* No single, definitive list: There's no official body that keeps track of every language. Many languages exist in remote areas with no formal documentation.
* Continuously evolving: Languages change and evolve over time. New ones emerge, and old ones die out.
* Defining a "language": Even determining what constitutes a distinct language versus a dialect can be tricky.
However, we can talk about the different ways languages are classified:
* Language families: Languages related by a common ancestor are grouped into families, like Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Afro-Asiatic, etc.
* Language branches: Within families, languages with closer relationships form branches, like Romance languages within Indo-European.
* Language isolates: Languages with no known close relatives, like Basque and Korean.
If you're interested in exploring language diversity, here are some resources:
* Ethnologue: A comprehensive database of languages, though not exhaustive.
* Wikipedia: Has articles on language families, branches, and individual languages.
* UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger: Highlights endangered languages.
Let me know if you have a specific question about a particular language family or a type of language classification!