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Encyclopedia > List of languages by number of native speakers


This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. Languages are listed for secondary locations only when spoken by more than 1% of the population.


Since the definition of a single language is to some extent arbitrary, some mutually intelligible idioms with separate national standards or self identification have been listed separately, depending on conventional use, for example Scandinavian, Hindustani, and Malay. The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the East Germanic languages. ... Hindustani redirects here. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ...


The relevant estimate for the number of native speakers for the purposes of this list is that of SIL Ethnologue. Other estimates may vary, and the numbers should not be taken as more than indicating the rough order of magnitude of a linguistic community. Native Language Music, founded in 1996 by musicians Joe Sherbanee and Theo Bishop, is an independent adult contemporary record company based in Southern California that produces, markets, and distributes premium jazz, world, and new age music. ... 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. ...

Current distribution of Human Language Families
Current distribution of Human Language Families

Contents

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 ...

Top 20

Further information: Ethnologue list of most spoken languages
Language Family Ethnologue (2005 estimate)[1] Encarta estimate[2] Other estimates Ranking by Ethnologue estimate
Mandarin Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 873,000,000 1.21 billion [3] 882 million native, 178 million second language = 1.05 billion total[4] 1
Spanish Indo-European, Italic, Romance 322,299,171 322 million Encarta also says 358 million native speakers[5]. Around 400 million second-language included.[6][7] 2
English Indo-European, Germanic, West 309,352,280 341 million Over 1.5 billion worldwide.[8] Also see, List of countries by English-speaking population 3
Hindi-Urdu (Hindustani Language) Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 250,268,370 426 million Standard Hindi 325 million, Urdu 100 million; as opposed to Hindi languages, does not include Maithili. 4
Arabic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic 206,000,000 422 million Total population of Arab countries: 323 million (CIA 2006 est). 5
Portuguese Indo-European, Italic, Romance 177,500,000 250 million 6
Bengali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 171,000,000 207 million 196 million native (2004 CIA) (includes 14 million Chittagonian and 10.3 million Sylheti). 7
Russian Indo-European, Slavic, East 165,000,000 167 million 165 million native, 110 million second language = 275 million total 8
Japanese Japanese-Ryukyuan 122,000,000 125 million 128 million native, 2 million second language = 130 million total 9
German Indo-European, Germanic, West 88,000,000 100.1 million 101 million native (88 million Standard German, 5 million Swiss German, 8 million Austrian German), 60 million second language in EU[9] + 5 - 20 million worldwide. 101 million native, ~70 million second language, ~170 million total 10
Punjabi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 88,000,000 57 million 61–62 million (2000 WCD) (taken together with Eastern Punjabi (28 million) and Siraiki (14 million): 104 million total) 11
Wu Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 77,200,000 -- 77 million native 12
Javanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi 75,500,000 75.6 million 70-75 million 13
Telugu Dravidian, South Central 69,700,000 69.7 million 70 million native, 5 million second language, = 75 million total (2001)[10] 14
Marathi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 68,000,000 68 million 68 million native, 3 million second language, = 71 million total 15
Vietnamese Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Vietic 67,400,000 68 million 70 million native, perhaps up to 16 million second language, = ~ 86 million total 16
Korean Considered either language isolate or Altaic 67,000,000 78 million 71 million 17
Tamil Dravidian, Southern 66,000,000 66 million 68 million native, 9 million second language, = 77 million total[11] 18
French Indo-European, Italic, Romance 64,858,311
78 million
260 million including second-language speakers[12], total of 500 million people around the globe including those with significant knowledge of the language. 19
Italian Indo-European, Italic, Romance 61,500,000 62 million Regarded as fourth or fifth most studied language in the world, therefore there are about 120 million italophones in the world. 20

This list gives the most spoken languages in the world according to the Ethnologue, a widely cited reference for languages around the world. ... 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. ... Encarta is a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation. ... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Hypothetical distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the sixth century BC. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The West Germanic languages constitute the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages and include languages such as German, English and Frisian, as well as Dutch and Afrikaans. ... This is a list of countries of the world sorted by the total English-speaking population in that country. ... -1... Urdu ( , , trans. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Khariboli (also Khadiboli, Khadi-Boli, or Khari dialect; identified as Hindi by SIL Ethnologue), (/ /; Hindi: खड़ी बोली; Urdu: كهڑى بولى, ; lit. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Hindi as defined by the 1991 Indian census includes linguistically disparate Indo-Aryan dialects. ... Maithili is of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. ... Arabic redirects here. ... The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a language family (Languages of Africa) with about 375 languages (SIL estimate) and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and Southwest Asia (including some 200 million speakers of Arabic). ... 14th century BC diplomatic letter in Akkadian, found in Tell Amarna. ... Arab States redirects here. ... World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Hypothetical distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the sixth century BC. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Bangla redirects here. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Chittagonian is an Indo-European language spoken by the people of Chittagong in Bangladesh and the much of the southeast of the country. ... Sylheti (native name সিলটী Silôţi; Bengali name সিলেটী SileÅ£i) is the language of Sylhet proper, the north-eastern region of Bangladesh and southern districts of Assam around Silchar. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ... The Japonic languages or Japanese-Ryukyuan languages constitute a language family that is agreed to have descended from a common ancestral language known as Proto-Japonic or Proto-Japanese-Ryukyuan. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The West Germanic languages constitute the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages and include languages such as German, English and Frisian, as well as Dutch and Afrikaans. ... Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland. ... Austrian German is any variety of the German language spoken in Austria. ... Punjabi redirects here. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Siraiki (Urdu: سراییکی ) is a language mostly spoken in the provinces of Sindh and the Punjab in central Pakistan by about 1. ... Wu (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is one of the major divisions of the Chinese language. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The Sunda-Sulawesi languages (or Inner Hesperonesian or Inner Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of Sulawesi and the Greater Sunda Islands, as well as a few outliers such as Charmorro and Palauan, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002). ... Telugu redirects here. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Marathi (मराठी ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western India. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia and India. ... The Mon-Khmer languages are the autochthonous languages of Indo-China. ... The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family. ... A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical (or genetic) relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common to any other language. ... Altaic is a putative language family which would include 60 languages spoken by about 250 million people, mostly in and around central Asia. ... Tamil ( ; IPA: ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people, originating on the Indian subcontinent. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Hypothetical distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the sixth century BC. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Hypothetical distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the sixth century BC. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

10 to 60 million native speakers

Language Family Ethnologue (2005 estimate)[13] Encarta estimate[2] Other estimates Ranking by Ethnologue estimate
Cantonese Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 54.8 million -- 66 million 22
Sindhi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India, Pakistan. Significant communities in People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong) ?, Oman? and Gibraltar. 54.5 million (2006) 41.5 million native, 13 million second language, = 30 million total (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 23
Turkish Altaic, Turkic, Oghuz 50.6 million 61 million 74 million (2006 estimate)[14] + 15 million second language = 89 million 24
Min Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 46.2 million -- Southern Min: 49m, Northern Min 10.43m 25
Gujarati Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 46.1 million 46.1 million -- 26
Maithili Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 45 million (included in "Hindi") 27
Polish Indo-European, Slavic, West 42.7 million 52 million -- 28
Ukrainian Indo-European, Slavic, East 39.4 million 47 million -- 29
Persian Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian 39.4 million [15] 31.3 million ca. 72 million;[16] sometimes taken to include all of Southwestern Iranian (Luri, Tati, and other); ca. 62 million second language[citation needed], ca. 134 million total 30
Malayalam Dravidian, Southern - India 35.8 million 35.7 million 38 million native, 10 million second language = 48 million 31
Kannada Dravidian, Southern 35.4 million 35.4 million 55 million native, 9 million second language, = 64 million total[citation needed] 32
Tamazight (Berber) Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern National language in Algeria, Mali and Niger (Tuaregs); unrecognized in Morocco, Libya and Tunisia. Large migrant communities in France, Benelux, Spain and Germany . 32.3 million (2006) 37+ million (1998) 33
Oriya Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 31.7 million 32.3 million -- 33
Azerbaijani Altaic, Turkic, Oghuz 31 million 31.4 million 25–35 million native, including Qashqai (data for Iran uncertain); 8 million second language (outside Iran) 34
Hakka Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 29.9 million -- 34 million 35
Bhojpuri Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 26 million (included in "Hindi") 126 million total 36
Burmese Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Lolo-Burmese 22 million (1996) 32.3 million (2006) 32 million native, 10 million second language, = 42 million total 37
Gan Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 21 million -- 48 million, 29 million in Jiangxi[17] 38
Thai Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Be-Tai, Tai-Sek, Tai 20.05 million (1996) 46.1 million (2006) ~31 million native (1983 SIL, 1990 Diller, 2000 WCD) (dated data), = ~60 million first and second language (2001 A. Diller). Includes Southern Thai, Northern Thai/Western Lao, but not Shan, Isan, or Lao. 39
Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population SIL estimate[2] Other estimates Ranking by SIL estimate
Sundanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (origin in western Java) 27 million (2006) 27 million (1990) 39
Romanian Indo-European, Italic, Romance Official in Moldova, Romania, Serbia (Vojvodina). Significant communities in Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, USA. 26.3 million (2006) 26 million native,[2] 4 million second language. The total is about 30 million.[18] 40
Hausa Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, West Official in Niger, north Nigeria. Significant communities in Chad, Benin, Ghana, Sudan 24.2 million (2006) 24 million native, ~15 million second language, = ~40 million total 42
Pashto Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern Official in Afghanistan. Native to Pakistan. Significant communities in Iran, United Arab Emirates. 60 million (2006) 65-70 million (data uncertain; ethnic population ~60 million) 43
Serbo-Croatian Indo-European, Slavic, South Official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, under names Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian respectively. Significant communities in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia. 21.1 million (2006) 17 million 44
Uzbek Altaic, Turkic, Eastern Official in Uzbekistan. Native to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan 20.1 million (2006) 20 million (1995) 45
Dutch Indo-European, Germanic, West Official in Belgium, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Suriname. Significant communities in South Africa, Bonaire island and Sint Maarten island 20 million (2006) 25 million[19][9] 46
Yoruba Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid Official in Nigeria. 20 million (2006) 19 million native, 2 million second language, = 21 million total (1993) 47
Amharic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South Official in Ethiopia. Significant communities in Israel. 17.4 million (2006) 27 million native (32.7% Ethiopia [1994 census] and 2.7 million emigrants), 10% (7 million) as a second language = 34 million total 48
Oromo Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East Cushitic National language of Ethiopia. Significant communities in Kenya 17.2 million (2006) 24 million native (31.6% of Ethiopia [1994 census]), ~2 million second language, = 26 million total (1998 census) 49
Indonesian Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian 23.1 million, national language in Indonesia 17.1 million 140 million second language 50
Filipino Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Official and Native in Philippines. Significant communities in Canada, People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States (Alaska, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands). 17 million (2006) 22 million native (2000 census), ~65 million second language, = 85 million total 51
Kurdish Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern Official in Iraq. Native to Armenia, Iran, Syria, Turkey. Significant communities in Germany, Lebanon. 16 million (all varieties) ~31,417,000[citation needed] (see article for full list) 52
Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population SIL estimate[2] Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Somali Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East Official in Somalia. Native to Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya. Significant communities in Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen. 9.8 million (2006) 10-16 million native and at least 500,000 second-language speakers.million (2004 WCD) 49
Lao Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in Laos. Native to Thailand. 3.2 million (2006) ~19 million Lao-Phutai dialects (including Isan) (data dated) 50
Cebuano Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Native to Philippines 15 million (2006) 18.5 million native, ~11.5 million second language, = 30 million total (2000 census) 51
Greek Indo-European, Greek Official in Cyprus, Greece. Significant communities in Albania, Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA. 15 million (2007) 12 million (2004), up to 10–12 million more second language 52
Malay Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Malayic Official in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore. Native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. Significant communities in Australia, Bahrain. 23.6 million (2006) 18 million native, 3 million second language, = 21 million total (not counting Indonesian) 53
Igbo Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Igboid Official in Nigeria 18 million (2006) 18 million native (1999 WA), unknown number second language. 54
Malagasy Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Barito Official in Madagascar. Significant communities in Mayotte, Réunion. 10.5 million (2006) 17 million 55
Nepali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Nepal, India (Sikkim). Significant communities in Bhutan. approx. 30 million in Nepal, 16 million as native tongue and 15 million as a second language (2006) 40 million (2006) 56
Assamese Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India (Assam). Significant communities in Bhutan and Bangladesh. 15.4 million (2006) 15 million (1997). Assamese is spoken and/or understood by most everyone in the state of Assam. Assam had a population of 26.7 million in 2003-04. So, Assamese has another 8-10 million second language speakers. Assamese is also understood and spoken widely in Arunachal Pradesh with a population of 1.1 million. These are mostly second or third language speakers. Various tribes in Nagaland with a population 2 million use Nagamese, a variant of Assamese, for communication. Thus, a total of approximately, 28-30 million people speak and understand Assamese. 57
Shona Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Zimbabwe. Significant communities in Botswana, Mozambique. 14 million (2006) 15 million native, 1.8 million second language, = 16–17 million total, including Ndau, Manyika (2000 A. Chebanne) 58
Khmer Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Khmer Official in Cambodia. Significant communities in Thailand, United States (California), Vietnam 8 million (2006) 14 million native, 1 million second language, = 15 million total (2004) 59
Zhuang Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in People's Republic of China (Guangxi) 14 million (2006) 14 million native (1992), unknown number second language 60
Madurese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (Originally Java, Madura) 13.7 million (2006) 14 million (1995) 61
Hungarian Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Ugric Official in Hungary, Serbia (Vojvodina), Slovenia, Austria. Significant communities in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States, Israel 14.5 million (2006) 14 million native (1995) 62
Sinhalese Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Sri Lanka. Significant communities in United Arab Emirates 13.2 million (2006) 13 million native, 2 million second language, = 15 million total (1993) 63
Fula Niger-Congo, Atlantic, Northern, Senegambian Official in Niger, Nigeria. National language in Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal. Significant communities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Sierra Leone. 11.4 million (2006) ~13 million (all varieties) 64
Czech Indo-European, Slavic, West Official in Czech Republic. 12 million (2006) 12 million (1990 WA). 65

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. ... Encarta is a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... SindhÄ« (سنڌي, सिन्धी) is the language of the Sindh region of South Asia, which is now a province of Pakistan. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... People on the stairs to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago In general, the English word people refers to a specific group of humans, or to persons in a general sense. ... Altaic is a proposed language family that includes 66 languages [1] spoken by about 348 million people, mostly in and around Central Asia and northeast Asia. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are traditionally considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. ... The Oghuz languages, a major branch of the Turkic language family, are spoken by more than 110-130 million people (including second language speakers) in an area spanning from the Balkans to China. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Maithili (मैथिली MaithilÄ«) is a language of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... -1... For other uses, see Indo-European. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... This article or section should be merged with List of West Slavic languages The West Slavic languages is a subdivision of the Slavic language group (q. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ... Farsi redirects here. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Southwestern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Western Iranian languages, and include some 16 (SIL estimate) closely related languages and dialects spoken by many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the Western Iranian language family. ... Luri is a dialect of Persian language. ... The Tat language is an Indo-Iranian language spoken by the Tat ethnic group. ... Malayalam ( ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... “Kannada” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... This article is about the Berber language called Tamazight. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... This article is about the Berber language called Tamazight. ... The Northern Berber languages are a dialect continuum across the Maghreb that form a sub-family within the Berber languages. ... For other senses of this name, see Tuareg (disambiguation). ... Location of Benelux in Europe Official languages Dutch and French Membership  Belgium  Netherlands  Luxembourg Website http://www. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Altaic is a proposed language family that includes 66 languages [1] spoken by about 348 million people, mostly in and around Central Asia and northeast Asia. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are traditionally considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. ... The Oghuz languages, a major branch of the Turkic language family, are spoken by more than 110-130 million people (including second language speakers) in an area spanning from the Balkans to China. ... Qashqai (also spelled Ghashghai, Qashqai, Qashqay, and Kashkai) is a Turkic language. ... Hakka is one language in the family of languages known as Chinese. ... Sino-Tibetan languages form a language family of about 250 languages of East Asia, in number of speakers worldwide second only to Indo-European. ... ... Bhojpuri is a popular regional language spoken in northeastern India in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as an adjoining area of southern plains of Nepal. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic[1]) are a branch of the Indo-European language family. ... -1... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... The Tibeto-Burman linguistic subfamily of the proposed Sino-Tibetan language family is spoken in various central and south Asian countries: Myanmar (Burmese language), Tibet (Tibetan language), northern Thailand (Mong language), Nepal, Bhutan, India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Ladakh region of... Gàn (赣语) is one of the major divisions of spoken Chinese, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages, concentrated in and typical of Jiangxi Province. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal map spelling: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... The Tai-Kadai languages, also known simply as Kadai, are a language family found in Southeast Asia and southern China. ... The Tai languages are a subgroup of the Tai Kadai language family. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... Sundanese (Basa Sunda, literally language of Sunda) is the language of about 27 million people from the western third of Java or about 15% of the Indonesian population. ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The Sunda-Sulawesi languages (or Inner Hesperonesian or Inner Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of Sulawesi and the Greater Sunda Islands, as well as a few outliers such as Charmorro and Palauan, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002). ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Hypothetical distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the sixth century BC. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Anthem:  Serbia() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Albanian 2 Demonym Serbian Government Parliamentary Democracy  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica    -  First state 7th century   -  Serbian Kingdom3 1217   -  Serbian Empire 1345   -  Independence lost... Vojvodina (red) is one of Serbias two autonomous provinces Capital (and largest city) Novi Sad Official languages Ethnic groups  2. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 24 million people, and as a second language by about 15 million more. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... The Chadic languages are a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon, belonging to the Afro-Asiatic phylum. ... The West Chadic languages are spoken in Nigeria. ... Pashto (‎, IPA: , also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto ‎, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, Pathani or Pushtoo and also known as Afghan language[4][5]) is an Iranian language spoken by Pashtuns living in Afghanistan and Pakistan[6]. // Geographic distribution of Pashto (purple) and other Iranian languages Pashto is spoken by about 30... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from ca. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... South Slavic languages comprise one of the three groups of Slavic languages (besides West and East Slavic). ... This article is about the country in Europe. ... Anthem:  Serbia() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Albanian 2 Demonym Serbian Government Parliamentary Democracy  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica    -  First state 7th century   -  Serbian Kingdom3 1217   -  Serbian Empire 1345   -  Independence lost... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Serbian (; ) is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs in the Serbian diaspora. ... Altaic is a putative language family which would include 60 languages spoken by about 250 million people, mostly in and around central Asia. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are traditionally considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Western China. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The West Germanic languages constitute the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages and include languages such as German, English and Frisian, as well as Dutch and Afrikaans. ... Anthem: Tera di Solo y suave biento Capital (and largest city) Kralendijk Official languages Dutch Government See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles  - Bonaire Administrator  - Governor of N.A. Frits Goedgedrag Constitutional monarchy part of the Netherlands Antilles  Area  - Total 288 km² 111 sq mi  Population  - 2001 census 10,791  - Density... Motto Semper pro grediens (Latin) Anthem O sweet Saint-Martins Land Capital (and largest city) Philipsburg Official languages Dutch, English Government See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles  -  Administrator Franklyn Richards constitutional monarchy part of the Netherlands Antilles, separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands as from December 15... Yoruba (native name èdè Yorùbá, the Yoruba language) is a dialect continuum of West Africa with over 22 million speakers. ... The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ... The Benue-Congo group of languages constitutes the largest branch of the Niger-Congo language family, both in terms of sheer number of languages, of which 938 are known (not counting mere dialects), and in terms of speakers, numbering perhaps 550 million. ... The Defoid languages constitute a branch of the Benue-Congo language family, and the name of the language family derives from the fact that nearly all of the ethnic groups who speak member languages refer to the city of Ilé Ifè as their place of origin - Defoid = èdè (language)+ if... Yoruboid is a group of languages comprised of Igala, a language spoken in central Nigeria, and the Edekiri group, the members of which are spoken in a band across Togo, Benin and southwestern Nigeria. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... 14th century BC diplomatic letter in Akkadian, found in Tell Amarna. ... The Semitic languages are the northeastern subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic languages, and the only family of this group spoken in Asia. ... Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromoo, Oromiffa(a), and sometimes in other languages as variant spellings of these names (Oromigna, Afan Oromo, etc. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Semitic. ... The East Cushitic languages comprise more than thirty languages belonging to the Cushitic family within the Afro-Asiatic phylum. ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages used by some 351 million speakers. ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The Borneo-Philippines languages (or Outer Hesperonesian or Outer Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of the Philippines, much of Borneo, the northern peninsula of Sulawesi, and Madagascar, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002). ... People on the stairs to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago In general, the English word people refers to a specific group of humans, or to persons in a general sense. ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Kurdish language (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is a term used for a range of different dialects of a language spoken by Kurds. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Northwestern Iranian languages include some 53 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the Western Iranian language family. ... This is a list of countries of the world sorted by total Kurdish-speaking population. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages phylum, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Semitic. ... The East Cushitic languages comprise more than thirty languages belonging to the Cushitic family within the Afro-Asiatic phylum. ... The Tai-Kadai languages, also known simply as Kadai, are a language family found in Southeast Asia and southern China. ... An Introduction to the Kam-Tai (Zhuang-Dong) Group of Languages in China The term Zhuang-Dong group of languages refers to a group of ethnic minority languages which have a genetic linguistic relationship and a common historical origin. ... The Tai languages are a subgroup of the Tai Kadai language family. ... Isan (also Isaan or Esarn) is the language of the Isan region of Thailand. ... Cebuano, also known as Sinugboanon, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20,000,000 people (according to Ethnologue). ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The Borneo-Philippines languages (or Outer Hesperonesian or Outer Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of the Philippines, much of Borneo, the northern peninsula of Sulawesi, and Madagascar, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002). ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... 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. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The Sunda-Sulawesi languages (or Inner Hesperonesian or Inner Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of Sulawesi and the Greater Sunda Islands, as well as a few outliers such as Charmorro and Palauan, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002). ... The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. ... Igbo is a language spoken in Nigeria by around 18 million people (1999 WA), the Igbo, especially in the southeastern region once identified as Biafra. ... The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ... The Benue-Congo group of languages constitutes the largest