Locations of a few relatively well-known examples of isolated languages
Alanguage isolate, or anisolated language, is alanguage that has no demonstrablegenetic relationship with any other languages.[1][2]Basque in Europe,Ainu[1] andBurushaski in Asia,Sandawe in Africa,Haida andZuni in North America,Kanoê andTrumai in South America, andTiwi in Oceania are all examples of such languages. The exact number of language isolates is yet unknown due to insufficient data on several languages.[3]
One explanation for the existence of language isolates is that they might be the last remaining member of a larger language family. Such languages might have had relatives in the past that have since disappeared without being documented, leaving them an orphaned language. One example is theKet language spoken incentral Siberia, which belongs to the widerYeniseian language family; had it been discovered in recent times independently from its now extinct relatives, such asYugh andKott, it would have been classified as an isolate. Another explanation for language isolates is that they arose independently in isolation and thus do not share a common linguistic genesis with any other language but themselves. This explanation mostly applies tosign languages that have developed independently of other spoken or signed languages.[1][4]
Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families if some of their dialects are judged to be sufficiently different from the standard to be seen as different languages. Examples includeJapanese andGeorgian: Japanese is now part of theJaponic language family with theRyukyuan languages, and Georgian is the main language in theKartvelian language family. There is a difference between language isolates andunclassified languages, but they can be difficult to differentiate when it comes to classifyingextinct languages.[1] If such efforts eventually do prove fruitful, a language previously considered an isolate may no longer be considered one, as happened with theYanyuwa language of northernAustralia, which has been placed in thePama–Nyungan family.[5] Since linguists do not always agree on whether a genetic relationship has been demonstrated, it is often disputed whether a language is an isolate.
A genetic relationship is when two different languages are descended from a common ancestral language.[6] This is what makes up alanguage family, which is a set of languages for which sufficient evidence exists to demonstrate that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related.[1] For example,English is related to otherIndo-European languages andMandarin Chinese is related to otherSino-Tibetan languages. By this criterion, each language isolate constitutes a family of its own.[6]
This is not to be confused with family-level isolates, which are not language isolates themselves but form a primary branch of a language family, such asArmenian withinIndo-European andPaiwan withinAustronesian.
Caution is required when speaking ofextinct languages as language isolates. Despite their great age,Sumerian andElamite can be safely classified as isolates, as the languages are well enough documented that, if modern relatives existed, they would be recognizably related.[7] A language thought to be an isolate may turn out to be related to other languages once enough material is recovered, but this is unlikely for extinct languages whose written records have not been preserved.[1]
Many extinct languages are very poorly attested, which may lead to them being consideredunclassified languages instead of language isolates. This occurs when linguists do not have enough information on a language to classify it as either a language isolate or as a part of another language family.[1]
Unclassified languages are different from language isolates in that they have no demonstrable genetic relationships to other languages due to a lack of sufficient data. In order to be considered a language isolate, a language needs to have sufficient data for comparisons with other languages through methods ofhistorical-comparative linguistics to show that it does not have any genetic relationships.[1]
Many extinct languages and living languages today are very poorly attested, and the fact that they cannot be linked to other languages may be a reflection of linguists' poor knowledge of them.Hattic,Gutian, andKassite are all considered unclassified languages, but their status is disputed by a minority of linguists.[8] Many extinct languages of theAmericas such asCayuse andMajena may likewise have been isolates.[9] Several unclassified languages could also be language isolates, but linguists cannot be sure of this without sufficient evidence.[1]
A number ofsign languages have arisen independently, without any ancestral language, and thus are language isolates. These includeNicaraguan Sign Language, a well-documented case of what has happened in schools for the deaf in many countries.[10] In Tanzania, for example, there are seven schools for the deaf, each with its ownsign language with no connection to any other language.[11] Sign languages have also developed outside schools, in communities with high incidences of deafness, such asKata Kolok in Bali, and half a dozen sign languages of the hill tribes in Thailand including theBan Khor Sign Language.[12][13]
These and more are all presumed isolates or small local families, because many deaf communities are made up of people whose hearing parents do not use sign language, and have manifestly, as shown by the language itself, not borrowed their sign language from other deaf communities during the recorded history of these languages.[12]
Below is a list of known language isolates, arranged by continent, along with notes on possible relations to other languages or language families.
The status column indicates thedegree of endangerment of the language, according to the definitions of the UNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[14] "Vibrant" languages are those in full use by speakers of every generation, with consistent native acquisition by children. "Vulnerable" languages have a similarly wide base of native speakers, but a restricted use and the long-term risk oflanguage shift. "Endangered" languages are either acquired irregularly or spoken only by older generations. "Moribund" languages have only a few remaining native speakers, with no new acquisition, highly restricted use, and near-universal multilingualism. "Extinct" languages have no native speakers, but are sufficiently documented to be classified as isolates.
With few exceptions, all of Africa's languages have been gathered into four major phyla:Afroasiatic,Niger–Congo,Nilo-Saharan andKhoisan.[15] However, the genetic unity of some language families, likeNilo-Saharan,[16][17] is questionable, and so there may be many more language families and isolates than currently accepted. Data for several African languages, likeKwisi, are not sufficient for classification. In addition,Jalaa,Shabo,Laal,Kujargé, and a few other languages withinNilo-Saharan andAfroasiatic-speaking areas may turn out to be isolates upon further investigation.Defaka andEga are highly divergent languages located withinNiger–Congo-speaking areas, and may also possibly be language isolates.[18]
Although this language is poorly known, Zamponi (2025) unambiguously classified it as an isolate.[21] Not enough evidence exists to classify it as one of theKoman languages.[22]
Spoken on the southern shore ofLake Eyasi in the southwest ofArusha Region. Once listed as an outlier among theKhoisan languages.[23] Language use is vigorous, though there are fewer than 1,000 speakers.[24]
Spoken in Mesopotamia until around 1800 BC, but used as aclassical language until 100 AD.[54] Long-extinct, but well-attested language of ancientSumer.
Current research considers that the"Papuasphere" centered inNew Guinea includes as many as 37 isolates.[56] (The more is known about these languages in the future, the more likely it is for these languages to be later assigned to a known language family.) To these, one must add several isolates found among non-Pama-Nyunganlanguages of Australia:[57]
Spoken in the northern part ofArnhem Land until the early 1980s. Sometimes considered a small language family consisting of Mengerrdji, Urningangk and Erre.[68] Part of a proposal for the undemonstratedArnhem Land language family.
Spoken in northernAustralia. Often considered part of one Northern Daly family together withTyeraity. Used to be considered genetically related to theWagaydyic languages, but nowadays they are considered genetically distinct.[73]
Marrgu had been assumed to be anIwaidjan language like its neighbours. However, Evans (2006) has produced evidence that it was a language isolate, with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attestedWurrugu.[74]
Formerly spoken in the village ofGapun. Links toLower Sepik languages andTorricelli languages have been explored, but the general consensus among linguists is that it is an isolate unrelated to surrounding languages.[83]
Spoken in the southern part of theTop End. May be distantly related to theYangmanic languages,[87] which might in turn be a member of theMacro-Gunwinyguan family,[57] but neither link has been demonstrated.
Spoken in the southern part of theTop End. The extinct and poorly attested Dagoman and Yangman dialects are sometimes treated as separate languages, forming aYangmanic family, to whichWagiman may be distantly related.[87] Possibly a member of theMacro-Gunwinyguan family,[57] but this has yet to be demonstrated.
Natively known asEuskara, the Basque language is found in the historical region of theBasque Country between France and Spain. It has no known living relatives, althoughAquitanian is commonly regarded as related to or a direct ancestor of Basque. Some linguists have claimed similarities with variouslanguages of the Caucasus[91][92] that are indicative of a relationship, while others have proposed a relation toIberian[93] and to the hypotheticalDené–Caucasian languages.[94]
Unclassified and poorly attested, and possibly a hoax, but from what inscriptions have been found appears to be unrelated to any known language.[95][96][97]
Poorly attested. Spoken along the central coast ofOregon until the early 1950s.[98] Sometimes regarded as two separate languages. Often included in thePenutian hypothesis in aCoast Oregon Penutian branch.[99]
Spoken in southernTexas and northeasternMexico until the 1700s. Part of thePakawan hypothesis,[105] has been linked to the hypothesisedHokan languages in a larger group.[106]
Spoken in theIsthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast ofOaxaca state. Has been linked to various language families, but is still generally considered an isolate.[111]
Spoken in several pueblos throughoutNew Mexico, includingCochiti andAcoma Pueblos. Has two main dialects: Eastern and Western. Sometimes those two dialects are separated into languages in a Keresan family.[112]
Spoken in theRockies of northeasternIdaho, northwesternMontana and southeasternBritish Columbia. Attempts have been made to place it in a Macro-Algic or Macro-Salishan family, but these have not gained significant support.[111]
Well attested. Spoken in northernFlorida and southernGeorgia until the mid- to late 1700s. Briefly spoken in Cuba by a migrant community established in 1763. A connection with the poorly knownTawasa language has been suggested, but this may be a dialect.[120]
Spoken in Oklahoma, but formerly spoken in eastern Tennessee. A connection to theSiouan languages has been proposed.[125] The last native speaker died in 2021, but there is an ongoing revitalization project that has trained a small number of L2s.
Spoken in the southern highlands ofColombia the 1970s. It has been linked to thePaezan orBarbacoan languages, but no connections have been demonstrated. Adelaar (2004) classifies it as a language isolate.[129]
Spoken along the Chapuli, Huitoyacu, Pastaza, and Morona river valleys in southwesternLoreto. Has been linked to various language families, but no agreement exists on its classification.[133]
Spoken in theLlanos de Moxos region ofBeni Department until around 2000. Connections with various language families have been proposed, none widely accepted.[134]
Spoken in northernSucumbíos Province and southernPutumayo Department. Also called A'ingae.[139] Sometimes classified asChibchan, but the similarities appear to be due to borrowings. Seriously endangered in Colombia.[140]
Spoken by the Irántxe and Mỹky peoples in the state ofMato Grosso inBrazil. Recent descriptions of the language analyze it as a language isolate.[147] According to Arruda (2003), it "bears no similarity with other language families".
Spoken in 32 communities along the banks of theInírida River inGuainía Department, Colombia and in 10 communities along theOrinoco River, in the Colombia–Venezuela border region. Generally considered to be a language isolate, but sometimes linked toMacro-Puinavean language family along with other families and lesser attested languages.
Originally spoken around the mouth of theRio Negro river, now located inMaruranau village among theWapishana. Kaufman (1990) proposed it to be distantly related toKatembri, but this relationship has not been repeated in recent surveys of South American languages by Campbell (2012), confirming that this language is an isolate.[164][144]
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