Current distribution of Human Language Families -
Language families are groups of languages that share common features. The study of languages and their relationships is an area of active research. New relationships are constantly being proposed, with varying levels of evidence. Old theories are frequently tested, and some are discarded. SIL International is a key organization, active in both research and publication of results. They regularly publish an updated database of current thinking in Ethnologue. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1339x636, 21 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Language family ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1339x636, 21 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Language family ...
A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ...
SIL International is a worldwide non-profit evangelical Christian organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document lesser-known languages in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy and aid minority language development. ...
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 primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language. ...
Definitions
The following table is based on the Ethnologue language family index. Each line of the table is a group of associated languages, according to the system Ethnologue uses for classifying languages. The first column gives the Ethnologue name for the group. The second column gives the general location of the languages by continent. The third column gives a simplification of proposed relationships between families. The fourth column gives the number of languages in the group, according to the Ethnologue system of counting languages. The boundary between North and South America is taken to be the Panama Canal, between Africa and Asia the Suez Canal, and between Europe and Asia the Bosporus strait. Australasia includes New Zealand, Australia and Pulau Papua, known in English as the island of New Guinea. Other Indonesian islands are considered part of Asia. The Caucasian language families are classified as Asian, though the Caucasus Mountains form part of the boundary between Asia and Europe. North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...
South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...
Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ...
A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...
For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Suez (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Satellite image of the Bosporus, taken from the International Space Station in April 2004 Bosphorus Bridge Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge The Bosporus or Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, (Turkish: İstanbul BoÄazı or, for İstanbuls inhabitants, simply BoÄaz; while the term BoÄaziçi denotes those...
Simplified diagram A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. ...
Australasia Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. ...
The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system between the Black and Caspian seas in the Caucasus region, usually considered the southeastern limit of Europe. ...
Question marks indicate the hypothetical nature of several of the proposed super families. Detailed information regarding the evidence for the hypothesis, including references can be found by following the internal links. The Amerind languages and Papuan languages are geographically related super families. Relationships between the families listed in these particular super families are still a matter of active research. In addition to its use by social scientists to refer (broadly) to the various indigenous languages of The Americas, the term Amerind languages may controversially refer to one of the three families in Joseph H. Greenbergs classification of all Native American languages—the other two being Na-Dene...
The term Papuan languages refers to those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. ...
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