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.{{cite web |title=Linguistics - Language classification |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/linguistics/Language-classification |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate=19 September 2020 |language=en}}

Genealogical (or genetic) classification

Languages are grouped by diachronic relatedness into language families.{{cite web |title=Language Typology: Analytic versus Synthetic Languages |url=http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/Morphology/AnalyticVersusSynthetic |website=ELLO (English Language and Linguistics Online) |accessdate=19 September 2020}} 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

{{Main|Linguistic typology}}

Languages are grouped by their structural and functional features.

See also

References

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Category:Language

Category:Linguistics

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