query: what are the languages spoken in the bahamas

pos: Languages of the Caribbean the independent nation of Haiti (where both French and Haitian Creole are official languages); and the independent nations of Dominica and Saint Lucia, which are both officially English-speaking but where the French-based Antillean Creole is widely used, and French to a lesser degree. Dutch is an official language of the Caribbean islands that remain under Dutch sovereignty. However, Dutch is not the dominant language on these islands. On the islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, a creole based on Portuguese and West African languages known as Papiamento is predominant, while in Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius, English, as well

pos: Languages of North America family is still well represented in South America, however. The Chibchan languages are spoken in Costa Rica and Panama as well as South America. The most widely spoken languages in North America are English, Spanish and French, a legacy of colonization of much of the continent by settlers from Europe. English is the predominant language of Canada, the United States, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands, and is spoken alongside English-based creole languages in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos

pos: Arawakan languages in South Carolina, were members of this family. Taíno, commonly called Island Arawak, was spoken on the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. A few Taino words are still used by English or Spanish-speaking descendants in these islands. The Taíno language was scantily attested but its classification within the Arawakan family is uncontroversial. Its closest relative among the better attested Arawakan languages seems to be the Goajiro language, spoken in Colombia. Scholars have suggested that the Goajiro are descended from Taíno refugees, but the theory seems impossible to prove or disprove. Garífuna (or Black Carib) is

pos: Languages of Colombia Languages of Colombia More than 99.2% of Colombians speak the Spanish language; also 65 Amerindian languages, 2 Creole languages and the Romani language are spoken in the country. English has official status in the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands. The overwhelming majority of Colombians speak Spanish (see also Colombian Spanish), but in total 101 languages are listed for Colombia in the Ethnologue database. The specific number of spoken languages varies slightly since some authors consider as different languages what others consider to be varieties or dialects of the same language. Best estimates recorded 71 languages that are spoken

pos: Colombia Colombian Sign Language are also spoken in the country. English has official status in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Including Spanish, a total of 101 languages are listed for Colombia in the Ethnologue database. The specific number of spoken languages varies slightly since some authors consider as different languages what others consider to be varieties or dialects of the same language. Best estimates recorded 71 languages that are spoken in-country today—most of which belong to the Chibchan, Tucanoan, Bora–Witoto, Guajiboan, Arawakan, Cariban, Barbacoan, and Saliban language families. There are currently about 850,000 speakers of native languages.

pos: Bahamian Creole night" = 'I drank a lot of rum last night'), the past tense can also be formed by combining "did", "done", "gone", or "been" with the verb: 8) "Carry" is commonly substituted for "take" features over 5,500 words and phrases not found in Standard English, with the authors attempting to link them to other English-based creoles, like Gullah. Words may derive from English, as well as some African languages. English - Bahamas English Glosbe dictionary Bahamas english - english Glosbe dictionary Bahamian Creole Bahamianese, known locally as Bahamian dialect, is an English-based language spoken mainly in The Bahamas and Turks

pos: Gullah language taken from the song of the same name, is likely of Gullah origin. Gullah language Gullah, also called Sea Island Creole English and Geechee, is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community), an African-American population living in coastal regions of the American states of South Carolina and Georgia (including urban Charleston and Savannah), as well as northeasternmost Florida. Closely related varieties are spoken in the Bahamas, namely Bahamian Creole. The Gullah language is based on different varieties of English and languages of West and Central Africa. Scholars have proposed a number of theories

pos: Gullah language Gullah language Gullah, also called Sea Island Creole English and Geechee, is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community), an African-American population living in coastal regions of the American states of South Carolina and Georgia (including urban Charleston and Savannah), as well as northeasternmost Florida. Closely related varieties are spoken in the Bahamas, namely Bahamian Creole. The Gullah language is based on different varieties of English and languages of West and Central Africa. Scholars have proposed a number of theories about the origins of Gullah and its development: The vocabulary of Gullah comes

pos: ELAM 10 Rafael Ferro Macias Spanish speakers but they do not possess a large dominion over the language. These students are a part of the premedical school The fourth advance is the newest advance of the school and contains students from The Bahamas, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu. These students arrived in late August and September 2008 and will begin classes shortly in the premedical school. Because of the variety of countries present in this school, there are many languages spoken. Among those are: English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Javanese, Hindi, Nauruan and various creoles such as Bajan, Jamaican Creole, Belizean Creole, French Creole,

pos: Languages of Tanzania Additionally, several Tanzanian sign languages are used. Major languages spoken in Tanzania include: Languages spoken by the country's ethnic minorities include: Languages of Tanzania Tanzania is a multilingual country. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. The Bantu Swahili language and English, the latter of which was inherited from colonial rule ("see Tanganyika Territory"), are widely spoken as lingua francas. They serve as working languages in the country, with Swahili being the official national language. There are more speakers of Swahili than

pos: Languages of the United States Languages of the United States The most commonly used language in the United States is English (specifically, American English), which is the de facto national language. Nonetheless, many other languages are also spoken, or historically have been spoken, in the United States. These include indigenous languages, languages brought to the country by colonists, enslaved people and immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia. There are also several languages, including creoles and sign languages, that developed in the United States. Approximately 430 languages are spoken or signed by the population, of which 176 are indigenous to the area. Fifty-two languages formerly spoken

pos: Languages of the United Kingdom Languages of the United Kingdom English, in various dialects, is the most widely spoken language of the United Kingdom, however there are a number of regional languages also spoken. There are 11 indigenous languages spoken across the British Isles: 5 Celtic, 3 Germanic, and 3 Romance. There are also many immigrant languages spoken in the British Isles, mainly within inner city areas; these languages are mainly from South Asia and Eastern Europe. The "de facto" official language of the United Kingdom is English, which is spoken by approximately 59.8 million residents, or 98% of the population, over the age of

pos: Languages of Scotland Languages of Scotland The languages of Scotland are the languages spoken or once spoken in Scotland. Each of the numerous languages spoken in Scotland during its recorded linguistic history falls into either the Germanic or Celtic language families. The classification of the Pictish language was once controversial, but it is now generally considered a Celtic language. Today, the main language spoken in Scotland is English, while Scots and Scottish Gaelic are minority languages. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English. The Celtic languages of Scotland can be divided into two groups: Goidelic (or Gaelic)

pos: British Isles 7th century. The Norman languages of Guernésiais, Jèrriais and Sercquiais spoken in the Channel Islands are similar to French. A cant, called Shelta, is spoken by Irish Travellers, often to conceal meaning from those outside the group. However, English, including Scots, is the dominant language, with few monoglots remaining in the other languages of the region. The Norn language of Orkney and Shetland became extinct around 1880. At the end of the last ice age, what are now the British Isles were joined to the European mainland as a mass of land extending north west from the modern-day northern coastline

pos: Manding languages Manding languages The Manding languages (sometimes spelt Manden) are mutually intelligible dialects or languages in West Africa of the Mande family. Their best-known members are Bambara, the most widely spoken language in Mali; Mandinka, the main language of Gambia; Maninka or Malinké, a major language of Guinea; and Dyula, a trade language of the northern Ivory Coast and western Burkina Faso. The Manding languages, and what distinguishes one from the rest and relationships among all of them are matters that continue to be researched. In addition, the nomenclature - being a mixture of indigenous terms and words applied by English

pos: Languages of Tanzania Languages of Tanzania Tanzania is a multilingual country. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. The Bantu Swahili language and English, the latter of which was inherited from colonial rule ("see Tanganyika Territory"), are widely spoken as lingua francas. They serve as working languages in the country, with Swahili being the official national language. There are more speakers of Swahili than of English in Tanzania. According to "Ethnologue", there are a total of 126 languages spoken in Tanzania. Two are institutional, 18

pos: History of deaf education the spoken English language the difference between the two must be recognized. The qualitative factor of ASL is much different from English in form. The largely sequential phonetic structure of oral languages, with relatively few suprasegmental features, contrasts with a greater degree of simultaneity in sign languages. Sign languages have four simultaneously realized parameters: hand configuration, location, movement and orientation. Hand configuration, location and movement are what determine what is being signed. A simple combination of words can differ in just location, movement, or the way in which you hold your hand as you are signing. The deaf community made

pos: Languages of Africa (Hollandic dialect) spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Most Afrikaans speakers live in South Africa. In Namibia it is the lingua franca and in Botswana and Zimbabwe it is a minority language of roughly several ten thousand people. Overall 15 to 20 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans. Since the colonial era, Indo-European languages such as Afrikaans, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as lingua francas.

pos: Maldivian language that "the different classes of verb conjugation and nominal inflection are best preserved there, morphological simplifications and, as a consequence increasing from atoll to atoll towards north (in the Maldives)". Maldivian presents another aspect with which English speakers are not too familiar: the distinction between what is spoken and what is written. Every language that has a written idiom has this distinction to a greater or lesser degree. But Asian languages such as Maldivian seem to exhibit major differences between the two varieties of language. Malé Bas and Maliku Bas are the only dialects commonly used in writing. Spoken Maldivian,

pos: Languages of Burkina Faso Languages of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a multilingual country. An estimated 70 languages are spoken there, of which about 66 are indigenous. The Mossi language () is spoken by about 40% of the population, mainly in the central region around the capital, Ouagadougou. French is the official language. English is also widely spoken. In the west, Mande languages are widely spoken, the most predominant being Dyula (also spelled Jula or Dioula), others including Bobo, Samo, and Marka. The Fula language (, ) is widespread, particularly in the north. The Gourmanché language is spoken in the east, while the Bissa

pos: Torres Strait Island languages Torres Strait Island languages There are three languages spoken in the Torres Strait Islands, two indigenous languages and an English-based creole. The indigenous language spoken mainly in the western and central islands is Kalaw Lagaw Ya: a language related to the Pama–Nyungan languages of the Australian mainland. The other indigenous language spoken mainly in the eastern islands is Meriam Mir: a member of the Trans-Fly languages spoken on the nearby south coast of New Guinea and the only Papuan language native to Australia. Both languages are agglutinative, however Kalaw Lagaw Ya appears to be undergoing a transition into a declensional

pos: Demographics of Estonia groups in Estonia are Estonians (68.7%), Russians (25.6%), Ukrainians (2.1%), Belarusians (1.2%), and Finns (0.8%). These five groups made up 98.4% of Estonia's population. Many languages are spoken in Estonia, including Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, German and others. According to the census of 2000, 109 languages were spoken natively in Estonia. By 2011, the number of languages spoken natively had increased to 157, mainly due to new immigrants. However, most of these languages were used only between relatives or compatriots, while only 30 languages were spoken on a daily basis in families. Estonian and Finnish are closely related,

pos: Languages in censuses Antillean Creole and Louisiana Creole. Officially English and Chinese are the two official language of Hong Kong. The definition of Chinese is somehow ambiguous as Chinese itself consists of a number of mutually unintelligible varieties. Cantonese is the major spoken language in Hong Kong and written in various form with Traditional Chinese characters. English is a variant of British English, though American English is also commonly used in Hong Kong. From 19th century, censuses have investigated what languages the people of Hong Kong speak. Hakka, Hoklo, and Tanka have lost importance over time. Cantonese has come to be spoken by

pos: Popoluca Popoluca Popoluca is a Nahuatl term for various indigenous peoples of southeastern Veracruz and Oaxaca. Many of them (about 30,000) speak languages of the Mixe–Zoque family. Others speak the unrelated Mazatecan languages, in which case the name in English and Spanish is generally spelled Popoloca. The Mixe–Zoque languages called Popoluca are, Among the Otomanguean languages, there are, The reason for the terms widespread usage for naming indigenous languages is that it is a derogatory word from the Nahuatl language meaning "to speak unintelligible" or "gibberish". When the Spanish invaders asked their Nahuatl-speaking allies what language was spoken in a particular

pos: Languages of Greece Languages of Greece The official language of Greece is Greek, spoken by 99% of the population. In addition, a number of non-official, minority languages and some Greek dialects are spoken as well. The most common foreign languages learned by Greeks are English, German, French and Italian. Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική γλώσσα) is the only official language of the Hellenic Republic, and is spoken by some 99.5% of the population — about 11,100,000 people (though not necessarily as a first language). Standard Modern Greek is the officially used standard, but there are several non-official dialects and distinct Hellenic languages spoken as well.

neg: Languages of Ethiopia Languages of Ethiopia The languages of Ethiopia refers to the various spoken forms of communication in Ethiopia. It includes the nation's official languages, its national and regional languages, as well as its minority and foreign languages. There are 88 individual languages of Ethiopia according to Ethnologue, with the 1994 Ethiopian census indicating that some 77 tongues were spoken locally. Most of these languages belong to the Afroasiatic family (Semitic and Cushitic languages; Omotic languages are also spoken, though their classification is uncertain). Additionally, Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by what the government calls the "Nilotic" people, though scholars distinguish Nilotic from

neg: Languages of Spain area sometimes called "Valley of Jálama/Xálima", which includes the towns of San Martín de Trevejo ("Sa Martin de Trevellu"), Eljas ("As Elhas") and Valverde del Fresno ("Valverdi du Fresnu"), in the northwestern corner of Cáceres province, Extremadura. Portuguese proper is still spoken by local people in three border areas: In addition to the languages which continue to be spoken in Spain to the present day, other languages which have been spoken within what are now the borders of Spain include: Languages that are now chiefly spoken outside Spain but which have roots in Spain are: There are also variants of

neg: Global language system peripheral or minority languages in the world, each of which are connected to one of a hundred central languages. The connections and patterns between each language is what makes up the global language system. The four levels of language are the peripheral, central, supercentral and hypercentral languages. At the lowest level, peripheral languages, or minority languages, form the majority of languages spoken in the world; 98% of the world's languages are peripheral languages and spoken by less than 10% of the world’s population. Unlike central languages, these are "languages of conversation and narration rather than reading and writing, of memory

neg: Delaware languages The languages of the Algonquian family constitute a group of historically related languages descended from a common source language, Proto-Algonquian. The Algonquian languages are spoken across Canada from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast; on the American Plains; south of the Great Lakes; and on the Atlantic coast. Many of the Algonquian languages are now extinct. The Eastern Algonquian languages were spoken on the Atlantic coast from what are now called the Canadian Maritime provinces to North Carolina. Many of the languages are now extinct, and some are known only from very fragmentary records. Eastern Algonquian is considered a

neg: Chamic languages Chamic languages The Chamic languages, also known as Aceh–Chamic and Achinese–Chamic, are a group of ten languages spoken in Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia) and in parts of Cambodia, Vietnam and Hainan, China. The Chamic languages are a subgroup of Malayo-Sumbawan languages in the Austronesian family. The ancestor of this subfamily, proto-Chamic, is associated with the Sa Huỳnh culture, its speakers arriving in what is now Vietnam from Borneo or perhaps the Malay Peninsula. After Acehnese, with 3.5 million, Jarai and Cham are the most widely spoken Chamic languages, with about 230,000 and 280,000 speakers respectively, in both Cambodia and Vietnam. Tsat

neg: Kariri languages peoples over a wide area in the east of Brazil, in the lower and middle São Francisco River area and further north. Most of their now-extinct languages are too poorly known to classify, but what is recorded does not suggest that they were all members of the Kariri family. Examples are: Kariri languages The Karirí languages, generally considered dialects of a single language, are extinct languages formerly spoken by the Kiriri people of Brazil. It was spoken until the middle of the 20th century; the 4,000 ethnic Kiriri are now monolingual Portuguese speakers, though a few know common phrases and

neg: Sociolinguistics of sign languages and deaf communities. Black ASL as a sociolinguistic variant of ASL is distinctly Black. Speakers of Black ASL do code-switch to ASL when speaking with people outside the Black community. This sociolinguistic variation is what defines the Black Deaf community. Children who go to hearing schools are faced with the need to learn to read and write the spoken language. Just like situations involving spoken languages having greater dominance over other languages, deaf people live in societies that are dominated in every aspect by hearing people and their values. Most deaf people are bilingual to some extent in a spoken

neg: Caddoan languages died. All of the other Caddoan languages are nearly extinct; as of 2007, Caddo is spoken by only 25 people, Pawnee by 10, and Arikara by 10. Caddo and Pawnee are spoken in Oklahoma by small numbers of tribal elders. Arikara is spoken on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Speakers of some of the languages were formerly more widespread; the Caddo, for example, used to live in northeastern Texas, southwestern Arkansas, and northwestern Louisiana, as well as southeastern Oklahoma. The Pawnee formerly lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. Glottochronology is a controversial method of

neg: Canaanite languages Canaanite languages The Canaanite languages, or Canaanite dialects, are one of the three subgroups of the Northwest Semitic languages, the others being Aramaic and Amorite. They were spoken by the ancient Semitic people of the Canaan and Levant regions, an area encompassing what is today Israel, Jordan, Sinai, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territories and also some fringe areas of southern Turkey and the northern Arabian Peninsula. The Canaanites are broadly defined to include the Israelites (including Judeans and Samaritans), Phoenicians (including Carthaginians), Amorites, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Suteans, Ekronites and Amalekites. The Canaanite languages continued to be everyday spoken languages until

neg: Western Aramaic languages Western Aramaic languages Western Aramaic languages is a group of several Aramaic languages developed and once widely spoken throughout the ancient Levant, as opposed to those from in and around Mesopotamia, which make up what is known as the Eastern Aramaic languages, which are still spoken as mother tongues by the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs and Mandaeans of Iraq, north eastern Syria, south eastern Turkey and north western Iran. All of the Western Aramaic languages are extinct today except Western Neo-Aramaic. Following the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century and ensuing mass migration of Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, together

neg: Languages of Zimbabwe a language database maintained by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, lists seven varieties of indigenous Zimbabwean sign language: Manicaland Sign, Mashonaland Sign, Masvingo School Sign, Matabeleland Sign, Midlands Sign, Zimbabwe Community Sign, and Zimbabwe School Sign. American Sign Language is also reportedly used, though it is not clear to what extent. "Sign language", without further specificity, became one of Zimbabwe's official languages in the 2013 Constitution. Languages of Zimbabwe Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely

neg: Mesoamerican languages their existence. What is known about the pre-Columbian history of the Mesoamerican languages is what can be surmised from linguistic, archeological and ethnohistorical evidence. Often, hypotheses concerning the linguistic prehistory of Mesoamerica rely on very little evidence. Three large language families are thought to have had their most recent common homelands within Mesoamerica. The time frames and locations in which the common ancestors of these families, referred to by linguists as proto-languages, were spoken are reconstructed by methods of historical linguistics. The three earliest known families of Mesoamerica are the Mixe–Zoquean languages, the Oto-Manguean languages and the Mayan languages. Proto-Oto-Manguean

neg: Medieval French literature "langue d'oc" or the Occitan language family (a language where one says "oc" to mean "yes"), also known under the name of one of its dialects, the Provençal language). The Western peninsula of Brittany spoke Breton, a Celtic language. Catalan was spoken in the South, and Germanic languages and Franco-Provençal were spoken in the East. The various dialects of Old French developed into what are recognised as regional languages today. Languages which developed from dialects of Old French include Bourguignon, Champenois, Franc-Comtois, Francien (theoretical), Gallo, Lorrain, Norman, Anglo-Norman (spoken in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066), Picard, Poitevin, Saintongeais

neg: Western Aramaic languages people in the Anti-Lebanon of Syria, mainly in Maaloula, Jubb'adin and Bakhah. The speakers avoided cultural and linguistic Arabization due to the remote mountainous isolation of their villages. Western Aramaic languages Western Aramaic languages is a group of several Aramaic languages developed and once widely spoken throughout the ancient Levant, as opposed to those from in and around Mesopotamia, which make up what is known as the Eastern Aramaic languages, which are still spoken as mother tongues by the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs and Mandaeans of Iraq, north eastern Syria, south eastern Turkey and north western Iran. All of the Western

neg: Languages of Bhutan Bhutan by about 20,000 people. The Lakha (8,000 speakers) and Brokkat languages (300 speakers) in Central Bhutan, as well as the Brokpa language (5,000 speakers) in far Eastern Bhutan, are also grouped by Van Driem (1993) into Central Bodish. These languages are remnants of what were originally pastoral yakherd communities. The Laya dialect, closely related to Dzongkha, is spoken near the northwestern border with Tibet by some 1,100 Layaps. Layaps are an indigenous nomadic and semi-nomadic people who traditionally herd yaks and dzos. Dzongkha speakers enjoy a limited mutual intelligibility, mostly in basic vocabulary and grammar. Khams Tibetan is spoken

neg: Sino-Tibetan languages and the first language of some 33 million people. Burmese speakers first entered the northern Irrawaddy basin from what is now western Yunnan in the early 9th century, when the Pyu city-states had been weakened by an invasion by Nanzhao. Other Burmish languages are still spoken in Dehong Prefecture in the far west of Yunnan. By the 11th century their Pagan Kingdom had expanded over the whole basin. The oldest texts, such as the Myazedi inscription, date from the early 12th century. The Tibetic languages are spoken by some 6 million people on the Tibetan Plateau and neighbouring areas in

neg: Tundra Yukaghir language Tundra Yukaghir language The Tundra Yukaghir language (also known as Northern Yukaghir; self-designation: Wadul) is one of only two extant Yukaghir languages. Last spoken in the tundra belt extending between the lower Indigirka to the lower Kolyma basin (), Tundra Yukaghir was formerly spoken in a much wider area extending west to the Lena basin. The relationship of the Yukaghir languages with other language families is uncertain, though it has been suggested that they are distantly related to the Uralic languages, thus forming the putative Uralic–Yukaghir language family. Tundra and Kolyma Yukaghir are the only two remnants of what used

neg: Languages of Spain Languages of Spain The languages of Spain (), or Spanish languages (), are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain. Romance languages are the most widely spoken in Spain; of which Spanish, or Castilian, is the only language which has official status for the whole country. Various other languages have co-official or recognised status in specific territories, and a number of unofficial languages and dialects are spoken in certain localities. In terms of the number of speakers and dominance, the most prominent of the languages of Spain is Spanish (Castilian), spoken by about 99% of Spaniards as a first

neg: Taíno language Taíno language Taíno is a poorly-attested Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the principal language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and most of Hispaniola, and it was expanding into Cuba. Ciboney is essentially unattested, but colonial sources suggest that it was a dialect of Taíno and was spoken in westernmost Hispaniola, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and most of Cuba. By the late 15th century, Taíno had displaced earlier languages

neg: Insular Celtic languages Western Europe, before the arrival of the speakers of Indo-European, including Celtic". Most of the Insular Celtic languages also have only Definite articles within it's grammar; and they apparently lack indefinite articles, just like what is seen in most Afro-Asiatic languages. Insular Celtic languages Insular Celtic languages are a group of Celtic languages that originated in Britain and Ireland, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of mainland Europe and Anatolia. All surviving Celtic languages are from the Insular Celtic group, including that which is now spoken in Continental Europe; the Continental Celtic languages are extinct. The six Insular Celtic

neg: Languages of Bangladesh of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, and the Bengali language is spoken by the majority of the country's inhabitants. There are also some Eastern Indic language varieties, which are variously classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate but closely related languages. They can be thought of forming a dialect continuum. The indigenous languages of the region are members of the Austroasiatic, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burman families. Most of these languages are spoken in mountainous areas. While the more widely spoken and better-known Austroasiatic languages are spoken in Southeast Asia (e.g. Khmer and Vietnamese), smaller languages of that family are spoken

neg: Global language system and remembrance rather than record". They are used by native speakers within a particular area and are in danger of becoming extinct with increasing globalisation, which sees more and more speakers of peripheral languages acquiring more central languages in order to communicate with others. The next level constitutes about 100 central languages, spoken by 95% of the world's population and generally used in education, media and administration. Typically, they are the 'national' and official languages of the ruling state. These are the languages of record, and much of what has been said and written in those languages is saved in

neg: Medieval French literature Black Death pandemic of the fourteenth century in many ways curtailed this creative production, the fifteenth century laid the groundwork for the French Renaissance. Up to roughly 1340, the Romance languages spoken in the Middle Ages in the northern half of what is today France are collectively known as "ancien français" ("Old French") or "langues d'oïl" (languages where one says "oïl" to mean "yes"); following the Germanic invasions of France in the fifth century, these Northern dialects had developed distinctly different phonetic and syntactical structures from the languages spoken in southern France. The language in southern France is known as

neg: Languages of Spain these languages proper to Spain, either dialect, cants or pidgins: Languages of Spain The languages of Spain (), or Spanish languages (), are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain. Romance languages are the most widely spoken in Spain; of which Spanish, or Castilian, is the only language which has official status for the whole country. Various other languages have co-official or recognised status in specific territories, and a number of unofficial languages and dialects are spoken in certain localities. In terms of the number of speakers and dominance, the most prominent of the languages of Spain is Spanish

neg: Yuin–Kuric languages Yuin–Kuric languages The Yuin–Kuric languages are a family of mainly extinct Australian Aboriginal languages that existed in the south east of Australia. They belong in the Pama–Nyungan family. These languages are divided into the Yuin, Kuri, and Yora groups, although exact classifications vary between researchers. Yuin–Kuric languages were spoken by the original inhabitants of what are now the cities of Sydney and Canberra. Most are now extinct. The koala is named from the word "gula" for the animal in the Dharug language, a Yuin–Kuri language within the Yora group, and the same word occurs in other Yuin–Kuri languages, such as

neg: Cushitic languages designated as "Cushitic" around 1858. Historical linguistic analysis and archaeogenetics indicate that the languages spoken in the ancient Kerma culture of what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan, as well as those spoken in the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic culture of the Great Lakes region, likely belonged to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. The Cushitic languages are usually considered to include the following branches: This classification has not been without contention, and many other classifications have been proposed over the years. Beja is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, constituting the only member of the

neg: Bodo–Garo languages Bodo–Garo languages The Bodo–Garo languages are a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Northeast India and parts of Bangladesh. The name "Bodo" is not related with the Tibetan ethnonym "bod", which is the basis of the names "Bodic" and "Bodish." Bodo–Garo languages were historically very widespread throughout the Brahmaputra Valley and in what are now the northern parts of Bangladesh. The Bodo–Garo languages are: Old Hajong may have been a Bodo–Garo language. Bodo is an official language of the Indian state of Assam and India. Kokborok (Tripuri) is one of the official languages of the state of Tripura. Garo is

neg: Sangiric languages while Ratahan is spoken just south of Lake Tondano. Minahasan languages Sangiric languages The Sangiric languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in North Sulawesi, Indonesia and several small islands to the north which belong to the Philippines. They are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup. The following classification scheme is from Sneddon (1984:57). The North Sangiric languages are spoken in the Sangir and Talaud archipelagos of Indonesia just north of Sulawesi, as well as the Sarangani Islands of the Philippines just south of Mindanao. The South Sangiric languages are spoken in scattered locations on the

neg: Lai languages Lai languages The Lai languages are various Central Kuki-Chin languages spoken by the Lai people. They include "Laiholh" (Hakha-Chin) spoken around the Haka (Hakha/Halkha) capital of Chin State in Burma (Myanmar) and in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India. In Bangladesh, a related language is spoken by the Bawm people. Known locally as "Hakha Holh", it is probably the most spoken language in Chin State. Another branch of Lai Kukish includes Falam Lai (Laizo, Zahau and Sim), better known as Laitong. Other Lai languages are Senthang, and the Zokhua dialect of Hakha spoken in Zokhua village. Lai languages are used

neg: Languages of Japan Languages of Japan The most widely spoken language in Japan is Japanese, which is separated into a large number of dialects with Tokyo dialect considered standard Japanese. In addition to the Japanese language, Ryukyuan languages are spoken in Okinawa and parts of Kagoshima in the Ryukyu Islands. Along with Japanese, these languages are part of the Japonic language family, but they are separate languages, and are not mutually intelligible with Japanese, or with each other. All of the spoken Ryukyuan languages are classified by UNESCO as endangered. In Hokkaido, there is the Ainu language, which is spoken by the Ainu

neg: Portuguese colonization of the Americas the State of Maranhão and Piauí; and the State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro) were united into a singular colony, under the State of Brazil. This arrangement would last until the end of Colonial Brazil. As a result, Brazil did not split into several countries, as happened to its Spanish-speaking neighbors. The "Early Navigators" practically have been to the entire Caribbean, from The Bahamas to Jamaica. Papiamento, one of the languages spoken in the islands, is a mixture of Portuguese , Spanish and African languages. Portuguese merchants have been trading in the West Indies. To such an extent, that, for

neg: Pano-Tacanan languages Pano-Tacanan languages Pano-Tacanan (also Pano-Takana, Pano-Takánan, Pano-Tacana, Páno-Takána) is a proposed family of languages spoken in Peru, western Brazil, Bolivia and northern Paraguay. There are two close-knit branches, Panoan and Tacanan (Adelaar & Muysken 2004; Kaufman 1990, 1994), with 33 languages. There are lexical and grammatical similarities between the two branches, but it has not yet been demonstrated that these are genetic (Loos 1999). Most Panoan languages are spoken in either Peru or western Brazil; a few are in Bolivia. All Tacanan languages are spoken in Bolivia (Ese’ejja is also spoken in Peru). Migliazza has presented lexical evidence in support

neg: Finnic languages Finnic languages The Finnic languages (Fennic), or Baltic Finnic languages (Balto-Finnic, Balto-Fennic), are a branch of the Uralic language family spoken around the Baltic Sea by Finnic peoples, mainly in Finland and Estonia, by about 7 million people. Traditionally, eight Finnic languages have been recognized. The major modern representatives of the family are Finnish and Estonian, the official languages of their respective nation states. The other Finnic languages in the Baltic Sea region are Ingrian and Votic, spoken in Ingria by the Gulf of Finland; and Livonian, once spoken around the Gulf of Riga. Spoken farther northeast are Karelian, Ludic

neg: Kuki-Chin languages Kuki-Chin languages The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Burma and eastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of these languages are known as Kukī in Assamese and as Chin in Burmese; some also identify as Lushei. Mizo is the most widely spoken of the Kuki-Chin languages. Kuki-Chin is sometimes placed under Kuki-Chin–Naga, a geographical rather than linguistic grouping. Most Kuki-Chin languages are spoken in and around Chin State, Burma, with some languages spoken in Sagaing Division, Magway Region and Rakhine State as well. In Northeast

neg: Languages of Venezuela Languages of Venezuela There are at least forty languages spoken or used in Venezuela, but Spanish is the language spoken by the majority of Venezuelans. The 1999 Constitution of Venezuela declared Spanish and languages spoken by Indigenous people from Venezuela as official languages. Deaf people use Venezuelan Sign Language ("lengua de señas venezolana, LSV)". Chinese (400,000), Portuguese (254,000) and Italian (200,000), are the most spoken languages in Venezuela after the official language of Spanish. Wayuu is the most spoken indigenous language with 170,000 speakers. Spanish is one of the official languages in Venezuela Below is a non-exhaustive list of these

neg: Sangiric languages Sangiric languages The Sangiric languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in North Sulawesi, Indonesia and several small islands to the north which belong to the Philippines. They are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup. The following classification scheme is from Sneddon (1984:57). The North Sangiric languages are spoken in the Sangir and Talaud archipelagos of Indonesia just north of Sulawesi, as well as the Sarangani Islands of the Philippines just south of Mindanao. The South Sangiric languages are spoken in scattered locations on the northern tip of Sulawesi. Bantik is spoken in the Manado region,

neg: Manding languages indigenous scripts. Manding languages The Manding languages (sometimes spelt Manden) are mutually intelligible dialects or languages in West Africa of the Mande family. Their best-known members are Bambara, the most widely spoken language in Mali; Mandinka, the main language of Gambia; Maninka or Malinké, a major language of Guinea; and Dyula, a trade language of the northern Ivory Coast and western Burkina Faso. The Manding languages, and what distinguishes one from the rest and relationships among all of them are matters that continue to be researched. In addition, the nomenclature - being a mixture of indigenous terms and words applied

neg: Munda languages Munda, spoken in the Chota Nagpur Plateau of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Odisha, and South Munda, spoken in central Odisha and along the border between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. North Munda, of which Santali is the most widely spoken, is the larger group; its languages are spoken by about ninety percent of Munda speakers. After Santali, the Mundari and Ho languages rank next in number of speakers, followed by Korku and Sora. The remaining Munda languages are spoken by small, isolated groups of people and are poorly known. Characteristics of the Munda languages include three grammatical numbers (singular, dual

neg: Argentines Argentines, the spoken languages of Argentina number at least 40. Languages spoken by at least 100,000 Argentines include Amerindian languages such as Southern Quechua, Guaraní and Mapudungun, and immigrant languages such as German, Italian, or Levantine Arabic. Two native languages are extinct (Abipón and Chané), while some others are endangered, spoken by elderly people whose descendants do not speak the languages (such as Vilela, Puelche, Tehuelche and Selknam). There are also other communities of immigrants that speak their native languages, such as the Chinese language spoken by at least half of the over 60,000 Chinese immigrants (mostly in Buenos Aires)

neg: Languages of Mexico spoken by the Mexican gypsies. Languages of Mexico Many different languages are spoken in Mexico. The indigenous languages are from eleven distinct language families, including four isolates and one that immigrated from the United States. The Mexican government recognizes 68 national languages, 63 of which are indigenous, including around 350 dialects of those languages. The large majority of the population is monolingual in Spanish. Some immigrant and indigenous populations are bilingual, while some indigenous people are monolingual in their languages. Mexican Sign Language is spoken by much of the deaf population, and there are one or two indigenous sign languages

neg: Cariban languages Cariban languages The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family of South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related. There are two to three dozen of them, depending on what is considered a dialect. Most are still spoken but often by only a few hundred speakers; the only one with more than a few thousand is Macushi, which has 30,000. The Cariban family is well known in the linguistic world partly because Hixkaryana's default word order

neg: Languages of the Caucasus spoken in the mountains of Dagestan. Several Turkic languages are spoken in the Caucasus. Of these, Azerbaijani is predominant, with around 9 million speakers in Azerbaijan and more than 10 million in North Western Iran. Other Turkic languages spoken include Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Nogai, Turkish, and Turkmen. The Kalmyk language, spoken by descendants of Oirat-speakers from East Asia, is a Mongolic language. Languages of the Caucasus The Caucasian languages are a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

neg: Oto-Manguean languages speakers). They are all traditionally spoken in central and southern Oaxaca, but have been spread throughout Mexico and even into the United States through recent labor related migrations. Zapotec languages and dialects fall into four broad geographic divisions: Zapoteco de la Sierra Norte (Northern Zapotec), Valley Zapotec, Zapoteco de la Sierra Sur (Southern Zapotec), and Isthmus Zapotec. Northern Zapotec languages are spoken in the mountainous region of Oaxaca, in the Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges; Southern Zapotec languages and are spoken in the mountainous region of Oaxaca, in the Southern Sierra Madre mountain ranges; Valley Zapotec languages are spoken in

neg: Minority language Minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 193 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2008) and an estimated number of roughly 5,000 to 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, it follows that the vast majority of languages are minority languages in every country in which they are spoken. Some minority languages are simultaneously also official languages, including the Irish language in Ireland. Likewise, some national languages are often considered minority languages, insofar as they are the national

neg: Culture of Asia the Kadamba-Pallava alphabet, certain cultural traditions, and aspects of its cuisine, for example, show South Indian influences. Cultural festivals, aspects of its cuisine and Theravada Buddhism, the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, show a Southeast Asian affinity. Indo-Aryan languages are spoken in Pakistan, Sinhalese of Sri Lanka and most of North, West and East India and Nepal. Dravidian languages are spoken in South India and in Sri Lanka by the Tamil community. Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken in the North and North East India. Iranic Languages are spoken in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The main languages of Afghanistan are

neg: Illyrian languages Illyrian languages The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulantii (see list of ancient tribes in Illyria). Some sound changes from Proto-Indo-European to Illyrian and other language features are deduced from what remains of the Illyrian languages, but because there are no examples of ancient Illyrian literature surviving (aside from the Messapian writings if they can be considered Illyrian), it is difficult to clarify its place within the Indo-European language family. Because of the uncertainty, most

neg: Chadic languages Adamawa languages are spoken adjacently to Chadic languages, interaction between Chadic and Adamawa is limited. Chadic languages The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 150 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, Central African Republic and northern Cameroon. The most widely spoken Chadic language is Hausa, a lingua franca of much of inland Eastern West Africa. Newman (1977) classified the languages into the four groups which have been accepted in all subsequent literature. Further subbranching, however, has not been as robust; Blench (2006), for

neg: Sama–Bajaw languages Sama–Bajaw languages The Sama–Bajaw languages are a well established group of languages spoken by the Bajau and Sama peoples of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. They are mainly spoken on Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago between Borneo and Mindanao. Grimes (2003) identifies nine Sama–Bajaw languages. The first six are spoken in the Sulu region of the Southern Philippines. Indonesian Bajaw is spoken mainly in Sulawesi and West Coast Bajaw in Sabah, Borneo. Several dialects of the languages can be identified. Blust (2006) states that lexical evidence indicates that Sama–Bajaw originated in the Barito region of southeast Borneo, though not from

neg: Khmuic languages Khmuic languages The Khmuic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken mostly in northern Laos, as well as in neighboring northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China. Khmu is the only language in the group that has a large number of speakers. Paul Sidwell (2015) suggests that the Khmuic Urheimat (homeland) was in what is now Oudomxay Province, northern Laos. The Khmuic languages are: There is some disagreement over whether Bit is Khmuic or Palaungic; Svantesson believes it is most likely Palaungic, and it is sometimes placed in Mangic, but most classifications here take them as Khmuic. Similarly, Phuoc

neg: Austronesian languages few languages, such as Malay and the Chamic languages, are indigenous to mainland Asia. Many Austronesian languages have very few speakers, but the major Austronesian languages are spoken by tens of millions of people and one Austronesian language, Malay (including both Indonesian and Malaysian variants), is spoken by 250 million people, making it the 8th most spoken language in the world. Approximately twenty Austronesian languages are official in their respective countries (see the list of major and official Austronesian languages). Different sources count languages differently, but Austronesian and Niger–Congo are the two largest language families in the world by the

neg: Languages of Bolivia Languages of Bolivia The languages of Bolivia include Spanish; several dozen indigenous languages, most prominently Aymara, Quechua, Chiquitano and Tupi Guaraní; Bolivian Sign Language (closely related to American Sign Language); and language of immigrants such as Plautdietsch. Indigenous languages and Spanish are official languages of the state according to the 2009 Constitution. The constitution says that all indigenous languages are official, listing 36 specific languages, of which some are extinct. Spanish and Quechua are spoken primarily in the Andes region; Aymara is mainly spoken in the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, Chiquitano is spoken in the central part of Santa Cruz

neg: Paleo-Balkan languages Paleo-Balkan languages The Paleo-Balkan languages are the various extinct Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Balkans in ancient times. Hellenization, Romanization and Slavicization in the region caused their only modern descendants to be Modern Greek and Albanian, which are descended from Ancient Greek and one of the Thraco-Illyrian languages, respectively. Ancient Greek and Roman writers report that the following languages were spoken on the Balkan Peninsula, besides Greek: Although these languages are all members of the Indo-European language family, the relationships between them are unknown. Classification of the languages spoken in the region is severely hampered because they are

neg: Sami people for instance, speakers of Southern Sami cannot understand Northern Sami. Especially earlier, these distinct languages were referred to as "dialects", but today, this is considered misleading due to the deep differences between the varieties. Most Sami languages are spoken in several countries, because linguistic borders do not correspond to national borders. All Sami languages are at some degree of endangerment, ranging from what UNESCO defines as "definitely endangered" to "extinct". This is due in part to historic laws prohibiting the use of Sami languages in schools and at home in Sweden and Norway. Sami languages, and Sami song-chants, called yoiks,

neg: Languages of Indonesia Indonesia were ruled by the Dutch East India Company and subsequently the whole of what is now Indonesia was in the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch language has no official status there and the small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch. Several prominent languages spoken in Indonesia sorted by language family are: There are many additional small families and isolates among the Papuan languages. Indonesian languages are generally not rendered in native-invented systems, but in

neg: Bengali dialects Bengali language and the Rohingya language. More than other languages of South Asia, Bengali exhibits strong diglossia between the formal, written language and the vernacular, spoken language. Two styles of writing, involving somewhat different vocabularies and syntax, have emerged : Spoken Bengali exhibits far more variation than written Bengali. Formal spoken Bengali, including what is heard in news reports, speeches, announcements, and lectures, is modelled on Choltibhasha. This form of spoken Bengali stands alongside other spoken dialects, or "Ancholik Bangla" (আঞ্চলিক বাংলা) (i.e. 'regional Bengali'). The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one dialect – often,

neg: Languages in censuses ethnic group is an optional one. The results among the people that have answered both questions according to the latest census in 2011 are: There are abouts 292 living languages in China. The languages most commonly spoken belong to the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, which contains Mandarin (spoken natively by 70% of the population), and other Chinese languages: Wu (including Shanghainese), Yue (including Cantonese and Taishanese), Min (including Hokkien and Teochew), Xiang, Gan, and Hakka. Languages of the Tibeto-Burman branch, including Tibetan, Qiang, Naxi and Yi, are spoken are spoken across the Tibetan and Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. Other

neg: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages languages traditionally used by the nationals of the State Parties (thus excluding languages used by recent immigrants from other states, see immigrant languages), which significantly differ from the majority or official language (thus excluding what the state party wishes to consider as mere local dialects of the official or majority language) and that either have a territorial basis (and are therefore traditionally spoken by populations of regions or areas within the State) or are used by linguistic minorities within the State as a whole (thereby including such languages as Yiddish, Romani and Lemko, which are used over a wide geographic

neg: Rgyalrongic languages Rgyalrongic languages The Rgyalrongic languages (also rendered "Jiarongic"), constitute a branch of the Qiangic languages of Sino-Tibetan, although Randy LaPolla (2003) proposes that it may be part of a larger Rung languages group. They are spoken in Sichuan in China, mainly in the autonomous Tibetan and Qiang prefectures of Karmdzes and Rngaba. These languages are distinguished by their conservative morphology and their phonological archaisms, which make them valuable for historical linguistics. Rgyalrongic languages are spoken predominantly in the four counties of Ma'erkang, Li, Xiaojin, and Jinchuan in Aba Prefecture, western Sichuan. Other Rgyalrongic lects are spoken in neighboring Heishui, Rangtang,

neg: Sign language Charles-Michel de l'Épée or Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, are often incorrectly referred to as "inventors" of sign language. Instead, sign languages, like all natural languages, are developed by the people who use them, in this case, deaf people, who may have little or no knowledge of any spoken language. As a sign language develops, it sometimes borrows elements from spoken languages, just as all languages borrow from other languages that they are in contact with. Sign languages vary in how and how much they borrow from spoken languages. In many sign languages, a manual alphabet (fingerspelling) may be used in signed

neg: Language languages eventually disappear from populations. The total number of languages in the world is not known. Estimates vary depending on many factors. The consensus is that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages spoken as of 2010, and that between 50–90% of those will have become extinct by the year 2100. The top 20 languages, those spoken by more than 50 million speakers each, are spoken by 50% of the world's population, whereas many of the other languages are spoken by small communities, most of them with less than 10,000 speakers. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

neg: Moro people of them converted over to Christianity and other religions. The Indigenous people are mostly speakers of a variety of Austronesian languages. The most-spoken native languages of the Indigenous peoples of Mindanao are Maguindanaon, Tausūg and Maranao. The Maguindanao language is spoken in the Maguindanao Province, the Maranao language is predominant in the Lanao region, and is the majority spoken in Lanao del Sur and the Tausug language is spoken in the Sulu Archipelago with speakers in the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Malaysian state of Sabah. Other Austronesian languages spoken by their respective tribes are the Sama-Bajau languages (although the Banguingui,the

neg: Oto-Manguean languages Oto-Manguean languages Oto-Manguean languages (also Otomanguean) are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Oto-Manguean is widely viewed as a proven language family. However, this status has been recently challenged. The highest number of speakers of Oto-Manguean languages today are found in the state of Oaxaca where the two largest branches, the Zapotecan and Mixtecan languages, are spoken by almost 1.5

neg: Sorbian languages by about 40,000 people in Saxony, and Lower Sorbian () spoken by about 10,000 people in Brandenburg. The area where the two languages are spoken is known as Lusatia ( in Upper Sorbian, in Lower Sorbian, or in German). After the settlement of the formerly Germanic territories (the part largely corresponding to the former East Germany) by the Sorbs' Slavic ancestors in the 5th and 6th centuries, the Sorbian language (or its predecessors) had been in use in much of what was the southern half of East Germany for several centuries, and still had its stronghold in (Upper and Lower)

neg: Lao language of 20th century. The Lao language is descended from Tai languages spoken in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam in areas believed to be the homeland of the language family and where several related languages are still spoken by scattered minority groups. Due to Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasion pressures, and a search for lands more suitable for wet rice cultivation, the Tai peoples moved south towards India, down the Mekong River valley, and as far south as the Malay Peninsula. The oral history of the migrations is preserved in the legends of Khun Borom. Tai speakers in

neg: Sotho–Tswana languages Sotho–Tswana languages The Sotho–Tswana languages are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa. The Sotho–Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in Guthrie's (1967–1971) classification of languages in the Bantu family. The group is divided into three branches, Tswana (or "Tswanaic") and Sotho, as follows: The various dialects of Tswana, Southern Sotho and Northern Sotho are highly mutually intelligible. On more than one occasion, proposals have been put forward to create a unified Sotho–Tswana language. Northern Sotho, which appears largely to be a taxonomic holding category for what is Sotho-Tswana but neither identifiably Southern Sotho

neg: Language policy in France draft law on ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages driving away the assumption of Congress for the adoption of the constitutional reform which would have given the value and legitimacy to regional languages. Excluding the languages spoken in the overseas regions and other overseas territories, and the languages of recent immigrants, the following languages are spoken by sizeable minorities in France: The non-French Oïl languages and Franco-Provençal are highly endangered; because of their similarity to standard French, their speakers conformed much more readily. The other languages are still spoken but are all considered endangered. In the

neg: Languages of Argentina terms were adopted into Lunfardo slang. Occitan, Turoyo, Ukrainian, and Vlax Romani are all reportedly spoken, but the number of speakers are not known. Many Aymará speakers have migrated to Argentina for sugar mill and other work; of more than 2.2 million speakers globally, many are in Argentina. There are Mandarin-, Cantonese-, Japanese-, Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu)-, Korean-, Slovak- and Russian-speaking immigrant communities. Chiripá is also spoken. The Argentinien-schwyzertütsch dialect (Argentine-Swiss German dialect) was introduced by Swiss immigrants. Languages of Argentina At least 40 spoken languages are spoken in Argentina. They include indigenous and immigrant languages, with Spanish being dominant. Some are

neg: Languages of Romania Languages of Romania In Romania there are several spoken languages. Beside Romanian, the countrywide official language, other spoken languages are spoken and sometimes co-official at a local level. These languages include Hungarian, Romani, Ukrainian, German, Russian, Turkish, Tatar, Serbian, Slovak, Bulgarian, and Croatian. According to the 2002 Romanian Census, Romanian is spoken by 91% of the population as a primary language. According to the Romanian Constitution and the law 1206 of 2006 the official language in Romania is Romanian both at the national and local level. After the fall of Romania's communist government in 1989, the various minority languages have

neg: Iran to the neighboring Caucasian languages. In parts of Gilan, the Talysh language is also widely spoken, which stretches up to the neighboring Republic of Azerbaijan. Varieties of Kurdish are widely spoken in the province of Kurdistan and nearby areas. In Khuzestan, several distinct varieties of Persian are spoken. Lurish and Lari are also spoken in southern Iran. Azerbaijani Turkish, which is by far the most spoken language in the country after Persian, as well as a number of other Turkic languages and dialects, is spoken in various regions of Iran, especially in the region of Azerbaijan. Notable minority languages in

neg: Languages of the Caribbean Venezuela, Colombia and Peru". Many indigenous languages (actually spoken with the mainland Caribbean rather than the islands) have been added to the list of endangered or extinct languages—for example, Arawak languages (Shebayo, Igñeri, Lokono, Garifuna of St. Vincent, and the one now labeled Taíno by scholars, once spoken in the Greater Antilles), Caribbean (Nepuyo and Yao), Taruma, Atorada, Warrau, Arecuna, Akawaio and Patamona. Some of these languages are still spoken there by a few people. Creoles are contact languages usually spoken in rather isolated colonies, the vocabulary of which is mainly taken from a European language (the lexifier). Creoles generally

neg: Elgon languages Elgon languages The Elgon languages are languages of the Southern Nilotic Kalenjin family spoken in the Mount Elgon area in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. According to the Ethnologue, there are two main Elgon languages: Kupsabiny (spoken by about 120,000 people) and Sabaot (spoken by about 134,000 people). Sabaot is a common name assumed by various related peoples, including the Kony, Pok, and Bong'om (after whom the Western Kenyan town of Bungoma is named), whose respective languages are considered separate languages by Rottland (1982). The Terik people, living east of Lake Victoria wedged in between the Nandi, Luo and Luyia,

neg: Zapotec languages continuum in a strict sense, though neither are there clear-cut divisions between groups of varieties. As a result, the Mexican government officially recognizes sixty Zapotec languages. Zapotec languages fall into four broad geographic divisions: Zapoteco de la Sierra Norte (Northern Zapotec), Valley Zapotec, Zapoteco de la Sierra Sur (Southern Zapotec), and Isthmus Zapotec. Northern Zapotec languages are spoken in the mountainous region of Oaxaca, in the Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges; Southern Zapotec languages and are spoken in the mountainous region of Oaxaca, in the Southern Sierra Madre mountain ranges; Valley Zapotec languages are spoken in the Valley of Oaxaca,

neg: Oromia Region Ethiopians with an Amhara father (or from another ethnic background) and Oromo mother are registered using only their father's ethnic label. Oromo (Afaan Oromoo), which is written with Latin characters, is the most commonly spoken language, spoken by 83.5% of the population. Other major languages are Amharic (11%) (especially in eastern Welega and northern Shewa), Gurage languages (Sebat Bet Gurage, Soddo, Silt'e), Hadiya, Gedeo (0.98%), especially in western and eastern Shewa; and Tigrigna (0.25%). Omotic languages are spoken by significant minorities in Jimma, Illubabor and western Welega; and some Nilo-Saharan languages (including Komo, Majang, Gumuz, and Berta) are spoken in

neg: Qiangic languages classification. Qiangic languages are spoken mainly in western Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan provinces of China. Sun Hongkai (2013) lists the following watersheds (riverine systems) and the respective Qiangic languages spoken there. Qiangic languages Qiangic ("Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang"), formerly known as Dzorgaic, is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan. Most Qiangic languages are distributed in the prefectures of Ngawa, Garzê, Ya'an, and Liangshan in Sichuan with some in northern Yunnan as well. Qiangic speakers are variously classified as part of the Qiang, Tibetan, Pumi, Nakhi

neg: Languages of Eritrea Afro-Asiatic family developed in situ in the Horn, with its speakers subsequently dispersing from there. Eritrea's population now comprises nine ethnic groups, most of whom speak languages from the Semitic and Cushitic branches of the Afro-Asiatic family. Estimates of numbers of speakers given below are from SIL Ethnologue unless otherwise noted. The South Semitic (North Ethopic) languages spoken in Eritrea are Tigrinya, Tigre, and Dahlik (formerly considered a dialect of Tigre). Together, they are spoken by around 70% of local residents: Other Afro-Asiatic languages belonging to the family's Cushitic branch are also spoken in the country. They are spoken by

neg: Judeo-Hamedani dialect Jews from their native areas created linguistic differences, giving rise to a large number of mutually incomprehensible dialects of Judeo-Persian. This is why, according to Habib Borjian, we need to separate Judeo-Hamadan from Judeo Persian(Habib Borjian, 117). Judeo-Persian shares many features in common with Modern Persian, while still manifesting distinct differences. According to Gitisetan, these include(Dariush Gitisetan, 13) Besides those languages categorized under Judeo-Persian, there are also several other spoken languages that belong under the Iranian stock of languages that are associated with Jewish populations in Iran. What Habib Borjian refers to as “Judeo-Median,” are a number of languages that