List of Real World languages
 | This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes. |
There are approximately 8,511 languages in the Real World, including around 700 constructed languages, still being spoken in 2023. Here they are, categorized by family.
This page includes notable examples of the languages, such as literature, music, drama, film, and television.
Abkhaz-Adyghe
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Abkhaz | Abkhazians | Cyrillic alphabet |
Afro-Asiatic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Amazigh communities in Morocco | Tifnagh, Arabic script |
| Egyptian Arabic | Egyptians | Arabic script |
| Hausa | Hausa people | Latin alphabet, Arabic script |
| Hebrew | Jewish people, Samaritans | Hebrew alphabet |
| Levantine Arabic | Levantines, including Palestinians and Lebanese people | Arabic script |
| Maltese | Maltese people | Latin alphabet |
Algic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Anishinaabemowin | Anishinaabeg | Latin alphabet, syllabics |
| Huluníixsuwaakan (Munsee) | Lenape | Latin alphabet |
| Lnuismk | Miꞌkmaq | Latin alphabet |
| Myaamiaataweenki | Myaamiaki | Latin alphabet |
Amto-Musan
All Amto-Musan languages have been listed below. This makes it the second language family to be completely listed in this page.
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Amto | Three villages in Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province | TBA |
| Siawi | The village of Siawi, Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province | TBA |
Andamanese
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Aka-Jeru | Andaman Island communities | TBA |
Arafundi
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Nanubae | Communities in Papua New Guinea | TBA |
Arai (Left May)
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Iteri | Sandaun Province, Rocky Peak Mountains | TBA |
Arauan
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Kulina | Kulina people | TBA |
Australian
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Pitjantjatjara | Pitjantjatjara people | Latin alphabet |
Austro-Asiatic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Khmer | Khmer people | Khmer script |
| Mon | Mon people | Mon-Burmese script |
| Santali | Santal people | Ol Chiki script |
| Vietnamese | Vietnamese people | Latin alphabet |
| Wa | Wa people | Latin alphabet |
Austronesian
Constructed
| Name | Creator(s) | Date | Writing system | Notable works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esperanto | L. L. Zamenhof | 1887 | Latin alphabet |
|
| Ido | Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language | 1907 | Latin alphabet | |
| Interlingua | International Auxiliary Language Association | 1951 | Latin alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet | |
| Interslavic | Ondrej Rečnik, Gabriel Svoboda, Jan van Steenbergen, Igor Polyakov, Vojtěch Merunka, Steeven Radzikowski | 2006 | Latin alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet | |
| Iqglic | Jack Eisenmann | 2012 | Latin alphabet | |
| Ithkuil | John Quijada | 1978-2023 | Morphophonemic | |
| Lojban | Logical Language Group | 1987 | Latin alphabet or Zbalermorna | |
| Lolcat | Someone on 4chan | 2006 (current form) | Latin alphabet | |
| Naʼvi | Paul Frommer | 2005 | Latin alphabet (outside of the Avatar universe) | |
| Pangesese | Jurta | 2024 | Pangesese script | |
| Pig Latin | Arthur Fields | 1919 | Latin alphabet | |
| Puflantu | N/A | 2019 | Latin alphabet | |
| toki pona | jan Sonja | 2001 | Various, including the Latin alphabet and sitelen pona |
|
| Zhinekan | Jurta | 2024 | Latin alphabet |
Creole
| Name | Homeland | Influence | Writing system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian Pidgin | Hawaii | English, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Yue, Japanese, Ilocano, Okinawan, Korean | Latin alphabet |
| Jamaican Patois | Jamaica | English, Akan languages, other West African languages | Latin alphabet |
Dravidian
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Kannada | Kannadigaru | Kannada script |
| Tamil | Tamil people | Tamil script |
| Telugu | Telugu people | Telugu script |
Eyak-Athabaskan
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Homeland | Writing system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diné bizaad | Diné (Navajo) | Dinétah | Latin alphabet |
Indo-European
Iroquoian
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Kanienʼkéha | Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) | Latin alphabet |
Language isolates
These languages are so distinct to the point where they can't be classified into any family.
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Ainu | Ainu | Katakana, Latin alphabet |
| Bajonkistani | Bajonkistani people | TBA |
| Bajookanese | Bajookanese people | TBA |
| Burushaski | Burusho people | Arabic script |
| Basque | Basque people | Latin alphabet |
| Ktunaxa | Ainu | Latin alphabet |
| Purépecha | Purépecha people | Latin alphabet |
| Shiwiʼma (Zuni) | A:shiwi (Zuni) people | Latin alphabet |
Japonic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system | Notable works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Japanese people | Mixed Kanji and Kana |
|
Kartvelian
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system | Notable works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgian | Georgians | Georgian script |
|
Koreanic
All Koreanic languages have been listed below. This makes it the first language family to be completely listed in this page.
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Homeland | Writing system | Notable works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jejueo | Jeju people | Jeju Island | Hangul | |
| Korean | Koreans | Korea | Hangul |
Kra-Dai
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Lao | Lao people | Lao script |
| Northeastern Thai | Isan people | Mostly the Thai script nowadays |
| Thai | Thai people | Thai script |
Mongolic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Khalkha Mongolian | Mongols | Mongolian script, Cyrillic alphabet |
Niger-Congo
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Homeland | Writing system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò | Ṇ́dị́ Ìgbò | Àlà Ị̀gbò | Latin alphabet, Arabic script |
| chiShona | VaShona | Zimbabwe | Latin alphabet |
| Èdè Yorùbá | Ọmọ Yorùbá | Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá | Predominantly the Latin alphabet |
| isiZulu | amaZulu | kwaZulu | Latin alphabet |
| Kiswahili | Waswahili | Swahili Coast | Latin alphabet, Arabic script |
| Sesotho | Basotho | Lesotho | Latin alphabet |
Sino-Tibetan
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Burmese | Bamar people | Mon-Burmese script |
| Classical Chinese | Chinese people | Chinese characters |
| Dzongkha | Ngalop | Tibetan script |
| Hakka | Hakka people | Chinese characters |
| Lhasa Tibetan | Tibetan communities in Lhasa | Tibetan script |
| Mandarin | Han people | Chinese characters |
| Min Nan | Hoklo and Teochew people | Chinese characters |
| Wu | Wu people | Chinese characters |
| Yue | Cantonese/Yue people | Chinese characters |
Tupian
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Paraguayan Guaraní | Guaraní communities of Paraguay | Latin alphabet |
Turkic
Uralic
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Estonian | Estonians | Latin alphabet |
| Finnish | Finns | Latin alphabet |
| Hungarian | Hungarians | Latin alphabet |
Uto-Aztecan
| Name | Indigenous ethnic group | Writing system |
|---|---|---|
| Nahuatl | Nahua peoples | Latin alphabet |
Trivia
- The majority of the world's living languages are in Asia and Africa.
- Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with 839 living languages being spoken there.
- Europe has around 225 indigenous languages.
- The Indo-European languages (including English, French, German, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Hindi, Punjabi, Bangla, Farsi, Greek, Albanian, Armenian, and Irish) have the most speakers.