Home›Sources›Ethnologue: Languages of the WorldSourcesEthnologue: Languages of the WorldCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Ethnologue: Languages of the World." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ethnologue-languages-of-the-world.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ethnologue-languages-of-the-worldCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-ethnologue-languages-of-the-world, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Ethnologue: Languages of the World}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ethnologue-languages-of-the-world}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXThe standard reference catalog of the world's living languages, edited by David M. Eberhard, Gary F. Simons and Charles D. Fennig for SIL International, giving each language's classification, speaker population, geographic distribution and vitality status, updated in successive editions. Its established role as the field's working reference places it at this atlas's top tier. It is the right source for a language's classification, speaker count and current status. It is not a source on the religious content or liturgical use of a language, a separate kind of claim that needs a source specific to the tradition in question.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (557 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1Scholarly linguistic reference database, SIL International; read by its own editorial shape rather than the noisy generic reference tag.NotesWell-attestedStandard reference catalog of the world's living languages, giving classification, speaker populations, geographic distribution and vitality status, updated in successive editions. Use for facts about a language's classification, speaker count and status; not a source on the religious content or liturgical use of a language, which needs a source specific to that tradition.CitationAuthorWell-attestedDavid M. Eberhard, Gary F. Simons and Charles D. Fennig (eds.)PublisherWell-attestedSIL InternationalPublication YearWell-attested2024URLWell-attestedhttps://www.sil.org/resources/publications/ethnologueSource TypeWell-attestedreferenceClaims Backed By This Source (557 claims)This source backs 557 claims across the atlas. As facts: 369 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 30 holds. Plus 156 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicLanguages, 358 claims: 235 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 23 holds, 98 general references.Articles, 98 claims: 87 well-attested, 4 holds, 7 general references.Cultures, 60 claims: 30 well-attested, 30 general references.Language Families, 20 claims: 4 well-attested, 16 general references.Culture Groups, 9 claims: 5 well-attested, 4 general references.Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.Religions, 4 claims: 3 holds, 1 general references.Well-attested369ArticlesA Forest Language and What Its One Book CarriesA Language Built for a MissionAkkadian: The Semitic Language of Mesopotamian EmpireAn Isolate on Its Own TermsAncient Greek: The Language of Homer and Greek ReligionAramaic: A Semitic Lingua Franca Across Three EmpiresArdhamagadhi Prakrit: The Canonical Language of Svetambara JainismAvestan: The Sacred Language of ZoroastrianismAwadhi: Tulsidas's Language for a Vernacular RamayanaBraj Bhasha: The Classical Language of Krishna DevotionByzantine Greek: The Language of Orthodox Christian TheologyClassical Arabic: The Language of the QuranClassical Chinese: The Literary Language of Confucius and LaoziClassical Japanese: Kukai's Language of Esoteric BuddhismClassical Nahuatl: The Aztec Empire's Literary LanguageDevotion in Classical MongolianEnglish as a Language of Original CompositionEnglish: A West Germanic Language of Global ReachFour Subdivisions Significant Enough to the Study of Religion to Stand as Their Own GroupingFrench: A Romance Language of Gallo-Roman DescentFrom Old Church Slavonic to Church SlavonicGerman as a Language of Esoteric CompositionGerman: A West Germanic Language and the Luther Bible's LegacyGrabar in the Armenian ChurchHebrew: From Mishnaic Register to a Revived National LanguageHindi: A Modern Indo-Aryan Language of North IndiaIjoid, and a Family Position That Is Not SettledItalian: The Tuscan Vernacular That Became a National LanguageKakawin JavaKatharevousa, Demotic and the Language of the LiturgyKoine Greek: The Common Language Behind the New TestamentLatin as the Working Language of the Holy SeeLucumi and the Atlantic CrossingMerchants, Saints and MahatmaMesrop Mashtots and the Invention of an AlphabetMiddle Egyptian: The Classical Language of Egyptian LiteratureMiddle Irish: The Language Between Old Irish and Modern GaelicModern Standard Arabic and the Living Arabic DialectsNew Persian and Its Golden AgeOld Avestan: The Archaic Register of the GathasOne Language, Many NamesPanini's Grammar and the Fixing of SanskritPortuguese: A Western Romance Language of Iberian and Colonial ReachSauraseni Prakrit and Its Jain Shauraseni Literary RegisterSpanish: A Romance Language from Latin's Iberian BranchState-Regulated Religious Publishing in Simplified ChineseSumerian: A Language Isolate and Mesopotamia's Oldest WritingThe Carmen Arvale and Rome's Oldest Surviving Religious TextThe Ladino of the Study House and the Djudezmo of the StreetThe Language of the Aarti TrayShowing 1 to 50 of 199 entities carrying this claim. NextScholarly debate2LanguagesIzon (Ijo)JapaneseHolds30ArticlesFour Subdivisions Significant Enough to the Study of Religion to Stand as Their Own GroupingThree Languages Related to Nothing Else Known, Survivors of an Erased Linguistic LandscapeTwelve Established Language Families, From the First Demonstrated by Comparison to One Still DisputedTwelve Languages the Atlas Can Be Read in, Several Carrying Their Own Scriptural HistoryLanguagesAinuAkanChurch Slavonic (Russian Recension)EnglishFrenchGermanIzon (Ijo)JapaneseKalmyk OiratKyrgyzManinkaMaoriModern GreekNyangaOjibweOld Javanese (Kawi)QuechuaYolngu MathaYucatec MayaReligionsChristianityHermeticismGeneral References156ArticlesFour Subdivisions Significant Enough to the Study of Religion to Stand as Their Own GroupingThree Languages Related to Nothing Else Known, Survivors of an Erased Linguistic LandscapeTwelve Established Language Families, From the First Demonstrated by Comparison to One Still DisputedTwelve Languages the Atlas Can Be Read in, Several Carrying Their Own Scriptural HistoryWhat a Culture Group Entry CoversWhat a Language Entry CoversWhat a Language Family Entry CoversCulture GroupsAmazigh PeoplesGbe PeoplesNilotic PeoplesRomani PeopleCulturesAboriginal AustraliansAnanguAsanteBaltsEtruscansEvenkiGaulsHurriansIgboIncaInuitItzaJapanese CultureKalderashK'iche' MayaKongoKoreansKulinMesopotamiansMongolsNahuaNgarrindjeriPersiansPhrygiansPunjabisRohingyaSinhaleseWiradjuriYolnguYucatec MayaLanguage FamiliesAfro-AsiaticAinu (Language Isolate)AustronesianBasqueDravidianGermanicIndo-EuropeanIndo-IranianMayanShowing 1 to 50 of 156 entities carrying this claim. NextComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year