Print
|
Language families
A language family is a grouping of linguistically linked languages, stemming from a common ancestral mother-language called Protolanguage.
Most languages in the world belong to a specific family. Languages that have no demonstrable relation with others, and cannot be classified within a specific family, are generally known as language isolates.
Creole languages are the only ones to be neither isolates, nor members of a linguistic family. They form their own different type of languages.
Find a language or a family directly :
Go directly to a continent :
Africa America Asia Europe Oceania
A third of the total number of languages, approximately 2000 languages, can be found in Africa.
The group of Niger-Congo languages is spoken across most of the continent - it is the world’s largest group of languages (approximately 1300 languages).
Among the other families, one can find the Afro-Asian group (which includes Hebrew, Arabic dialects and the languages of Ancient Egypt, for example), the Nilo-Saharan languages (along the lower Nile), the group of Mande languages (Western Africa) etc.
Many of these languages are hardly studied, and the number of groups and groupings changes as science progresses, revealing a vast linguistic wealth, but one that is seriously threatened.
- Afro-Asiatic Languages
- Austronesian language family
- Dogon languages
- Ijo-Defaka languages
- Juu-ǂHoan languages
- Kadu languages
- Khoe languages
- Koman languages
- Mande languages
- Niger-Congo languages
- Nilo-Saharian languages
- Portuguese-based Creole languages
- Tuu languages
- Ubangian languages
The American continent has the greatest number of groups of native languages (if we exclude the official languages imported from Europe), in other words more than fifty language groups, which gather a total of approximately 400 languages.
Today, this linguistic and cultural wealth is greatly endangered: the majority of these languages threaten to become extinct, and many have disappeared before they could be studied. Scientists estimate, for example, that 90% of the languages of North America are likely to disappear during this century.
- Algic (or Algonquian) Languages
- Arawan or Arauan languages
- Arawak language family
- Athabaskan-Eyat-Tlingit Languages
- Aymara language family
- Barbacoan language family
- Bora-Witoto (or Witotoan) languages
- Caddoan Languages
- Cahuapanan language family
- Carib language family
- Chapacuran language family
- Chibchan languages
- Chimakuan Languages
- Chinookan Languages
- Choco languages
- Chon language family
- Eskimo-Aleut Languages
- Guahibo language family
- Guaycuruan languages
- Iroquoian Languages
- Jabuti language family
- Katukina language family
- Kiowa-Tanoan Languages
- Language isolates & non-classified languages of America
- Macro-Jê language family
- Maidu Languages
- Makú language family
- Maskoyan languages
- Matacoan languages
- Mayan Languages
- Misumalpan languages
- Mixe-Zoquean languages
- Mosetenan languages
- Muskogean Languages
- Nambiquara languages
- Oto-Manguean language family
- Paezan languages
- Palaihnihan Languages
- Peba-Yagua languages
- Pomoan (or Kulanapan) Languages
- Portuguese-based Creole languages
- Quechuan languages
- Sahaptian Languages
- Salishan Languages
- Salivan languages
- Shuar languages
- Siouan Languages
- Tequistlatecan languages
- Totonacan languages
- Tsimshian Languages
- Tucanoan languages
- Tupi languages
- Uru-Chipaya languages
- Utian (Miwok-Costanoan) Languages
- Uto-Aztecan languages
- Wakashan Languages
- Wintuan Languages
- Xincan languages
- Yanomami languages
- Yokutsan (Yokuts) Languages
- Yuman-Cochimi Languages
- Zamucoan languages
- Zaparoan languages
With nearly 2000 languages, Asia comes right after Africa in terms of the number of spoken languages.
It comprises the Sino-Tibetan languages (to which Mandarin belongs), the second largest group in terms of the number of speakers (after the Indo-European group).
The Austro-Asian languages (to which Vietnamese belongs), the Tai-Kadai languages, the Hmong-Mien languages, the Mongolian, Turkish, Tungunsic, Dravidian languages of Southern India and the nearly extinct languages of Kamchatka, illustrate the very rich linguistic diversity that can be found on the Asian continent.
Besides, a lot of Asian spoken language groups have the particularity of being transcontinental, in other words, they are spoken in Asia but also on other continents.
- Afro-Asiatic Languages
- Austro-Asiatic Languages
- Austronesian language family
- Border languages
- Cendarawasih or Eastern "Geelvink Bay" languages
- Chukotko-Kamchatkan Languages
- Dravidian languages
- Eskimo-Aleut Languages
- Hmong-Mien Languages
- Indo-European Languages
- Japonic languages
- Marind languages
- Mongolic Languages
- Northwest Caucasian Languages
- Portuguese-based Creole languages
- Sino-Tibetan languages
- Tai-Kadai languages
- Tor-Kwerba languages
- Trans-New-Guinea languages
- Tungusic Languages
- Turkic Languages
- Yukaghir Languages
The European continent is dominated by the group of Indo-European languages such as French, English, Spanish, but also Russian, Farsi or even Hindi and Nepali, and also endangered languages such as Breton, Yiddish, Sorabe, Kashubian etc.
The Indo-European group is the largest group in the world in terms of speakers: there are nearly 3 billion speakers across five continents.
Other groups also exist in Europe: languages from the Ural region (particularly Finnish and Hungarian), the three groups of Caucasian languages, and Basque as well, which has no link with any other language.
- Indo-European Languages
- Northeast Caucasian Languages
- Northwest Caucasian Languages
- South Caucasian Languages
- Turkic Languages
- Uralic or Finno-Ugrian Languages
The group of Austronesian languages is the largest group in terms of speakers for that continent. These languages are spoken in South-East Asia, in a large number of Pacific Islands and as far as Madagascar.
Australian languages do not belong to this group, they are generally unknown and very endangered of disappearing: among the 700 native languages that were said to exist before the colonisation, only less than a hundred still remain.
Finally, Papua New-Guinea is the territory with the greatest linguistic diversity in the world. According to estimates, nearly 800 languages are spoken, distributed among a large number of distinct families.
- Arnhem Land languages
- Austronesian language family
- Baining-Taulil languages
- Border languages
- Bougainville languages
- Bunaban languages
- Central Solomon languages
- Daly languages
- East Bird's Head languages
- Eastern Trans Fly languages
- Eastern Trans-Fly languages
- Jarrakan languages
- Kwomtari languages
- Lakes Plain Languages
- Left May Languages
- Limilngan languages
- Macro-Pama-Nyungan languages
- Marind languages
- Mirndi languages
- Nimboran languages
- Nyulnyulan languages
- Ramu-Lower Sepik languages
- Sepik languages
- Sko (or Skou) languages
- Torricelli languages
- Trans-New-Guinea languages
- Worrorran languages
- Yuat languages



Twitter
Facebook



