1. Genetic Classification: This is the most common way to categorize languages. It focuses on historical relationships between languages, tracing them back to a common ancestor. This is the basis of language families, like the Indo-European family (which includes English, Spanish, Hindi, etc.) or the Sino-Tibetan family (which includes Mandarin Chinese, Tibetan, etc.).
2. Typological Classification: This method focuses on structural similarities between languages, looking at features like word order, grammar, and sounds. For example, languages can be categorized as analytic (like English) or synthetic (like Latin), based on how much information is conveyed through word order vs. grammatical markers.
3. Areally Based Classification: This method groups languages based on geographic proximity, recognizing that languages in close contact often influence each other. This is how language areas or sprachbunds are formed, where languages might share certain features even if they are not genetically related. An example is the Balkan Sprachbund, where languages like Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, and Romanian share some grammatical features despite their different origins.
It's important to note that these methods are not mutually exclusive. A language can be categorized based on its genetic relationship, its typological features, and its geographic location.