Saturday, July 5, 2025

Major languages by proto-language

These are some major languages. Write a list of these languages divided by which proto-language they descend from, and noting for each one also the places where they are most spoken.

English
Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese)
Hindi
Spanish
Modern Standard Arabic
French
Bengali
Portuguese
Russian
Indonesian
Urdu
Standard German
Japanese
Nigerian Pidgin
Marathi
Vietnamese
Telugu
Hausa
Turkish
Western Punjabi
Swahili
Tagalog
Tamil
Iranian Persian
Korean
Thai
Javanese
Italian
Gujarati
Amharic
Kannada
Bhojpuri

Proto-Language Families and Their Modern Descendants

Below each proto-language (or the most widely accepted immediate ancestor) you’ll find the modern languages you listed, followed by the main places where each is spoken today.


Proto-Germanic (Indo-European)

  • English – United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Nigeria (as a lingua franca)
  • Standard German – Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein

Proto-Romance / Latin (Indo-European ▶ Italic)

  • Spanish – Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, United States (large heritage community)
  • French – France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Canada (Quebec), Senegal
  • Portuguese – Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde
  • Italian – Italy, Swiss canton of Ticino, San Marino, Vatican City (diaspora in Argentina, U.S., Australia)

Proto-Indo-Aryan (Indo-European ▶ Indo-Iranian)

  • Hindi – India (north-central belt), Fiji (as Fiji Hindi diaspora)
  • Bengali – Bangladesh, India (West Bengal, Tripura)
  • Urdu – Pakistan, India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar; cultural lingua franca in Bollywood), Gulf diaspora
  • Marathi – India (Maharashtra, parts of Goa & Karnataka)
  • Gujarati – India (Gujarat), Pakistan (Sindh), sizable diaspora in U.K., U.S., East Africa
  • Western Punjabi (Punjabi-Lahnda) – Pakistan’s Punjab Province; strong communities in U.K., Canada, Gulf
  • Bhojpuri – India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar), Nepal (Terai); historic diaspora in Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname

Proto-Iranian (Indo-European ▶ Indo-Iranian)

  • Iranian Persian (Farsi) – Iran; closely related varieties in Afghanistan (Dari) and Tajikistan (Tajiki)

Proto-Slavic (Indo-European)

  • Russian – Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan; minority lingua franca across post-Soviet states

Proto-Sinitic (Sino-Tibetan)

  • Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese) – Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, global Chinese diaspora

Proto-Dravidian

  • Telugu – India (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana)
  • Tamil – India (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry), Sri Lanka (North & East), Singapore, Malaysia
  • Kannada – India (Karnataka, parts of Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana)

Proto-Turkic

  • Turkish – Türkiye, Northern Cyprus; large migrant communities in Germany, Netherlands, France

Proto-Semitic (Afro-Asiatic)

  • Modern Standard Arabic – Written/official medium across the Arab League (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, etc.)
  • Amharic – Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and central highlands)

Proto-Chadic (Afro-Asiatic ▶ West Chadic)

  • Hausa – Northern Nigeria, Niger; regional trade lingua franca in Ghana, Cameroon, Chad

Proto-Bantu (Niger-Congo)

  • Swahili (Kiswahili) – Tanzania, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian)

  • Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) – Indonesia (official lingua franca across the archipelago)
  • Tagalog / Filipino – Philippines (especially Luzon); overseas Filipino communities in U.S., Canada, Gulf
  • Javanese – Indonesia (Central & East Java, Yogyakarta)

Proto-Vietic (Austro-Asiatic)

  • Vietnamese – Vietnam; sizable diaspora in U.S., Australia, France, Czech Republic

Proto-Tai (Kra–Dai)

  • Thai – Thailand (national language)

Proto-Japonic

  • Japanese – Japan; migrant communities in Brazil, U.S., Peru

Proto-Koreanic

  • Korean – South Korea, North Korea; diaspora in China (Yanbian), U.S., Japan

English-Based Creole (no single ancestral proto-language)

  • Nigerian Pidgin (Naija) – Nigeria’s urban centres and Niger Delta; understood across West Africa’s anglophone sphere

This grouping follows the most widely accepted immediate proto-languages used by historical linguistics; for creoles, lexifier ancestry rather than strict genetic descent applies.

No comments:

Post a Comment