essay languages

Essays About Language: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Language is the key to expressive communication; let our essay examples and writing prompts inspire you if you are writing essays about language.

When we communicate with one another, we use a system called language. It mainly consists of words, which, when combined, form phrases and sentences we use to talk to one another. However, some forms of language do not require written or verbal communication, such as sign language. 

Language can also refer to how we write or say things. For example, we can speak to friends using colloquial expressions and slang, while academic writing demands precise, formal language. Language is a complex concept with many meanings; discover the secrets of language in our informative guide.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. a global language: english language by dallas ryan , 2. language and its importance to society by shelly shah, 3. language: the essence of culture by kelsey holmes.

• 4.  Foreign Language Speech by Sophie Carson
• 5. ​​Attitudes to Language by Kurt Medina

1. My Native Language

2. the advantages of bilingualism, 3. language and technology, 4. why language matters, 5. slang and communication, 6. english is the official language of the u.s..

“Furthermore, using English, people can have more friends, widen peer relationships with foreigners and can not get lost. Overall, English becomes a global language; people may have more chances in communication. Another crucial advantage is improving business. If English was spoken widespread and everyone could use it, they would likely have more opportunities in business. Foreign investments from rich countries might be supported to the poorer countries.”

In this essay, Ryan enumerates both the advantages and disadvantages of using English; it seems that Ryan proposes uniting the world under the English language. English, a well-known and commonly-spoken language can help people to communicate better, which can foster better connections with one another. However, people would lose their native language and promote a specific culture rather than diversity. Ultimately, Ryan believes that English is a “global language,” and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages

“Language is a constituent element of civilization. It raised man from a savage state to the plane which he was capable of reaching. Man could not become man except by language. An essential point in which man differs from animals is that man alone is the sole possessor of language. No doubt animals also exhibit certain degree of power of communication but that is not only inferior in degree to human language, but also radically diverse in kind from it.”

Shah writes about the meaning of language, its role in society, and its place as an institution serving the purposes of the people using it. Most importantly, she writes about why it is necessary; the way we communicate through language separates us as humans from all other living things. It also carries individual culture and allows one to convey their thoughts. You might find our list of TOEFL writing topics helpful.

“Cultural identity is heavily dependent on a number of factors including ethnicity, gender, geographic location, religion, language, and so much more.  Culture is defined as a “historically transmitted system of symbols, meanings, and norms.”  Knowing a language automatically enables someone to identify with others who speak the same language.  This connection is such an important part of cultural exchange”

In this short essay, Homes discusses how language reflects a person’s cultural identity and the importance of communication in a civilized society. Different communities and cultures use specific sounds and understand their meanings to communicate. From this, writing was developed. Knowing a language makes connecting with others of the same culture easier. 

4.   Foreign Language Speech by Sophie Carson

“Ultimately, learning a foreign language will improve a child’s overall thinking and learning skills in general, making them smarter in many different unrelated areas. Their creativity is highly improved as they are more trained to look at problems from different angles and think outside of the box. This flexible thinking makes them better problem solvers since they can see problems from different perspectives. The better thinking skills developed from learning a foreign language have also been seen through testing scores.”

Carson writes about some of the benefits of learning a foreign language, especially during childhood. During childhood, the brain is more flexible, and it is easier for one to learn a new language in their younger years. Among many other benefits, bilingualism has been shown to improve memory and open up more parts of a child’s brain, helping them hone their critical thinking skills. Teaching children a foreign language makes them more aware of the world around them and can open up opportunities in the future.

5. ​​ Attitudes to Language by Kurt Medina

“Increasingly, educators are becoming aware that a person’s native language is an integral part of who that person is and marginalizing the language can have severe damaging effects on that person’s psyche. Many linguists consistently make a case for teaching native languages alongside the target languages so that children can clearly differentiate among the codes”

As its title suggests, Medina’s essay revolves around different attitudes towards types of language, whether it be vernacular language or dialects. He discusses this in the context of Caribbean cultures, where different dialects and languages are widespread, and people switch between languages quickly. Medina mentions how we tend to modify the language we use in different situations, depending on how formal or informal we need to be. 

6 Prompts for Essays About Language

In your essay, you can write about your native language. For example, explain how it originated and some of its characteristics. Write about why you are proud of it or persuade others to try learning it. To add depth to your essay, include a section with common phrases or idioms from your native language and explain their meaning.

Bilingualism has been said to enhance a whole range of cognitive skills, from a longer attention span to better memory. Look into the different advantages of speaking two or more languages, and use these to promote bilingualism. Cite scientific research papers and reference their findings in your essay for a compelling piece of writing.

In the 21st century, the development of new technology has blurred the lines between communication and isolation; it has undoubtedly changed how we interact and use language. For example, many words have been replaced in day-to-day communication by texting lingo and slang. In addition, technology has made us communicate more virtually and non-verbally. Research and discuss how the 21st century has changed how we interact and “do language” worldwide, whether it has improved or worsened. 

We often change how we speak depending on the situation; we use different words and expressions. Why do we do this? Based on a combination of personal experience and research, reflect on why it is essential to use appropriate language in different scenarios.

Different cultures use different forms of slang. Slang is a type of language consisting of informal words and expressions. Some hold negative views towards slang, saying that it degrades the language system, while others believe it allows people to express their culture. Write about whether you believe slang should be acceptable or not: defend your position by giving evidence either that slang is detrimental to language or that it poses no threat.

English is the most spoken language in the United States and is used in government documents; it is all but the country’s official language. Do you believe the government should finally declare English the country’s official language? Research the viewpoints of both sides and form a conclusion; support your argument with sufficient details and research. 

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our guide on how to write an essay about diversity .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Speaking, writing and reading are integral to everyday life, where language is the primary tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language – what words and phrases they unconsciously choose and combine – can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguistics scholars seek to determine what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is acquired and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells about the range of what is human,” said Dan Jurafsky , the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor in Humanities and chair of the Department of Linguistics in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford . “Discovering what’s universal about languages can help us understand the core of our humanity.”

The stories below represent some of the ways linguists have investigated many aspects of language, including its semantics and syntax, phonetics and phonology, and its social, psychological and computational aspects.

Understanding stereotypes

Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted by people. Even the slightest differences in language use can correspond with biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

One study showed that a relatively harmless sentence, such as “girls are as good as boys at math,” can subtly perpetuate sexist stereotypes. Because of the statement’s grammatical structure, it implies that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said.

Language can play a big role in how we and others perceive the world, and linguists work to discover what words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

How well-meaning statements can spread stereotypes unintentionally

New Stanford research shows that sentences that frame one gender as the standard for the other can unintentionally perpetuate biases.

Algorithms reveal changes in stereotypes

New Stanford research shows that, over the past century, linguistic changes in gender and ethnic stereotypes correlated with major social movements and demographic changes in the U.S. Census data.

Exploring what an interruption is in conversation

Stanford doctoral candidate Katherine Hilton found that people perceive interruptions in conversation differently, and those perceptions differ depending on the listener’s own conversational style as well as gender.

Cops speak less respectfully to black community members

Professors Jennifer Eberhardt and Dan Jurafsky, along with other Stanford researchers, detected racial disparities in police officers’ speech after analyzing more than 100 hours of body camera footage from Oakland Police.

How other languages inform our own

People speak roughly 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique, both in its structure and in the way it reflects the culture of the people who speak it.

Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages other than our own and how they develop over time because it can help scholars understand what lies at the foundation of humans’ unique way of communicating with one another.

“All this research can help us discover what it means to be human,” Jurafsky said.

Stanford PhD student documents indigenous language of Papua New Guinea

Fifth-year PhD student Kate Lindsey recently returned to the United States after a year of documenting an obscure language indigenous to the South Pacific nation.

Students explore Esperanto across Europe

In a research project spanning eight countries, two Stanford students search for Esperanto, a constructed language, against the backdrop of European populism.

Chris Manning: How computers are learning to understand language​

A computer scientist discusses the evolution of computational linguistics and where it’s headed next.

Stanford research explores novel perspectives on the evolution of Spanish

Using digital tools and literature to explore the evolution of the Spanish language, Stanford researcher Cuauhtémoc García-García reveals a new historical perspective on linguistic changes in Latin America and Spain.

Language as a lens into behavior

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns correspond to particular behaviors, including how language can impact people’s buying decisions or influence their social media use.

For example, in one research paper, a group of Stanford researchers examined the differences in how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online to better understand how a polarization of beliefs can occur on social media.

“We live in a very polarized time,” Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”

Analyzing the tweets of Republicans and Democrats

New research by Dora Demszky and colleagues examined how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online in an attempt to understand how polarization of beliefs occurs on social media.

Examining bilingual behavior of children at Texas preschool

A Stanford senior studied a group of bilingual children at a Spanish immersion preschool in Texas to understand how they distinguished between their two languages.

Predicting sales of online products from advertising language

Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky and colleagues have found that products in Japan sell better if their advertising includes polite language and words that invoke cultural traditions or authority.

Language can help the elderly cope with the challenges of aging, says Stanford professor

By examining conversations of elderly Japanese women, linguist Yoshiko Matsumoto uncovers language techniques that help people move past traumatic events and regain a sense of normalcy.

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• 40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays

To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered.

Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills.

If you’re interested in developing your language and persuasive skills, Oxford Royale offers summer courses at its Oxford Summer School , Cambridge Summer School , London Summer School , San Francisco Summer School and Yale Summer School . You can study courses to learn english , prepare for careers in law , medicine , business , engineering and leadership.

General explaining

Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points.

1. In order to

Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”

2. In other words

Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.”

3. To put it another way

Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.”

4. That is to say

Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.”

5. To that end

Usage: Use “to that end” or “to this end” in a similar way to “in order to” or “so”. Example: “Zoologists have long sought to understand how animals communicate with each other. To that end, a new study has been launched that looks at elephant sounds and their possible meanings.”

Adding additional information to support a point

Students often make the mistake of using synonyms of “and” each time they want to add further information in support of a point they’re making, or to build an argument . Here are some cleverer ways of doing this.

6. Moreover

Usage: Employ “moreover” at the start of a sentence to add extra information in support of a point you’re making. Example: “Moreover, the results of a recent piece of research provide compelling evidence in support of…”

7. Furthermore

Usage:This is also generally used at the start of a sentence, to add extra information. Example: “Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that…”

8. What’s more

Usage: This is used in the same way as “moreover” and “furthermore”. Example: “What’s more, this isn’t the only evidence that supports this hypothesis.”

9. Likewise

Usage: Use “likewise” when you want to talk about something that agrees with what you’ve just mentioned. Example: “Scholar A believes X. Likewise, Scholar B argues compellingly in favour of this point of view.”

10. Similarly

Usage: Use “similarly” in the same way as “likewise”. Example: “Audiences at the time reacted with shock to Beethoven’s new work, because it was very different to what they were used to. Similarly, we have a tendency to react with surprise to the unfamiliar.”

11. Another key thing to remember

Usage: Use the phrase “another key point to remember” or “another key fact to remember” to introduce additional facts without using the word “also”. Example: “As a Romantic, Blake was a proponent of a closer relationship between humans and nature. Another key point to remember is that Blake was writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had a major impact on the world around him.”

12. As well as

Usage: Use “as well as” instead of “also” or “and”. Example: “Scholar A argued that this was due to X, as well as Y.”

13. Not only… but also

Usage: This wording is used to add an extra piece of information, often something that’s in some way more surprising or unexpected than the first piece of information. Example: “Not only did Edmund Hillary have the honour of being the first to reach the summit of Everest, but he was also appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”

14. Coupled with

Usage: Used when considering two or more arguments at a time. Example: “Coupled with the literary evidence, the statistics paint a compelling view of…”

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

Usage: This can be used to structure an argument, presenting facts clearly one after the other. Example: “There are many points in support of this view. Firstly, X. Secondly, Y. And thirdly, Z.

16. Not to mention/to say nothing of

Usage: “Not to mention” and “to say nothing of” can be used to add extra information with a bit of emphasis. Example: “The war caused unprecedented suffering to millions of people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy.”

Words and phrases for demonstrating contrast

When you’re developing an argument, you will often need to present contrasting or opposing opinions or evidence – “it could show this, but it could also show this”, or “X says this, but Y disagrees”. This section covers words you can use instead of the “but” in these examples, to make your writing sound more intelligent and interesting.

17. However

Usage: Use “however” to introduce a point that disagrees with what you’ve just said. Example: “Scholar A thinks this. However, Scholar B reached a different conclusion.”

18. On the other hand

Usage: Usage of this phrase includes introducing a contrasting interpretation of the same piece of evidence, a different piece of evidence that suggests something else, or an opposing opinion. Example: “The historical evidence appears to suggest a clear-cut situation. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence presents a somewhat less straightforward picture of what happened that day.”

19. Having said that

Usage: Used in a similar manner to “on the other hand” or “but”. Example: “The historians are unanimous in telling us X, an agreement that suggests that this version of events must be an accurate account. Having said that, the archaeology tells a different story.”

20. By contrast/in comparison

Usage: Use “by contrast” or “in comparison” when you’re comparing and contrasting pieces of evidence. Example: “Scholar A’s opinion, then, is based on insufficient evidence. By contrast, Scholar B’s opinion seems more plausible.”

21. Then again

Usage: Use this to cast doubt on an assertion. Example: “Writer A asserts that this was the reason for what happened. Then again, it’s possible that he was being paid to say this.”

22. That said

Usage: This is used in the same way as “then again”. Example: “The evidence ostensibly appears to point to this conclusion. That said, much of the evidence is unreliable at best.”

Usage: Use this when you want to introduce a contrasting idea. Example: “Much of scholarship has focused on this evidence. Yet not everyone agrees that this is the most important aspect of the situation.”

Adding a proviso or acknowledging reservations

Sometimes, you may need to acknowledge a shortfalling in a piece of evidence, or add a proviso. Here are some ways of doing so.

24. Despite this

Usage: Use “despite this” or “in spite of this” when you want to outline a point that stands regardless of a shortfalling in the evidence. Example: “The sample size was small, but the results were important despite this.”

25. With this in mind

Usage: Use this when you want your reader to consider a point in the knowledge of something else. Example: “We’ve seen that the methods used in the 19th century study did not always live up to the rigorous standards expected in scientific research today, which makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions. With this in mind, let’s look at a more recent study to see how the results compare.”

26. Provided that

Usage: This means “on condition that”. You can also say “providing that” or just “providing” to mean the same thing. Example: “We may use this as evidence to support our argument, provided that we bear in mind the limitations of the methods used to obtain it.”

27. In view of/in light of

Usage: These phrases are used when something has shed light on something else. Example: “In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of…”

28. Nonetheless

Usage: This is similar to “despite this”. Example: “The study had its limitations, but it was nonetheless groundbreaking for its day.”

29. Nevertheless

Usage: This is the same as “nonetheless”. Example: “The study was flawed, but it was important nevertheless.”

30. Notwithstanding

Usage: This is another way of saying “nonetheless”. Example: “Notwithstanding the limitations of the methodology used, it was an important study in the development of how we view the workings of the human mind.”

Giving examples

Good essays always back up points with examples, but it’s going to get boring if you use the expression “for example” every time. Here are a couple of other ways of saying the same thing.

31. For instance

Example: “Some birds migrate to avoid harsher winter climates. Swallows, for instance, leave the UK in early winter and fly south…”

32. To give an illustration

Example: “To give an illustration of what I mean, let’s look at the case of…”

Signifying importance

When you want to demonstrate that a point is particularly important, there are several ways of highlighting it as such.

33. Significantly

Usage: Used to introduce a point that is loaded with meaning that might not be immediately apparent. Example: “Significantly, Tacitus omits to tell us the kind of gossip prevalent in Suetonius’ accounts of the same period.”

34. Notably

Usage: This can be used to mean “significantly” (as above), and it can also be used interchangeably with “in particular” (the example below demonstrates the first of these ways of using it). Example: “Actual figures are notably absent from Scholar A’s analysis.”

35. Importantly

Usage: Use “importantly” interchangeably with “significantly”. Example: “Importantly, Scholar A was being employed by X when he wrote this work, and was presumably therefore under pressure to portray the situation more favourably than he perhaps might otherwise have done.”

Summarising

You’ve almost made it to the end of the essay, but your work isn’t over yet. You need to end by wrapping up everything you’ve talked about, showing that you’ve considered the arguments on both sides and reached the most likely conclusion. Here are some words and phrases to help you.

36. In conclusion

Usage: Typically used to introduce the concluding paragraph or sentence of an essay, summarising what you’ve discussed in a broad overview. Example: “In conclusion, the evidence points almost exclusively to Argument A.”

37. Above all

Usage: Used to signify what you believe to be the most significant point, and the main takeaway from the essay. Example: “Above all, it seems pertinent to remember that…”

38. Persuasive

Usage: This is a useful word to use when summarising which argument you find most convincing. Example: “Scholar A’s point – that Constanze Mozart was motivated by financial gain – seems to me to be the most persuasive argument for her actions following Mozart’s death.”

39. Compelling

Usage: Use in the same way as “persuasive” above. Example: “The most compelling argument is presented by Scholar A.”

40. All things considered

Usage: This means “taking everything into account”. Example: “All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that…”

How many of these words and phrases will you get into your next essay? And are any of your favourite essay terms missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch here to find out more about courses that can help you with your essays.

At Oxford Royale Academy, we offer a number of  summer school courses for young people who are keen to improve their essay writing skills. Click here to apply for one of our courses today, including law , business , medicine  and engineering .

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Language - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Language is a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar used by a particular community to communicate. Essays on language could explore its evolution, the impact of language on culture and identity, language acquisition, or the relationships between language, thought, and society. The study of linguistics and the exploration of different languages and dialects might also be discussed. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Language you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Article contents

Languages of the world.

• William R. Leben William R. Leben Department of Linguistics, Stanford University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.349
• Published online: 26 February 2018

About 7,000 languages are spoken around the world today. The actual number depends on where the line is drawn between language and dialect—an arbitrary decision, because languages are always in flux. But specialists applying a reasonably uniform criterion across the globe count well over 2,000 languages in Asia and Africa, while Europe has just shy of 300. In between are the Pacific region, with over 1,300 languages, and the Americas, with just over 1,000. Languages spoken natively by over a million speakers number around 250, but the vast majority have very few speakers. Something like half are thought likely to disappear over the next few decades, as speakers of endangered languages turn to more widely spoken ones.

The languages of the world are grouped into perhaps 430 language families, based on their origin, as determined by comparing similarities among languages and deducing how they evolved from earlier ones. As with languages, there’s quite a lot of disagreement about the number of language families, reflecting our meager knowledge of many present-day languages and even sparser knowledge of their history. The figure 430 comes from Glottolog.org, which actually lists them all. While the world’s language families may well go back to a smaller number of original languages, even to a single mother tongue, scholars disagree on how far back current methods permit us to trace the history of languages.

While it is normal for languages to borrow from other languages, occasionally a totally new language is created by mixing elements of two distinct languages to such a degree that we would not want to identify one of the source languages as the mother tongue. This is what led to the development of Media Lengua, a language of Ecuador formed through contact among speakers of Spanish and speakers of Quechua. In this language, practically all the word stems are from Spanish, while all of the endings are from Quechua. Just a handful of languages have come into being in this way, but less extreme forms of language mixture have resulted in over a hundred pidgins and creoles currently spoken in many parts of the world. Most arose during Europe’s colonial era, when European colonists used their language to communicate with local inhabitants, who in turn blended vocabulary from the European language with grammar largely from their native language.

Also among the languages of the world are about 300 sign languages used mainly in communicating among and with the deaf. The structure of sign languages typically has little historical connection to the structure of nearby spoken languages.

Some languages have been constructed expressly, often by a single individual, to meet communication demands among speakers with no common language. Esperanto, designed to serve as a universal language and used as a second language by some two million, according to some estimates, is the prime example, but it is only one among several hundred would-be international auxiliary languages.

This essay surveys the languages of the world continent by continent, ending with descriptions of sign languages and of pidgins and creoles. A set of references grouped by section appears at the very end. The main source for data on language classification, numbers of languages, and speakers is the 19th edition of Ethnologue (see Resources), except where a different source is cited.

• language family
• language history
• language classification
• sign language

1.1 Indo-European

Most of Europe’s languages belong to the Indo-European family, which has the following branches: Celtic, Germanic, Italic, Greek, Albanian, Balto-Slavic, Armenian, Indo-Iranian, Anatolian, and Tocharian.

1.1.1 Celtic

Celtic, which extended across much of Europe as far east as present-day Turkey 2,000 years ago, has undergone gradual contraction since the ascendance of the Romans in Europe, and with the spread of English and French the Celtic languages have long been confined to parts of Britain, Ireland, and western France. The two main branches of modern Celtic are Brythonic and Goidelic. In the Brythonic branch are Welsh, Cornish, and Breton; the Goidelic branch includes Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx.

Gaulish, a third branch, went extinct but has recently undergone restoration attempts, as have Manx and Cornish, which also were extinct. In fact, all present-day Celtic languages have seen revitalization efforts. This is happening even with Welsh—hardly an endangered language with 562,000 speakers in the 2011 census. Currently, Wales has school programs aimed at getting a greater proportion of ethnic Welsh, who number nearly 2,400,000, to learn to speak the language. The same is happening with Breton, spoken by over 200,000 in Brittany in northwestern France, but “no longer exclusively, predominately, or even commonly used by the population in any city, town, or village in Brittany,” according to Adkins ( 2013 ). As in Wales, school programs in Brittany since at least the 1970s have aimed to get young people speaking a variety of their ethnic tongue.

1.1.2 Germanic

Germanic’s two branches, North and West, were once grouped into a superbranch called Northwest Germanic, once paired with the Gothic branch that went extinct, largely in the Middle Ages, though isolated traces of Crimean Gothic remained until the late 18th century . The North Germanic languages are Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. West Germanic includes English, German, Dutch, and Frisian. Two of these are paired with a sister language that is also spoken by significant numbers: Dutch with Afrikaans, and German with Yiddish.

1.1.3 Italic

This is the ancestral branch of the modern Romance languages, all descended from a colloquial form of Latin. About 2,500 years ago, the Italic branch included not just Latin but also Oscan, Umbrian, and Faliscan, but these languages have no modern descendants. The modern descendants of Latin include French, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Sardinian, Romansch, Ladin, Friulian, Occitan, and Judeo-Spanish.

1.1.4 Greek and Albanian

Modern Greek is the only descendant of this branch, also called Hellenic. Albanian, similarly, is the only descendant of the Albanian branch.

1.1.5 Balto-Slavic

This group has Baltic and Slavic subbranches. The official languages of Baltic countries Lithuania and Latvia make up the Baltic subbranch. Slavic has three divisions: Eastern (Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), Southern (Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovenian, and Bulgarian), and Western (Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Sorbian).

1.1.6 Indo-Iranian

The languages of this branch are spoken in Asia. See section 3.1 .

1.1.7 Armenian

Armenia is here considered a language of Europe, though a good case could be made for including it in Asia. Like Greek and Albanian, the Armenian branch has just one language, with a major division between Eastern and Western dialects. The standard language of Armenia is in the Eastern Armenian group, which also includes the dialects of Armenian communities in Iran, Russia, Georgia, and their environs. Texts from Armenian Cilicia from the 11th to the 14th centuries ce are the first to show a differentiated Western dialect. Many dialects of Western Armenian were obliterated by the Armenian genocide, but the Western Armenian standard and its dialects are found in Turkey (especially Istanbul), the Levant, and émigré communities in the West. Armenian is of special interest to linguists because of retentions from Indo-European, notably all seven of its noun cases and the irregular retention of initial laryngeals.

1.1.8 Anatolian and Tocharian

The languages of this branch were spoken in Asia. See section 3.1.1 .

Three important languages in this family are Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian. These three are traditionally grouped into a branch called Finno-Ugric. But while Finnish and Estonian are closely related members of the Finnic branch of Uralic, Hungarian’s membership in a sister branch to Finnic is under challenge; Ethnologue has dropped Finno-Ugric from its listing and now casts Hungarian as a separate Uralic entity. See Salminen ( 2002 ) for arguments. The remaining languages of Uralic are smaller ones found in northern parts of Europe and Asia.

1.3 Caucasus Area

The area of the Caucasus Mountains and its environs between the Caspian and Black Seas includes Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan and parts of neighboring countries. This relatively small region may have up to around 40 highly diverse languages, falling into three families, Nakho-Dagestanian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, and Kartvelian. The most important Nakho-Dagestanian language is Chechen. Abkhaz-Adyghean is made up of Abkhaz and Adyghe and is best known among linguists for systems with 60 or more contrasting consonants but very few vowels. The major Kartvelian language is Georgian, with four million speakers. Ethnologue combines Nakho-Dagestanian and Abkhaz-Adyghean into a single family, North Caucasian. Nakho-Dagestanian and Abkhaz-Adyghean are also known by the respective names Northwest (or simply West) Caucasian and Northeast (or East) Caucasian.

Basque is an isolate spoken in the Western Pyrenees by about half a million, some in France but most in Spain. Its history in this location is widely thought to go back several millennia, antedating the more recent Indo-European migrations to the region. There have attempts to identify Basque with a wide variety of groups, including Kartvelian, Afro-Asiatic, and Iberian, but without attracting much support. Recent DNA evidence reinforces the notion of Basque descent from an ancient population of farmers and hunters (Günther et al., 2015 ).

1.5 Turkish

Turkish, a language of Europe and Asia, belongs to the Turkic group, described in the section on Asia.

Africa’s extraordinary linguistic diversity is threatened by the possible extinction of half or more of its languages, which some predict by the end of the century due to competition from other languages. The current count exceeds 2,000 languages, grouped into just a few families.

The most revolutionary aspects of Greenberg’s ( 1955 , 1963 ) classification of African language families largely stand, though with many adjustments by later experts in the different languages. Many other questions still remain open. For example, Greenberg recognized Khoisan as a family, but later scholars have tended to set a higher bar for establishing genetic relationships, leading most to reject it as a family and to defer judgment on particular groupings into branches. The unity of Nilo-Saharan is also called into question, and despite detailed comparative work by Bender ( 1996–1997 ) and Ehret ( 2001 ), some reject Nilo-Saharan as a valid genetic unit. For Niger-Congo, the status of some member branches—Kordofanian, Mande, Dogon, and Ijoid—has been challenged, though Niger-Congo itself is widely recognized as a valid family.

The Afro-Asiatic family is well established, though there are debates about subgrouping. For example, do Semitic, Berber, and Cushitic together form a separate branch, as Bender ( 1996–1997 ) contends? Within Cushitic, Greenberg’s classification included Omotic, which many now regard as a distinct branch, while Glottolog fails to recognize Omotic as an established group at all. Within Niger-Congo, there are a number of unanswered questions, many revolving around the constituency of its most complex branch, Benue-Congo, which uncontroversially includes all the Bantu languages and many more. Among the changes, the Kwa languages are now reduced to what Greenberg called Western Kwa, and the remaining languages have been moved from Greenberg’s Kwa into distinct branches, though experts still differ on their precise classification. For details and references, see Bendor-Samuel and Hartell ( 1989 ) and the references in Nordhoff et al. ( 2013 ).

2.1 Afro-Asiatic

This is the northernmost family, with a few hundred languages spanning all of North Africa and the Middle East, as well as two smaller areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The six branches of Afro-Asiatic are Semitic, Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Omotic, and Egyptian. The Semitic branch has 78 languages, including Arabic, the first language of up to 300 million throughout North Africa and widely spoken in the Middle East. Among the world’s languages, Arabic ranks fourth in the number of speakers. Other important Semitic languages are Hebrew, which shares official status in Israel with Arabic, and several Ethiopic languages. Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia and the first language of 21 million, is a South Ethiopic language. In the North Ethiopic branch is Tigrigna, an official language of Eritrea spoken by 7 million.

The term Afro-Asiatic was used by Joseph Greenberg to replace the designation Hamito-Semitic, which posited a division between the Semitic branch (named for Biblical figure Shem) and a putative branch named for Biblical figure Ham. The notion that Hamitic languages formed a unified branch seemingly reflected factors like speakers’ typical occupations and a lighter skin color than black Africans to the south. Greenberg argued that extraneous factors like these had no place in language classification, which should be based solely on linguistic data. Comparing languages from the different groups classed as Hamitic, Greenberg concluded that the evidence did not support their grouping into a single branch.

The Berber branch of Afro-Asiatic is spoken in the foothills of the Atlas Mountain in Morocco and Algeria and, spottily, in neighboring countries. Cushitic gets its name from Cush, the son of Ham. The several dozen languages of this group are spoken mainly in Ethiopia and Somalia, with a few in Kenya and Tanzania. Chadic languages are mainly spoken in the countries surrounding Lake Chad and are dominant in northern Nigeria, numbering close to 200 in all. By far the most widely spoken is Hausa, with 25 million native speakers. The languages of the Omotic branch, numbering over two dozen, are all spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. The Egyptian branch, thanks to hieroglyphs, can be traced back before 3,000 bce . Ancient Egyptian was the ancestor of Coptic, spoken in Egypt, but over time was replaced by Arabic until Coptic died out, roughly 400 years ago. Since then Coptic has survived as a liturgical language.

2.2 Nilo-Saharan

The approximately 200 languages occupy a band extending from the Nile region to the Sahara desert. For a relatively small family, they are quite diverse typologically, leaving some doubt as to whether the Nilotic and Saharan branches really deserve to be grouped into a family. Reflecting this, Glottolog divides them into two separate families, Nilotic and Saharan.

2.3 Niger-Congo

The great majority of languages in sub-Saharan Africa are members of the Niger-Congo family. Its 1,538 languages make it the world’s largest language family, and only the Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan language families have more speakers than Niger-Congo. Ideas about the respective genetic affiliations of well-known groups within Niger-Congo have changed substantially over the last half-century. This has been the case with Kwa, Mande, Gur, Atlantic, and Benue-Congo, among others. To date, the truly remarkable event in the classification of this family remains Greenberg’s ( 1955 , 1963 ) demonstration that Bantu—a group of 538 languages covering most of Central and Southern Africa—was, along with other languages called Bantoid, a subgroup within a group now called East Benue-Congo, most of whose other languages are spoken in Nigeria and Cameroon. This discovery—which took ten years before gaining the wide acceptance it has today—not only challenged earlier assumptions about linguistic classification but also opened the door to hypotheses about Bantu origins. The currently accepted view is that Bantu originated in southeastern Nigeria and expanded east and south from there.

2.4 Khoisan

Among the languages of the world, some are poorly studied and go back so far in time that it is hard to trace their genetic origins. This is the case with Khoisan, which is generally not recognized as an established family but as a set of 27 languages—some with just a handful of speakers—that are likely not to belong to the other three established families of African languages. Ermisch ( 2008 ) presents what is known, along with the residual problems.

2.5 Austronesian

Off the southeastern coast of Africa is the island of Madagascar, home to Malagasy, a Malayo-Polynesian language brought over by the island’s earliest settlers maybe 1,500 years ago. For more on Malayo-Polynesian, see the subsection on Austronesian in the section on Oceania.

Asia is home to 60% of the world’s population and nearly 30% of the world’s languages. These are grouped into just a handful of major families, leaving out several important isolates, and due to long periods of contact, there’s less diversity than one might expect. The downside is that the contact situation has made it difficult to classify genetic relationships with certainty in some important cases. And it’s worth mentioning some areal features for various subregions.

3.1 Indo-European

The Indo-European languages of Europe were discussed in section 2 . This section describes the Indo-European languages of Asia.

3.1.1 Anatolian and Tocharian

Both of these branches are long extinct. Anatolian’s replacement by Greek is linked to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Tocharian branch became extinct with the expansion of Turkic Uyghur tribes in the 9th century ce . Tocharian manuscripts from a few centuries prior to extinction, uncovered in the early 20th century , provided information that led scholars to reassess key assumptions about Proto-Indo-European and its descendants. Anatolian inscriptions from a much earlier era, about two millennia prior, similarly reshaped what had been known. Gamkrelidze and Ivanov ( 1990 ) offer a highly readable synthesis and summary of research presented in Gamkrelidze and Ivanov ( 1990 ).

3.1.2 Indo-Iranian

Indo-Iranian has two large branches, Indo-Aryan and Iranian. Among the over two hundred Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi and Urdu are official languages of India and Pakistan, respectively, and many consider them dialects of a single language. Kachru’s ( 2008 ) linguistic sketch describes Hindi and Urdu as closely related, mentioning the special case of Hindustani, an essentially colloquial language that has been called a co-dialect of Hindi and Urdu. Hindustani is the language once promoted by Gandhi and the Indian National Congress as a tool of national unity. For the Hindustani controversy, see Kachru ( 2008 ).

The largest language of the Iranian component of Indo-Iranian is Persian, with estimates exceeding 50 million native speakers in Iran. Written records of Old Persian go back to the 6th century bce . Other important languages in the Iranian branch are Pashto, mainly spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Kurdish, mainly spoken in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

The approximately 40 languages of this family extend from Macedonia to Siberia, Central Asia, and western China. Despite the vastness of this area, the languages themselves are typologically quite similar: agglutinative, with vowel harmony involving both backness and rounding.

3.3 Mongolic

The Mongolic languages are a group of about a dozen spoken in Mongolia and in adjacent areas of the Russian Federation and China. Mongolian, with over six million speakers, is by far the largest language in the family and the official language both of Mongolia and of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China.

3.4 Tungusic

The 11 languages of this family are scattered through Siberia, the Far East of Russia, and northwestern China, but most are endangered and some are nearly extinct. That includes Manchu, the language of the founders of the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China for nearly three centuries up to 1912 . The 2016 edition of Ethnologue lists only 20 speakers for Manchu, though over ten million are ethnically Manchu.

3.5 Altaic Area

The Altaic area extends from Turkey across the Altai Mountain area of Central and East Asia to Siberia. Altaic has been regarded by some as a family comprising Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic, and for a few even including as distant members Japonic and Korean. Versions of the Altaic hypothesis still have adherents, even though this notion has been cast into doubt as criteria have been challenged and evidence has been rejected as based largely on shared typological similarities, a position summarized in Unger ( 1990 ). Despite this, adherents continue to make a case, among them Miller ( 1991 ), Georg et al. ( 1999 ), and Robbeets ( 2005 ). The more conservative consensus is that many resemblances among languages in this linguistic area could have come from language contact rather than a shared ancestor. This view is reflected in Ethnologue and Glottolog, among others.

3.6 Dravidian

Dravidian languages are spoken primarily in southern India, though some are also found further north in the Indian subcontinent. The major literary languages are Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu, each one the first language of tens of millions. More is known about the history of Dravidian than about many other language families, thanks to the long literary periods of the four major languages.

Questions have been raised about Dravidian similarities to Uralic and Altaic, among several others. Austerlitz ( 1971 ) dismissed these, and Krishnamurti ( 2003 ), briefly surveying archeological and DNA literature along with linguistic evidence in his foundational work on Dravidian, seconds the conclusion that the linguistic arguments behind the proposed genetic relationships are tenuous and speculative.

Dravidian morphology is mainly agglutinative but lacks the long strings of affixes found in other agglutinative languages. The typical word order is SOV. Dravidian’s three-way contrast in coronal stops (dental, alveolar, and retroflex) can be traced back to proto-Dravidian. Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language, owes its retroflex consonants to Dravidian, from which they are thought to have spread by diffusion.

3.7 Sino-Tibetan

The languages of this family are spoken in China, the Himalayas, and Burma. The division into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman branches is customary, as espoused by Matisoff ( 2003 ), though a few experts, including van Driem ( 2007 ), still question the grouping of Sinitic as a separate sister branch to Tibeto-Burman, along with many particulars. Tibeto-Burman, with well over 400 languages, is especially problematic because of the inaccessibility of many languages in the Himalayas, not to mention that van Driem ( 2015 , p. 141) finds them “endangered with imminent extinction.” Overall, the lower-level groupings within Tibeto-Burman are more certain than the higher-level ones, leading van Driem ( 2001 ) to posit a “Fallen Leaves” model that recognizes clumps of closely related languages without identifying where on the family tree they fell from. Still, Ethnologue offers a full family tree. Sino-Tibetan was at one time thought to include languages farther south, such as the Tai-Kadai languages and the Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) languages, but the similarities among these languages are probably better attributed to areal diffusion, including massive lexical borrowing from Chinese.

3.7.1 Chinese

Member languages of the Chinese (or Sinitic) branch are sometimes called dialects, especially in China, but this stretches the normal meaning of the term “dialect” too far, since the 14 languages that make up Chinese are far from mutually intelligible, even though they share the same writing system and many grammatical properties. Each of the Chinese languages of course has dialects. Ethnologue lists five major dialects for Mandarin (which also goes by the name Guanhua): Huabei Guanhua (Northern Mandarin), Xibei Guanhua (Northwestern Mandarin), Xinan Guanhua (Southwestern Mandarin), Jinghuai Guanhua (Eastern Mandarin), and Jiangxia Guanhua (Lower Yangtze Mandarin). Other sources divide the dialects differently, due not only to differences of linguistic and geographical criteria but also to centuries of diffusion of linguistic features. For discussion, see Kurpaska ( 2010 ) and Yan ( 2006 ). With over a billion speakers total, Mandarin’s dialects have many subdialects as well.

Linguistic diffusion is the general pattern in the historical development of Chinese, due to over a dozen massive population movements going back to the 7th century bce and continuing to the present, each migration involving hundreds of thousands and often millions of people. Complicating these scenarios is the fact that in most cases, the migrations were to areas already settled by speakers of Chinese or other languages, often resulting in language mixture. The history of these migrations and their linguistic effects is traced by LaPolla ( 2001 ).

3.7.2 Tibeto-Burman

As already noted, most of the languages of this branch are endangered. As a group, they have many linguistic traits in common, including SOV order and agglutinative verb structure. Two word-order exceptions are the Karenic languages (Myanmar) and Bai (China), which have the SVO order characteristic of Sinitic, though unlike Sinitic, Karen and Bai are also relatively agglutinative. Karen and Bai both stand out enough from the rest of Tibeto-Burman to inspire attempts to classify them outside of Tibeto-Burman proper. Benedict’s ( 1976 ) proposed sister to Sinitic, labeled Tibeto-Karenic, with Tibeto-Burman as a daughter, has been ruled out, while more recently several scholars have taken up the case for linking Bai with Sinitic. See Wang ( 2005 ) for a brief survey with references.

3.8 Austro-Asiatic

The Austro-Asiatic family extends across south Asia from India to Vietnam. The Munda branch is found in northeastern India, surrounded by Indo-European and Dravidian languages that have influenced its languages greatly over the ages. Typologically they are agglutinative, with SOV word order, making them typologically very different from the rest of the family. Austro-Asiatic includes two important national languages, Vietnamese and Khmer (Cambodian). These two languages were grouped, along with many others, into a branch called Mon-Khmer, a grouping still accepted by Ethnologue but challenged by Sidwell ( 2009 ).

Vietnamese has borrowed massively from Chinese and was originally written with Chinese characters. Vietnamese and a few others in this family have developed phonological tones, and still others are thought to be in the process of developing them.

3.9 Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) and Tai-Kadai

These two families were once regarded as branches of Sino-Tibetan, and the languages of both families show many influences from Chinese. The Hmong - Mien (Miao-Yao) languages are spoken in scattered areas across southern China and nearby countries of Southeast Asia. The Tai-Kadai languages extend from China south to Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam and include the national languages Thai and Lao. Both families share a number of typological traits: most of their languages are SVO with isolating morphology and contrastive tone that is associated with creaky or breathy voice quality.

3.10 Paleosiberian Area

The name Paleosiberian applies to a set of four languages or language groups of Siberia with no established genetic relationship but sharing some typological features—agglutinative word structure and, with exceptions, SOV word order.

One of these is Ket, unrelated to any extant language and reduced to about 200 speakers, but once a member of the Yeniseian family and unlike the rest of Paleosiberian in several respects. It is tonal and has a highly agglutinative verbal system with complex agreement patterns—features that make it look like Na-Dene in North America. The case for a genetic relationship between the two has been made by Vajda ( 2010 , 2011 ). For arguments pro and con, see Kari and Potter ( 2010 ), Campbell ( 2011 ), and Kiparsky ( 2014 , pp. 65–67). Implications of this finding for Beringian migrations are pursued by Sicoli and Holton ( 2014 ).

Also in the Paleosiberian area are the Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Yukaghir families and Nivkh, a language with perhaps 200 speakers.

3.11 Korean and Japanese

Two of the major languages of East Asia, Korean and Japanese, are widely considered isolates, or nearly so in the case of Japanese, by far the dominant language in Japonic, a family of twelve languages. The remaining 11 languages of Japonic are the Ryukyuan group of the Ryukyu Islands. Some versions of the Altaic hypothesis include Korean and Japanese in a family with Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic. Another isolate of Asia is Burushaski (northeastern Pakistan).

Oceania, which includes Australia and most of the island territories of the central and southern Pacific and Indian oceans, is home to the Austronesian family and to two very large language groups, the Australian and the Papuan groups.

4.1 Austronesian

The 1,250+ languages of this family are distributed across Oceania from Madagascar to Easter Island and total well over 350 million speakers. All but 25 of these languages are Malayo-Polynesian; the rest are aboriginal languages of Taiwan.

The dominant category, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, has well over half of the languages classified as Malayo-Polynesian but only a few million speakers total, and it is not generally accepted as a valid linguistic grouping. The remaining Malayo-Polynesian languages are found in 17 smaller groups, some of whose languages are widely spoken and highly important politically. Among these are:

- Javanese, the language of nearly 90 million, centered in Java, Indonesia. - Filipino, an official language of the Philippines used by close to 50 million, including L2 speakers, as the national language of Philippines. The variety associated with native speakers, who number over 20 million, is called Tagalog. - Sundanese, the language of about 34 million in Java. - Malay, an official language of Malaysia along with Mandarin and English, is the language of more than 50 million. - Malagasy, spoken by 18 million.

Blust ( 2013 ) offers a recent and comprehensive account of the linguistic and anthropological aspects of this family, including internal linguistic groupings, the linguistic structure of its languages, sociolinguistic considerations, and archeological evidence backing up the linguistic groupings. Adelaar and Himmelmann ( 2005 ) cover a similar range of topics.

4.2 Papuan Languages

Estimates run to as many as a thousand languages in an area about a quarter of the size of India, making New Guinea the most linguistically diverse region in the world (Foley, 2000 , p. 357). Major groupings have been proposed by Greenberg ( 1971 ), Wurm ( 1982 ), and Ross ( 2005 ). Greenberg put all the languages into a single family and included some others from outside New Guinea, but the evidence for this has not generally been deemed credible. Wurm ( 1982 ) posited 10 Papuan phyla plus isolates, based entirely on lexicostatistic and typological evidence that others found unconvincing (Foley, 1986 ). A more recent grouping by Ross ( 2005 ), based essentially on evidence from pronouns, has also failed to find wide acceptance. One is left for now with Foley’s ( 1986 ) classification, with several dozen families and a similar number of isolates. Correlated with this is extreme typological variation across the families, with morphological types ranging from isolating to polysynthetic. Foley’s Papuan families average about 25 members in size, with the exception of Trans-New Guinea, with 482 member languages in Ethnologue, a figure that experts agree is subject to much revision because the family’s boundaries with others remain unclear. The uncertainty is reflected in Glottalog, which lists only Nuclear Trans New Guinea, with 315 languages.

4.3 Australia

This continent has been inhabited for 50,000 years, but the time frame for language classification is limited to the last 5,000 or so. As a result, we know very little about the historical connections among Australia’s languages. Worse, the number of vigorous Aboriginal languages today is a fraction of what it was before Europeans settled there in the 18th century . Of the 250-odd languages of Australia in 1788 , more than half are extinct, and of the remainder, fewer than two dozen are used and learned by the youngest generation.

Beginning with Hale ( 1966 ), many sources divide the continent’s original languages into two groups, Pama-Nynngan and Non-Pama-Nynngan, but even this rudimentary grouping is complicated by large-scale phonological and grammatical diffusion. Dixon, author of many standard reference works on Australian languages, among them Dixon ( 2002 ), diverges markedly from the others by simply dividing the languages into 50 groups representing different areas, though among them some genetic clusters may be found. For Dixon, Pama-Nyungan “cannot be supported as a genetic group. Nor is it a useful typological grouping.” (Dixon, 2002 , p. 53). The problem with applying standard methods toward reconstructing a language tree for Australia, as Dixon sees it, is that Australia is unique, in part to due widespread diffusion, whereby a language “will tend to become more like its neighbors” (Dixon, 2002 , p. 448). For alternative studies from a vantage point that differs markedly, see Bowern and Koch ( 2004 ).

Phonologically, Australian languages tend to be simple in some ways—usually with three-vowel systems—and complex in others, with as many as four contrasting articulations among the coronal consonants. Morphologically, Pama-Nyungan languages have noun class systems and verbal concord prefixes, and some have extensive noun incorporation constructions. Outside Pama-Nyungan, morphology, especially in nouns, is of a more simple agglutinative type, with suffixes but no prefixes. Most Australian languages have split ergativity, a common pattern being ergative-absolutive alignment for nouns but nominative-accusative alignment for pronouns. Word order tends to be very free, but there is evidence that clauses are best analyzed as verb-final; see Mushin and Baker ( 2008 ).

5. The Americas

The past and present states of indigenous languages in the Americas are entirely different as a result of colonization by Europeans. North America is estimated to have been host at one time to nearly 300 distinct languages (Mithun, 1999 , p. 1). Since then, over a hundred have gone extinct, and practically all of the rest are endangered. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report found 169 Native North American languages to be spoken in the home, with a total speaking population of less than half a million. By far the largest is Navajo, with nearly 170,000.

Central and South America are home to a few much larger languages, spoken by several million. Still, language endangerment is also the rule there. Of perhaps 1,700 pre-Columbian languages, fewer than 700 remain (Campbell, 1997 ) and of these, most are spoken by populations of several thousand or fewer.

The languages of the Americas are often divided into three geographical areas: North America, Mesomerica, and South America. Greenberg’s ( 1987 ) classification grouped the languages into three “super-families” that he called Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dene, and Amerind. Of these, the most controversial is Amerind, a grouping widely contested for reasons summarized by Campbell ( 2012 , p. 19), drawing on Paul Rivet’s classification of South American languages in the first half of the 20th century : “Greenberg’s subgroups have been met with skepticism for a number of reasons, including the underanalyzed nature of the presented data, the perpetuation of old misunderstandings [. . .], and the fact that recent findings may suggest entirely different groupings.”

5.1 North America

The approximately 300 surviving languages of native North America are grouped by Golla et al. ( 2007 ) into 14 major families and 19 minor families, with an additional 25 isolates. The major families are Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dene, Algic, Wakashan, Salishan, Utian, Plateau, Cochimi-Yuman, Uto-Aztecan, Kiowa-Tanoan, Siouan-Catawba, Caddoan, Muskogean, and Iroquoian. These and the remaining groupings in Golla et al. ( 2007 ) represent a compromise rather than a consensus, and it is unclear whether any individual, including the authors themselves, accepts them in toto.

5.1.1 Eskimo-Aleut

The Aleut branch has just one language, variously called Aleut or Unangax̂ and spoken by 155 in the Aleutian and Pribilof islands (Alaska) and the Commander Islands (Siberia). Eskimo has two branches, Inuit and Yupik. Because the term Eskimo is deemed offensive by many, especially in Canada and Greenland, Yupik-Inuit is sometimes used instead.

5.1.2 Na-Dene

The name Na-Dene is perhaps on its way to being phased out, having been replaced in Ethnologue by Eyak-Athabaskan and in Glottolog by Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit. Along with two small languages of Alaska, the family includes Athabaskan, a group of 42 languages widely distributed across the western United States and western Canada. At one time Na-Dene was thought to include Haida (Sapir, 1915 ), but this view has been abandoned by most (Schoonmaker et al., 1997 ).

The largest Athabaskan language is Navajo, a member of the Apachean group. Its morphology is widely studied for its complex prefix system, which might lead it to be classified as agglutinative, were it not for complex, overlapping dependencies that are more characteristic of fusional languages. Like many Athabaskan languages, Navajo is tonal, yet proto-Athabaskan lacked tone, and tone seems to have developed independently in many Athabaskan languages from constricted vowels (Campbell, 1997 , p. 113).

5.1.3 Algic

This family has some three dozen forty languages, all but two in the Algonquian branch, distributed across a wide expanse of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. The two outliers are in California, Yurok and the now-extinct Wiyot. Algonquian languages extend from eastern Canada and the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. The largest languages of this group are Cree, spoken by well over 100,000 and spanning a vast area of Canada from Labrador to Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Ojibwa, with more than 50,000 speakers, extending across southern Canada and from Ontario to the Rocky Mountains and south into the United States, especially Minnesota.

5.1.4 Wakashan

Wakashan, a family of seven languages in British Columbia, was assigned by Edward Sapir (in a 1929 Encyclopedia Britannica entry) to a putative stock called Mosan that also included the Salishan family (section 5.1.5 ). Sapir’s conjecture was based on a long list of shared grammatical similarities. But Beck ( 2000 ), echoing Campbell ( 1997 ), finds little lexical similarity and concludes that that one is dealing with a Sprachbund (Thomason & Kaufman, 1992 ), a set of languages whose common features have arisen from contact rather than from shared genetic origins.

5.1.5 Salishan

The 26 languages of this family are spoken in the coastal regions and in the region immediately to the east in British Columbia and in nearby areas in the United States. One of typological distinctions of Salishan languages is an extremely rich set of consonant contrasts—up to six pharyngeal consonants, contrasting velars and uvulars, and a full set of ejectives.

5.1.6 Utian

Approximately a dozen languages in the Utian family of central and northern California are divided into two branches, Miwok and Costanoan.

5.1.7 Plateau

Also known as Plateau Penutian, this group of four languages in the Pacific Northwest includes Klamath and Nez Percé.

5.1.8 Cochimi-Yuman

Also called Yuman, this group of eight small languages, which also includes the extinct Cochimi, is spoken in Arizona and neighboring parts of California and Mexico.

5.1.9 Uto-Aztecan

About 60 languages make up this family. The 13 languages of the Northern branch are spoken in the western United States. Among them is Hopi, spoken by 6,700 in and around northeastern Arizona. The Southern branch has 48 languages, almost all of them in Mexico.

5.1.10 Kiowa-Tanoan

Speakers of the five languages making up this family live in the southwestern United States.

5.1.11 Siouan-Catawba

This family, also called Siouan, includes Catawba, a language of South Carolina, which lost its last native speaker in the 20th century but is being revived as a second language by ethnic Catawbas. Total speakers for the Siouan family number under 35,000, but among its 14 languages is Dakota, the third largest indigenous language of North America and nearly tied for second place with Yupik, with close to 19,000 speakers. Dakota is spoken in North and South Dakota and neighboring areas.

5.1.12 Caddoan

This group of five languages, each with just a handful of speakers, may possibly form a super-family with Iroquoian and Siouan, based on comparative work (Chafe, 1976 ), but the relationship is not considered established (Mithun, 1999 , p. 305).

5.1.13 Muskogean

Traces of this family of six languages, roughly estimated at around 150,000 speakers, are still found in the southeastern United States, but forced relocations by the U.S. government in the 1830s drove many Muskogean tribes from their homeland. Included were the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, now situated in Oklahoma.

5.1.14 Iroquoian

Seven members of this family are severely endangered. Of the remaining two, Mohawk is estimated to have 540 speakers in the Canadian provinces Ontario and Quebec, and Cherokee has over 11,500 speakers in the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau Report, mainly in Oklahoma but also near their pre-relocation lands in North Carolina.

5.2 Mexico and Central America

5.2.1 uto-aztecan.

The Southern branch of this family includes 28 varieties of Nahuatl in Mexico and one in El Salvador that altogether number 1.5 million, according to the 2010 census. Nahuatl traces its origins to the Aztecs who dominated the area for many centuries.

5.2.2 Mayan

The approximately 30 languages comprising Mayan are spoken mainly in Guatemala and Mexico, as well as in Belize and Honduras. Estimates of the number of speakers of Mayan languages run to six million, with well over half that number in Guatemala. The most important Mayan languages of Guatemala are K’iche’, with 2,330,000 speakers; Q’eqchi’ with 800,000; Mam with 530,000; and Kaqchikel with 450,000. In Mexico, Yucatec Maya is spoken by more than 700,000, and a few others are spoken by well over a hundred thousand. The languages are still centered around the original Maya homeland in Guatemala and on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Among the noteworthy achievements of early Maya civilization were temples, pyramids, and the only writing system developed in the Americas before the coming of the European explorers. Decipherment of the writing system has offered a direct glimpse into the Mayan protolanguage and makes a fascinating story, recounted by Coe ( 1999 ).

5.2.3 Otomanguean

This is a large family of 177 languages spoken in central and southern Mexico. In the Eastern Otomanguean branch are the Mixtecan languages, including Trique and 52 varieties of Mixtec listed in Ethnologue, and 63 Zapotecan languages, including Chatino and 57 varieties of Zapotec listed in Ethnologue. Recent census estimates for both Mixtec and Zapotec are in the area of 500,000 speakers. The Western Otomanguean branch numbers 37 languages, among them 14 distinct varieties of Chinantec and nine varieties of Otomi. The 2010 census gives 130,000 native speakers for Chinantec and 290,000 for Otomi.

5.2.4 Totonacan

This is a family of 12 small languages spoken in and around Puebla State in Mexico. The largest is Sierra Totonacan.

5.2.5 Mixe-Zoquean

This family groups the ten Mixean languages with the seven Zoquean languages. All are spoken on the narrow strip of southern Mexico between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

5.3 South America

With 55 language isolates and 53 families of two or more languages, South America has about a quarter of the language families of the world (Campbell, 2012 , p. 59). While most are endangered and a large number nearly extinct, there are some very healthy exceptions, including Quechua, Tupi Guaraní, and Aymara, all discussed in this section. Especially since 1960 , efforts have been under way to reverse some of the declines in language populations of earlier eras. Particularly active in this area is the Andean region, where several bilingual school programs have incorporated Quechua and Aymara into the curriculum. The past 25 years have also seen a surge in interest by linguists in documenting and analyzing the tremendously diverse languages of this continent.

Among the 108 language families Campbell ( 2012 ) finds in South America, larger groupings still remain to be firmly established. Of the hypotheses advanced to date, including Greenberg’s ( 1987 ) classification that puts them all in Amerind, none have been proved to general satisfaction.

5.3.1 Intermediate Area: Between Central America and South America

The area between the site of the Mayan civilization to the north and the Inca civilization to the south covers the northwestern part of South America, extending into Central America. Among the language families here are Chocoan, spoken in Columbia and Panama; Barbcacoan, spoken in Colombia and Ecuador; and Chibchan, spoken from Honduras to Venezuela. Chibchan may be related to Misumalpan, spoken in Honduras and Nicaragua.

5.3.2 Arawakan

The family with the greatest geographical reach, spreading from Honduras down to Bolivia and as far east as Suriname, is Arawakan, with 40 languages, not including about two dozen extinct ones. Some reserve the name Arawakan for a slightly larger group with 11 additional languages, but their genetic connection to the core family is unproven (Campbell, 2012 , p. 71). For this reason, Campbell uses Arawakan (which includes the language Arawak) for the core group that also goes by the names Maipurean and Maipuran, as listed in Ethnologue.

Three Arawakan languages—Wayuu (Colombia), Garifuna (Honduras), and Asháninka (Peru)—account for more than 85% of the 645,000-odd speakers of languages in the family.

5.3.3 Arawan

The Arawan family of western Brazil, with six languages, and Guajiboan, with five languages in Eastern Colombia and southwestern Venezuela, comprise the group of 11 sometimes classed with Arawakan.

5.3.4 Cariban

Cariban is a family of 31 languages (as well as around two dozen extinct ones) in Brazil and Venezuela as well as in Guyana, Suriname, and Colombia. Most have just a few hundred speakers; some have a few thousand. The largest is Macushi, with 18,000 speakers in Brazil.

5.3.5 Tucanoan

Tucanoan includes 25 languages in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. A few are extinct or very severely endangered. The two largest, with just over 6,000 speakers each, are Cubeo (Colombia) and Tucano (Brazil).

5.3.6 Aymaran

Aymaran has just two languages. One of them is Aymara, spoken by a million in Bolivia and several hundred thousand in Peru.

5.3.7 Quechuan

Quechuan languages are spoken natively by a greater number than any other language family indigenous to the Americas, a result of the spread of the Inca Empire in pre-Columbian times. The total speaking population is 8.5 million, mainly in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The designations of all but two of the 44 Quechuan languages include the name Quechua along with a geographical identifier, reflecting a close relationship, though in most cases not mutual intelligibility. Most are small, with a few thousand speakers. About a dozen others range from the tens of thousands to around 100,000, and a few more are spoken by several hundred thousand. Larger than these are South Bolivian Quechua (1,600,000 speakers in Bolivia), Ayacucho Quechua (900,000 speakers in Peru, including Lima), and Chimborazo Highland Quichua (800,000 in Ecuador). All three belong to what is known as Peripheral Quechua, a sister branch to Central Quechua. These two branches constitute the major break in the Quechuan family. Quechua is, along with Spanish, the official language in Peru.

Phonological, structural, and lexical similarities between Quechua and Aymara have raised the possibility that the two are related, as discussed by Orr and Longacre ( 1968 ) and Kaufman and Berlin, 2007 , but Adelaar ( 1992 , 2012 ) argues instead that the many similarities must have resulted from intense contact predating the protolanguages along with subsequent diffusion. Part of the reasoning is that the lexical similarities are in fact too similar where they occur and extend to only about a quarter of the vocabulary, while the rest is highly different.

5.3.8 Tupian

Jensen and Grimes ( 2003 ), Kaufman and Berlin ( 2007 ), and Rodrigues and Cabral ( 2014 ) regard the Tupian languages of Central Amazonia as a language stock—a grouping of languages families not fully established but thought to be distantly related. Here it is listed as an established family, following Kaufman ( 1990 ), Campbell ( 2012 ), and Ethnologue.

This set of 76 languages is grouped into 11 small branches and isolates and one major branch, Tupi-Guarani, which some recognize as a family in and of itself (Michael et al., 2015 ). Its 51 languages are found in parts of Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia but once covered a much larger expanse of South America, from the eastern coast to the west and from northern Argentina up to French Guiana. Ten languages of this group are varieties of Guaraní that together are spoken by five million, principally in Paraguay, where it is an official language (along with Spanish) and is widely used as a second language as well.

5.3.9 Northern Foothills

In this Andean region, we find Jivaroan, Cahuapanan, Zaparoan, and Witotoan, among a few others. Yagua is known to have belonged to the Peba-Yaguan family, whose other two members are extinct.

Beyond what is presented here, Campbell ( 2012 ) discusses many plausible and possible genetic relationships within South America. Campbell and Grondona ( 2012 , p. 29) cite a dozen other works on this topic.

6. Sign Languages

As with spoken languages, it is impossible to trace back to the time when the first sign languages were used. Still, McBurney ( 2012 ) documents early reports on signing by the deaf, including an Ancient Egyptian text from around 1200 bce : “Thou art one who is deaf and does not hear, to whom men make (signs) with the hand.” From Plato’s Cratylus she quotes: “should we not, like the deaf and dumb, make signs with the hands and head and the rest of the body?” And from a collection on Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century ce : “A deaf-mute may communicate by signs and be communicated with by signs.”

Signing systems developed into languages as communities of users grew and the communicative needs of the deaf were recognized by governments, educators, and the general public. In parts of Europe, emerging deaf communities were developing sign languages well before the 18th century , and in 1817 Thomas Gallaudet established the first permanent deaf school in the United States, basing his methods on practices already in place in France and Britain.

Ethnologue lists 138 sign languages for the deaf, each one named for the location where it is used. Many are adaptions of signing systems already used in other regions, as illustrated by American Sign Language (ASL), which Thomas Gallaudet directly based on French Sign Language. ASL has become the most widely used sign language of the deaf, with 250,000 users in North American, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and Africa. ASL and other sign languages are not closely connected to the spoken languages of the regions where they are used. For example, British Sign Language and American Sign Language are not mutually intelligible.

Sign languages also develop in response to other needs. A famous case is Plains Indian Sign Language, once used as a lingua franca by Native Americans over a vast expanse of North America and still in use in some regions (Davis, 2010 ). Sign languages that have arisen in Aboriginal Australia in response to speech taboos and ritual observance have been described by Kendon ( 1988 ).

7. Pidgins and Creoles

7.1 pidgins.

Pidgins are simplified languages that arise out of a need to communicate among speakers lacking a common language, typically in colonial situations where one group is dominant. Members of the dominated group fuse grammatical features, often simplified, of their native language (called the substrate) with vocabulary from the dominant, or superstrate, language. The resulting language serves restricted purposes, such as trade.

There are not many pidgins. Ethnologue lists only 16, six of them in Africa and five in Oceania, if Indonesia is included. Hiri Motu, an official language of Papua New Guinea, is noteworthy because it goes against some typical views of pidgins. This language developed between the Motu and their trading partners nearby before any European contact. After colonization, its use spread, though the colonizers themselves had little if any knowledge of it. More usual are the cases of the original Chinese Pidgin English, once known as Pigeon English, which arose in 17th-century China for trade with the British, and Nigerian Pidgin, which developed in the same era, again due to trade contact with the British, notably the slave trade.

Hiri Motu, Chinese Pidgin English, and Nigerian Pidgin illustrate three different types of situation. Hiri Motu and Chinese Pidgin English exemplify pidgins that originate when trade partners are equal (Hiri Motu) or unequal (Chinese Pidgin English). The two had similar outcomes, eventually fading away—Hiri Motu in favor of Tok Pisin, a widely spoken creole of New Guinea, and Chinese Pidgin English in favor of Standard English, which came to be commonly taught in schools. (Since then, a different language called Chinese Pidgin English has arisen on the Pacific island of Nauru, for communicating with Chinese-speaking merchants and traders.) By contrast, Chinese Pidgin English and Nigerian Pidgin had analogous origins (for communicating with traders in a dominant position), yet different outcomes, since the first has died out, while the second has vastly expanded its uses and its speaking population. Currently Nigerian Pidgin is learned by many children at an early age for communication with peers in virtually any informal situation.

7.2 Creoles

Creoles are first languages of members of speech communities but originate from types of language contact resembling, if not always identical to, situations that give rise to pidgins. Being acquired as a first language gives creoles a stability that pidgins lack, and so it is not surprising that many more creoles are in current use—93 listed in Ethnologue—than pidgins. Thirty-two creoles are spoken around Latin America and the Caribbean, 26 in Oceania, and 22 in Africa. Like pidgins, creoles have a substrate and a superstrate. English is the superstrate for 33 creoles, Malay for 14, Portuguese for 13, and French for 11.

Probably the most vigorously debated topic in current pidgin and creole studies is how creoles form and evolve. Bickerton ( 1981 , 1988 ) interpreted creolization in terms of what is known as the bioprogram hypothesis. This would see creoles as developing from a pidgin that learners were exposed to at an early age. The hypothesis was that acquisition is guided by an innate bioprogram that supplies structure to complement and modify the pidgin’s substrate and superstrate. This idea excited those who saw its potential to shed light on the human language faculty in general. At the same time, among creolists, the bioprogram hypothesis gave rise to a literature that almost universally sought to disprove it. Viewed more positively, it engendered lots of new thinking on how creoles come about.

Veenstra ( 2008 ) surveys some of the progress made during this period. Early commenters found reason to assign a greater role to the superstrate language than would be the case under Bickerton’s hypothesis, which leaned heavily on universal grammar. Another criticism cited the fact that some creoles develop without having a pidgin as a source. Bickerton’s explanation, relying on acquisition by a generation of speakers with no other first language, implied that a creole would always develop in a single generation, yet this has been falsified by Nicaraguan Sign Language, which took two generations (Kegl, Senghas, & Coppola, 1999 ). For many more counterproposals and refinements, see DeGraff ( 1999 ), Mufwene ( 1996 ), Singler ( 1996 ), and McWhorter ( 2005 ). One area of agreement is that neither pidgins nor creoles are homogeneous types, as earlier work seemed to assume. There are many varieties, as is found with the rest of the languages covered in this essay.

Further Reading

Online resources.

Ethnologue and Glottolog are comprehensive, frequently updated databases on languages and language families. Both sites list all known languages and language families, with extensive bibliographies. Included on the Ethnologue website are nearly 200 language maps and several tables of statistics on the largest languages. Ethnologue also exists in print form, as three volumes listed under Simons and Fennig in section 8.2.

The World Atlas of Language Structures Online is a database of typological information on languages of the world. The data are collected by a team of 55 from grammars and other descriptive materials and organized into 99 chapters on areas of phonology, morphology, and syntax. The site is frequently updated with comments and corrections.

An online database of scholarly hypotheses about possible language families and their membership is Multitree . A pronouncing dictionary of selected words from nearly 350 world languages is at Forvo . Audio pronunciations for over 100,000 words are available for some languages, down to a few hundred for others.

The pronunciations are collected from users of the site.

Unesco maintains an online Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger with 2,465 entries. Its search functions permit one to identify languages by country and by levels of endangerment. The entry for each language includes its number of speakers, alternate names, and geographical coordinates. A complementary print atlas with 13 chapters by experts on the languages of different world is published by UNESCO in five languages. The next section includes a reference to the English-language version.

Books and Articles

Asher, R. E. , & Moseley, C. (Eds.). (2007). Atlas of the world's languages (2d ed.). London: Routledge. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Austin, P. K. (Ed.). (2008). One thousand languages: Living, endangered, and lost . Berkeley: University of California Press. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Campbell, G. L. , & King, G. (2011). The Routledge concise compendium of the world’s languages (2d ed.). New York: Routledge. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Comrie, B. (2001). Languages of the world. In M. Aronoff & J. Rees-Miller (Eds.), The handbook of linguistics (pp. 19–42). Malden: Blackwell. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Comrie, B. (Ed.). (2009). The world’s major languages (2d ed.). New York: Routledge. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Lyovin, A. , Kessler, B. , & Leben, W. R. (2016). Introduction to the languages of the world . New York: Oxford University Press. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Moseley, C. (Ed.). (2010). Atlas of the world’s languages in danger . Paris: UNESCO. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Pereltsvaig, A. (2012). Languages of the world: An introduction . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Simons, G. F. , & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2017a). Ethnologue: Languages of Asia (20th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Simons, G. F. , & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2017b). Ethnologue: Languages of Africa and Europe (20th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

Simons, G. F. , & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2017c). Ethnologue: Languages of the Americas and the Pacific (20th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Find it in your library Google Preview WorldCat

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• Gamkrelidze, T. V. , & Ivanov, V. V. (1995). Indo-European and Indo-Europeans: A reconstruction and historical analysis of a proto-language and proto-culture. Part 1: Text . ( J. Nichols , Trans.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Günther, T. , Valdiosera, C. , Malmström, H. , Ureña, I. , Rodriguez-Varela, R. , Sverrisdóttir, Ó. O. , & de Castro, J. M. B. (2015). Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 112 (38), 11917–11922.
• Salminen, T. (2002). Problems in the taxonomy of the Uralic languages in the light of modern comparative studies. In A. I. Kuznet︠s︡ova , A. E. Kibrik , T. B. Agranat , & O. A. Kazakevich (Eds.), Lingvisticheskii bespredel: Sbornik statei k 70-letiiu A. I. Kuznetsovoi (pp. 44–55). Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta.
• Bender, M. L. (1996–1997). Nilo-Saharan languages: An essay in classification . Munich: Lincom Europa.
• Bendor-Samuel, J. T. , & Hartell, R. L. (1989). The Niger-Congo languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family . Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
• Ehret, C. (2001). A historical-comparative reconstruction of Nilo-Saharan . Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.
• Ermisch, S. (Ed.). (2008). Khoisan languages and linguistics: Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium, January 8–12, 2006 . Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.
• Greenberg, J. H. (1955). Studies in African language classification . New Haven, CT: Compass.
• Greenberg, J. H. (1963). The languages of Africa . The Hague: Mouton.
• Nordhoff, S. , Hammarström, H. , Forkel, R. , & Haspelmath, M. (Eds.). (2013). Benue–Congo . Glottolog . Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
• Austerlitz, R. (1971). Long-range comparisons of Tamil and Dravidian with other language families in Eurasia. In R. E. Asher (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference-Seminar of Tamil Studies (Vol. 2, pp. 254–261). Madras: Association of Tamil Research.
• Benedict, P. K. (1976). Sino-Tibetan: Another look. Journal of the American Oriental Societ y, 96 (2), 167–197.
• Bhatia, T. K. (1987). A history of the Hindi grammatical tradition: Hindi-Hindustani grammar, grammarians, history, and problems . (Vol. 4.). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
• Campbell, L. (2011). Review of the book The Dene-Yeniseian connection , by J. M. Kari and B. A. Potter. International Journal of American Linguistics , 77 , 445–451.
• Georg, S. , Michalove, P. A. , Manaster Ramer, A. , & Sidwell, J. (1999). Telling general linguists about Altaic. Journal of Linguistics , 35 , 65–98.
• Gamkrelidze, T. V. , & Ivanov, V. V. (1990). The early history of Indo-European languages. Scientific American , 262 (3), 110–117.
• Greenberg, J. H. (2000). Indo-European and its closest relatives: The Eurasiatic language family . Vol. 1, Grammar . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Greenberg, J. H. (2002). Indo-European and its closest relatives: The Eurasiatic language family . Vol. 2, Lexicon . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Greenberg, J. H. (1997). Does Altaic exist? In I. Hegedus , P. A. Michalove , & A. Manaster Ramer (Eds.), Indo-European, Nostratic and beyond: A festschrift for Vitaly V. Shevoroshkin (pp. 88–93). Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of Man.
• Johanson, L. , & Robbeets, M. (Eds.). (2010). Transeurasian verbal morphology in a comparative perspective: Genealogy, contact, chance . Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
• Kachru, Y. (2008). Hindi-Urdu-Hindustani. In B. B. Kachru , Y. Kachru , & S. N. Sridhar (Eds.), Language in South Asia (pp. 81–102). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Kari, J. M. , & Potter, B. A. (Eds.).(2010). The Dene-Yeniseian connection . Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
• Kiparsky, P. (2014). New perspectives in historical linguistics. In C. Bowern & B. Evans (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of historical linguistics (pp. 64–102). New York: Routledge.
• Krishnamurti, B. (2003). The Dravidian languages . New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Kurpaska, M. (2010). Chinese language(s): A look through the prism of the great dictionary of modern Chinese dialects . Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
• LaPolla, R. J. (2001). The role of migration and language contact in the development of the Sino-Tibetan language family. In A. Y. Aikhenvald & R. M. W. Dixon (Eds.), Areal diffusion and genetic inheritance: Case studies in language change (pp. 225–254). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Matisoff, J. A. (1991). Sino-Tibetan linguistics: Present state and future prospects. Annual Review of Anthropology , 20 , 469–504.
• Matisoff, J. A. (2003). Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and philosophy of Sino-Tibetan reconstruction . Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Miller, R. A. (1991). Genetic connections among the Altaic languages. In S. M. Lamb & E. D. Mitchell (Eds.), Sprung from some common source: Investigations into the prehistory of languages (pp. 293–327). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Pawley, A. (2009). Greenberg’s Indo-Pacific hypothesis: An assessment. In B. Evans (Ed.), Discovering history through language: Papers in honour of Malcolm Ross (pp. 153–180). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Rai, A. (1984). A house divided: The origin and development of Hindi/Hindavi . New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
• Ratliff, M. S. (2010). Hmong–Mien language history . Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Robbeets, M. I. (2005). Is Japanese related to Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic? Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
• Sicoli, M. A. , & Holton, G. (2014). Linguistic phylogenies support back-migration from Beringia to Asia . PoS ONE , 9 (3), e91722.
• Sidwell, P. (2009). Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: History and state of the art . LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.
• Starostin, S. A. (1991). Altajskaja problema i proisxoždenie japonskogo jazyka [The Altaic problem and the origin of the Japanese language]. Moscow: Nauka.
• Starostin, S. A. (2005). Response to Stefan Georg’s review of the Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages . Diachronica , 22 (2), 451–454.
• Starostin, S. A. , Dybo, A. V. , & Mudrak, O. A. (2003). Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Vols. 3). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
• Thurgood, G. , & LaPolla, R. J. (Eds.). (2003). The Sino-Tibetan languages . London: Routledge.
• Ting Pang-Hsin [Ding Bangxin] & Hongkai Sun . (2000). Hàn-Zàngyu yánjiu de lìshi huígù [Retrospective history of Sino-Tibetan studies]. In Ding Bangxin (Ed.), Hàn-Zàngyu tóngyuáncí yánjiu , 1 [Cognate words in Sino-Tibetan languages, 1]. Nanning: Guangxi Mínzú Chubanshè [Guangxi Nationalities Press].
• Unger, J. M. (1990). Summary report of the Altaic panel. In P. Baldi (Ed.), Linguistic change and reconstruction methodology . Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Vajda, E. J. (2010). A Siberian link with Na-Dene languages. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska , new ser., 5 (1), 33–99.
• Vajda, E. J. (2011). A response to Campbell. International Journal of American Linguistics , 77 , 451–452.
• van Driem, G. (2001). Languages of the Himalayas: An ethnolinguistic handbook of the Greater Himalayan region, containing an introduction to the Symbiotic Theory of Language (Vols. 2). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
• van Driem, G. (2007). The diversity of the Tibeto-Burman language family and the linguistic ancestry of Chinese. Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics , 1 (2), 211–270.
• van Driem, G. (2015). Tibeto-Burman. In W. S.-Y. Wang & C. Sun (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Chinese linguistics (pp. 135–148). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Wang, F. (2005). On the genetic position of the Bai language. Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale , 34 (1), 101–127.
• Wurm, S. A. (1982). The Papuan languages of Oceania . Tübingen, Germany: Gunter Narr.
• Yan, M. M. (2006). Introduction to Chinese dialectology . Cologne: Lincom Europa.
• Adelaar, K. A. , & Himmelmann, N. (2005). The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar . New York: Routledge.
• Blust, R. (2013). The Austronesian languages . Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics.
• Bowern, C. , & Koch, H. (Eds.). (2004). Australian languages: Classification and the comparative method . Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
• Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian languages: Their nature and development . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Foley, W. A. (1986). The Papuan languages of New Guinea . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Foley, W. A. (2000). The languages of New Guinea. Annual Review of Anthropology , 29 , 357–404.
• Greenberg, J. H. (1971). The Indo-Pacific hypothesis. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.), Current trends in linguistics (Vol. 8, pp. 808–871). The Hague: Mouton.
• Hale, K. L. (1966). The Paman group of the Pama-Nyungan phylic family. In G. N. O’Grady , C. F. Voegelin , & F. M. Voegelin (Eds.), Languages of the world: Indo-Pacific (pp. 162–197). Fascicle 6. Bloomington: Anthropology Dept., Indiana University.
• Mushin, I. , & Baker, B. (Eds.). (2008). Discourse and grammar in Australian languages . Amsterdam: Benjamins.
• Ross, M. (2005). Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages. In A. Pawley , R. Attenborough , R. Hide , & J. Golson (Eds.), Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples (pp. 15–65). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Wurm, S. A. (1982). Papuan languages of Oceania . Tübingen, Germany: Narr.

The Americas

• Adelaar, W. (1992). Quechuan languages. In W. Bright (Ed.), Oxford international encyclopedia of linguistics 3 (pp. 303–310). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Adelaar, W. (2012). Languages of the Middle Andes in areal-typological perspective: Emphasis on Quechuan and Aymaran. In L. Campbell & V. Grondona (Eds.), The indigenous languages of South America: A comprehensive guide (pp. 575–624). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Asher, R. E. , & Moseley, C. (Eds.). (2007). Atlas of the world's languages (2d ed.). London: Routledge.
• Beck, D. (2000). Grammatical convergence and the genesis of diversity in the Northwest Coast Sprachbund. Anthropological Linguistics , 42 (2), 147–213.
• Campbell, L. (1988). Review of the book Language in the Americas , by J. H. Greenberg. Language , 64 , 591–615.
• Campbell, L. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of native America . New York: Oxford University Press.
• Campbell, L. (2012). Classification of the indigenous languages of South America. In L. Campbell & V. Grondona (Eds.), The indigenous languages of South America: A comprehensive guide (pp. 59–166). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Campbell, L. , & Grondona, V. (Eds.), (2012). The indigenous languages of South America: A comprehensive guide . Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Coe, M. D. (1999). Breaking the Maya code (rev. ed.). London: Thames and Hudson.
• Chafe, W. L. (1976). Siouan, Iroquoian, and Caddoan. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.), Native languages of the Americas (pp. 527–572). New York: Springer US.
• Fabre, A. (1998). Manual de las lenguas indígenas sudamericanas . (Vol. 1.). Munich: Lincom Europa.
• Goddard, I. (1996). The classification of native languages of North America. In I. Goddard & W. C. Sturtevant (Eds.), Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 17, pp. 290–323). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution.
• Golla, V. , Goddard, I. , Campbell, L. , Mithun, M. , & Mixco, M. (2007). North America. In R. E. Asher & C. Mosley (Eds.), Atlas of the world's languages (2d ed., pp. 5–44). London: Routledge.
• Greenberg, J. H. (1987). Language in the Americas . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Jensen, C. J. , & Grimes, B. (2003). International encyclopedia of Linguistics (2d ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Kaufman, T. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Kaufman, T. , & Berlin, B. (2007). South America. In R. E. Asher & C. Mosley (Eds.), Atlas of the world's languages (2d ed., pp. 59–93). London: Routledge.
• Michael, L. , Chousou-Polydouri, N. , Bartolomei, K. , Donnelly, E. , Wauters, V. , Meira, S. , & O’Hagan, Z. (2015). A Bayesian phylogenetic classification of Tupí-Guaraní. LIAMES-Línguas Indígenas Americanas , 15 (2), 193–221.
• Mithun, M. (1999). The languages of native North America . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Orr, C. , & Longacre, W. A. (1968). Proto-Quechuamaran. Language , 44 , 528–555.
• Rodrigues, A. D. , & Cabral, A. S. (2014). Tupian languages . Oxford Bibliographies Online .
• Schoonmaker, P. K. , Von Hagen, B. , & Wolf, E. C. (1997). The rain forests of home: Profile of a North American bioregion . Washington, DC: Island Press.
• Sapir, E. (1915). The Na-Dene languages: A preliminary report. American Anthropologist , 17 (3), 534–558.
• Thomason, S. G. , & Kaufman, T. (1992). Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics . Berkeley: University of California Press.
• U.S. Census Bureau . (2011). Native North American languages spoken at home in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2006–2010 . American Community Survey Briefs.
• Davis, J. E. (2010). Hand talk: Sign language among American Indian nations . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Kendon, A. (1988). Sign languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, semiotic and communicative perspectives . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• McBurney, S. (2012). History of sign languages and sign language linguistics. In R. Pfau , M. Steinbach , & E. Woll (Eds.), Sign language: An international handbook (pp. 909–948). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

Pidgins and Creoles

• Bickerton, D. (1981). Roots of language . New York: Karoma.
• Bickerton, D. (1988). Creole languages and the bioprogram. In F. J. Newmeyer (Ed.), Linguistics: The Cambridge survey 2 . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• DeGraff, M. (Ed.). (1999). Language change and creation: Creolization, diachrony, and development . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Kegl, J. , Senghas, A. , & Coppola, M. (1999). Creation through contact: Sign language emergence and sign language change in Nicaragua. In M. DeGraff (Ed.), Language change and creation: Creolization, diachrony, and development (pp. 179–238). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Mufwene, S. (1996). The founder principle in creole genesis. Diachronica , 13 , 83–134.
• McWhorter, J. H. (2005). Defining creole . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Singler, J. V. (1996). Theories of creole genesis, sociohistorical considerations, and the evaluation of evidence: The case of Haitian Creole and the Relexification Hypothesis. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages , 11 , 185–230.
• Veenstra, T. (2008). Creole genesis: The impact of the language bioprogram hypothesis. In S. Kouwenberg & J. V. Singler (Eds.), The handbook of pidgin and creole studies (pp. 219–241). Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.

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40 great articles and essays about language and linguistics, linguistics, who decides what words mean by lane greene, hand to mouth by kensy cooperrider, the interpreter by john colapinto, the language of the future by henry hitchings, english, loanword champion of the world by britt peterson, the crayola-fication of the world by aatish bhatia, say no more by jack hitt, why do people, like, say, ‘like’ so much by sam wolfson, linguists are like, 'get used to it' by britt peterson*, vowel movement by rob mifsud, utopian for beginners by joshua foer, internet linguistics, a defense of internet linguistics by tia baheri, english has a new preposition, because internet by megan garber, that way we're all writing now by clive thompson*, what the f***, a linguist explains the syntax of "fuck" by gretchen mcculloch*, in which we get to the bottom of some crazy-ass language by chi luu, the surprising benefits of swearing by tiffanie wen, why swearing reduces pain by emma byrne, deaf language, a linguistic big bang by lawrence osborne, seeing at the speed of sound by rachel kolb, deafness as culture by edward dolnick, see also..., 30 great essays about words and writing.

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Extended Essay: Language and Literature

• Step 1 - Choosing a Subject
• Step 2 - Choosing a Topic
• Step 3 - Draft a Research Question
• Step 4 - Finding Sources
• Step 5 - Evaluating Information
• Step 6 - Bibliography & Citation
• Step 7 - Organizing Information
• The Arts: Visual Arts
• Individuals & Societies: Business Management
• Individuals & Societies: History
• Individuals & Societies: Psychology
• Language Acquisition

Language and Literature

• Sciences: Biology
• Sciences: Sports, Exercise, and Health Sciences
• Interdisciplinary Papers: World Studies
• Assessment Criteria
• Research Questions
• Investigation

Extended Essays in Language and Literature

Choosing a topic.

• Categories 1 & 2

Categories 1 & 2

***Category 2 essays are the same as category 1, but they analyze works not written in English***

Language and Literature papers in categories 1 and 2 are focused on one or more literary works and can focus on original literary analysis, a particular literary topic, and/or established literary criticism.  

NB: When investigating a film in category 2, the film must be analyzed for its literary value, not filmic. Filmic analysis is allowed in category 3.

Category 3 papers also analyze works, however they are not restricted to literary works! Topics in Category 3 emphasize the production and reception of texts in social, historical and/or cultural contexts. Essays that simply offer a general overview of a topic are not appropriate.

Approaches to Research

Categories 1 and 2

**Category 2 essays are the same as category 1, but analyze works not written in English**

Primary research in Language and Literature may require close reading of one or more texts. Secondary research may also be necessary for information like historical context, biographical information,  and established literary criticism. Students should consider things like the effect of the work, the devices it uses, or the way it is written.

Students should give a focused analysis of the texts being considered. The approach should be balanced, coherently argued, use relevant examples to illustrated the point.

Examples of language in a cultural context

Examples of language and mass communication

Language and Literature Sources

Even students doing primary research will still need to reference secondary sources. These may include established literary interpretations or criticisms, biographical and/or historical information.

Essay Types

An extended essay in language and literature gives students an opportunity to do independent research into a topic of special interest to them within the subject. It is intended to promote advanced research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity.

The essay is open to students who are writing in a language that they would be capable of offering as a language A

Studies in language and literature EEs are divided into three categories:

Assessed Student Work

• An exploration of an aspect of the narrative voice in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita
• How did the World State government in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World impact the individuality of the citizens residing in it?
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Importance Of English Language Essay

500 words importance of english language essay.

The English Language is becoming more and more common in the world. As a result, increasingly people are dedicating time to study English as their second language. In fact, many countries include it in their school syllabus to teach children this language from a young age. However, the true value of this language is that it helps remove many barriers from our life. Whether it is to find a new job or travel the world. In other words, it helps to progress in life both on a personal and professional level. Thus, the Importance of English Language Essay will help you understand all about it.

Importance Of English Language

Language is our major means of communication; it is how we share our thoughts with others. A language’s secondary purpose is to convey someone’s sentiments, emotions, or attitudes. English is one such language in the world that satisfies both the above purposes. English has been regarded as the first global Lingua Franca. It has become part and parcel of almost every existing field. We use it as the international language to communicate in many fields ranging from business to entertainment.

Many countries teach and encourage youngsters to acquire English as a second language. Even in nations where English is not an official language, many science and engineering curriculum are written in English.

English abilities will most certainly aid you in any business endeavours you choose to pursue. Many large corporations will only hire professional employees after determining whether or not they speak good English. Given the language’s prominence, English language classes will be advantageous to you if you want to work for a multinational organization and will teach you the communication skills needed to network with professionals in your area or enhance your career.

The English Language opens an ocean of career opportunities to those who speak this language anywhere in the world. Similarly, it has turned into an inevitable requirement for various fields and professions like medicine , computing and more.

In the fast-evolving world, it is essential to have a common language that we can understand to make the best use of the data and information available. As a result, the English Language has become a storehouse of various knowledge ranging from social to political fields.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas  

Reasons to Learn the English Language

As the importance of the English Language is clear now, we move on to why we must learn the English Language. First of all, it is a global language. It is so common that one out of five people can speak or understand this language.

Further, learning the English Language can help in getting a job easily. As it has become the language of many fields, it automatically increases the chances of landing a good job in a good company.

In addition, it helps with meeting new people. As it is the official language of 53 countries, learning it helps to break the language barriers. Most importantly, it is also the language of the Internet.

Another important reason to learn this language is that it makes travelling easier. Being a widely used language globally, it will help you connect with people easily. Similarly, it is also essential in the world of business.

It does not matter whether you are an employee or employer, it benefits everyone. Students who wish to study abroad must definitely study this language. Many countries use their schools and universities. So, it can offer a good opportunity for students.

Why and where do we need the English language?

• Use of English on the Internet – Because of the tremendous rise of information technology, particularly the internet, English is the language of choice for Internet users. The internet has also played an important role in promoting and spreading the English language throughout the world, as more and more people are exposed to it, and English has also become the language of the internet.
• Use of English in Education – English has become one of the majorly used languages to understand, learn and explain concepts from various fields of knowledge. The majority of instructional tools, materials, and texts are written in English. The global educational systems at colleges all over the world need English as a foreign language.
• Use of English for Travel purposes – As we all know, English has been named as the official language of 53 countries and over 400 million people in the world speak English, the English language comes in handy for communicating with everyone when anyone travels around the world be it for tourism, job opportunity, settlement, casual visits, etc.
• Use of English for Communication – The most important function of a language is to allow people to communicate effectively. For many years, English has been the most widely known and valued language on the planet. In other words, English becomes an efficient tool for communicating with people all over the world.

Conclusion of Importance Of English Language Essay

We use the English Language in most of our international communications. While it is not the most spoken language in the world, 53 countries have named it their official language. Moreover, about 400 million people globally use it as their first language. Thus, being the most common second language in the world, it will be beneficial to learn this language to open doors to new opportunities.

FAQ on Importance Of English Language Essay

Question 1: How does the English Language help you get a job?

Answer 1: the  English Language is the language of many things like science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism. Thus, if you know English, it will increase your chances of landing a good job in an international company.

Question 2: Does the English Language help in connecting with people globally?

Answer 2: Yes, it does. It is because English is the official language of 53 countries and we use it as a lingua franca (a mutually known language) by people from all over the world. This means that studying English can help us have a conversation with people on a global level.

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Psychology Discussion

Essay on language: definition, structure and characteristics.

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In this essay we will discuss about Language. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Definition of Language 2. Structure of Language 3. Characteristics.

Essay # Definition of Language:

The term language is derived from the Latin word language which means tongue. While the need to express one’s desires, interests, feelings and emotions is inborn, the ability to communicate with others through language is learned or acquired. Acquisition of language begins with the initial cries, grunts, grons, and gasps of the neonate.

With growth of age babbling starts. All these are transformed in to the use of single words, two words and then to three words sentences and finally into well formed sentences. Words are symbols of reality and they are used to symbolize concepts and manipulate knowledge concerning reality.

A language ordinarily is an elaborate system of specialized verbal symbol generally accepted and used in the transmission of meaning. The human child acquires a great amount of reception learning through language itself.

Language also helps greatly in learning in the transmission of cultures traditions, love, sympathy attitudes and aspirations of social beings. Mowrer (1954) emphasizing the importance of language has thus remarked “Language makes it possible for its users to have various experience, to learn through and from the learning of others and this I see is the essence of education.”

It is through language that cultures and traditions are passed on to the next generation, to the children and to students. The never ending transmission of culture and heritage from generation to generation is done basically through language and without language, the cultural stream cannot flow properly.

Bruner (1964) has referred to language as a Cultural technique upon which the phylogenetic and Ontogentic development of human intelligence depends. Besides Communicating one’s own feeling and experience with another person other aims of language are to learn to gain knowledge, to fulfill various needs and above all to relationship with others.

Brownfled, McCarthy and Vincent holds that speech is a type of activity through which man builds his world, becomes sociable and helps others. Language makes a man polished and by and large, language helps in the healthy development of personality.

According to Encyclopedia America, Language is a faculty and ability possessed by normal human beings and by other species of using a spoken and written references to represent mental phenomena or events. According to Soffettic language refers to “The systematized set of vocal habits by means of which the members of a human society interact in terms of their culture.”

Sapir (1921) is of view that “language is a purely human method of communication through a system of voluntarily produced symbols” Ruddell (1974) defines language as a system represented by sound symbols with conventional meanings hared by members of a linguistic group.” The importance of language cannot be undermined in the society.

The acquisition of words is essential for abstraction, concept formation, all higher learning, cognitive growth processes. In simple terms language may be said to be a means of communication through conventional symbols.

Language has three major dimensions such as:

(1) Content, which refers to the meaning of any written or spoken language.

(2) Form, which is the particular symbol used to represent the Content, the sound the word and the grammar.

(3) Use-which is referred to the social inter-change or exchange between two people.

Essay # Structure of Language :

The structure of language has three aspects:

(1) Phonemes

(2) Horphems

(3) Syntex.

1. Phonemes:

Phonemes refers to the basic source used in any language. The letters of the alphabets in English language have 26 Corresponding basic sounds in speech i.e. one letter for each distinguishable speech sound.

2. Morphems:

When Phonemes are combined into large units, they are called morphemes. Thus, Morphemes are smallest meaningful spoken units. A morphem is a language unit that cannot be broken down further without loosing or altering its meaning. A single morphem may consist of any syllable or several syllables.

The rules for combining morpheme (words) into grammatically correct sentences are called syntex. Syntex is based on linguistic analysis of sentence formation. The ultimate purpose of syntex is to understand how the meaning of sentences is conveyed by the speaker to the listener.

Each language has its own rules governing the combination of phonemes, permitting some combinations and prohibiting others. In order to understand any language one has to understand both meaning and structure.

Essay # Characteristics of Language :

A language has the following characteristics:

1. Language is a human attribute.

2. It is partly acquired, but largely instinctive.

3. It is verbal, symbolic and primarily oral in nature.

4. Language is a systematic and patterned behaviour having definite structure and form. The speaker cannot indiscriminately change the sequence of words.

5. Language has individual and social significance since it is a primary tool of communication.

6. Language is a system actualized as sounds or phonemes.

7. Language has melody, rhythm, pitch, stress and junctare.

8. The relationship between symbol and meaning is conventional arbitrary, learned and traditional.

9. Language is a open system allowing the speaker to say new utterances that may never have been said before.

Some features of children’s experience are vital to the learning of the structure of language. These features are initiation, comprehension and production. The relationship between these three processes are of major importance than their individual contributions.

1. Initiation:

A child repeats utterances produced by his parents. He imitates the pronunciation of his parents or baby seater or aaya and readily accepts the speech pattern and pronunciation made by persons in his immediate environment. Electronic medias like Radio. Television etc. play important role here.

2. Comprehension:

This includes the correct association of meaning with word by symbols, the selection of the correct meaning suggested by the context, the organisation and retention of meanings, the ability to reason smaller idea segment and the ability to group the meaning of a larger unitary idea.

3. Production:

It refers to utterances which are of initiation, which are grammatical and internally principled and which bear some relation to nonlinguistic features of the environment so that they are comprehensible to a listener. Initiation is found to be easier then comprehension which is again easier than production.

The former two are necessary conditions of the later. While initiation involves a perceptual motor skill only and hence easiest, comprehension and production both require awareness of meaning. Further production demands utterances while comprehension simply requires pointing.

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The Crucial Role of Language in Communication

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Student Essay: The Value of Foreign Languages

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Benefits of Learning New Languages, Vernaculars, and Dialects'. 26 May.

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A.I.’s Black Boxes Just Got a Little Less Mysterious

Researchers at the A.I. company Anthropic claim to have found clues about the inner workings of large language models, possibly helping to prevent their misuse and to curb their potential threats.

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By Kevin Roose

Reporting from San Francisco

One of the weirder, more unnerving things about today’s leading artificial intelligence systems is that nobody — not even the people who build them — really knows how the systems work.

That’s because large language models, the type of A.I. systems that power ChatGPT and other popular chatbots, are not programmed line by line by human engineers, as conventional computer programs are.

Instead, these systems essentially learn on their own, by ingesting vast amounts of data and identifying patterns and relationships in language, then using that knowledge to predict the next words in a sequence.

One consequence of building A.I. systems this way is that it’s difficult to reverse-engineer them or to fix problems by identifying specific bugs in the code. Right now, if a user types “Which American city has the best food?” and a chatbot responds with “Tokyo,” there’s no real way of understanding why the model made that error, or why the next person who asks may receive a different answer.

And when large language models do misbehave or go off the rails, nobody can really explain why. (I encountered this problem last year when a Bing chatbot acted in an unhinged way during an interaction with me. Not even top executives at Microsoft could tell me with any certainty what had gone wrong.)

The inscrutability of large language models is not just an annoyance but a major reason some researchers fear that powerful A.I. systems could eventually become a threat to humanity.

After all, if we can’t understand what’s happening inside these models, how will we know if they can be used to create novel bioweapons, spread political propaganda or write malicious computer code for cyberattacks? If powerful A.I. systems start to disobey or deceive us, how can we stop them if we can’t understand what’s causing that behavior in the first place?

To address these problems, a small subfield of A.I. research known as “mechanistic interpretability” has spent years trying to peer inside the guts of A.I. language models. The work has been slow going, and progress has been incremental.

There has also been growing resistance to the idea that A.I. systems pose much risk at all. Last week, two senior safety researchers at OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, left the company amid conflict with executives about whether the company was doing enough to make its products safe.

But this week, a team of researchers at the A.I. company Anthropic announced what they called a major breakthrough — one they hope will give us the ability to understand more about how A.I. language models actually work, and to possibly prevent them from becoming harmful.

The team summarized its findings in a blog post called “ Mapping the Mind of a Large Language Model .”

The researchers looked inside one of Anthropic’s A.I. models — Claude 3 Sonnet, a version of the company’s Claude 3 language model — and used a technique known as “dictionary learning” to uncover patterns in how combinations of neurons, the mathematical units inside the A.I. model, were activated when Claude was prompted to talk about certain topics. They identified roughly 10 million of these patterns, which they call “features.”

They found that one feature, for example, was active whenever Claude was asked to talk about San Francisco. Other features were active whenever topics like immunology or specific scientific terms, such as the chemical element lithium, were mentioned. And some features were linked to more abstract concepts, like deception or gender bias.

They also found that manually turning certain features on or off could change how the A.I. system behaved, or could get the system to even break its own rules.

For example, they discovered that if they forced a feature linked to the concept of sycophancy to activate more strongly, Claude would respond with flowery, over-the-top praise for the user, including in situations where flattery was inappropriate.

Chris Olah, who led the Anthropic interpretability research team, said in an interview that these findings could allow A.I. companies to control their models more effectively.

“We’re discovering features that may shed light on concerns about bias, safety risks and autonomy,” he said. “I’m feeling really excited that we might be able to turn these controversial questions that people argue about into things we can actually have more productive discourse on.”

Other researchers have found similar phenomena in small- and medium-size language models. But Anthropic’s team is among the first to apply these techniques to a full-size model.

Jacob Andreas, an associate professor of computer science at M.I.T., who reviewed a summary of Anthropic’s research, characterized it as a hopeful sign that large-scale interpretability might be possible.

“In the same way that understanding basic things about how people work has helped us cure diseases, understanding how these models work will both let us recognize when things are about to go wrong and let us build better tools for controlling them,” he said.

Mr. Olah, the Anthropic research leader, cautioned that while the new findings represented important progress, A.I. interpretability was still far from a solved problem.

For starters, he said, the largest A.I. models most likely contain billions of features representing distinct concepts — many more than the 10 million or so features that Anthropic’s team claims to have discovered. Finding them all would require enormous amounts of computing power and would be too costly for all but the richest A.I. companies to attempt.

Even if researchers were to identify every feature in a large A.I. model, they would still need more information to understand the full inner workings of the model. There is also no guarantee that A.I. companies would act to make their systems safer.

Still, Mr. Olah said, even prying open these A.I. black boxes a little bit could allow companies, regulators and the general public to feel more confident that these systems can be controlled.

“There are lots of other challenges ahead of us, but the thing that seemed scariest no longer seems like a roadblock,” he said.

Kevin Roose is a Times technology columnist and a host of the podcast " Hard Fork ." More about Kevin Roose

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