Uncover the ten Branches of the Indo-European Language Household

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What do English, Farsi, Greek, and Albanian have in widespread? They’re all within the Indo-European language household, a bunch of languages that originated on and across the European continent. 

However not all European languages are Indo-European languages—and never all Indo-European languages are European. Be taught extra in regards to the Indo-European language tree and its branches, plus the shocking connections between the languages in every department. 

What’s an Indo-European language?

The Indo-European language household is a big group of languages spoken in Europe, South Asia, the Center East, and Western Asia. They got here from a Proto-Indo-European dad or mum language, spoken by a typical ancestor (the Proto-Indo-Europeans).

Some Indo-European languages originated over 3,000 years in the past, whereas others happened extra lately. In the present day, almost half of the world’s inhabitants (about 3 billion individuals) converse one of many a number of hundred Indo-European languages.

Indo-European language tree

Linguists place Indo-European languages into 10 branches of the Indo-European language tree. Whereas a number of the languages in these branches are extinct, lots of them reside languages—together with a number of the most spoken languages on the planet.

The beneath chart particulars every language household within the tree, together with a number of the residing and extinct languages in each department.

Main Indo-European languages

A couple of branches of the Indo-European language tree, just like the Anatolian languages and the Tocharian languages, are now not spoken immediately. However the eight remaining Indo-European language branches are alive and properly, and spoken all around the world.

Anatolian languages

Generally often known as the Indo-Hittite language department, the Anatolian languages had been spoken in elements of present-day Turkey and Syria. The commonest Anatolian language was Hittite, which originated round 1800 B.C.E. and was spoken across the first and second century B.C.E.

Indo-Iranian languages

The Indo-Iranian language department splits into two subbranches: the Indo-Aryan languages and the Iranian languages. Indo-Aryan languages are spoken in present-day India and Pakistan. Courting again to Sanskrit scriptures in 1000 B.C.E., these languages embody fashionable Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and Punjabi.

The Iranian subbranch of languages contains fashionable Farsi, Kurdish, and Pashto, in addition to the traditional language Avestan. In the present day, these languages are spoken in elements of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Hungary.

Greek languages

The Greek department of the Indo-European language household is considerably distinctive, in that modern-day Greek is the one residing language and its ancestors, together with Mycenaean Greek and Attic Greek, are the one extinct languages. The earliest Greek writing comes from the Linear B tablets from round 1400 B.C.E, and Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” which had been written just a few centuries later. 

Greek grew to become the lingua franca (predominant connecting language) of the Mediterranean and Center East areas within the Hellenistic interval, round 300 to 23 B.C.E. In the present day, Greek is the official language of Greek and Cypress, and is spoken by over 12 million individuals worldwide.

Italic languages

In case you’re accustomed to the Romance languages, you understand all in regards to the Italic department of the Indo-European language household. These languages stem from Latin, which dates again to the sixth century B.C.E., and had been spoken in areas occupied by the Roman Empire, together with modern-day Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.

Though Latin itself is a “lifeless” language, it lives on by way of its daughter languages, together with Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian, and Portuguese. These languages are spoken by over 1 billion individuals in Europe and areas of the world beforehand colonized by European international locations, equivalent to Central America, South America, and lots of international locations in Africa.

Celtic languages

Celtic languages had been broadly spoken throughout Europe within the final centuries earlier than the Widespread Period, however at the moment are primarily spoken within the seven Celtic nations (England, Eire, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man). As a result of these island nations had been largely remoted from the remainder of Europe, many Celtic languages survived past the influences of Latin, German, English, and French.

Irish continues to be the official language in Eire, although English is often spoken all through the nation. Two Celtic languages, Cornish and Manx, have been revived as second languages after changing into extinct within the 18th century, however are usually not spoken as native languages.

Germanic languages

Questioning the place English falls within the Indo-European language household? English is a Germanic language, putting it within the Germanic department of the Indo-European language tree. Particularly, it’s within the West Germanic subbranch, which joins the North Germanic subbranch (Norse languages) and the East Germanic subbranch, which is now not spoken immediately.

Together with English, different Germanic languages embody German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and Frisian (the closest language to English). In the present day, over 1.5 billion individuals converse English worldwide, with one other quarter of a billion individuals talking one other Germanic language.

Armenian languages

Armenian is the one language within the Armenian language department. Although previous students have positioned Armenian into the close by Iranian subbranch of the Indo-European language household, fashionable linguists consider it’s distinctive sufficient to have its personal department.

Round 5 million individuals nonetheless converse Armenian in modern-day Armenia, Russia, jap Turkey, and amongst diaspora (individuals not residing of their native homeland) all over the world. Listed as a Class III language within the Overseas Service Institute’s language issue rankings, Armenian takes round 44 weeks (or 1,100 hours) of apply for audio system to turn out to be proficient.

Tocharian languages

Spoken primarily in present-day western China, the Tocharian languages are all thought-about extinct. Once they did exist throughout the first centuries of the Widespread Period, they had been divided into East Tocharian (often known as Tocharian A, or Turfanian) and West Tocharian (often known as Tocharian B, or Kuchean). Of all of the Indo-European languages, Tocharian was spoken within the easternmost areas.

Balto-Slavic languages

The Balto languages and Slavic languages are intently associated sufficient to be in a single department of the Indo-European language tree, however totally different sufficient to be in their very own subbranches. These languages are thought-about youthful than extra historic languages, because the earliest Slavic texts date again to 800 C.E. and the earliest Baltic texts could be traced to 1300 B.C.

Round 4 million individuals converse Latvian and Lithuanian, the one two Baltic languages which have survived to the trendy period. Over 315 million individuals residing in jap Europe converse Slavic languages equivalent to Russian, Polish, Czech, and Ukrainian.

Albanian languages

Albanian is without doubt one of the extra lately documented Indo-European languages. Its earliest texts come from the fifteenth century C.E., and linguists consider the Albanian language derived from both Illyrian or Thracian dialects spoken within the area across the identical time. 

Because the official language of modern-day Albania, Albanian has two main dialects: Tosk (spoken in Southern Albania) and Gheg (spoken in Northern Albanian). Over 5 million individuals converse some type of Albanian in Albania and its surrounding areas.

It’s all within the (language) household

Understanding a language’s ancestry is vital to changing into proficient in that language. Whereas it could not appear to be Spanish and Armenian have a lot in widespread, realizing they’re each Indo-European languages may also help you perceive extra about them, in addition to another language within the household.

In case you’re prepared to begin your language studying journey, Rosetta Stone provides immersive classes in 15 of the languages within the Indo-European language household. And regardless of which language you’re finding out with Rosetta Stone, you will get your accent excellent with the TruAccent speech recognition engine—the right method to sound like an area throughout your travels!