1. Language Families
Use this powerpoint to supplement the information on the graphic organizer and to color code the global distribution of language families map.

2. Distribution of Language Families
Indo-European = largest language family
46% of the world’s population
Spread across globe through colonialism/migration
most widely diffused language family
See following maps!!!!
Remember this family includes language branches associated with Europe (Germanic, Slavic, Romance etc.) but also branches in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran!

3. Indo-European

4. Indo-European (Indo-Iranian Branch)

5. Indo-European Distribution

6. Indo-European Distribution

7. Indo-European Distribution

8. Indo-European Distribution

9. Indo-European Distribution

10. Indo-European Distribution

11. Distribution of Language Families
Classification of languages
Sino-Tibetan = 2nd largest language family
21% of the world’s population
Mandarin
most speakers of a single native language in the world
written “Chinese” can be understood by speakers of many “Chinese” languages/dialects, why?
Ideograms
written characters which represent ideas or concepts not specific pronunciations.
huge amount of characters, hard to learn hence high illiteracy rate in China

12. Sino-Tibetan Family

13. Distribution of Other Language Families
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 thru “Bantu migration” beginning c BCE
Example = “Zulus”

14. Distribution of Other Language Families
Africa
extensive diversity
Niger-Congo family
Khoisan
Hunter/gatherers (San)
“Bushmen” = derogatory
Pastoralists (Khoi)
“Hottentots” = derogatory
“Clicking” languages
Oldest form of human communication?

15. Languages of North Africa and Middle East
Afro-Asiatic (“Semitic”)
Arabic = most widely spoken Semitic language
ironic since Arabs are often accused of “anti-semitism”
spread thru diffusion of Islam
Other Arabic influence mainly through Quran and trade
Swahili “people of the coast” = Bantu + Arabic influence
Urdu = Hindi + Arabic/Persian
Hebrew, Berber
Hebrew = once extinct, sacred language revived with est. of the state of Israel
Berber = language of indigenous N. Africans before “Arabization”.

17. Languages of Central Asia and the Middle East
Altaic or (Turkic) language family
Turkish = most widely spoken language in family
Ottoman migration brings Turkic from Central Asia to “Turkey”
Central Asia (Kazaks = “Kazakhstan”, Uzbekistan etc., Mongolian)
Formerly suppressed under Russian Empire/USSR (Russification)

18. Distribution of Other Language Families
Uralic
Significant Non-Indo-European family in Europe
Estonian, Hungarian (Magyar), and Finnish languages
Basques? Unknown or nonexistent relation to other languages
“Language isolate” = language cutoff from related languages by in-migration or unrelated to other languages.
Basque speakers were cutoff and isolated by the waves of Indo-European speakers (Celts, Germanic tribes, etc.) migrating into Europe

19. Other Language Families
Austronesian (Malay-Polynesian)
SE Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar
Diffuses to Madagascar, involved the crossing of the Indian Ocean in outrigger canoes (AWESOME!)
Dravidian: South Indian languages
dated from before Aryan invasion (Indus Valley Civ.)
Dravidian Tamils vs. Indo-Euro Singhalese = Sri Lanka civil war
Japanese and Korean
Both influenced by China
Korean possibly linked to Altaic (controversial)
Austro-Asiatic (Mon-Khmer)
Vietnam and Cambodia and other non-contiguous areas in South and Southeast Asia
Uses Latin alphabet (brought by missionaries in the 17th century)
Nilo-Saharan = very small numbers
Caucasian
Caucasus mountainous region = most lang. family diversity, why?
4 language families, many religions
Tai-Kadai = SE Asia (Thai and Lao)
Other = 7,000 languages total, % extinct by 2100

20. Other Language Families

21. Caucasus = region with most language family diversity

22. “Other” = mostly isolated

23. Voila! The Complete Map