1. Benue-Congo
1.1. Yoruba
1.2. Shona
1.3. Nyanja
1.4. Rwanda
1.5. Gikuyu
1.6. Luba
1.7. Rundi
1.8. Kongo
1.9. Xhosa
1.10. Sesotho
1.11. Sukuma
1.12. Tswana
1.13. Zulu
1.14. Igbo (Ibo)
2. Austric
2.1. Austronesian
2.1.1. Tagalog
2.1.2. Filipino
2.1.3. Madurese
2.1.4. Malay
2.1.5. Bikol
2.1.6. Sunda
2.1.7. Minangkabau
2.1.8. Malagasy
2.1.9. Indonesian
2.1.10. Llocano
2.1.11. Javanese: This the most spoken language in the Austronesian language family. It is spoken mostly in Indonesia in the Java Islands.
2.1.12. Hilgaynon
2.1.13. Cebuano
2.2. Austro-Asiatic
2.2.1. Khmer
2.2.2. Santali
2.2.3. Vietnamese: This is the most spoken language in the Austro-Asiatic language family. This spoken in Vietnam. Fun fact: Vietnamese is written in Roman alphabet. This is because of Roman Catholic missionaries.
3. Sino-Caucasian
3.1. Sino-Tibetan
3.1.1. Sinitic
3.1.1.1. Wu
3.1.1.2. Min
3.1.1.3. Yue (Cantonese)
3.1.1.4. Hakka
3.1.1.5. Mandarin: The most spoken language in the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is spoken in China and Taiwan. Fun fact: Most of the Chinese language are ideograms ("represents ideas or concepts, not specific pronunciations)
3.1.1.6. Jinyu
3.1.1.7. Xiang
3.1.1.8. Gan
3.1.2. Tibeto-Burman
3.1.2.1. Burmese
4. Tai-Kadai
4.1. Zhuang
4.2. Tai
5. Nilo-Saharan
6. Hmong
7. Niger-Congo
7.1. Mande
7.1.1. Mandingo
7.2. Gur
7.2.1. Moore
7.3. Kwa
7.3.1. Akan
7.4. Atlantic
7.4.1. Fula
8. Quechan
9. Guarani
10. Japanese
10.1. Japanese: This is spoken in Japan. Like Chinese it is written in part of Chinese ideograms. But it also uses two systems of phonetic symbols. Fun fact: "Chinese cultural traits have diffused into Japanese society, including the original form of writing the Japanese language." This is because of influences from China.
11. Korean
11.1. Korean: This is spoken in North Korea and South Korea. Korean is written in hankul. "In this system, each letter represents a sound, as in Western languages." FUN FACT: Majority of Korean words derived from Chinese and some from Japanese. This is because of past invasions (Japan occupation) and influence from China.
12. How Languages Come to Be
12.1. 1. Isolation
12.1.1. Isolation results in lack of interaction with speakers of other languages. This can be caused by intervening obstacles: the environment & (possibility) pressure and/or influence by people within the group
12.1.1.1. Ex.: One good example is Basque. It is the only language currently spoken in Europe "that survives from the period before the arrival of the Indo-European."
12.1.1.2. Ex.: Another good example is Iceland. After Norwegian settlers colonized Iceland in 874 AD, there was lack of communication with Europe. While Icelandic stayed the same, Norwegian added new words and pronunciations.
12.2. 2. Colonization
12.2.1. Colonization results in the end of the native language or a mixing of both native and colonized groups (also known as creole).
12.2.1.1. Ex.: One example is French and Haitian Creole spoken in Haiti.
12.3. 3. Power
12.3.1. Power results in the elimination of the languages spoken by minority or 'weaker' groups.
12.3.1.1. Ex.: An example is the Chinese government. Because the official language in China is Mandarin Chinese, the government has been trying to eliminate languages spoken by minority groups. This is because the Chinese government believes that China should be unified in a language.
13. Nostratic
13.1. Altaic
13.1.1. Uzbek
13.1.2. Turkmen
13.1.3. Kazakh
13.1.4. Tatar
13.1.5. Turkish: This is the most spoken language in the Altaic language family. FUN FACT: Turkish was once written in Arabic, but is now currently written in Roman letters. This is because in 1928, the Turksh government believed that if they switched to Roman letters, then it would help "modernize the economy and culture of Turkey through increased communications with European countries."
13.1.6. Azerbaijani
13.1.7. Uyghur
13.1.8. Mongolian
13.2. Uralic
13.2.1. Urgric
13.2.1.1. Magyar
13.2.2. Finnic
13.2.2.1. Finnish
13.3. Dravidian
13.3.1. Malayalam
13.3.2. Telugu
13.3.3. Tamil
13.3.4. Kannada
13.4. Afro- Asiatic
13.4.1. Semitic
13.4.1.1. Amharic
13.4.1.2. Tigrigna
13.4.1.3. Arabic: This the major language in the Afro-Asiatic family. FUN FACT: Arabic is one of the six official languages spoken in the UN
13.4.1.4. Hebrew
13.4.2. Chadic
13.4.2.1. Hausa
13.4.3. Cushitic
13.4.3.1. Oromo
13.4.3.2. Somali
13.4.4. Berber
13.5. Indo-European
13.5.1. Germanic
13.5.1.1. North Germanic
13.5.1.1.1. Danish
13.5.1.1.2. Norwegian
13.5.1.1.3. Swedish
13.5.1.2. West Germanic
13.5.1.2.1. English: This is the most spoken language in the world! Once spoke in only England, now it is spoken in North America, Austrailia, and other countries! This is thanks to colonization and the help of technology.
13.5.1.2.2. German
13.5.1.2.3. Afrikaans
13.5.1.2.4. Dutch
13.5.2. Romance
13.5.2.1. Sicilian
13.5.2.2. Italian
13.5.2.3. Romanian
13.5.2.4. Neapolitan
13.5.2.5. Spanish: This is the most spoken language in the Romance language group. It is spoken in most of South and Central America and in Spain. Thanks to past colonization, Spanish was spread to the other half of the hemisphere!
13.5.2.6. Catlan
13.5.2.7. French
13.5.2.8. Haitian Creole
13.5.2.9. Portuguese
13.5.2.10. Lombard
13.5.2.11. Venetian
13.5.3. Balto-Slavic
13.5.3.1. East Slavic
13.5.3.1.1. Ukranian
13.5.3.1.2. Belerusan
13.5.3.1.3. Russian: This is the most spoken language in the Balto-Slavic language group. This language was once dispersed because of the Soviet Union.
13.5.3.2. West Slavic
13.5.3.2.1. Czech
13.5.3.2.2. Slovak
13.5.3.2.3. Polish
13.5.3.3. South Slavic
13.5.3.3.1. Serbo-Crotian
13.5.3.3.2. Bulgarian
13.5.4. Indo-Iranian
13.5.4.1. Indo-Aryan
13.5.4.1.1. Maithili
13.5.4.1.2. Nepali
13.5.4.1.3. Lahnda (Panjabi)
13.5.4.1.4. Bhojpuri
13.5.4.1.5. Urdu
13.5.4.1.6. Konkani
13.5.4.1.7. Marathi
13.5.4.1.8. Sinhalese
13.5.4.1.9. Hindi: This is the most spoken language in the Indo-Aryan. This is spoken in India. FUN FACT: Hindi became the official language in India during the British Rule. Currently, English is way to communicate within India.
13.5.4.1.10. Sindhi
13.5.4.1.11. Oriya
13.5.4.1.12. Bengali
13.5.4.1.13. Gujarati
13.5.4.1.14. Gujarati
13.5.4.1.15. Assamese
13.5.4.1.16. Kasmiri
13.5.4.2. Iranian
13.5.4.2.1. Balochi
13.5.4.2.2. Tajik
13.5.4.2.3. Pashto
13.5.4.2.4. Farsi (Persian)
13.5.4.2.5. Kurdish
13.5.5. Origin and Diffusion of Indo-European
13.5.5.1. Nomadic Warrior Thesis
13.5.5.1.1. Marija Gimbutas: The first Proto-Indo-European speakers were the Kurgan people. The kurgans were nomadic herders. With the help of domesticated horses and cattle, they migrated to search for grasslands for their animals. This resulted in a movement westward to Europe, eastward to Siberia, and south-eastward to South Asia. Between 3500-2500 BC, Kurgan warriors conquered much of Europe and South Asia with their domesticated horses as weapons.
13.5.5.2. Sedentary Farmer Thesis
13.5.5.2.1. Colin Renfrew: The first Proto-Indo-European speakers lived 2,000 years before Kurgans, in eastern Anatolia. The farmers in Anatolia traded food and produced food. This resulted in people migrating to other places to grow more food. Along with them, they took their language.