Our Languages
Romance Languages ✅
Germanic Languages ✅
Slavic Languages ✅
Afro-Asiatic Languages ✅
Turkic Languages ✅
Finno-Ugric Languages ✅
Semitic Languages ✅
And others ✅
Discover the Languages We Master
Romance Languages
These languages evolved from spoken Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire. They share many grammatical structures and vocabulary due to their common ancestor. For example, the verb "to speak" follows a similar conjugation pattern across these languages (parler in French, hablar in Spanish, parlare in Italian). Despite these similarities, Romance languages have diverged over time, influenced by their geographical separation and historical development.
Germanic Languages
Descended from Proto-Germanic, these languages are characterized by similar sound systems and grammatical features, such as the use of verb conjugations to indicate tense and person. Old English, heavily influenced by Viking invasions, shares many commonalities with modern Germanic languages like German and Dutch. However, the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought a significant influx of French vocabulary, making English a unique blend of Germanic and Romance influences.
Slavic Languages
Originating from Proto-Slavic, these languages share a close relationship in grammar and vocabulary. They are spoken across much of Eastern Europe, with Russian being the most widely spoken Slavic language. The Cyrillic alphabet is commonly used for writing Slavic languages, although some, like Polish, use a modified Latin alphabet. Despite their similarities, there are variations in pronunciation and vocabulary between Slavic languages.
Afro-Asiatic Languages
This large family encompasses over 300 languages spoken in parts of Africa and Asia. Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, belongs to this group. These languages share some grammatical features, like the use of verb conjugations based on aspect (completed vs. ongoing action) in addition to tense.
This is the world's largest language family by number of languages, spoken primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Swahili and Kinyarwanda, both spoken in East Africa, are included here. This language family is incredibly diverse, with many sub-branches and individual languages. Swahili has borrowed vocabulary from Arabic due to historical trade routes, while Kinyarwanda is closely related to languages spoken in neighboring Rwanda and Burundi.
Turkic Languages
Characterized by vowel harmony and agglutinative morphology (adding suffixes to words to create meaning), this family includes Turkish and Kyrgyz. Turkic languages are spoken across a vast region stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. Agglutination allows for the creation of complex words by stringing together multiple suffixes, making them efficient for conveying specific nuances of meaning.
Finno-Ugric Languages
This language family is geographically dispersed, but Finnish and Hungarian are examples. They share some core vocabulary related to nature and basic concepts, but have diverged significantly over time. Finnish is spoken in Finland and parts of northwestern Russia, while Hungarian is the national language of Hungary and has influences from neighboring languages like Turkish and Slavic languages.
Semitic Languages
Spoken in the Middle East and North Africa, these languages share a common ancestor and have similarities in grammar and vocabulary. Arabic and Hebrew are prominent examples. The Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family is known for its consonantal root system, where the meaning of a word is derived from a combination of consonants. Vowel sounds are added between the consonants to create different grammatical forms and related words.
Browse our other languages
Hindi belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family, separate from the European languages you listed. It is widely spoken in India and shares some vocabulary with European languages due to their distant common ancestor. Greek is a unique language isolate with no close relatives, but its influence can be seen in the development of scientific and philosophical terminology used in many languages today. Latin is a dead language but the foundation for the Romance languages, leaving its mark on vocabulary, grammar, and legal and academic systems across the globe.
From the Romance languages born from Latin to the diverse language family spoken across Africa, each category showcases the rich tapestry of human communication. Learn more by clicking the links below