Number of Languages
The total number of contemporary languages in the world is not known, and it is not well defined what constitutes a separate language rather than a dialect. Estimates vary depending on the extent and means of the research undertaken, and the definition of a distinct language and the current state of knowledge of remote and isolated language communities. The number of known languages varies over time as some of them become extinct and others are newly discovered.
One of the most active research agencies is SIL International, which maintains a database, Ethnologue, kept up to date by the contributions of linguists globally.
Ethnologue's 2005 count of languages in its database, excluding duplicates in different countries, was 6,912, of which 32.8% (2,269) were in Asia, and 30.3% (2,092) in Africa. This contemporary tally must be regarded as a variable number within a range. Areas with a particularly large number of languages that are nearing extinction include: Eastern Siberia, Central Siberia, Northern Australia, Central America, and the Northwest Pacific Plateau. Other hotspots are Oklahoma and Southern South America.
Read more about this topic: Endangered Language
Famous quotes containing the words number of, number and/or languages:
“It is the quality of the moment, not the number of days, or events, or of actors, that imports.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The poetic act consists of suddenly seeing that an idea splits up into a number of equal motifs and of grouping them; they rhyme.”
—Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898)
“It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)