So...how long have you been counting down to the 2010 World Cup? Four days? Four weeks? Four years?

We suspect a fair few people will fall into the latter category. But thankfully, the wait is almost over...the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks-off tomorrow. Football fever is set to spread like a contagious (non life-threatening!) disease across the globe and the prognosis is that fever-pitch will run for roughly 30 days.

A total of 32 countries will take to the football fields in South Africa, and we thought it would be good to take a sideways view of the nations’ various tongues (not the mouth muscle): language, after all, is Lingo24’s sole raison d'être.

There may be 32 countries battling it out for international football’s most coveted prize, but there are 29 ‘official’ languages shared between the participating nations. This figure is skewed somewhat by the host nation: South Africa has a staggering 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. That's potentially one language for every player on the team...possible communication problems there.

The next closest is Switzerland, which has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. However, if you want to bring regional ‘official’ languages into the equation, Spain actually has 5: Spanish, Aranese, Basque, Catalan and Galician.

Curiously, three World Cup countries have no official language: Japan, Australia and the USA. This may come as a surprise, but the USA and Australia don’t have official languages: English is the most widely spoken, but it is merely the national or ‘de facto’ language and has no official legal status in their respective constitutions. The same applies to Japanese in Japan.

In terms of official AND national/de facto languages, English is spoken by 8 of the participating countries: England, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Cameroon. Spanish is a close second, with 7 countries speaking it: Chile, Spain, Paraguay, Honduras, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico.

Curiously, New Zealand is the only country with a non-spoken/written official language. In 2006, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) was given official status alongside English and Maori...though some would argue most football teams are pretty adept at hand-gestures, especially when addressing the referee.

There may be a case for declaring football itself as an international language: it is understood by billions of people across the world and no matter where you are, the word ‘football’ followed by ‘Real Madrid’, ‘Barcelona’, ‘Manchester United’ or ‘Ronaldo’ is likely to be met with a knowing smile.

Football is universally adored and the World Cup helps bring nations together in their appreciation of the beautiful game. And no matter what language you speak, you’re sure to be in for a month of fantastic football. Or should that be scintillating soccer?