Language isolate: Difference between revisions

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A '''language isolate''' is a language with no clear relationship to or affinity with other languages. Unlike English, which is clearly related to other Germanic languages, or the various Chinese languages, isolates generally stand apart from their surrounding languages in terms of their [[phonology]], [[grammar]], and [[syntax]]. Examples include [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Ainu language|Ainu]] and [[Burushaski language|Burushaski]].

Isolate languages are often the subject of intensive studies in order to attempt proof of genetic relationships between languages. [[Basque language|Basque]], for instance, has been the subject of comparisons to the [[South Caucasian language]]s and the [[Indo-European]] language family.

There are languages whose relatives are spoken by communities a long distance away, because of past migrations. These languages are not considered isolates.

Some languages are isolates because all the other languages in that language family have died. The [[Pirahã language]] of Brazil is one such language, the last language alive belonging to the Mura family. In contrast, there are languages whose relatives are spoken by communities a long distance away, because of past migrations. Such languages are not considered isolates.

Below is a list of known language isolates, along with notes on possible relations to other languages or language families: