Ethnologue
Encyclopedia
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International
(formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian
linguistic
service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bible
s in their native language and support their efforts in language development.
The Ethnologue contains statistics for 7,358 language
s in the 16th edition, released in 2009 (up from 6,912 in the 15th edition, released 2005 and 6,809 in the 14th edition, released 2000) and gives the number of speakers, location, dialects, linguistic affiliations, availability of the Bible
and so forth. It is currently the most comprehensive existing language inventory, along with the Linguasphere Observatory Register
. But, some information is dated.
In 1984, the Ethnologue released a three-letter coding system, called a SIL code, to identify each language that it describes. This set of codes significantly exceeded the scope of previous standards, e.g., ISO 639-1
. The 14th edition, published in 2000, included 7148 language codes which generally did not match the ISO 639-2
codes. In 2002 the Ethnologue was asked to work with the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) to integrate its codes into a draft international standard. The Ethnologue now uses this standard, called ISO 639-3
. The 15th edition, which was published in 2005, includes 7299 codes. A 16th edition was released in the middle of 2009.
What counts as a language depends on socio-linguistic evaluation: see Dialect
. As the preface says, "Not all scholars share the same set of criteria for what constitutes a 'language' and what features define a 'dialect. Ethnologue follows the criteria used by ISO 639-3, which are based primarily on mutual intelligibility.
In addition to choosing a primary name for the language, Ethnologue also gives some of the names by which a language is called by its speakers, by the government, by foreigners and by neighbors, as well as how it has been named and referenced historically, regardless of which designation is considered official, politically correct or offensive or by whom.
William Bright
, then editor of Language
: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America, wrote of Ethnologue that it "is indispensable for any reference shelf on the languages of the world." (1986:698).
, 82 creoles
, 17 pidgin
s, 130 Deaf sign languages
, 23 mixed language
s, 50 language isolate
s, and 73 unclassified languages.
SIL International
SIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...
(formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s in their native language and support their efforts in language development.
The Ethnologue contains statistics for 7,358 language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s in the 16th edition, released in 2009 (up from 6,912 in the 15th edition, released 2005 and 6,809 in the 14th edition, released 2000) and gives the number of speakers, location, dialects, linguistic affiliations, availability of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and so forth. It is currently the most comprehensive existing language inventory, along with the Linguasphere Observatory Register
Linguasphere Observatory
The Linguasphere Observatory is a transnational linguistic research network...
. But, some information is dated.
In 1984, the Ethnologue released a three-letter coding system, called a SIL code, to identify each language that it describes. This set of codes significantly exceeded the scope of previous standards, e.g., ISO 639-1
ISO 639-1
ISO 639-1:2002, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 1: Alpha-2 code, is the first part of the ISO 639 series of international standards for language codes. Part 1 covers the registration of two-letter codes. There are 136 two-letter codes registered...
. The 14th edition, published in 2000, included 7148 language codes which generally did not match the ISO 639-2
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-2:1998, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code, is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. The three-letter codes given for each language in this part of the standard are referred to as...
codes. In 2002 the Ethnologue was asked to work with the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO) to integrate its codes into a draft international standard. The Ethnologue now uses this standard, called ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3:2007, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages, is an international standard for language codes in the ISO 639 series. The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages. It extends the ISO 639-2...
. The 15th edition, which was published in 2005, includes 7299 codes. A 16th edition was released in the middle of 2009.
What counts as a language depends on socio-linguistic evaluation: see Dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
. As the preface says, "Not all scholars share the same set of criteria for what constitutes a 'language' and what features define a 'dialect. Ethnologue follows the criteria used by ISO 639-3, which are based primarily on mutual intelligibility.
In addition to choosing a primary name for the language, Ethnologue also gives some of the names by which a language is called by its speakers, by the government, by foreigners and by neighbors, as well as how it has been named and referenced historically, regardless of which designation is considered official, politically correct or offensive or by whom.
William Bright
William Bright
William Bright was an American linguist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics....
, then editor of Language
Language (journal)
Language is a peer-reviewed quarterly academic journal published by the Linguistic Society of America since 1925. It covers all aspects of linguistics, focusing on the area of theoretical linguistics...
: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America, wrote of Ethnologue that it "is indispensable for any reference shelf on the languages of the world." (1986:698).
Language families
Following are the language families listed in the Ethnologue language family index of the 16th edition. The first column gives the Ethnologue name for the group, followed by the location by continent and Ethnologues count of the number of languages in the family. In addition to language families, Ethnologue lists 1 artificial languageConstructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
, 82 creoles
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
, 17 pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
s, 130 Deaf sign languages
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, 23 mixed language
Mixed language
A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its source...
s, 50 language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
s, and 73 unclassified languages.
| Family | Continent | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Afroasiatic | Africa/Asia | 374 |
| Alacalufan Kawésqar language Kawésqar is an Alacalufan language spoken in southern Chile by the Kawésqar people. Originally there were several distinct dialects... |
South America | 2 |
| Algic Algic languages The Algic languages are an indigenous language family of North America. Most Algic languages belong to the Algonquian family, dispersed over a broad area from the Rocky Mountains to Atlantic Canada... |
North America | 44 |
| Altaic Altaic languages Altaic is a proposed language family that includes the Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, and Japonic language families and the Korean language isolate. These languages are spoken in a wide arc stretching from northeast Asia through Central Asia to Anatolia and eastern Europe... |
Europe/Asia | 66 |
| Amto–Musan | Australasia | 2 |
| Andamanese Andamanese languages The Andamanese languages form a proposed language family spoken by the Andamanese peoples, a group of Negritos who live in the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India. Its validity is disputed... |
Asia | 13 |
| Arafundi Ramu languages The Ramu languages are a family of some thirty languages of northern Papua New Guinea. They were identified as a family by John Z'graggen in 1971, and linked with the Sepik languages by Donald Laycock two years later. Malcolm Ross classifies them as one branch of a Ramu – Lower Sepik language... |
Australasia | 3 |
| Arai–Kwomtari | Australasia | 10 |
| Arauan Arauan languages Arawan is a family of languages spoken in western Brazil and Peru.-Family division:Arauan consists of 8 or 9 languages:... |
South America | 5 |
| Araucanian Mapudungun The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian... |
South America | 2 |
| Arawakan Arawakan languages Macro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean based on the Arawakan languages. Sometimes the proposal is called Arawakan, in which case the central family is called Maipurean.... |
South America | 59 |
| Arutani–Sape | South America | 2 |
| Australian | Australasia | 264 |
| Austro-Asiatic Austro-Asiatic languages The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"... |
Asia | 169 |
| Austronesian Austronesian languages The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the... |
Asia/Australasia | 1257 |
| Aymaran Aymaran languages Aymaran is one of the two dominant language families of the central Andes, along with Quechuan.... |
South America | 3 |
| Barbacoan Barbacoan languages Barbacoan is a language family spoken in Colombia and Ecuador.-Family division:Barboacoan consists of 6 languages:*Northern* Awan... |
South America | 7 |
| Basque Basque language Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories... |
Europe | 1 |
| Bayono–Awbono | Australasia | 2 |
| Border Border languages (New Guinea) The Border or Tami languages are an independent family of Papuan languages in Malcolm Ross's version of the Trans–New Guinea proposal.-Classification:* ? Morwap isolate... |
Australasia | 15 |
| Caddoan Caddoan languages The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:... |
North America | 5 |
| Cahuapanan Cahuapanan languages The Cahuapanan languages include two languages, Chayahuita and Jebero. They are spoken by more than 11,300 people in Peru. Chayahuita is spoken by most of that number, but Jebero is almost extinct.... |
South America | 2 |
| Carib Cariban languages The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family of South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related, and number two to three... |
South America | 31 |
| Central Solomons Central Solomons languages The Central Solomon languages are four distantly but demonstrably related languages of the Solomon Islands, identified as a family by Wilhelm Schmidt in 1908... |
Australasia | 4 |
| Chapacura-Wanham Chapacura-Wanham languages The Chapacuran languages are a nearly extinct Native American language family of South America. There are three living Chapacuran languages, which are spoken in the southeastern Amazon Basin of Brazil and Bolivia. The languages in the family are classified into the Madeira and Guapore groups... |
South America | 5 |
| Chibchan Chibchan languages The Chibchan languages make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama... |
South America | 21 |
| Chimakuan Chimakuan languages The Chimakuan language family consists of two languages spoken in northwestern Washington, USA on the Olympic Peninsula. It is part of the Mosan sprachbund, and one of its languages is famous for having no nasal consonants... |
North America | 1 |
| Choco Choco languages The Choco languages are a small family of Native American languages spread across Colombia and Panama.-Family division:Choco consists of perhaps ten languages, half of them extinct.... |
South America | 12 |
| Chon Chon languages -External links:*Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: CHON... |
South America | 2 |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages The Chukotko-Kamchatkan or Chukchi–Kamchatkan languages are a language family of extreme northeastern Siberia. Its speakers are indigenous hunter-gatherers and reindeer-herders.... |
Asia | 5 |
| Chumash Chumashan languages Chumashan is a family of languages that were spoken on the southern California coast by Native American Chumash people.From the Coastal plains and valleys of San Luis Obispo to Malibu), neighboring inland and Transverse Ranges valleys and canyons east to bordering the San Joaquin Valley; and on... |
North America | 7 |
| Coahuiltecan Coahuiltecan Coahuiltecan or Paikawa was a proposed language family in John Wesley Powell's 1891 classification of Native American languages that consisted of Coahuilteco and Cotoname. The proposal was expanded to include Comecrudo, Karankawa, and Tonkawa... |
North America | 1 |
| Dravidian Dravidian languages The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and... |
Asia | 85 |
| East Bird's Head – Sentani | Australasia | 8 |
| East Geelvink Bay East Geelvink Bay languages The East Geelvink Bay or East Cenderawasih languages are a language family of a dozen Papuan languages along the eastern coast of Geelvink Bay in Indonesian Papua, which is also known as Sarera Bay or Cenderawasih.... |
Australasia | 11 |
| East New Britain Baining languages The Baining or East New Britain languages are a small language family spoken by the Baining people on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea... |
Australasia | 7 |
| Eastern Trans-Fly Eastern Trans-Fly languages The Eastern Trans-Fly languages are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross, that constituted a branch of Stephen Wurm's 1970 Trans-Fly proposal, which he later incorporated into his 1975 expansion of the Trans–New Guinea family as part of a Trans-Fly –... |
Australasia | 4 |
| Eskimo–Aleut | North America | 11 |
| Guahiban Guajiboan languages Guajiboan is a language family spoken in the Orinoco River region in eastern Colombia and southwestern Venezuela, which is a savannah-like area known in Colombia as the Llanos.-Family division:... |
South America | 5 |
| Gulf Gulf languages Gulf is a proposed native North American language family composed of the Muskogean languages, along with four extinct language isolates: Natchez, Tunica, Atakapa, and Chitimacha.... |
North America | 4 |
| Harakmbet Harakmbut languages Harákmbut or Harákmbet is a small language family in Peru spoken by the Harakmbut people.-References:*Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: HARAKMBET... |
South America | 2 |
| Hibito–Cholon Hibito–Cholon languages The extinct Hibito–Cholón or Cholónan languages form a proposed language family that links two languages of Peru, Hibito and Cholón, extinct as of 2000... |
South America | 2 |
| Hmong–Mien | Asia | 38 |
| Hokan Hokan languages The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families spoken in California, Arizona and Mexico. In nearly a century since Edward Sapir first proposed the "Hokan" hypothesis, little additional evidence has been found that these families were related to each other... |
North America | 23 |
| Huavean Huave language Huave is a language isolate spoken by the indigenous Huave people on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The language is spoken in four villages on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast of the state, by around 18,000 people... |
North America | 4 |
| Indo-European Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia... |
Europe/Asia | 439 |
| Iroquoian Iroquoian languages The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press.... |
North America | 9 |
| Japonic Japonic languages Japonic languages is a term which identifies and characterises the Japanese which is spoken on the main islands of Japan and the Ryukyuan languages spoken in the Ryukyu Islands. This widely accepted linguistics term was coined by Leon Serafim.... |
Asia | 12 |
| Jivaroan Jivaroan languages Jivaroan is a small language family, or perhaps a language isolate, of northern Peru and eastern Ecuador.-Family division:Jivaroan consists of 4 languages:-Genetic relations:... |
South America | 4 |
| Kartvelian South Caucasian languages The Kartvelian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia, with a large group of ethnic Georgian speakers in Russia, the United States, the European Union, and northeastern parts of Turkey. There are approximately 5.2 million speakers of this language family worldwide.It is not known to be related... |
Asia | 5 |
| Katukinan Katukinan languages Katukinan is a language group consisting of three languages in Brazil.*Kanamarí*Katawixi*Katukína-References:*Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: KATUKINA... |
South America | 3 |
| Kaure | Australasia | 4 |
| Keres Keresan languages Keresan , also Keres , is a group of seven related languages spoken by Keres Pueblo peoples in New Mexico, U.S.A.. Each is mutually intelligible with its closest neighbors... |
North America | 2 |
| Khoisan Khoisan languages The Khoisan languages are the click languages of Africa which do not belong to other language families. They include languages indigenous to southern and eastern Africa, though some, such as the Khoi languages, appear to have moved to their current locations not long before the Bantu expansion... |
Africa | 27 |
| Kiowa–Tanoan | North America | 6 |
| Lakes Plain Lakes Plain languages -Pronouns:The pronouns Ross reconstructs for proto-Tariku are,The corresponding "I" and "thou" pronouns are proto–East Lake Plain *a, *do, Awera yai, nai , and Rasawa e-, de-. Saponi shares no pronouns with the Lakes Plain family; indeed its pronouns mamire "I, we" and ba "thou" are remenincent of... |
Australasia | 20 |
| Left May Left May languages The Left May or Arai languages are a small language family of half a dozen closely related but not mutually intelligible languages in the centre of New Guinea, along the left bank of the May River... |
Australasia | 2 |
| Lower Mamberamo Lower Mamberamo languages The Lower Mamberamo languages are a recently proposed language family linking two languages spoken along the northern coast of Papua province, Indonesia, near the mouth of the Mamberamo River.... |
Australasia | 2 |
| Lule–Vilela Lule–Vilela languages -External links:*Alain Fabre. 2005. Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos.... |
South America | 1 |
| Macro-Ge Macro-Gê languages Macro-Jê is a medium-sized language stock in South America centered around the Jê language family, with all other branches currently being single languages due to recent extinctions. The family was first proposed in 1926, and has undergone moderate modifications since then... |
South America | 32 |
| Mairasi Mairasi languages The Mairasi languages are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal.-Classification:* Mairasi family: Semimi, Mer, Mairasi, Northeastern Mairasi... |
Australasia | 3 |
| Maku | South America | 6 |
| Mascoian Filadelfia Filadelfia is the capital of Boquerón Department in the Gran Chaco of western Paraguay. It is the centre of the Fernheim Colony. It is about a 5 hour drive from the capital of Asunción.-History:... |
South America | 5 |
| Mataco–Guaicuru | South America | 12 |
| Mayan Mayan languages The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras... |
North America | 69 |
| Maybrat West Papuan languages The West Papuan languages are a hypothetical language family of about two dozen Papuan languages of the Bird's Head Peninsula of far western New Guinea and the island of Halmahera, spoken by about 220 000 people in all.... |
Australasia | 2 |
| Misumalpan Misumalpan languages The Misumalpan languages are a small family of Native American languages spoken by indigenous peoples on the east coast of Nicaragua and nearby areas. The name "Misumalpan" was devised by John Alden Mason and is composed of syllables from the names of the family's three members Miskitu, Sumu and... |
North America | 4 |
| Mixe–Zoque | North America | 17 |
| Mongol-Langam | Australasia | 3 |
| Mura | South America | 1 |
| Muskogean Muskogean languages Muskogean is an indigenous language family of the Southeastern United States. Though there is an ongoing debate concerning their interrelationships, the Muskogean languages are generally divided into two branches, Eastern Muskogean and Western Muskogean... |
North America | 6 |
| Na-Dené Na-Dené languages Na-Dene is a Native American language family which includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. An inclusion of Haida is controversial.... |
North America | 46 |
| Nambiquaran Nambikwaran languages The Nambikwaran languages are a language family of half a dozen languages, all spoken in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. They have traditionally been considered dialects of a single language, but at least three of them are mutually unintelligible... |
South America | 7 |
| Niger–Congo Niger–Congo languages The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question... |
Africa | 1532 |
| Nilo-Saharan Nilo-Saharan languages The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet... |
Africa | 205 |
| Nimboran Nimboran languages The Nimboran languages are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal... |
Australasia | 5 |
| North Bougainville North Bougainville languages The North or West Bougainville languages are a small language family spoken on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. They were classified as East Papuan languages by Stephen Wurm, but this does not now seem tenable, and was abandoned in Ethnologue .The family includes the closely related... |
Australasia | 4 |
| North Brazil Cariban languages The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family of South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related, and number two to three... |
South America | 1 |
| North Caucasian North Caucasian languages North Caucasian languages is a blanket term for two language phyla spoken chiefly in the north Caucasus and Turkey: the Northwest Caucasian family and the Northeast Caucasian family North Caucasian languages (sometimes called simply Caucasic as opposed to Kartvelian, and to avoid confusion with... |
Europe/Asia | 34 |
| Oto-Manguean Oto-Manguean languages Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The... |
North America | 177 |
| Panoan Panoan languages Panoan is a family of languages spoken in Peru, western Brazil, and Bolivia. It is a branch of the larger Pano–Tacanan family.-Family division:Panoan consists of some two dozen languages:... |
South America | 28 |
| Pauwasi Pauwasi languages The Pauwasi languages are a well established family of Papuan languages. Stephen Wurm classified them as a branch of the Trans–New Guinea phylum, and position which Malcolm Ross tentatively retains.* Pauwasi family... |
Australasia | 5 |
| Peba–Yaguan | South America | 2 |
| Penutian Penutian languages Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian stock or phylum has been the subject of debate among specialists. Even the... |
North America | 33 |
| Piawi Piawi languages The Piawi languages are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal.-Classification:Piawi consists of only two languages:... |
Australasia | 2 |
| Quechuan | South America | 46 |
| Ramu – Lower Sepik | Australasia | 32 |
| Salishan Salishan languages The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest... |
North America | 26 |
| Salivan | South America | 3 |
| Senagi Senagi languages The Senagi languages are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal.... |
Australasia | 2 |
| Sepik Sepik languages -Pronouns:The pronouns Ross reconstructs for proto-Sepik are:Note the similarities of the dual and plural suffixes with those of the Torricelli languages.-See also:*Papuan languages*Sepik–Ramu languages*Donald Laycock... |
Australasia | 56 |
| Sino-Tibetan Sino-Tibetan languages The Sino-Tibetan languages are a language family comprising, at least, the Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. They are second only to the Indo-European languages in terms of the number of native speakers... |
Asia | 449 |
| Siouan | North America | 17 |
| Sko Sko languages The Sko or Skou languages are a small language family spoken by about 7000 people, mainly along the coast of Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea, with a few being inland from this area and at least one just across the border in the Indonesian province of Papua . Skou languages are unusual in New... |
Australasia | 7 |
| Somahai Momuna languages The Momuna languages, Momina and Momuna, also known as Somahai, are a family of two closely related Papuan languages. They were placed in the Central and South New Guinea branch of the Trans–New Guinea family by Wurm, but Malcolm Ross could not locate enough evidence to classify them.... |
Australasia | 2 |
| South Bougainville South Bougainville languages The South or East Bougainville languages are a small language family spoken on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. They were classified as East Papuan languages by Wurm, but this does not now seem tenable, and was abandoned in Ethnologue .The languages include a closely related group... |
Australasia | 9 |
| South-Central Papuan South-Central Papuan languages -Pronouns:The pronouns Ross reconstructs for the three families are,Proto–Morehead – Upper MaroProto-PahoturiProto–Bulaka River-References:... |
Australasia | 22 |
| Tacanan | South America | 6 |
| Tai–Kadai | Asia | 92 |
| Tarascan P'urhépecha language P'urhépecha is a language isolate or small language family spoken by more than 100,000 P'urhépecha people in the highlands of the Mexican state of Michoacán... |
North America | 2 |
| Tequistlatecan | North America | 2 |
| Tor–Kwerba | Australasia | 24 |
| Torricelli Torricelli languages The Torricelli languages are a language family of about fifty languages of the northern Papua New Guinea coast, spoken by only about 80,000 people. Named after Torricelli Mountains. The most populous and best known Torricelli languages are the Arapesh, with about 30,000 speakers.The most promising... |
Australasia | 56 |
| Totonacan Totonacan languages The Totonacan languages are a family of closely related languages spoken by approximately 200,000 Totonac and Tepehua people in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo in Mexico... |
North America | 12 |
| Trans–New Guinea | Australasia | 477 |
| Tucanoan Tucanoan languages Tucanoan is a language family of Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.-Family division:There are two dozen Tucanoan languages:*Western Tucanoan**Correguaje **Tama **Macaguaje ... |
South America | 25 |
| Tupi Tupian languages The Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani.-History, members and classification:... |
South America | 76 |
| Uralic Uralic languages The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt... |
Europe/Asia | 37 |
| Uru–Chipaya | South America | 2 |
| Uto-Aztecan Uto-Aztecan languages Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family... |
North America | 61 |
| Wakashan Wakashan languages Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island, and in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.... |
North America | 5 |
| West Papuan West Papuan languages The West Papuan languages are a hypothetical language family of about two dozen Papuan languages of the Bird's Head Peninsula of far western New Guinea and the island of Halmahera, spoken by about 220 000 people in all.... |
Australasia | 23 |
| Witotoan Witotoan languages Bora–Witóto is a proposal to unite the Bora and Witotoan language families of northeastern Peru , southwestern Colombia , and western Brazil... |
South America | 6 |
| Yanomam Yanomaman languages Yanomaman is a small language family of northwestern Brazil and southern Venezuela.-Language division:... |
South America | 4 |
| Yele – West New Britain | Australasia | 3 |
| Yeniseian Yeniseian languages The Yeniseian language family is spoken in central Siberia.-Family division:0. Proto-Yeniseian... |
Asia | 2 |
| Yuat Yuat languages The Yuat languages are an independent family of six Papuan languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Sepik–Ramu proposal. However, there is no lexical or morphological evidence that the families are related.... |
Australasia | 6 |
| Yukaghir Yukaghir languages The Yukaghir languages are a small family of two closely related languages – Tundra and Kolyma Yukaghir – spoken by the Yukaghir in the Russian Far East living in the basin of the Kolyma River. According to the 2002 Russian census, both Yukaghir languages taken together have 604 speakers... |
Asia | 2 |
| Yuki–Wappo | North America | 2 |
| Zamucoan Zamucoan languages Zamucoan is a small language family of Paraguay and Bolivia .The family has hardly been studied by linguists , although several studies have recently appeared .-Extant languages:Zamucoan consists of two living languages:*... |
South America | 2 |
| Zaparoan Zaparoan languages Zaparoan is an endangered language family of Peru and Ecuador with fewer than 100 speakers... |
South America | 7 |
External links
- Web version of The Ethnologue
- Review of the 15th edition, by Ole Stig Andersen (Danmarks RadioDanmarks RadioDR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...
) - How Linguists and Missionaries Share a Bible of 6,912 Languages (The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
)