MOTHER TONGUE 3 - SPECIFIC LANGUAGES USED IN STUDIES
W.G. Davey: All Rights Reserved
Many names and relationships of the languages that we analyze will be unfamiliar. There are two sources that we have found to be particularly useful in describing them and placing them in context. The first is "A Guide to the World’s Languages" by Merritt Ruhlen, published by Stanford University Press in 1991 and the second is "Ethnologue, Languages of the World" published by SIL International and available on the Internet as well as in hard copy.
The languages for Northern Eurasia are divided into 26 Indo-European and 27 non Indo European, and in the former we have grouped the Germanic, Latin, Celtic languages and so on. Though classified as isolates by some we include Basque and Ainu in this latter grouping. And we include the Eskimo languages of North America in this group since it is clear that they are surely relative new-comers to America from the Arctic shores of Northeastern Asia.
In South East Asia (SEAS) there are 162 languages in total. Because there are so many languages that are likely to be unfamiliar we have included the page number (with an initial "R") in Ruhlen’s book for those who want more detail. Here we have Chinese as the single example of Sinitic, 38 examples of Tibeto-Karen, 21 Austric, 102 Austronesian, 21 Dravidian languages from India, and Burushaski. The Dravidian languages are from a massive single source; the "Dravidian Etymological Dictionary" compiled by T. Burrow and M.B. Emeneau (Clarendon Press Oxford, 1961). We also include the Andaman and Onge languages found in the Andaman Islands.
In the Middle East we have a total of 32 languages in Africa comprising 19 Afro-Asiatic and 13 Nilo-Saharan. These include Hebrew, Arabic, and extinct Akkadian and hieroglyphic Egyptian that should perhaps be considered separately from the other languages in this group. In Southern Africa we have a total of 25, of which 20 are Niger-Kordofanian and 5 Khoisan.
In the Americas we have included a large number of languages because of a particular interest in possible migration into this area and subsequent internal movements.
The Na-Dene languages are separately listed because of the contention by some that they may be different from the other American peoples. There are 47 Na-Dene languages and the largest number of these is found in Alaska, Canada, and northwest America. The next group is that found in the coastal regions of Oregon and California and the third are the peoples of Southwest America, the Navajo and Apache. Here we include three peoples of the Northwest who are generally considered to be of the Na-Dene or closely related to them. Some of the Na-Dene vocabularies are very limited.
In both North and South America we have over 200 languages. Here we have followed the analysis of Greenberg that is disputed by some; however we do not necessarily support his assessment of the status of Na-Dene. As can be seen, the languages listed here include all of the identified major groups. In addition to the names obtained directly by the writer from specific sources we include that names used by Greenberg in his study "Language in the Americas"; these are listed as GR-xxx.
There are 33 Almosan-Keresiouan, 44 Penutian, 23 Hokan 24 Central Amerind, 18 Equatorial, 9 Macro-Ge, 15 Chibchan, 13 Paezan, 13 Macro-Tucanoan, 21 Macro-Panoan, and 19 Andean for a total of 201.
In Australia there are 88 languages, Prefix, Suffix, and Tasmanian. There are 27 Prefix languages found in the northeast, and 3 non Paman-Nyungen east of this group. In addition there are five groups of Paman-Nyungen, 10 south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, 13 in Cape York, 4 in North Arnhem, 8 in the west and south, and 23 in the southwest. There is also the single language of Tasmania.
In Papua there is a total of 90 languages. For convenience in distinguishing the unfamiliar Papuan names from the equally unfamiliar Australian names we have given each Papuan file an initial "P". Also we have often chosen to group numbers of languages from a given region under a single file-name. There are three groups in the west, 18 languages in the South Coastal Plain, 7 in the Highlands and 20 on the North Coast. There are three groups in the east, 7 languages on the North Coast, 27 in the Highlands and 9 on the South Coast. There are two languages in the off shore islands.