5.1 Classifying Languages
Languages around the world can group up to family trees
Language, Official Language, and Literary Tradition
Official language is one that is used by the government for conducting business and publishing documents.
Many languages also have a literary tradition, or a system of written communication. Approximately 85 languages are spoken by at least 10 million people, and approximately 300 languages by between 1 million and 10 million people.
Language Family Tree
Language Family Tree
Language Family: a collection of Languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history.
Language branch: a collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago.
Language group: a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display many similarities in grammar and vocabulary.