Language families and language groups of languages. Linguistic composition (structure) of the world's population Mother tongue for most of South America

Various languages ​​of the peoples of the world belong to certain language families (at a lower level of the hierarchy - groups), uniting languages ​​according to their linguistic structure and origin. To single out individual languages, a dictionary of languages ​​is used, and to group linguistic indicators, usually a linguistic classification by language families and groups based on the sign of linguistic kinship. Data for characterizing the linguistic composition can be obtained from population censuses, as well as from current population records, special surveys, etc.

The total number of languages ​​​​of the world is determined at 5 - 6 thousand(it is impossible to establish the exact figure due to the conventionality of the difference between different languages and dialects of the same language). In the past, there were about 4 thousand more languages, now forgotten. In genealogical classification, languages ​​are grouped into families on the basis of kinship, established by comparing their vocabulary and grammar. Families are divided into groups (or branches), and some groups, in turn, are divided into subgroups.

Most linguists distinguish the following language families: Indo-European, Afroasian, Kartvelian, North Caucasian, Dravidian, Ural, Eskimo-Aleutian, Altai, Chukchi-Kamchatka, Niger-Kardafan, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, Sino-Tibetan, Australo-Asiatic, Andaman, Papuan families, Australian and Indian families. Yukaghir, Korean, Japanese, Nivkh, Ket, Basque, Ainu and a number of other languages ​​are considered isolated (not included in any linguistic family).

The largest language family, comprising languages ​​spoken by almost half of the world's population, is Indo-European. It numerically prevails in the Russian Federation and the CIS, for the most part foreign Europe, Iran and Afghanistan, in the north of the Hindustan subcontinent, in the vast majority of the countries of America, in Australia and New Zealand.

Afroasian family of languages, common in North and Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia, consists of 5 groups: Semitic, Egyptian, Berber, Pashtun and Chadian.

To the Kartvelian family(Western Transcaucasia) includes the Megrelian language with the Laz language close to it, united in the Georgian-Zan group, and the Svan language. All these languages ​​are spoken by the Georgians, among whom the Mingrelians, Lazians and Svans partially preserved their languages ​​in everyday life.

To the North Caucasian family include the Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan groups.

The dominant Dravidian family in South India consists of seven groups. The most numerous is the southern group, which includes such multi-million languages ​​of South India as Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

Languages ​​of the Afroasian (or Semitic-Hamitic) family common among peoples living in North and Northeast Africa, as well as in Southwest Asia.

The people of sub-Saharan Africa speak Niger-Kordofanian (Eastern and West Africa), Nilo-Saharan (mainly Central Africa) and Khoisan (Southwest Africa) families.

Uralic language family geographically located in the north of the European part of the Russian Federation, in Central Europe (Hungary), in the Volga region, the Baltic States, Finland and in the north of Scandinavia. It consists of two groups - Finno-Ugric (or Finno-Ugric) and Samoyedic.

Eskimo-Aleut language family includes the Eskimo languages ​​and the closely related Aleut. Their carriers are settled in the vast Arctic spaces of America, as well as in the extreme northeast of Asia.

To the Altaic family of languages, distributed over vast expanses from Turkey in the west to north-east Siberia in the east, include the Turkic, Mongolian and Tungus-Manchu languages. Turkic languages ​​include subgroups: Chuvash, or Bulgar ( Chuvash language), Oguz, or southwestern (Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Sakha (Buryat) and some others), Kypchak, or northwestern (Tatar, Bashkir, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak, Karachay-Balkarian, Kumyk, Nogai and Karaim ), Karluk, or southeastern (Uzbek and Uighur), Yakut (Yakut and Dolgan), South Siberian (Altai, Khakass, Tuvan and other languages) subgroups.

To modern Mongolian languages, distributed mainly in the Central Asian regions, include Mongolian proper, Buryat, Kalmyk, close to it Oirat and a number of others. The Tungus-Manchu languages ​​include the Manchu language, which is gradually becoming obsolete in China, as well as Evenki, Even, close to it, and some other languages. Eastern Siberia And Far East.

Chukchi-Kamchatka family, localized in the extreme north-east of Russia, unites the Chukchi, Koryak, Itelmen and other languages.

The largest of the language families are as follows: Indo-European (44.8% of the total world population), Sino-Tibetan (22.6%), Niger-Kordofanian (6.1%), Afrasian (5.6%), Austronesian (4.9%), Dravidian ( 3.9%). The thirteen most common languages ​​are spoken by almost 2/3 of the population of our planet. The most widely spoken languages ​​of the world are (number of speakers, end of the 20th century, million people): Chinese (1300), English (460), Hindi and Urdu (370), Spanish (320), Russian (260), Bengali, Indonesian and Arabic (190 each), Portuguese (180), Japanese (130), German (100), French (100).

Along with the most common, there are so-called isolated languages, or isolate languages, which are not understandable even to close neighbors; their use is limited to small areas (Yukagir, Nivkh, Ket, Basque, etc.) or individual countries (Japanese).

In the vast majority of cases, the names of the people and language are the same. There are, however, cases where several peoples speak the same language. So, English (with slight local differences) is spoken by the British, US Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, Anglo-Canadians and some others. Spanish is native not only to the Spaniards, but also to most of the peoples of Latin America. On the German spoken by Germans, Austrians and Germano-Swiss. Usually each nation speaks the same language (sometimes dialect differences are so great that communication between individual groups of people without knowledge of the generally accepted literary language turns out to be impossible).

Increasingly, however, the practice of bilingualism when parts of the people or even entire peoples use two languages ​​in everyday life. Bilingualism is a rather frequent phenomenon in multinational countries, where national minorities, in addition to their native language, usually also use the language of the most numerous nation. Bilingualism is also characteristic of the countries of mass settlement of immigrants. Therefore, the number of speakers of individual languages ​​does not always coincide with the number of peoples for whom these languages ​​are native. This is especially true for the languages ​​of large nations that serve as languages ​​of interethnic communication.

The American continent is made up of two big continents- North and South America. On the territory of the first there are 23 independent large and tiny states, and the second includes 15 countries. here are Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts and some others. After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, active colonization began. As a consequence of this, throughout the continent of America, the population now has European roots. It should be noted that, according to historical data, the Vikings first visited here about one thousand years ago. However, their expeditions were rare, so they did not have a significant impact on the population.

Ethnic composition of North American residents

As of today, the population on the mainland is mainly the descendants of the British, French, and also the Spaniards who moved here during the years of colonization. In this regard, most of the inhabitants of local countries use the corresponding languages. An exception can be considered some Indian peoples, mainly living in Mexico. They managed to preserve their native language to this day. About twenty million Americans are Negroes. Their ancestors were brought here from Africa by the colonialists in order to provide slave labor on local plantations. Now they are officially considered part of the American nation and mainly live in the United States, as well as in the countries of the Caribbean region, where there are also a large number of mulattoes and mestizos.

Population size and density

The number exceeds 528 million inhabitants. Most of them are concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the first two countries, descendants of immigrants from France and England predominate, and in the third - from Spain. The first civilized states were created here by the Aztecs. Interesting feature characterizing the mainland North America The population here is extremely unevenly distributed. Its highest density is observed in the Caribbean and in the southern part. Here it is more than two hundred people per square kilometer. In addition, this figure is quite high in the eastern part of the mainland and in the United States.

Ethnic composition of South Americans

Basically, on the mainland, the population is represented by three large races - Caucasoid, Equatorial and Mongoloid. Its ethnic composition is largely associated with some features in the historical development of the region. Currently, representatives of almost 250 nationalities live here, most of which, unlike North American ones, were formed relatively recently. Indigenous Indians, European emigrants, as well as African slaves took part in their formation.

Now the population of South America is largely composed of Creoles - the descendants of the conquerors from Spain and Portugal, who were born on this continent. Based on such a parameter as number, then there are mestizos and mulattoes. Most of the states located here have a rather complex composition of residents, based on an ethnic point of view. For example, about eighty tribes live in Brazil (excluding the smallest), in Argentina - about fifty, in Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Bolivia - more than twenty in each of the countries.

South American population and density

According to the latest official data, the population of South America exceeds the mark of 382 million people. Its average density on the mainland is in the range of ten to thirty inhabitants per square kilometer. This figure is lower only in Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. In South America, many researchers distinguish two main types of settlement - inland and oceanic. The first of them is predominantly characteristic (for example, Bolivia, which is the highest mountainous country on our planet), and the second - to countries whose development occurs under the influence of colonization by Europeans (Argentina, Brazil).

Languages ​​in South America

The population of South America in most countries speaks It is official in many local states. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the fact that it has a huge number of borrowings from English, French, Italian and German. The second place on the mainland belongs to the Portuguese language. most big country, in which it is recognized as official, is Brazil. Among the English-speaking territories, Guyana, which was once a British colony, can be noted. In Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, the second state languages ​​are Indian languages ​​- Aztec, Guarani and Quechua.

Russia is a multinational country, which means it is multilingual. Scientists-linguists count 150 languages ​​- here, such a language as Russian, which is spoken by 97.72% of the population in Russia, and the language of the Negidals, a small people (only 622 people!), Living on the Amur River, are taken into account on an equal footing.

Some languages ​​are very similar: people can speak their own language and at the same time understand each other perfectly, for example, Russian - Belarusian, Tatar - Bashkir, Kalmyk - Buryat. In other languages, although they also have a lot in common - sounds, some words, grammar - it will still not be possible to agree: a Mari with a Mordovian, a Lezgin with an Avar. And finally, there are languages ​​- scientists call them isolated ones - that are not like any other. These are the languages ​​of the Kets, Nivkhs and Yukagirs.

Most of the languages ​​of Russia belong to one of the four language families :

• Indo-European;
• Altai;
• Ural;
• North Caucasian.

Each family has a common ancestral language - parent language. The ancient tribes that spoke such a parent language moved, mixed with other peoples, and the once single language broke up into several. This is how many languages ​​appeared on Earth.

Let's say Russian belongs to Indo-European family . In the same family - English and German, Hindi and Farsi, Ossetian and Spanish (and many, many others). Part of a family group Slavic languages. Here Russian is adjacent to Czech and Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Bulgarian, etc. And together with closely related Ukrainian and Belarusian, it is included in the subgroup East Slavic languages . More than 87% of the population speaks Indo-European languages ​​in Russia, but only 2% of them are not Slavic. This Germanic languages: German and Yiddish; Armenian (one makes up a group); Iranian languages: Ossetian, Tat, Kurdish and Tajik; Romance: Moldavian; and even the new Indian languages ​​spoken by the gypsies in Russia.

Altai family in Russia it is represented by three groups: Turkic, Mongolian and Tungus-Manchu. There are only two peoples who speak Mongolian languages ​​- Kalmyks and Buryats, but one enumeration of Turkic languages ​​\u200b\u200bmay surprise. These are Chuvash, Tatar, Bashkir, Karachay-Balkar, Nogai, Kumyk, Altai, Khakass, Shor, Tuva, Tofalar, Yakut, Dolgan, Azerbaijani, etc. Most of these peoples live in Russia. In our country, there are also such Turkic peoples as Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Turkmens, Uzbeks. The Tungus-Manchu languages ​​include Evenki, Even, Negidal, Nanai, Oroch, Orok, Udege and Ulch.

Sometimes the question arises: where is a separate language, and where are only dialects of the same language? For example, many linguists in Kazan believe that Bashkir is a dialect of Tatar, and the same number of specialists in Ufa are convinced that these are two completely different languages. independent language. Such disputes are not only about Tatar and Bashkir.

To the Uralic language family relate Finno-Ugric and Samolian groups . The concept of "Finnish" is conditional - in this case it does not mean official language Finland. It’s just that the languages ​​included in this group have related grammars, a similar sound, especially if you don’t make out the words, but listen only to the melody. Finnish languages ​​are spoken by Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Vods, Komis, Mariys, Mordovians, Udmurts, Sami. There are two Ugric languages ​​in Russia: Khanty and Mansi (and the third Ugric is spoken by the Hungarians). Samoyedic languages ​​are spoken by the Nenets, Nganasans, Enets, and Selkups. The Yukaghir language is genetically close to the Uralic. These peoples are very small in number, and their languages ​​cannot be heard outside the north of Russia.

North Caucasian family - the concept is rather conditional. Unless specialists-linguists understand the ancient relationship of the languages ​​of the Caucasus. These languages ​​have very complex grammar and phonetics of extraordinary difficulty. They contain sounds that are completely inaccessible to people who speak other dialects.

Specialists divide the North Caucasian languages ​​into n Akh-Lagestan and Abkhaz-Adyghe groups . On the Nakh , languages ​​​​that are understandable to each other are spoken by the Vainakhs - this is the common name for the Chechens and Ingush. (The name of the group received from the self-name of the Chechens - Nakhchi.)

Representatives of about 30 peoples live in Dagestan. "Approximately" - because far from all the languages ​​of these peoples have been studied, and very often people determine their nationality precisely by language.

To the Dagestan languages include Avar, Andi, Iez, Ginukh, Gunzib, Bezhta, Khvarshinsky, Lak, Dargin, Lezgin, Tabasaran, Agul, Rutul... We named the largest Dagestan languages, but did not list even half. No wonder this republic was called the "mountain of languages". And a "paradise for linguists": the field of activity for them is boundless here.

The Abkhazian-Adyghe languages ​​are spoken by kindred peoples. On the Adyghes - Kabardians, Adyghes, Circassians, Shapsugs; in Abkhazian - Abkhazians and Abaza. But not everything is so simple in this classification. Kabardians, Adyghes, Circassians and Shapsugs consider themselves to be a single people - Adyghes - with one language, Adyghe, and official sources name four Adyghe peoples.

There are languages ​​in Russia that are not included in any of the four families. These are primarily the languages ​​of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East. All of them are few. In Chukchi-Kamchatka languages Chukchi, Koryaks and Itelmens speak; on the Eskimo-Aleutian - Eskimos and Aleuts. The languages ​​of the Kets on the Yenisei and the Nivkhs on Sakhalin and the Amur are not included in any language family.

There are many languages, and in order for people to agree, a common one is needed. In Russia, it has become Russian, for Russians are the most numerous people in the country and they live in all its corners. It is the language of great literature, science and international communication.

Languages, of course, are equal, but even the richest country cannot publish, for example, books on all issues in the language of several hundred people. Or even tens of thousands. In a language spoken by millions, this is feasible.

Many peoples of Russia have lost or are losing their languages, especially representatives of small peoples. So, they almost forgot the native language of the Chu-lymys - a small Turkic-speaking people in Siberia. The list is unfortunately long. In the cities of Russia, the Russian language becomes common for the multinational population. And most of all the only one. However, recently the concern for their own languages ​​in major centers took over the national cultural and educational societies. They usually organize Sunday schools for children.

Most of the languages ​​of Russia until the 20s. 20th century had no writing. Georgians, Armenians, Jews had their own alphabet. The Latin alphabet (Latin alphabet) was written by the Germans, Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns. Some languages ​​do not have a written language even now.

The first attempts to create a written language for the peoples of Russia were made even before the revolution, but they seriously took up this in the 1920s: they reformed the Arabic script, adapting it to the phonetics of the Turkic languages. It did not fit the languages ​​of the Yarods of the Caucasus. They developed the Latin alphabet, but there were not enough letters for the exact designation of sounds in the languages ​​of small peoples. From 1936 to 1941, the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia (and the USSR) were translated into the Slavic alphabet (except for those that had their own, moreover, ancient), added superscript signs, tall straight sticks to indicate guttural sounds, and combinations of letters, strange for the Russian eye, like "ь" and "ь" after vowels. It was believed that a single alphabet helped to better master the Russian language. Recently, some languages ​​have begun to use the Latin alphabet again.

The total number of languages ​​in the world is estimated at about 5 thousand (it is impossible to establish the exact figure due to the conventionality of the difference between different languages ​​and dialects of one language). In the overwhelming majority of cases, the names of the people and language coincide.

The linguistic classification of peoples differs significantly from the national one, since the distribution of languages ​​does not coincide with ethnic boundaries. For example, in the former colonies of Spain, Great Britain, France in Africa, Asia, Latin America speak the languages ​​of the metropolitan countries.

There are, however, cases where several peoples speak the same language. So, English (with slight local differences) is spoken by the British, US Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, Anglo-Canadians and some others. Spanish is native not only for Spaniards, but also for most of the peoples of Latin America. German is spoken by Germans, Austrians and Swiss Germans. Usually, each nation speaks the same language (sometimes dialect differences are so great that communication between separate groups of people without knowledge of the generally accepted literary language is impossible).

Increasingly, however, cases of bilingualism are spreading, when dep. Parts of a people or even entire peoples use two languages ​​in everyday life. Bilingualism is a fairly common occurrence in multinationals. countries where national minorities, in addition to their native language, usually also use the language of the most numerous or dominant nation. Bilingualism is also characteristic of the countries of mass settlement of immigrants. The number of speakers of individual languages ​​does not always coincide with the number of peoples for whom these languages ​​are native. This is especially true for the languages ​​of large nations that serve as languages ​​of interethnic communication.

language family- the largest unit of classification of peoples (ethnic groups) on the basis of their linguistic kinship - the common origin of their languages ​​​​from the alleged base language. Language families are divided into language groups (Tables 8-9).

The largest in number is the Indo-European language family, which includes language groups:

Romanesque: French, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Moldavians, Romanians, etc.;

Germanic: Germans, British, Scandinavians, etc.;

Slavic: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, etc.

The second largest is the Sino-Tibetan language family, with the largest Chinese language group.

The Altaic language family includes a large Turkic language group: Turks, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Kirghiz, Yakuts, etc.

The Uralic language family includes the Finno-Ugric group: Finns, Estonians, Hungarians, Komi, etc.

The Semitic group belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic language family: Arabs, Jews, Ethiopians, etc.

The Belarusian language belongs to the Slavic group of the Indo-European language family.

Table 12– Largest language families

	Number of living languages		Number of media		Main countries of use
		Share of total number of languages, %	Number, million	Share of population, %
Altai					Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran, China, Russia, Mongolia, Turkey
Afro-Asian					Algeria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Somalia, UAE, Chad
Austronesian					Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Samoa, USA
Dravidian					India, Nepal, Pakistan
Indo-European					Austria, Armenia, Belgium, Belarus, Great Britain, Venezuela, Germany, India, Peru, Russia, USA, Ukraine, France, South Africa
Niger-Congolese
Sino-Tibetan					Bangladesh, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
Non-Austronesian languages ​​of New Guinea					Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

Table 13– Division into language families and groups

		Subgroup
Indo-European	Slavic	East Slavic	Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians
		West Slavic	Poles, Lusatians, Czechs, Slovaks
		South Slavic	Slovenes, Croats, Muslim Slavs (Bosniaks), Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians
	Baltic		Lithuanians, Latvians
	german		Germans, Austrians, Swiss Germans, Liechtensteiners, Alsatians, Luxembourgers, Flemings, Dutch, Frisians, Afrikaners, Jews of Europe and America, British, Scots, Jutlando-Irlapsians, Anglo-Africans, Anglo-Australians, Anglo-New Zealanders, Anglo-Canadians, US Americans, Bahamians, Saint. Grenadians, Barbadians, Trinidadians, Belizeans, Guyanese Creoles, Surinamese Creoles, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese, Danes.
	Celtic		Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton
	Romanskaya		Italians, Sardinians, Sanmarines, Italo-Swedes, Corsicans, Romansh, French, Monegasques (Monaco), Normans, Franco-Swiss, Walloons, French Canadians, Guadalupes, Martiniques, Guyanese, Haitians, Reunion Creoles, Mauritian-Creoles, Seychellois, Spaniards, Gibraltarians , Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Costa Ricans, Panamanians, Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Bolivians, Chileans, Argentines, Paraguayans, Uruguayans, Catalans, Andorrans, Portuguese, Galis , Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Istro-Romanians.
	Albanian
	Greek		Greeks, Greek Cypriots, Karakachans
	Armenian
	Iranian		Talysh, Gilyans, Mazendarans, Kurds, Balochs, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Persians, Tats, Khazars, Charaimaks, Tajiks, Pamir peoples, Pashtuns (Afghans), Ossetians.
	Nuristan		Nuristani
	Indo-Aryan		Bengalis, Assamese, Oriya, Biharis, Tharu, Hindustanis, Rajasthani, Gujaratis, Parsis, Bhils, Marathas, Konkanis, Punjabis, Dogras, Sindhis, Western Paharis, Kumaoni, Garkhwali, Gujars, Nepalis, Kashmiris, Sheena, Kohistani, Kho, Pashai , Thirahs, Indo-Mauritians, Indo-Pakistani Surinamese, Indopakistani Trinidadians, Fijian Indians, Gypsies, Sinhalese, Veddas, Maldivians.
Ural-Yukaghir family	Finno-Ugric		Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Estonians, Livs, Sami, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Hungarians, Khanty, Mansi
	samoyed		Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups
	Yukagir
Altai	Turkic		Turks, Turkish Cypriots, Gagauzians, Azerbaijanis, Karadags, Shahsevens, Karapapahis, Afshars, Qajars, Qashqais, Khorasan Turks, Khalajs, Turkmens, Salars, Tatars, Crimean Tatars, Karaites, Bashkirs, Karachays, Balkars, Kumyks, Nogais, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kirghiz, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Altaians, Shors, Khakasses, Tuvans, Tofalars, Uriankhians, Yugu, Dolgan Yakuts
	Mongolian		Khalkha Mongols, PRC Mongols, Oirats, Darhats, Kalmyks, Buryats, Daurs, Tu (Mongors), Dongxiang, Baoan, Mughals
	Tungus-Manchu		Evenks, Negidals, Evens, Orochs, Udeges, Nanais, Ulchis, Oroks
Kartvelian
Dravidian			Tamil, Irula, Malayali, Erawa, Erukala, Kaykadi, Kannara, Badaga, Kurumba, Toda, Kodagu, Tulu, Telugu
	Central		Kolami, parji, gadaba, gond, khond (kui, kuvi), konda
	northeastern		Oraon (kuruh), malto
	Northwestern
Korean
Japanese
Eskimo-Aleutian			Eskimos (including Greenlanders), Aleuts
Sino-Tibetan	Chinese		Chinese, Hui (Dungan), Bai
	Tibeto-Burmese		Tibetans, Bhotia, Sherpa, Bhutanese, La Dakhi, Balti, Magar, Qiang, Myanmar (Burmese), Yizu, Tuja, Naxi, Hani, Lisu, Lahu, Chin, Kuki, Mizo (Lush), Manipur (Meithei), Naga , mikir, karens, kaya
	Kachinskaya		Kachin (jingpo), sak, etc.
	Bodo-garo		Garo, bodo, tripura
			Digaro, midu
			Adi (abor), Miri
	East Himalayan		Rai (Kirati), Limbu
			Gurung, tamang (murumi), limbu
Afroasian (Semitic-Hamitic)	Semitsk		Arabs of Southwest Asia and North Africa, Maltese, Jews of Israel, Assyrians, Amhara, Argobba, Harari, Gurage, Tigray, Tigre
	Berber		Kabils, Shauya, Reefs, Tamazight, Shilh (Shleh), Tuareg
			Hausa, angas, sura, ankwe, bade, boleva, bura, mandara (vandala), kotoko, masa, mubi
	Cushitic		Beja, agau, afar (danakil), saho, oromo (galla), somali, konso, sidamo, ometo, kaffa, gimira, maji
Niger-Kordofanian (Congo-Kardafanian)			Malinke, Bambara, Gyula, Soninke, Susu, Mende, Kpel-le, Dan
	niger-congo	West Atlantic	Fulbe, Tukuler, Wolof, Serer, Diola, Bolante, Temne, Kisei, Limba
		Central Niger-Congo	Gur: mine, gourma, somba, bobo, pears, tem, cabre, loby, bariba, kulango, senufo, dogon, etc. Kru peoples: kru, here, grebo, bahwe, bete, etc. Western peoples: akan, anyi, Baule, Guang, Ga, Adangme, Ewe, Fon, etc. Eastern peoples: Yoruba, Gegala, Nule, Gwari, Igbira, Idamo, Bini, Igbo, Jukun, Ibibio, Kambari, Katab, Tiv, Ekoi, Bamileke, Tikar, Duala , fang, makaa, teke, bobangi, ngombe, bua, mongo, tetela, konzo, rwanda (nyaruanada), rundi, ha, nyoro, nyankole, kiga, ganda, soga, haya, ziba, luhya, gishu, geese, kikuyu, meru, kamba, chaga, mijikenda, fipa, nyamwesi, gogo, shamballa, zaramo, swahili, comoros, hehe, bena, kinga, congo, ambundu, chokwe, liona, luba, lunda, conde, tonga, matengo, bemba, malavi, Yao, Makonde, Makua, Lomwe, Ovim-Bundu, Ovambo, Shona, Venda, Tswana, Pedi, Suto, Lozi, Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele, Matebele, Ngoni, Tsonga (Shangaan), Santomy, Pygmies, etc. Adamua - Ubangi peoples: Chamba, Mumuye, Mbum, Gbaya, Ngbandi, Mundu, Sere, Banda, Za Nde (Azande), Mba, Binga Pygmies
	Kordofanskaya		Ebang, tegali, talodi, katla, kadugli
Nilo-Saharan	East Sudanese		Nubians, Highland Nubians, Murle, Tama, Daju, Dinka, Kumam, Nuer, Shilluk, Acholi, Lango, Alur, Luo (Joluo), Kalenjin, Bari, Lotuko, Maasai, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong
	Central Sudanese		Kresh, Bongo, Sarah, Bagirmi, Moru, Mangbetu, Efe Pygmies and Asua
	Saharan		Kanuri, tubu, zagawa
			Songhai, shit, dandy
			Coma, running
Khoisan	South African Khoisan		Hottentots, Mountain Damara, Kung Bushmen, Kham Bushmen
North Caucasian	Abkhaz-Adyghe		Abkhazians, Abazins, Adyghes, Kabardians, Circassians
	Nakh-Dagestan		Avars (including Ando-Tsezes), Laks, Dargins, Lezgins, Udins, Aguls, Rutuls, Tsakhurs, Tabasarans, Chechens, Ingush
	Western Himalayan		kanauri, lahuli
Austroasiatic	Mon-Khmer		Viet (throw), muong, tho, khmer, suy, sedang, kui, khre (tamre), bahnar, mnong, stieng, koho (sre), moi, wa, palaung (benlun), puteng, bulan, lamet, khmu. Ashley group. Peoples: Senoi, Semangs
	Nicobar		Nicobars
			Santals, munda, ho, bhumij, kurku, kharia
			Miao, she, yao
			Siamese (Khontai), Phuan, Li (Lu), Shan, Danu, Khun, Dai, Lao (Lao), Thai, Phutai, Tai, Nung, Santai, Zhuang
	Kamsuyskaya		Dong (kam), shui (sui)
			Gelao (galo), mulao (mulem), maonan
Austronesian	West Austronesian		Cham (Tyam), Raglai, Ede (Rade), Zarai, Indonesian Malays, Malaysian Malays, Malays, Minangkabau, Kerinchi, Rejang, Middle Sumatran Malays (Pasemah, Seravei), Lembak, Banjars, Iban, Kedayan, Kubu, Aceh, Madurese, Gayo, Batak, Alas, Simalurians, Nias, Abung (Lampungians), Sunds, Javanese, Tengger, Balinese, Sasak, Sumbavians, Barito-Dayaks (Maanyan, etc.), Ngaju, Otdanum, Sushi Dayaks (Clementan), Murut, Kadazan (Dusun), Kelabit, Melanau, Kayan, Punan, Kenyah, Bajao (Oranglaut), Bugis (Boogie), Makassar, Mandar, Butung, Toraja, Tomini, Mori, Lalaki, Bunglu, Loinang, Banggay, Gorontalo, Bolaang-Mongondow, Minahasa, Sangirese, Malagasy, Talaudian, Tagaly, Kapam-Pagan, Sambal, Pangasinan, Iloki, Ibanang, Bikol, Bisaya (Visaya), Tausoug, Mara-Nao, Maguindanao, Yakan, Samal, Inibaloi, Kankanai, Bontok, Ifugao, Itneg , Kalinga, Itavi, Palavegno, Davavegno, Tagakaulu, Subanon, Bukidnon, Manobo, Thirurai, Tboli, Blaan, Bogobo, Aeta, Chamorro, Belau, Yap
	Central Austronesian		Bima, Sumbans, Manggarai, Ende, Lio, Khavu, Sikka, Lamaholot, Rotians, Ema (Kemak), Atoni, Tetum, Mambai, Kei people
	East Austronesian		Melanesian peoples: South Halmaherans, Biaknumforians, Takia, Adzera, Motu, Sinagoros, Keapara, Kilivila and other Melanesians of Papua New Guinea, Areare and other Melanesians of the Solomon Islands, Erats and other Melanesians of Vanuatu, Kanaks (Melanesians of New Caledonia), Fijians, Rotuma. Micronesian peoples: Truk, Pokhipei, Kosrae, Kiribati, Nauru, etc. Polynesian peoples: Tonga, Niue, Tuvalu, Futuna, Uvea, Samoa, Tokelau, Pukapuka, Rarotonga, Tahitians, Tubuai, Paumotu (Tuamotu), Marquesans, Mangareva, Maori, Hawaiians, Rapanui, etc.
Andaman
Trans-New Guinean			Enga, Khuli, Angal, Keva, Hagen, Wahgi, Chimbu, Kamano, Dani, Ekachi, Yagalik, Asmat, Kapau, Bunak
Sepik frame			Abelam, boyiken
Torricelli			Olo, arapesh
West Papuan			Ternatians, Tidorians, Galelas, Tobelos
East Papuan			Nation, buin
North American	Continental na-den		Athabaskans, Apaches, Navajos
	Almosan Quereciu		Algonquians (including Cree, Montagne, Nasca Pi, Ojibwe, etc.), Wakash, Salish, Keres, Dakota (Sioux), Caddo, Iroquois, Cherokee
			Tsimshian, Sahaptin, California Penuti, Muscogee, Totonaki, Miche, Huasteca, Chol, Choctaw, Tzotzil, Canhobal, Mam, Maya, Quiche, Kakchi-Kel, etc. Hawk group. Peoples: Tequizlatec, Tlapanec
Central American	Uto-Aztec		Shoshone, Papago-Pima, Tepehuan, Yaqui, Mayo, Tarahumara, Nahuatl (Aztec), Pipil
			Teva, Kiowa
	Oto manga		Otomi, Masawa, Mazatec, Mixtec, Zapotec
			Mapuche (Araucans), Puelche, Tehuelche, Selknam (She), Kawaskar (Alakaluf), Yamana
Equatorial Tucanoan	macro tucano		Tukano, maku, katukina, nambiquara
	equatorial		Arawaki, Guaivo, Jivaro, Tupi (including Guarani), Samuko
chibcha paez			Tarasca, Lenca, Miskito, Guaimi, Kuna, Yanomam, etc. Paes group. Peoples: Embera, Warao
Zepano-Caribbean	caribbean		caribbean, uitoto
			Pano, matako, toba, same, kaingang, botokudo, bororo
Australian			Mabunag, dhuwal, jangu, gugu-yimidhirr, aranda, alya varra, varl-g piri, pintupi, pitjantjajara, ngaanyatjara, valmajari, nyangumarda, images- with barndi, murrinh-patha, tiwi, gunvingu, enindhilyagwa
Chukchi-Kamchatka			Chukchi, Koryaks, Itelmens

In addition to the listed languages ​​of the peoples of the world, included in certain language families and groups, there are a number of languages ​​​​that are not assigned to any families. These include Basque, Burishk, Ket, Nivkh, Ainu and some other languages.

There are a large number of language families and a wide variety of languages ​​in the world. There are more than 6,000 of the latter on the planet. Most of them belong to the largest language families in the world, which are distinguished by lexical and grammatical composition, kinship of origin and commonality. geographical location their carriers. However, it should be noted that community of residence is not always an integral factor.

In turn, the language families of the world are divided into groups. They are distinguished in a similar way. There are also languages ​​that do not belong to any of the selected families, as well as the so-called isolated languages. It is also customary for scientists to single out macrofamilies, i.e. groups of language families.

Indo-European family

The most fully studied is the Indo-European language family. It has been isolated since ancient times. However, relatively recently, work began on the study of the Proto-Indo-European language.

The Indo-European language family consists of groups of languages ​​whose speakers live in vast areas of Europe and Asia. So, the German group belongs to them. Its main languages ​​are English and German. Also a large group is Romance, which includes French, Spanish, Italian and other languages. In addition, the Eastern European peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Slavic group also belong to the Indo-European family. This is Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russian, etc.

This language family is not the largest in terms of the number of languages ​​included in it. However, these languages ​​are spoken by almost half of the world's population.

Afro-Asian family

The languages ​​that represent the Afro-Asiatic language family are used by more than a quarter of a million people. It includes Arabic, Egyptian, Hebrew, and many others, including extinct languages.

This family is usually divided into five (six) branches. This includes the Semitic branch, Egyptian, Chadic, Cushite, Berber-Libyan and Omot. In general, the Afro-Asiatic family includes more than 300 languages ​​of the African continent and parts of Asia.

However, this family is not the only one on the continent. In large numbers, especially to the south, there are other languages ​​​​in Africa that are not related to it. There are at least 500 of them. Almost all of them were not presented in writing until the 20th century. and were only used in oral. Some of them are still exclusively oral.

Nilo-Saharan family

The language families of Africa also include the Nilo-Saharan family. The Nilo-Saharan languages ​​are represented by six language families. One of them is songhai-zarma. The languages ​​and dialects of another - the Saharan family - are common in Central Sudan. There is also a family of mamba, whose carriers inhabit Chad. Another family, Fur, is also common in Sudan.

The most complex is the Shari-Nile language family. It, in turn, is divided into four branches, which consist of language groups. The last family - coma - is common in Ethiopia and Sudan.

The language families represented by the Nilo-Saharan macrofamily have significant differences among themselves. Accordingly, they present a great challenge for linguistic researchers. The languages ​​of this macrofamily were greatly influenced by the Afro-Asiatic macrofamily.

Sino-Tibetan family

The Sino-Tibetan language family has over a million native speakers of its languages. First of all, this became possible due to the large size of the Chinese population, who speaks one of the branches of this language family. Chinese. In addition to it, this branch includes the Dungan language. It is they who form a separate branch (Chinese) in the Sino-Tibetan family.

Another branch includes more than three hundred languages, which are distinguished as the Tibeto-Burmese branch. There are approximately 60 million native speakers of its languages.

Unlike Chinese, Burmese and Tibetan, most of the languages ​​of the Sino-Tibetan family do not have a written tradition and are passed down from generation to generation exclusively orally. Despite the fact that this family has been studied deeply and for a long time, it still remains insufficiently studied and hides many secrets that have not yet been revealed.

North and South American languages

At present, as is known, the vast majority of North and South American languages ​​belong to the Indo-European or Romance families. Settling the New World, European colonists brought with them their own languages. However, the dialects of the indigenous population of the American continent did not disappear altogether. Many monks and missionaries who came from Europe to America recorded and systematized the languages ​​and dialects of the local population.

Thus, the languages ​​of the North American continent north of present-day Mexico were represented in the form of 25 language families. In the future, some experts have revised this division. Unfortunately, South America has not been studied as well in terms of language.

Language families of Russia

All the peoples of Russia speak languages ​​belonging to 14 language families. In total, there are 150 different languages ​​and dialects in Russia. The basis of the country's linguistic wealth is made up of four main language families: Indo-European, North Caucasian, Altai, Ural. At the same time, most of the country's population speaks languages ​​\u200b\u200bthat belong to the Indo-European family. This part makes up 87 percent of the total population of Russia. And Slavic group occupies 85 percent. It includes Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian, which make up the East Slavic group. These languages ​​are very close to each other. Their carriers can almost easily understand each other. This is especially true for the Belarusian and Russian languages.

Altaic language family

The Altaic language family consists of the Turkic, Tungus-Manchurian and Mongolian language groups. The difference in the number of representatives of their carriers in the country is great. For example, Mongolian is represented in Russia exclusively by Buryats and Kalmyks. But the Turkic group includes several dozen languages. Among them are Khakass, Chuvash, Nogai, Bashkir, Azerbaijani, Yakut and many others.

The group of Tungus-Manchurian languages ​​includes Nanai, Udege, Even and others. This group is under the threat of extinction due to the preference of their native peoples to use Russian on the one hand, and Chinese on the other. Despite the extensive and long study of the Altaic language family, it is extremely difficult for specialists to decide on the reproduction of the Altaic parent language. This is explained by the large number of borrowings of its speakers from other languages ​​due to close contact with their representatives.

Ural family

The Uralic languages ​​are represented by two large families - Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic. The first of them includes Karelians, Mari, Komi, Udmurts, Mordovians and others. The languages ​​of the second family are spoken by Enets, Nenets, Selkups, Nganasans. The carriers of the Ural macrofamily are to a large extent Hungarians (more than 50 percent) and Finns (20 percent).

The name of this family comes from the name of the Ural Range, where it is believed that the formation of the Ural proto-language took place. The languages ​​of the Uralic family had some influence on their neighboring Slavic and Baltic languages. In total, there are more than twenty languages ​​of the Uralic family both in Russia and abroad.

North Caucasian family

Languages ​​of peoples North Caucasus represent a huge difficulty for linguists in terms of their structuring and study. In itself, the concept of a North Caucasian family is rather arbitrary. The fact is that the languages ​​of the local population are too little studied. However, thanks to the painstaking and deep work of many linguists studying this issue, it became clear how fragmented and complex many of the North Caucasian dialects are.

Difficulties relate not only to the actual grammar, structure and rules of the language, for example, as in the Tabasaran language - one of the most complex languages on the planet, but also pronunciation, which is sometimes simply inaccessible to people who do not speak these languages.

A significant obstacle for specialists studying them is the inaccessibility of many mountainous regions of the Caucasus. However, this language family, despite all the contradictions, is usually divided into two groups - Nakh-Dagestan and Abkhaz-Adyghe.

Representatives of the first group inhabit mainly the regions of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. These include Avars, Lezgins, Laks, Dargins, Chechens, Ingush, etc. The second group consists of representatives of kindred peoples - Kabardians, Circassians, Adyghes, Abkhazians, etc.

Other language families

The language families of the peoples of Russia are by no means always extensive, uniting many languages ​​into one family. Many of them are very small and some are even isolated. Such nationalities primarily live in Siberia and the Far East. So, the Chukchi-Kamchatka family unites the Chukchi, Itelmens, and Koryaks. The Aleuts and Eskimos speak Aleut-Eskimo.

A large number of nationalities scattered over the vast territory of Russia, being extremely few in number (several thousand people or even less), have their own languages, which are not included in any known language family. As, for example, the Nivkhs inhabiting the banks of the Amur and Sakhalin, and the Kets, located near the Yenisei.

However, the problem of linguistic extinction in the country continues to threaten the cultural and linguistic diversity of Russia. Not only individual languages, but also entire language families are under the threat of extinction.