Basic Information on World Langauges
Good Starting Points
- Ethnologue This link opens in a new windowThis database lists a total of 7,099 living languages worldwide. In addition to living languages, Ethnologue also contains data on languages which have gone out of use since the first appearance of the publication 66 years ago. This edition lists 360 such recently extinct languages. Ancient, classical, and long-extinct languages are not listed (even though the ISO 639-3 standard assigns codes to them), unless they are in current use, such as in the scriptures or liturgy of a faith community. The database also has country-level information and international conventions for each language. Explore Language Profiles, Country Profiles, Family Trees, and Classic Maps. Please note that the U of I subscription does not currently provide access to Country Digests and Premium Maps.
Books from Library Catalog
Dictionary of Languages by ISBN: 9780713678413Publication Date: 2006The essential guide to the languages of the world, comprehensively detailing more than 400 languages in a clear A-Z style.
The Routledge Concise Compendium of the World's Languages by ISBN: 1135692637Publication Date: 2018-12-07
The Routledge Handbook of Endangered and Minority Languages by ISBN: 9781032574288Publication Date: 2025
TIP: To find information on specific language families, search the Primo Library Catalog using family names such as "indo-european languages".
Statistics
Good Starting Points
The CIA World Factbook Online--provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
International Data Base (IDB)
Database containing statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for 227 countries and areas of the world. Provides information dating back as far as 1950 and as far ahead as 2050. From the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Programs Center.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics--The United Nation's educational, scientific, and cultural organization's list of education, literacy, science and technology, culture and communication statistics.
Other Sites for Statistics
Endangered Languages Archive--this archive is part of OLAC, the Open Language Archives Community, is an international partnership of institutions and individuals who are creating a worldwide virtual library of language resources by: (i) developing consensus on best current practice for the digital archiving of language resources, and (ii) developing a network of interoperating repositories and services for housing and accessing such resources.
Open Language Archive-- is an international partnership of institutions and individuals who are creating a worldwide virtual library of language resources by: (i) developing consensus on best current practice for the digital archiving of language resources, and (ii) developing a network of interoperating repositories and services for housing and accessing such resources.
More Statistics
The Library offers a wide array of statistics, many of which might contain information on world languages. To find guides to Library Statistic, use the Library Homepage to search the Library Guides for "statistics."
International Statistical Sources from the International and Area Studies Library
<TIP: Wikipedia: While Wikipedia is not always a reliable source, as entries are not always written by authorities, it can be an excellent place for links to authoritative websites, such as government webpages.
Maps & Atlases
TIP: To find more linguistic atlases, search the Library Catalog using the search term "linguistic atlas" plus a specific language or region.
The Atlas of Languages by ISBN: 0816051232Publication Date: 2003This book fully documents the origin and development of language throughout the world, how certain languages have died out and how new words emerged. In addition the book documents ancient and modern alphabet systems.
Atlas of the World's Languages by ISBN: 0415310741Publication Date: 2007Before the first appearance of the Atlas of the World's Languages in 1993, all the world's languages had never been accurately and completely mapped. The Atlas depicts the location of every known living language, including languages on the point of extinction. This fully revised edition of the Atlas offers: up-to-date research, some from fieldwork in early 2006 a general linguistic history of each section an overview of the genetic relations of the languages in each section statistical and sociolinguistic information a large number of new or completely updated maps further reading and a bibliography for each section a cross-referenced language index of over 6,000 languages. Presenting contributions from international scholars, covering over 6,000 languages and containing over 150 full-colour maps, the Atlas of the World's Languages is the definitive reference resource for every linguistic and reference library.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 3 by ISBN: 9789231040955Publication Date: 2009Online version: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026
The United Nations World Water Development Report, published every three years, is a comprehensive review providing an authoritative picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources. It offers best practices as well as in-depth theoretical analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector. It is the only report of its kind, resulting from the collaboration and contributions of the 26 UN agencies, commissions, program, funds, secretariats and conventions that have a significant role in addressing global water concerns.
United States
- MLA Languages of the USThe MLA Language Map is for students, teachers, and anyone interested in learning about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States. The Language Map Data Center provides information about over three hundred languages spoken in the United States, using data from the 2006–10 ACS, ACS 2005, and the 2000 US Census.
Atlas of North American English by ISBN: 9783110167467Publication Date: 2005The Atlas of North American English provides the first overall view of the pronunciation and vowel systems of the dialects of the U.S. and Canada. The Atlas re-defines the regional dialects of American English on the basis of sound changes active in the 1990s and draws new boundaries reflecting those changes. It is based on a telephone survey of 762 local speakers, representing all the urbanized areas of North America. It has been developed by Bill Labov, one of the leading sociolinguists of the world, together with his colleagues Sharon Ash and Charles Boberg.
