Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 3, 2026

Language classification

In linguistics, language classification is the grouping of related languages into the same category. There are two main kinds of language classification: genealogical and typological classification.

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Jun 3, 2026
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In linguistics, language classification is the grouping of related languages into the same category. There are two main kinds of language classification: genealogical and typological classification.1

Genealogical (or genetic) classification

Languages are grouped by diachronic relatedness into language families.2 In other words, languages are grouped based on how they were developed and evolved throughout history, with languages which descended from a common ancestor being grouped into the same language family.

Typological classification

Languages are grouped by their structural and functional features.

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Linguistics - Language classification". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. "Language Typology: Analytic versus Synthetic Languages". ELLO (English Language and Linguistics Online). Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2020.