Most folks who try to make a
taxonomy of all the world's languages separate them into language families, within each of which all the languages are in some way related. Three such taxonomies are produced by
Ethnologue,
Linguasphere and the
Dictionary of Languages.
Not long ago, Ethnologue divided the Languages of the World into 5 groups (more or less by continent) and 99 Families. In their latest revision, they dropped the groups and reafactored to 108 families. The number following each family is a count of the distinct languages within that family.
Afro-Asiatic (375) Alacalufan (2) Algic (44) Altaic (66) Amto-Musan (2)
Andamanese (13) Arauan (8) Araucanian (2) Arawakan (64) Artificial language (3)
Arutani-Sape (2) Australian (263) Austro-Asiatic (169) Austronesian (1268) Aymaran (3)
Barbacoan (7) Basque (3) Bayono-Awbono (2) Caddoan (5) Cahuapanan (2)
Cant (1) Carib (32) Chapacura-Wanham (5) Chibchan (22) Chimakuan (2)
Choco (12) Chon (2) Chukotko-Kamchatkan (5) Chumash (7) Coahuiltecan (1)
Creole (86) Deaf sign language (121) Dravidian (73) East Bird's Head (3) East Papuan (36)
Eskimo-Aleut (11) Geelvink Bay (33) Guahiban (5) Gulf (4) Harakmbet (2)
Hibito-Cholon (2) Hmong-Mien (35) Hokan (28) Huavean (4) Indo-European (449)
Iroquoian (11) Japanese (12) Jivaroan (4) Kartvelian (5) Katukinan (3)
Keres (2) Khoisan (27) Kiowa Tanoan (6) Kwomtari-Baibai (6) Language Isolate (40)
Left May (6) Lower Mamberamo (2) Lule-Vilela (1) Macro-Ge (32) Maku (6)
Mascoian (5) Mataco-Guaicuru (12) Mayan (69) Misumalpan (4) Mixed Language (21)
Mixe-Zoque (17) Mura (1) Muskogean (6) Na-Dene (47) Nambiquaran (3)
Niger-Congo (1514) Nilo-Saharan (204) North Caucasian (34) Oto-Manguean (174) Panoan (28)
Peba-Yaguan (2) Penutian (33) Pidgin (18) Quechuan (46) Salishan (27)
Salivan (3) Sepik-Ramu (100) Sign language (3) Sino-Tibetan (403) Siouan (17)
Sko (7) Subtiaba-Tlapanec (5) Tacanan (6) Tai-Kadai (76) Tarascan (2)
Torricelli (53) Totonacan (11) Trans-New Guinea (564) Tucanoan (25) Tupi (76)
Unclassified (78) Uralic (39) Uru-Chipaya (2) Uto-Aztecan (61) Wakashan (5)
West Papuan (26) Witotoan (6) Yanomam (4) Yeniseian (2) Yukaghir (2)
Yuki (2) Zamucoan (2) Zaparoan (7)
Linguasphere (www.linguasphere.org) divides the totality of the
world's languages into ten Sectors, and each of those into ten zones :
Africa
Mandic Songhaic Saharic Sudanic Nilotic
East-Sahel Kordofanic Rift-Valley Khoisanic Kalahari
Afro-Asian
Tamazic Coptic Semitic Bejic Cushitic
Eyasic Omotic Charic Mandaric Bauchic
Australia
Arafura Mamberamo Mandangic Owalamic Transirianic
Cendrawasih Sepik-Valley Bismarck-Sea North-Australia Trans-Australia
Austronesian
Taiwanic Hesperonesic Mesonesic Halmayapenic Neoguineic
Manusic Solomonic Kanakic West-Pacific Transpacific
Eurasia
Euskaric Uralic Caucasus Siberia Transasia
East-Asia South-Asia Daic Mienic Dravidic
Indo-European
Celtic Romanic Germanic Slavic Baltic
Albanic Hellenic Armenic Iranic Indic
North-America
Arctic Nadenic Algic Saint-Lawrence Mississippi
Aztecic Farwest Desert Gulf Meso-America
Sino-Indian
Tibetic Himalayic Garic Kukic Miric
Kachinic Rungic Irrawaddic Karenic Sinitic
South-America
Caribic Inter-Ocean Arawakic Pre-Andes Andes
Chaco-Cone Mato-Grosso Amazon Tupic Bahia
Transafrican
Atlantic Voltaic Adamawic Ubangic Melic
Kruic Aframic Deltic Benuic Bantuic
In his book Dictionary of Languages (1998), Andrew Dalby doesn't impose an
artificial hierarchy upon the world's languages, but instead sets the roots
of the tree to be those groups of languages (or isolated languages)
which have not yet been
convincingly shown to be related to one another. In theory, once everything
is known about every language ever spoken, this list will be of length one. Here are the 42 unrelated roots.
Afroasiatic Ainu Altaic*
Amerind* Angan Australian
Austroasiatic Austro-Tai* Burushaski
Central and South New Guinean Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dani-Kwerba
Dravidian East New Guinea Highlands Eskimo-Aleut
Great Andamanese Hadza Huon-Finisterre
Indo-European Kartvelian or South Caucasian Ket
Khwe Little Andamanese Na-Dene
Nakh or North Central Caucasian Niger-Congo Nihali
Nilo-Saharan Nivkh or Gilyak North East Caucasian
Northern San North West Caucasian Sepik-Ramu
Sino-Tibetan Southern San Tasmanian
Timor-Alur-Pantar Uralic West Papuan
Wissel Lakes-Kemandoga Yukaghir Basque
* "These family groupings are still in the waiting room between inspired
guesswork and established fact.
"
Altaic probably includes Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic, and perhaps Korean and Japanese.
Amerind may perhaps include Algonquian, Araucanian, Aymara, Iroquoian, Mayan, Quechua, Uto-Aztecan and many others.
Austro-Tai probably includes Austronesian, Miao-Yao and Kadai.