Language families (Ethnologue)
- Language families (Ethnologue)
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".
* Gordon, Raymond G, Jr (ed.). " [http://www.ethnologue.com/ Ethnologue: Languages of the World] ". Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. 2005.Definitions
The following table is based on the [http://www.ethnologue.com/family_index.asp 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 the island of New Guinea. 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.
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.
Table
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2010.
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