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African languages

(Encyclopedia)African languages, geographic rather than linguistic classification of languages spoken on the African continent. Historically the term refers to the languages of sub-Saharan Africa, which do not belo...

Afroasiatic languages

(Encyclopedia)Afroasiatic languages hămˈĭtō-səmĭtˈĭk [key], family of languages spoken by more than 250 million people in N Africa; much of the Sahara; parts of E, central, and W Africa; and W Asia (especia...

Sino-Tibetan languages

(Encyclopedia)Sino-Tibetan languages, family of languages spoken by over a billion people in central and SE Asia. This linguistic family is second only to the Indo-European stock in the number of its speakers. It i...

Iroquoian

(Encyclopedia)Iroquoian ĭrˌəkwoiˈən [key], branch of Native North American languages belonging to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic family, or stock, of North and Central America. See Native American languages. ...

Muskogean

(Encyclopedia)Muskogean məskōˈgēən [key], branch of Native North American languages belonging to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic family, or stock, of North and Central America. See Native American languages. ...

Siouan

(Encyclopedia)Siouan so͞oˈən [key], branch of Native American languages belonging to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic family, or stock, of North and Central America (including Mexico). See Native American languages. ...

American Indian Movement

(Encyclopedia)American Indian Movement (AIM), Native American civil-rights activist organization, founded in 1968 to encourage self-determination among Native Americans and to establish international re...

Yuman

(Encyclopedia)Yuman yo͞oˈmən [key], branch of Native American languages belonging to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, or family, of North America (including Mexico) and Central America. See Native American lan...

Dravidian languages

(Encyclopedia)Dravidian languages drəvĭdˈēən [key], family of about 23 languages that appears to be unrelated to any other known language family. The Dravidian languages are spoken by more than 200 million peo...

Dardic languages

(Encyclopedia)Dardic languages därˈdĭk [key], group of languages belonging to the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. See Indo-Iranian. ...