Language families with at least 7 million native users are shown in Figure 5-4. Individual languages with at least 50 million users are named on the map. The several thousand languages can be organized logically into a small number of language families. Ethnologue identifies 141 language families.

Distribution of Language Families

The origin of distinct language families predates recorded history, so we can only speculate about their origin and initial diffusion. A biologist in New Zealand, Quentin Atkinson, argues that language originated in Africa. According to Atkinson, languages are most complex and diverse in Africa. Atkinson thinks humans outside Africa display less linguistic diversity because their languages have had a shorter time in which to evolve into new languages than have African languages.

Origin of Languages

Biologist Quentin Atkinson argues that languages originated in West Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago. Further from that region of origin, languages are less diverse with fewer phonetic sounds.

Language in Africa

Sign in South Africa posted in four languages. Use your translation app to identify the three languages in addition to English.

Pause & Reflect 5.1.2

Sino-Tibetan is the second-most widely used language family, but it appears to encompass a smaller land area than several other language families. Why is this the case?