Linguistic Diversity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23658652 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lenore A Grenoble, Lenore Grenoble (0000-0001-8810-7395, University of Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-5 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0716.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W7140374520 |
| ISBN | 9781405198431 |
| Language | EN |
Although it is somewhat difficult to count languages and to measure linguistic diversity with exact precision, there are estimated to be between 6,000 and 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. Languages can be classified genealogically or typologically. Genealogical classification involves the relationships of languages from a common ancestor, how they are related in terms of linguistic families. Typological classification involves how languages are more or less similar in terms of the type of linguistic structures.
Diversity (politics) · Linguistic demography · Linguistic diversity · Linguistic typology · Linguistic universal · Type (biology) · Variation (astronomy)
| Highly cited | No |
|---|