Here's a breakdown of what Ethnologue offers:
* Language Documentation: It lists over 7,100 languages, including their names, geographic locations, speaker populations, and language families.
* Language Vitality: It assesses the vitality of each language, indicating its likelihood of survival and being passed down to future generations.
* Language Codes: It assigns unique ISO 639-3 codes to each language, facilitating standardization in research and databases.
* Language Features: It provides information about language features like writing systems, grammatical structures, and phonology.
* Language Resources: It links to resources like dictionaries, grammars, and language learning materials for many languages.
* Interactive Map: Ethnologue provides an interactive map that allows users to explore language distribution across the globe.
Key Uses of Ethnologue:
* Linguistic Research: Researchers use it to study language families, language change, and language diversity.
* Language Planning: Language planners use it to assess language endangerment and develop language revitalization programs.
* Education: Educators use it to understand the diversity of languages in their classrooms and to develop culturally relevant teaching materials.
* Translation and Interpretation: Translators and interpreters use it to identify languages and to find resources for specific languages.
Access:
Ethnologue offers free access to its basic information. For more comprehensive data and features, a subscription is required.
Overall, Ethnologue is a valuable resource for anyone interested in languages, including linguists, educators, language enthusiasts, and researchers.