Which language families will be widely academically recognized in the field of linguistics, by EOY 2035?
6
Ṁ244
2035
60%
Dene-Yeniseian (language family that includes both Na-Dene and Yeniseian languages)
60%
Austro-Tai (language family that includes both Austronesian and Kra-Dai languages)
54%
Je-Tupi-Carib (language family that includes both Je, Tupi and Carib languages)
47%
Uralo-Siberian (language family that includes Uralic, Yukaghir and Eskaleut)
43%
Altaic (or any other language family containing both Turkic, Tungusic and Mongolic languages)
41%
Italo-Celtic (an IE subfamily that includes both Latin and a Celtic language, but no languages from other major extant IE families)
41%
Pontic (language family that includes both Indo-European and Northwest Caucasian languages)
38%
Indo-Uralic (language family that includes both Indo-European and Uralic languages)
20%
Proto-World (all known languages in the world are proven to belong to the same macrofamily)

Feel free to add other hypothetical language families as answers.


Resolution Criteria

An option resolves as TRUE if, by December 31, 2035, the specified language family is listed in at least one of these three sources:

If a source becomes widely considered unreliable, it will no longer count for resolution. If a more authoritative and up-to-date source emerges, it may be included as a valid source upon common agreement of participants.

Background

As of 2024, Glottolog recognizes approximately 247 language families and 183 isolates, while Ethnologue lists about 237 language families including 86 isolates. These databases differ in their classification methodologies:

  • Glottolog tends to be more conservative, requiring robust evidence for grouping languages into families

  • Ethnologue provides additional demographic information but may lack systematic sources for some data

  • Wikipedia generally reflects consensus from various linguistic sources

    Some proposed language families, not yet widely recognized, can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_proposed_language_families

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Linguists gonna be stumped when it suddenly turns out Basque, Ainu, Pitjantjatjara, !Kung, and Purépecha form a language family