Language Families 

Indo-European = largest language family

• 46% of the world’s population

• Spread across globe through colonialism/migration

  • most widely diffused language family

Remember this family includes language branches associated with Europe (Germanic, Slavis, Romance, etc.) but also branches in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran!

Distribution of Langauge Families

• Classification of languages

  • • Sino-Tibetan = 2nd largest language family

    • 21% of the world’s population

      • Madarin= most speakers single native language in the world

• Africa

  • extensive diversity

    • 1,000 distinct languages

    • • thousands of dialects

  • Niger - Congo family

    • 95% of sub-Saharan

    • Originated in west/central Africa (Cameroon/ Nigeria)

    • Spread through “Bantu expansion” beginning c. 1000 BCE

      • EX) Zulus

  • extensive diversity

  • Niger-Congo family

  • Khoisan

    • Hunter/gatherers (San)

    • “Bushmen” = derogatory

    • Pastoralists (Khoi)

      • “Hottentots” = derogatory

    • “Clicking” languages

      • Oldest form of human communication?

• Afro-Asiatic (Semitic)

  • Arabic= most widely spoken Semitc language

    • ironic since