Europe/Addendum
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The states of Europe
Note that Europe includes the following, de facto, independent territories, with no or very little international recognition: Abkhazia (edge of Europe), Nagorno-Karabakh (edge of Europe), Northern Cyprus (edge of Europe), South Ossetia (edge of Europe) and Transnistria.
The languages of Europe
The following list presents the current, autochtonous languages of Europe, classified by language families. Various, recently claimed languages that are not widely—or not yet—recognised by the linguist community are not enlisted here.[1] Each table matches with a lower range language family. Languages are presented in a geographic order, mainly from west to east and from north to south.
Basque language
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basque | Spain, France | Spain (R) | endangered |
Indo-European languages
Celtic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | Ireland, United Kingdom | Ireland | endangered |
| Scottish Gaelic | United Kingdom | United Kingdom (R) | endangered |
| Manx | Isle of Man | endangered | |
| Welsh | United Kingdom | United Kingdom (R) | endangered |
| Cornish | United Kingdom | endangered | |
| Breton | France | endangered |
Germanic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Icelandic | Iceland | Iceland | |
| Faroese | Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands (R) | |
| Norwegian | Norway | Norway | |
| Swedish | Sweden, Finland | Sweden, Finland | |
| Danish | Denmark, Sweden | Denmark | (endangered in Sweden) |
| English | United Kingdom | United Kingdom, Ireland | |
| Frisian | Netherlands, Germany | endangered | |
| Dutch | Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany | Netherlands, Belgium | |
| Low German | Germany, Netherlands | endangered | |
| German | Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy, France | Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy (R) | (endangered in France) |
| Yiddish | scattered across Central Europe | endangered |
Romance languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galician-Portuguese | Portugal, Spain | Portugal, Spain (R) | (endangered in Spain) |
| Asturian-Leonese | Spain, Portugal | Portugal (R) | endangered |
| Spanish | Spain | Spain | |
| Aragonese | Spain | endangered | |
| Catalan | Spain, France, Andorra, Italy | Andorra, Spain (R) | endangered |
| Occitan | France, Italy, Spain, Monaco | Spain (R) | endangered |
| Francoprovençal (Arpitan) | France, Switzerland, Italy | endangered | |
| French | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Channel Islands | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco | (endangered in the Channel Islands) |
| Romansh | Switzerland | Switzerland | endangered |
| Ladin | Italy | endangered | |
| Friulian | Italy | endangered | |
| Northern Italian | Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Slovenia, Croatia | endangered | |
| Italian | Italy | Italy, Switzerland, San Marino | |
| Corsican | France, Italy | endangered | |
| Sardinian | Italy | endangered | |
| Romanian | Romania, Moldova, Balkans | Romania, Moldova |
Baltic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvian | Latvia | Latvia | |
| Lithuanian | Lithuania | Lithuania |
Slavic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorbian (Lusatian) | Germany | Germany (R) | endangered |
| Kashubian | Poland | endangered | |
| Polish | Poland | Poland | |
| Czech | Czechia | Czechia | |
| Slovakian | Slovakia | Slovakia | |
| Belarussian | Belarus, Russia | Belarus | endangered |
| Ukrainian | Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia | Ukraine | |
| Russian | Russia | Russia, Belarus, Moldova (R) | |
| Slovenian | Slovenia, Italy, Austria | Slovenia | (endangered in Italy and Austria) |
| Croatian (Serbo-Croatian) | Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Bosnian (Serbo-Croatian) | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Serbian (Serbo-Croatian) (including Montenegrin) | Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Croatia | Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo | |
| Macedonian | Republic of Macedonia, Greece | Republic of Macedonia | (endangered in Greece) |
| Bulgarian | Bulgaria, Greece | Bulgaria | (endangered in Greece) |
Albanian
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albanian | Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Greece | Albania, Kosovo | (endangered in Greece) |
Greek
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greek | Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Turkey | Greece, Albania | (endangered in Albania, Turkey and Northern Cyprus) |
Indo-Iranian languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status)) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossetic | Russia, South Ossetia | South Ossetia | endangered |
| Zaza | Turkey | endangered | |
| Kurdish | Turkey | endangered |
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romany | scattered across Europe | endangered |
Armenian
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenian | Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey | Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh | (endangered in Turkey) |
Afro-Asiatic languages
Semitic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maltese | Malta | Malta | |
| Arabic | Turkey | endangered |
Uralic languages
Finno-Ugric languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sami (Lappish) | Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia | endangered | |
| Finnish (including Karelian) | Finland, Russia, Sweden | Finland | (endangered in Russia and Sweden) |
| Estonian | Estonia | Estonia | |
| Livonian | Latvia | endangered | |
| Veps | Russia | endangered | |
| Komi | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Udmurt | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Mari | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Erza | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Moksha | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Hungarian | Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Serbia | Hungary | (endangered in Slovakia, Romania, Austria and Serbia) |
Samoyedic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nenets | Russia | endangered |
Altaic languages
Turkic languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish | Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria | Turkey, Cyprus | (endangered in Greece and Bulgaria) |
| Gagauz | Moldova, Ukraine | Moldova (R) | endangered |
| Chuvash | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Crimean Tatar | Ukraine | endangered | |
| Volga Tatar | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Bashkort (Bashkir) | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Kumyk | Russia | endangered | |
| Karachay-Balkar | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Nogay | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Azeri | Azerbaijan, Iran | Azerbaijan |
Mongolian
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mongolian (Kalmyk) | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
North Caucasian languages
The unity of the North Caucasian family is debated among specialists.
Northwest Caucasian languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhaz-Abaza | Abkhazia, Russia | Abkhazia | endangered |
| Circassian (Adyghe, Kabardian) | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
Northeast Caucasian languages
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chechen | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| Ingush | Russia | Russia (R) | endangered |
| many languages in Russia (Daghestan) and Azerbaijan, including: Bats, Avar, Andi, Lak, Dargwa, Lezgian, Tabasaran, Aghul, Udi, Rutul, etc. | Russia, Azerbaijan | (R) (for some of them) | endangered |
Kartvelian languages (South Caucasian languages)
| language | approximate location |
official status in: (R = regional, official status) |
vitality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgian | Georgia | Georgia (R) | |
| Svan | Georgia | endangered | |
| Mingrelian | Georgia | endangered | |
| Laz | Turkey, Georgia | endangered |
Footnotes
- ↑ See, for example, a serious, scientific survey of the languages of Europe in: BADIA I CAPDEVILA Ignasi (2002) Diccionari de les llengües d’Europa, coll. Diccionaris temàtics, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana.