The Language families of Asia Asia is home to hundreds of languages comprising several families and some unrelated isolates. The most spoken language families on the continent includeAustroasiatic ,Austronesian ,Japonic ,Dravidian ,Indo-European ,Afroasiatic ,Turkic ,Sino-Tibetan ,Kra–Dai andKoreanic . Manylanguages of Asia , such asChinese ,Persian ,Sanskrit ,Arabic orTamil have a long history as a written language.
Ethnolinguistic distribution in Central/Southwest Asia of theAltaic ,Caucasian ,Afroasiatic (Hamito-Semitic) andIndo-European families. The major families in terms of numbers areIndo-European , specificallyIndo-Aryan languages andDravidian languages inSouth Asia ,Iranian languages in parts ofWest ,Central , andSouth Asia , andSino-Tibetan inEast Asia . Several other families are regionally dominant.
Sino-Tibetan includesChinese ,Tibetan ,Burmese ,Karen ,Boro and numerous languages of the Tibetan Plateau, Southern China, Myanmar, and North East India.
TheIndo-European languages are primarily represented in Asia by theIndo-Iranian branch , with its two main subgroups:Indo-Aryan andIranian .
Indo-Aryan languages are mainly spoken in theIndian subcontinent , across different modern-daySouth Asian countries. Examples include languages such asHindustani (Hindi-Urdu) ,Bengali ,Bhojpuri ,Punjabi ,Marathi ,Rajasthani ,Gujarati ,Sylheti ,Noakhali etc.
Iranic languages are mainly spoken in and around theIranian Plateau , spread across the modern-day countries ofIran ,Afghanistan ,Tajikistan , andPakistan and neighboring regions. Examples include languages likePersian ,Kurdish ,Pashto andBalochi .
Other branches of Indo-European spoken in Asia include theSlavic branch (due to Asia's proximity toEastern Europe ), which includesRussian inSiberia (since it falls under theRussian Federation );Greek around theBlack Sea ; andArmenian inArmenia ; as well as extinct languages such asHittite of Anatolia andTocharian of (Chinese) Turkestan.
A number of smaller, but important and separately distinguished language families spread across central and northern Asia have long been linked in a hypothetical, controversial and unproven Altaic family. These are theTurkic ,Mongolic ,Tungusic (includingManchu ),Koreanic , andJaponic languages. But since the mid-20th century a majority of scholars have come to regard it as aSprachbund .[ 1] [ 2]
The Mon–Khmer languages (also known as Austroasiatic) are the language family in South and Southeast Asia. Languages given official status areVietnamese andKhmer (Cambodian).
TheKra–Dai languages (also known as Tai-Kadai) are found in southern China, Northeast India and Southeast Asia. Languages given official status areThai (Siamese) andLao .
TheAustronesian languages are widespread throughoutMaritime Southeast Asia , including major languages such asIndonesian (Indonesia andTimor-Leste ),Fijian (Fiji ),Hiligaynon ,Bikol ,Ilocano ,Cebuano ,Tagalog (Philippines ), andMalay (Brunei ,Malaysia , andSingapore ). Other significant Austronesian languages in Indonesia includeJavanese ,Sundanese , andMadurese . Meanwhile, Indonesian is the most widely spoken language in the Austronesian family.
The Dravidian languages ofSouth India and parts ofSri Lanka includeTamil ,Telugu ,Kannada ,Malayalam andTulu , while smaller languages such asGondi andBrahui are spoken in central India and Pakistan respectively.
TheAfroasiatic languages (in older sources Hamito-Semitic) are represented in Asia by theSemitic branch . Semitic languages are spoken inWestern Asia , and include the various dialects ofArabic andAramaic ,Modern Hebrew , andModern South Arabian languages in addition to extinct languages such asAkkadian andAncient South Arabian .
Besides the Altaic families already mentioned (of whichTungusic is today a minor family of Siberia), there are a number of small language families and isolates spoken across northern Asia. These include theUralic languages of western Siberia (better known for Hungarian and Finnish in Europe), theYeniseian languages (linked to Turkic and to the Athabaskan languages of North America),Yukaghir ,Nivkh of Sakhalin,Ainu of northern Japan,Chukotko-Kamchatkan in easternmost Siberia, and—just barely—Eskimo–Aleut . Some linguists have noted that theKoreanic languages share more similarities with thePaleosiberian languages than with theAltaic languages . The extinctRouran language of Mongolia is unclassified, and does not show genetic relationships with any other known language family.
Three small families are spoken in theCaucasus :Kartvelian languages , such asGeorgian ;Northeast Caucasian (Dagestanian languages), such asChechen ; andNorthwest Caucasian , such asCircassian . The latter two may be related to each other. The extinctHurro-Urartian languages may be related as well.
Small families of Asia [ edit ] Although dominated by major languages and families, there are number of minor families and isolates inSouth Asia andSoutheast Asia . From west to east, these include:
Hattic , an unclassified language in Anatolia.extinct languages of theFertile Crescent such asSumerian andElamite . extinct languages of South Asia; mainly the unclassifiedHarappan language small language families and isolates of theIndian subcontinent :Burushaski ,Kusunda , andNihali . TheVedda language ofSri Lanka is likely an isolate that has mixed withSinhala . the twoAndamanese language families:Great Andamanese andOngan ;Sentinelese remains undocumented to date, and hence unclassified. unclassified languages in Southeast Asia:Kenaboi . the difficult to classifyArunachal languages :Digaro ,Hrusish (including theMiji languages [ 3] Midzu ,Puroik ,Siangic , andKho-Bwa . Hmong–Mien (Miao–Yao) scattered across southern China and Southeast Asiaa few "Papuan " (Non-Austronesian) families of the central and eastern Malay Archipelago: such as theTimor-Alor-Pantar andNorth Halmahera languages, and the little known extinctTambora language ofSumbawa . Numerous additional families are spoken in IndonesianNew Guinea , which is generally considered to part ofOceania . Creoles and pidgins [ edit ] The eponymouspidgin ("business") language developed with European trade in China. Of the many creoles to have developed, the most spoken today areChavacano , aSpanish-based creole of the Philippines, and variousMalay-based creoles such asManado Malay influenced byPortuguese . A very well-known Portuguese-based creole is theKristang , which is spoken inMalacca , a city-state inMalaysia .
A number of sign languages are spoken throughout Asia. These include theJapanese Sign Language family ,Chinese Sign Language ,Indo-Pakistani Sign Language , as well as a number of small indigenous sign languages of countries such asNepal ,Thailand , andVietnam . Many official sign languages are part of theFrench Sign Language family .
Asia and Europe are the only two continents where most countries use native languages as theirofficial languages , though English is also widespread as an international language.
Language Native name Total Speakers Language family Official status in a country Official status in a region Altai Алтай тил 57,000 Turkic Russia Arabic العَرَبِيَّة 313,000,000 Afro-Asiatic Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria UAE Yemen Israel (special status)Armenian հայերեն 5,902,970 Indo-European Armenia Assamese অসমীয়া 15,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Azerbaijani Azərbaycancaآذربایجان دیلی
28,000,000 Turkic Azerbaijan Iran Russia
Balochi بلۏچیBalòči
7,600,000 Indo-European Pakistan Iran
Balti بلتیསྦལ་ཏི།
392,800 Sino-Tibetan Pakistan Bengali বাংলা 230,000,000 Indo-European Bangladesh ,India (Scheduled)India Bhojpuri भोजपुरी 50,579,447 Indo-European Nepal Nepal India
Bikol Bikol 4,300,000 Austronesian Philippines Bodo बर'/बड़ 1,984,569 Sino-Tibetan India (Scheduled)Nepal India
Burmese မြန်မာဘာသာ 33,000,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Cantonese (Yue) Language 廣東話/广东话 110,000,000 Sino-Tibetan Hong Kong Macau
Buryat Буряад хэлэнᠪᠤᠷᠢᠶᠠᠳ 440,000 Mongolic Russia Cebuano Bisaya 27,500,000 Austronesian Philippines Chhattisgarhi छत्तीसगढ़ी 17,983,446 Indo-European India Chin Kukish 3,000,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Chinese Mandarin 普通話/普通话 1,300,000,000 Sino-Tibetan China Singapore Taiwan Myanmar Dari دری 33,000,000 Indo-European Afghanistan Dhivehi ދިވެހިބަސް 400,000 Indo-European Maldives Dogri डोगरी 2,600,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Dzongkha རྫོང་ཁ་ 600,000 Sino-Tibetan Bhutan Filipino (Tagalog )Wikang Filipino 106,000,000 Austronesian Philippines Formosan 171,855 Austronesian Republic of China Georgian ქართული 4,200,000 Kartvelian Georgia Gujarati ગુજરાતી 50,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Hakka 客家話/客家话 2,370,000 Sino-Tibetan Republic of China Hebrew עברית 7,000,000 Afro-Asiatic Israel Hindi हिन्दी 615,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Hiligaynon Hiligaynon 9,100,000 Austronesian Philippines Hokchiu 馬祖話 12,000 Sino-Tibetan Republic of China Hokkien 臺灣話 18,570,000 Sino-Tibetan Republic of China Ibanag Ibanag 500,000 Austronesian Philippines Ilocano Pagsasao nga Ilokano 11,000,000 Austronesian Philippines Indonesian Bahasa Indonesia 270,000,000 Austronesian Indonesia Timor-Leste (Working languages )Japanese 日本語 120,000,000 Japonic Japan (de facto )Javanese Basa Jawaꦧꦱꦗꦮ بَاسَا جَاوَا 80,000,000 Austronesian Indonesia Suriname ,Sri Lanka ,New Caledonia
Javanese is also spoken by traditional immigrant communities of Javanese descent Kachin Jinghpaw 940,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Kannada ಕನ್ನಡ 51,000,000 Dravidian India (Scheduled)India Kapampangan Kapampangan/Pampangan 2,800,000 Austronesian Philippines Karen ကညီကျိာ်း 6,000,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Kashmiri कॉशुरكٲشُر
7,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Kayah Karenni 190,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Karakalpak Qaraqalpaqsha 870,000 Turkic Uzbekistan Kazakh Qazaqsha 18,000,000 Turkic Kazakhstan China Russia
Khakas Хакас тілі 43,000 Turkic Russia Khmer ភាសាខ្មែរ 16,000,000 Austroasiatic Cambodia Konkani कोंकणी 2,300,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Korean 조선어 한국어 80,000,000 Koreanic North Korea South Korea China Kurdish Kurdîکوردی 32,000,000 Indo-European Middle east Kyrgyz Кыргызчаقىرعىزچا 7,300,000 Turkic Kyrgyzstan China Lao ພາສາລາວ 7,000,000 Kra-Dai Laos Magahi मगही/मगधी 12,706,825 Indo-European India Maguindanao بس ماگینداناوMaguindanaon
1,500,000 Austronesian Philippines Malay Bahasa Melayuبهاس ملايو 30,000,000 Austronesian Brunei Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Malay language in Indonesia is considered a regional language (bahasa daerah ), on part with regional languages spoken in the regions ofSumatra andKalimantan Malayalam മലയാളം 37,000,000 Dravidian India (Scheduled)India Marathi मराठी 99,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Maithili मैथिली 34,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)Nepal
India
Meitei ꯃꯤꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ 2,000,000 Sino-Tibetan India Mizo Mizo 1,000,000 Sino-Tibetan India (Scheduled)India Mon ဘာသာ မန် 851,000 Austroasiatic Myanmar Mongolian Монгол хэлᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ 5,200,000 Mongolic Mongolia China Nagpuri नागपुरी/सादरी 5,108,691 Indo-European India Nepali नेपाली 29,000,000 Indo-European Nepal ,India (Scheduled)India Odia ଓଡ଼ିଆ 35,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Okinawan 沖縄語 / うちなーぐち 1,143,000 Japonic Japan Ossetian Ирон 540,000(50,000 in South Ossetia) Indo-European North Ossetia–Alania South Ossetia
Pangasinan Pangasinan 1,400,000 Austronesian Philippines Pashto پښتو 100,000,000 Indo-European Afghanistan Pakistan Persian فارسی 130,000,000 Indo-European Iran Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀپن٘جابی 113,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Rakhine ရခိုင်ဘာသာ 1,000,000 Sino-Tibetan Myanmar Rohingya Ruáingga 1,800,000 Indo-European Russian Русский 260,000,000 Indo-European Kazakhstan (co-official )Kyrgyzstan (co-official )Russia Sanskrit संस्कृतम् 3,210,000[ 4] Indo-European India (Scheduled)India Santali ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ 7,600,000 Austroasiatic India (Scheduled)India (Additional )
Shan ၽႃႇသႃႇတႆ 3,295,000 Kra-Dai Myanmar Sindhi سنڌي 40,000,000 Indo-European India (Scheduled)Pakistan Sinhala සිංහල 18,000,000 Indo-European Sri Lanka Tajik Тоҷикӣ 7,900,000 Indo-European Tajikistan Tamil தமிழ் 88,000,000 Dravidian India (Scheduled),Singapore ,Sri Lanka India Tausug بَهَسَ سُوگBahasa Suluk
1,200,000 Austronesian Philippines Malaysia
Telugu తెలుగు 86,000,000 Dravidian India (Scheduled)India Tetum Lia-Tetun 500,000 Austronesian Timor-Leste Indonesia Thai ภาษาไทย 60,000,000 Kra–Dai Thailand Tibetan བོད་སྐད་ 1,172,940 Sino-Tibetan China Tripuri Tripuri 3,500,000 Sino-Tibetan India Tulu ತುಳು 1,722,768 Dravidian India Turkish Türkçe 88,000,000 Turkic Turkey Cyprus Iraq Turkmen Türkmençe 7,000,000 Turkic Turkmenistan Tuvan Тыва дыл 240,000 Turkic Russia Urdu اُردُو 255,000,000 Indo-European Pakistan ,India (Scheduled)India Uyghur ئۇيغۇرچە 10,416,910 Turkic China Uzbek Oʻzbekcha 45,000,000 Turkic Uzbekistan Vietnamese 㗂越Tiếng Việt
86,500,000 Austroasiatic Vietnam (de facto )Waray Winaray/Waray 4,000,000 Austronesian Philippines Yakut Саха тыла 450,000 Turkic Russia Zhuang Vahcuengh 16,000,000 Kra-Dai China
^ Starostin, George (2016-04-05)."Altaic Languages" Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics . Oxford University Press.doi :10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.35 .ISBN 978-0-19-938465-5 . Retrieved2023-07-11 .^ De la Fuente, José Andrés Alonso (2016)."Review of Robbeets, Martine (2015): Diachrony of verb morphology. Japanese and the Transeurasian languages" .Diachronica .33 (4):530– 537.doi :10.1075/dia.33.4.04alo .For now, shared material between Transeurasian [i.e. Altaic] languages is undoubtedly better explained as the result of language contact. But if researchers provide cogent evidence of genealogical relatedness, that will be the time to re-evaluate old positions. That time, however, has not yet come. ^ Blench, Roger. 2015.The Mijiic languages: distribution, dialects, wordlist and classification ^ Census 2011, Table C-17: Population by bilingualism and trilingualism, India
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