: overview, history, and characteristics Ukrainian language A concise reference on Ukrainian: its classification, script, historical development, dialects, literary tradition, global use, and differences from related Slavic languages.

Ulster Scots (Ullans): the Scots variety of Ulster Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots, or Ullans, is the variety of Scots spoken in parts of Ulster. This article outlines its origins, features, cultural role, and the debate over its classification and r…

Umlaut: diacritic dots and their role in Germanic and other languages Umlaut An overview of the umlaut—the two-dot diacritic (ä, ö, ü)—covering origin, pronunciation, orthography, examples in different languages, and distinctions from the diaeresis.

Undersea cable (submarine communications and power cables) Undersea cable Cables laid on or beneath the seabed to carry telecommunications or electrical power between landmasses; they form a global data backbone and connect power grids and islands.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UMTS is a 3G mobile cellular system based on GSM and the IMT-2000 family. It uses W-CDMA radio access to provide higher data rates for voice, mobile internet and multimedia service…

Upsilon (Greek letter Υ, υ) Upsilon Overview of the Greek letter Upsilon: form, sounds in ancient and modern Greek, numeric value, historical descendants, and uses in mathematics, physics and culture.

Uralic languages A language family of northern Eurasia including Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian and Samoyedic tongues; known for agglutinative morphology, vowel harmony, and rich case systems.

Urdu — an Indo-Aryan language of South Asia Urdu Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken across South Asia, the national language of Pakistan and a recognized regional language in India, with a rich literary tradition and a Perso-A…

Uyghur Arabic alphabet The Uyghur Arabic alphabet is an adapted Perso‑Arabic script used to write the Uyghur language. It marks vowels with letters and includes additions to represent Turkic sounds not f…

Uyghur language: overview, scripts, history and characteristics Uyghur language Uyghur is a Turkic language spoken mainly in Xinjiang and by diaspora communities; it uses several alphabets, is agglutinative with vowel harmony, and has a rich literary and oral…

Uzbek language (Oʻzbek tili) Uzbek language Uzbek is a Turkic language spoken mainly in Uzbekistan and across Central Asia. This article explains its classification, scripts, dialects, grammar traits, history, and modern sta…

V (letter) V V is the 22nd letter of the Latin alphabet used in English, representing a voiced labiodental fricative and serving as a symbol in numerals, science, music and typography.

V sign: gesture of victory, peace, and cultural variation V sign Two-finger hand sign used to indicate victory or peace; meanings vary by orientation, context and era, from World War II morale to 1960s protest and contemporary selfies.

Valencian language Valencian (valencià) is the historical name and regional variety of Catalan used in the Valencian Community; it has distinct local forms, official recognition and a long literary a…

Varieties of Chinese: groups, features, history and standardization Varieties of Chinese Overview of the major Chinese varieties, their linguistic features, historical development, and the role of Standard Chinese across regions and institutions.

Ve (Cyrillic letter) Ve (Cyrillic) Ve (В, в) is the third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet representing the voiced /v/ sound. It derives from Greek beta, resembles Latin B in shape, and is transliterated into Latin a…

Velar consonant Consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velum). Common in many languages; English examples include [k], [g], and [ŋ].

Venda (Tshivenḓa): an overview of the Venda language Venda language Venda (Tshivenḓa) is a Bantu language spoken mainly in South Africa's Limpopo Province and parts of Zimbabwe. It is an official South African language with distinct grammar, tone f…

Venetian language A Romance language of the Veneto region and the former Republic of Venice, Venetian (vèneto) has distinct grammar, vocabulary and regional varieties, with communities in Italy and…

Venona project: US codebreaking of Soviet intelligence communications Venona project Venona was a clandestine U.S. cryptanalytic program begun in 1943 that partially decrypted Soviet diplomatic and intelligence traffic, revealing wartime and early Cold War espionag…