List of language families

From CWS Planet
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This set of lists of language families also includes language isolates, unclassified languages, extinct language groups, and signed languages.

Language families

In the following chart, each row is a recognized language family, with data on how many languages belong to each family, which regions they are primarily spoken in and by how many people as a first language. Note that only extant languages are counted, no extinct ones. Thus, a family can have one language if the other languages have gone extinct.

Family name Languages Current speakers Location Proposed parent family
Aitic languages Atsiq
Alpic languages Alpa
Amaian languages 10 35,000,000 Vaniua, Parshita
Ambaroid languages 5 – 10(?) Nagu
Argeyazic languages 2 175,000,000 Ekuosia
Asuranesian languages 10+ Asuranesia, Nagu
Baitaar languages 2+ ? Vaniua, Parshita
Baredan languages 4 55,208,000 Ekuosia
Bavkiri languages 100,000,000 Boroso, Ekuosia
Cathani languages 21+ Parshita
Dagyelic languages 3+ Nagu
Darkinic languages Soltenna
Draconic Languages 3 Nagu
East Mirarian languages 50+ 50,000,000+ Northern Miraria, Parshita
Ekuo-Lahiri languages 15 350,000,000 Ekuosia, Puzimm, Lahan
Garsenian languages Alpa
Gulai languages 15 Nagu
Hesanic languages 1+ Soltenna
Jö-Ku languages 4 Parshita
Kame languages Parshita
Kencha languages 2 2,000 Puzimm
Konaaczinh languages 2 Boroso
Kõ languages Ekuosia
Letsic languages 8 400,000,000 Ekuosia
Maakpauean languages 5 5,000,000 Northern Miraria
Maedim languages 4 Puzimm
Maithic languages 1+ Soltenna, Northern Miraria
Masic languages 4 Northern Miraria, Soltenna, Vaniua Ryamaian languages
Mherdic languages 12 250,000,000 Boroso
Mond-Iktic languages 9 35,000,000 Boroso
Nademic languages 3+ Nagu
Ngerupic languages 100 500,000,000 Akulanen, Soltenna, Ekuosia
Orenahnian languages 17 ~50,000,000 Boroso
Paroan languages 4 Parshita
Prra-Blen languages 50,000,000 (doot pending) Nagu
KamPatuk languages 4 50,000 Northern Miraria
Pink languages Ekuosia
Rartakan languages 220 Parshita
Rietic languages Soltenna
Ruic languages 1+ ? Soltenna
Sangmian languages 6 8,000,000 Boroso
Sevaric languages Nagu
Shaelic languages 11+ 74,000,000+ Parshita, Tlukeria
Sirchak languages 2 Northern Miraria, Soltenna Ryamaian languages
South Nagu languages Nagu
South Qeerlic languages 15+ 15,000,000+ Boroso
Theweric languages 20+ 100,000,000 Boroso
Tiengic languages 1 Parshita
Trans-Ebo-Puzimm languages Puzimm, Lahan, Ystel
Tulipi-Lakup languages 3 5,000 Northern Miraria
Upper Borosan languages 10? ~100,000,000 Boroso
Vaniuan languages 20 502,000,000 Vaniua Ryamaian languages
Vemkha languages 3 6,400 Northern Miraria
Yaharan languages 3 Boroso
Yanomi languages 18-22 17,220,000 South Baredina
Yennodorian languages 5 Boroso
Yisi languages 3 Puzimm
Ystelo-Atruozan languages South Baredina, Ystel
Yucho languages 4 25,000 Northern Miraria

Language isolates

Language isolates are languages which are not part of any known family and they can be alternatively described as being its sole representative.

Akulanen

Atsiq

Baredina

Boroso

Miraria

  • Doktakur
  • Vemkha: a small dialect cluster, occasionally considered a language family.
  • Vodholk
  • Yucho: alternatively classified as a small language family or as a single language with several divergent dialects.

Nagu

Unclassified languages

Languages are considered unclassified either because, for one reason or another, little effort has been made to compare them with other languages or more commonly, because they are too poorly documented to permit reliable classification: most such languages are extinct and, most likely, will never be known well enough to classify.

Miraria

Extinct families and unclassified languages

This section lists extinct languages and families which have no known living relatives; while a minority of these is well known but still classified as genetically independent, the lack of attestation makes many of these hard to put into larger groups.

Name Languages Year of death Location Well-attested? Proposed parent family
Halarian language 1 5th century BCE Azerin, Barradiwa Yes Ekuo-Lahiri languages

Creoles and mixed languages

Termic creoles

Sign languages

The family relationships of sign languages are not well established due to a lag in linguistic research, and many are isolates. Some established sign language families include:

Sign language isolates include: