Locations of a few relatively well-known examples of isolated languages
A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages.[1][2]Basque in Europe, Ainu[1] and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi in Oceania are all examples of such languages. The exact number of language isolates is yet unknown due to insufficient data on several languages.[3]
One explanation for the existence of language isolates is that they might be the last remaining member of a larger language family. Such languages might have had relatives in the past that have since disappeared without being documented, leaving them an orphaned language. One example is the Ket language spoken in central Siberia, which belongs to the wider Yeniseian language family; had it been discovered in recent times independently from its now extinct relatives, such as Yugh and Kott, it would have been classified as an isolate. Another explanation for language isolates is that they arose independently in isolation and thus do not share a common linguistic genesis with any other language but themselves. This explanation mostly applies to sign languages that have developed independently of other spoken or signed languages.[1][4]
Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families if some of their dialects are judged to be sufficiently different from the standard to be seen as different languages. Examples include Japanese and Georgian: Japanese is now part of the Japonic language family with the Ryukyuan languages, and Georgian is the main language in the Kartvelian language family. There is a difference between language isolates and unclassified languages, but they can be difficult to differentiate when it comes to classifying extinct languages.[1] If such efforts eventually do prove fruitful, a language previously considered an isolate may no longer be considered one, as happened with the Yanyuwa language of northern Australia, which has been placed in the Pama–Nyungan family.[5] Since linguists do not always agree on whether a genetic relationship has been demonstrated, it is often disputed whether a language is an isolate.
A genetic relationship is when two different languages are descended from a common ancestral language.[6] This is what makes up a language family, which is a set of languages for which sufficient evidence exists to demonstrate that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related.[1] For example, English is related to other Indo-European languages and Mandarin Chinese is related to other Sino-Tibetan languages. By this criterion, each language isolate constitutes a family of its own.[6] This is not to be confused with family-level isolates, which are not language isolates themselves but form a primary branch of a language family, such as Armenian within Indo-European and Paiwan within Austronesian.
In some situations, a language with no ancestor can arise. This frequently happens with sign languages—most famously in the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language, where deaf children with no language were placed together and developed a new language.[7]
Extinct isolates
Caution is required when speaking of extinct languages as language isolates. Despite their great age, Sumerian and Elamite can be safely classified as isolates, as the languages are well enough documented that, if modern relatives existed, they would be recognizably related.[8] A language thought to be an isolate may turn out to be related to other languages once enough material is recovered, but this is unlikely for extinct languages whose written records have not been preserved.[1]
Many extinct languages are very poorly attested, which may lead to them being considered unclassified languages instead of language isolates. This occurs when linguists do not have enough information on a language to classify it as either a language isolate or as a part of another language family.[1]
Isolates v. unclassified languages
Unclassified languages are different from language isolates in that they have no demonstrable genetic relationships to other languages due to a lack of sufficient data. In order to be considered a language isolate, a language needs to have sufficient data for comparisons with other languages through methods of historical-comparative linguistics to show that it does not have any genetic relationships.[1]
Many extinct languages and living languages today are very poorly attested, and the fact that they cannot be linked to other languages may be a reflection of our poor knowledge of them. Hattic, Gutian, and Kassite are all considered unclassified languages, but their status is disputed by a minority of linguists.[9] Many extinct languages of the Americas such as Cayuse and Majena may likewise have been isolates.[10] Several unclassified languages could also be language isolates, but linguists cannot be sure of this without sufficient evidence.[1]
A number of sign languages have arisen independently, without any ancestral language, and thus are language isolates. These include Nicaraguan Sign Language, a well-documented case of what has happened in schools for the deaf in many countries.[7] In Tanzania, for example, there are seven schools for the deaf, each with its own sign language with no connection to any other language.[11] Sign languages have also developed outside schools, in communities with high incidences of deafness, such as Kata Kolok in Bali, and half a dozen sign languages of the hill tribes in Thailand including the Ban Khor Sign Language.[12][13]
These and more are all presumed isolates or small local families, because many deaf communities are made up of people whose hearing parents do not use sign language, and have manifestly, as shown by the language itself, not borrowed their sign language from other deaf communities during the recorded history of these languages.[12]
Below is a list of known language isolates, arranged by continent, along with notes on possible relations to other languages or language families.
The status column indicates the degree of endangerment of the language, according to the definitions of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[14] "Vibrant" languages are those in full use by speakers of every generation, with consistent native acquisition by children. "Vulnerable" languages have a similarly wide base of native speakers, but a restricted use and the long-term risk of language shift. "Endangered" languages are either acquired irregularly or spoken only by older generations. "Moribund" languages have only a few remaining native speakers, with no new acquisition, highly restricted use, and near-universal multilingualism. "Extinct" languages have no native speakers, but are sufficiently documented to be classified as isolates.
With few exceptions, all of Africa's languages have been gathered into four major phyla: Afroasiatic, Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan.[15] However, the genetic unity of some language families, like Nilo-Saharan,[16][17] is questionable, and so there may be many more language families and isolates than currently accepted. Data for several African languages, like Kwisi, are not sufficient for classification. In addition, Jalaa, Shabo, Laal, Kujargé, and a few other languages within Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic-speaking areas may turn out to be isolates upon further investigation. Defaka and Ega are highly divergent languages located within Niger–Congo-speaking areas, and may also possibly be language isolates.[18]
Although this language is poorly known, Zamponi (2025) unambiguously classified it as an isolate.[21] Not enough evidence exists to classify it as one of the Koman languages.[22]
Spoken on the southern shore of Lake Eyasi in the southwest of Arusha Region. Once listed as an outlier among the Khoisan languages.[23] Language use is vigorous, though there are fewer than 1,000 speakers.[24]
Spoken in Mesopotamia until around 1800 BC, but used as a classical language until 100 AD.[54] Long-extinct, but well-attested language of ancient Sumer.
Current research considers that the "Papuasphere" centered in New Guinea includes as many as 37 isolates.[56] (The more is known about these languages in the future, the more likely it is for these languages to be later assigned to a known language family.) To these, one must add several isolates found among non-Pama-Nyunganlanguages of Australia:[57]
Spoken in the northern part of Arnhem Land until the early 1980s. Sometimes considered a small language family consisting of Mengerrdji, Urningangk and Erre.[67] Part of a proposal for the undemonstrated Arnhem Land language family.
Spoken in northern Australia. Often considered part of one Northern Daly family together with Tyeraity. Used to be considered genetically related to the Wagaydyic languages, but nowadays they are considered genetically distinct.[70]
Marrgu had been assumed to be an Iwaidjan language like its neighbours. However, Evans (2006) has produced evidence that it was a language isolate, with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attested Wurrugu.[71]
Formerly spoken in the village of Gapun. Links to Lower Sepik languages and Torricelli languages have been explored, but the general consensus among linguists is that it is an isolate unrelated to surrounding languages.[77]
Spoken in the southern part of the Top End. May be distantly related to the Yangmanic languages,[80] which might in turn be a member of the Macro-Gunwinyguan family,[57] but neither link has been demonstrated.
Spoken in the southern part of the Top End. The extinct and poorly attested Dagoman and Yangman dialects are sometimes treated as separate languages, forming a Yangmanic family, to which Wagiman may be distantly related.[80] Possibly a member of the Macro-Gunwinyguan family,[57] but this has yet to be demonstrated.
Natively known as Euskara, the Basque language is found in the historical region of the Basque Country between France and Spain. It has no known living relatives, although Aquitanian is commonly regarded as related to or a direct ancestor of Basque. Some linguists have claimed similarities with various languages of the Caucasus[84][85] that are indicative of a relationship, while others have proposed a relation to Iberian[86] and to the hypothetical Dené–Caucasian languages.[87]
Unclassified and poorly attested, and possibly a hoax, but from what inscriptions have been found appears to be unrelated to any known language.[91][92][93]
Poorly attested. Spoken along the central coast of Oregon until the early 1950s.[94] Sometimes regarded as two separate languages. Often included in the Penutian hypothesis in a Coast Oregon Penutian branch.[95]
Spoken in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico until the 1700s. Part of the Pakawan hypothesis,[100] has been linked to the hypothesised Hokan languages in a larger group.[101]
Spoken in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico until c. 1900. Part of the Pakawan hypothesis, has been linked to the hypothesised Hokan languages in a larger group.
Spoken in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast of Oaxaca state. Has been linked to various language families, but is still generally considered an isolate.[106]
Spoken in several pueblos throughout New Mexico, including Cochiti and Acoma Pueblos. Has two main dialects: Eastern and Western. Sometimes those two dialects are separated into languages in a Keresan family.[107]
Spoken in the Rockies of northeastern Idaho, northwestern Montana and southeastern British Columbia. Attempts have been made to place it in a Macro-Algic or Macro-Salishan family, but these have not gained significant support.[106]
Well attested. Spoken in northern Florida and southern Georgia until the mid- to late 1700s. Briefly spoken in Cuba by a migrant community established in 1763. A connection with the poorly known Tawasa language has been suggested, but this may be a dialect.[115]
Spoken in western Mississippi, northeastern Louisiana, and southeastern Arkansas until 1948. Attempts at revitalization have produced 32 second-language speakers.[citation needed]
Spoken in Oklahoma, but formerly spoken in eastern Tennessee. A connection to the Siouan languages has been proposed.[118] The last native speaker died in 2021, but there is an ongoing revitalization project that has trained a small number of L2s.
Spoken along the Chapuli, Huitoyacu, Pastaza, and Morona river valleys in southwestern Loreto. Has been linked to various language families, but no agreement exists on its classification.[123]
Spoken in the Llanos de Moxos region of Beni Department until around 2000. Connections with various language families have been proposed, none widely accepted.[124]
Spoken in northern Sucumbíos Province and southern Putumayo Department. Also called A'ingae.[129] Sometimes classified as Chibchan, but the similarities appear to be due to borrowings. Seriously endangered in Colombia.[130]
Spoken by the Irántxe and Mỹky peoples in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. Recent descriptions of the language analyze it as a language isolate. According to Arruda (2003), it "bears no similarity with other language families".
Spoken in western Patagonia, Wellington Island off south Chilean coast, 49° south, with centre in Villa Puerto Edén located in Chile. Also known as Alacaluf. The only alive member of the Alacalufan language family after the other languages went extinct, of which the Kawésqar language is the northern variety.
Spoken along the northwest coast of Peru and in an inland village until c. 1920. Usually considered to be a language isolate,[141] but has also been hypothesized as belonging to a wider Chimuan language family.
Spoken in 32 communities along the banks of the Inírida River in Guainía Department, Colombia and in 10 communities along the Orinoco River, in the Colombia–Venezuela border region. Generally considered to be a language isolate, but sometimes linked to Macro-Puinavean language family along with other families and lesser attested languages.
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