Ethnologue Journal

  • 2024-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 27th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of the 27th edition of Ethnologue.

  • 2024-01-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    "Global Voice" Initiative

    The Global Voice (GV) initiative is a program launched by Ethnologue to improve the quality of the data that is available on the language ecologies of the world.

  • 2023-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 26th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of the 26th edition of Ethnologue.

  • 2022-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 25th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of the 25th edition of Ethnologue.

  • 2021-02-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 24th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of Ethnologue, 24th edition.

  • 2020-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 23rd edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of Ethnologue, 23rd edition.

  • 2019-10-26 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Changes at Ethnologue.com

    We're making some changes, including adding new plans, removing page counts, and introducing our new Contributor Program.

  • 2019-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 22nd edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of Ethnologue, 22nd edition.

  • 2018-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 21st edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of Ethnologue, 21st edition.

  • 2017-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 20th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to announce the release of Ethnologue, 20th edition.

  • 2016-07-15 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Introducing Ethnologue Guides

    How many languages are there in the world? If you're familiar with the Ethnologue, you already know that the answer is in the thousands. But what does that really look like? Where are these languages?

  • 2016-02-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 19th edition

    As our contribution to the celebration of International Mother Language Day, we are pleased to release Ethnologue, 19th edition.

  • 2016-02-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Looking back and looking ahead

    At the end of this month we'll release the 19th edition of the Ethnologue. We look forward to the changes and updates that will be part of that. At the same time I take a look back at the last 10 years and the changes I've seen during my time as an editor.

  • 2016-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Entering a new year together

    As we enter a new year, we are entering the final stretch in preparation for the 19th edition.

  • 2015-12-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Ethnologue launches subscription service

    The team of personnel who now work on Ethnologue has grown as the scope of the project and the number and kinds of products we offer have expanded. The time has come where our growth and our plans for continued improvement require us to look at some additional funding options.

  • 2015-11-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Ghost Languages? Ghostbusters needed!

    'Ghost languages' refers to the cases where the Ethnologue lists languages for which there is no real evidence of their existence. These are not languages that are extinct, so-called 'dead languages'.

  • 2015-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Migration and Language Contact

    Migration has been happening since the beginning of time and happens for many different reasons. Whatever the cause, the movement of people also means the movement of languages.

  • 2015-09-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    What I did on my summer vacation...

    Summer vacations are supposed to be restful. Not this one!

  • 2015-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    The books are here!

    Last month, I talked about the process, this month, some details on the books themselves...

  • 2015-07-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Tom Swift and His Electronic Book Machine

    Sometime in the next few weeks the 18th edition print volumes should become available through your preferred bookseller. This post isn't about the details of the new edition. It is about the process we use to produce them and demonstrates the ongoing development of the Ethnologue as a source for useful information.

  • 2015-06-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Language extinction: it's real, it's serious, and it's hard (but getting easier) to assess

    In response to a comment on last month's Ethnoblog post, we share some thoughts on the extinction of languages (language endangerment and death) that we hope will clear up some confusion.

  • 2015-05-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    More use of the Ethnologue data...

    There is a growing body of evidence that linguistic diversity and biological diversity are somehow linked to each other. A recent publication examines that using Ethnologue data.

  • 2015-04-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Web Surfing in every language and the Ethnologue

    We've mentioned before how others are making use of the Ethnologue, but a major report on internet connectivity is one of the first to use the Ethnologue Global Dataset.

  • 2015-02-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the 18th edition!

    In recognition of International Mother Language Day, we are happy to be able to update the Ethnologue to its 18th edition.

  • 2015-02-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    What we are working on here at Ethnologue Central

    After the holiday break, Ethnologue Central has burst into a flurry of activity. Here are some of the things that we are working on.

  • 2015-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Happy New Year!

    Happy New Year from all of us here at Ethnologue Central. We're taking a short break but are gearing up for the release of the 18th edition. Exciting things to come in 2015!

  • 2014-12-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    For unto you a multilingual son is born

    As Christians begin the celebration of Advent, few of us (except us language geeks) pause to think about what languages were used for all of the words that accompanied that event.

  • 2014-11-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Ethnologue in print and for download

    We're happy to announce that the Ethnologue, 17th edition is now available in print.

  • 2014-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    How NOT to use the Ethnologue

    Many people turn to the Ethnologue as their source for information about languages, but there are some things you shouldn't take for granted...

  • 2014-09-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Vladimir Putin, Language Ideology, and Tracking Multilingualism

    In its May 10th edition The Economist cited the Ethnologue as a source for its article poking fun at Vlaimir Putin's language ideology.

  • 2014-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Sustainable Language Use

    The EGIDS is our own scale that we developed to enable us to evaluate the vitality of the world's languages. It is the cornerstone of a larger framework that we call the Sustainable Use Model. Here's a brief description of that model.

  • 2014-07-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Books, Reports, Maps!

    Still like the feel of paper in your hands? Check out Ethnologue's print and printable products.

  • 2014-06-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Join the Conversation!

    Last month we launched a new way for Ethnologue users to interact with the editors by adding a feedback function to the website. This month, I give a fuller description of the way it all works and describe some of the advantages of engaging in conversation with us.

  • 2014-05-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Check out the new Ethnologue!

    In spite of some delays and a number of technical issues, I'm happy to report that the Ethnologue website you are looking at is now new and improved with the latest data and with several new features.

  • 2014-03-19 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    In Memoriam: Barbara F. Grimes (1930-2014)

    The Ethnologue staff and all the SIL family were saddened to hear of the passing on March 1, 2014 of Barbara F. Grimes, editor emerita of the Ethnologue.

  • 2014-03-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Languages of the world by the numbers...

    We didn't make our goal of getting the website updated last week, but we can report some new statistics...

  • 2014-02-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    A hint of things to come...

    It's been a year since the redesigned Ethnologue website was launched. Now it's time for an update and more.

  • 2014-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Best Wishes for 2014

    All the best for 2014 from all of us at the Ethnologue!

  • 2013-12-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    EuLaViBar - Another Way to Evaluate Vitality

    Last June I was privileged to be a participant in the closing conference of the ELDIA Project, a good example of how an in-depth and interdisciplinary analysis of the situation of a language can be carried out.

  • 2013-11-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Functions of Languages in Countries

    In addition to the EGIDS status, mentioned in an earlier Ethnoblog post, we have also implemented a new system for identifying the function(s) that a language may have in the country where it is spoken.

  • 2013-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Nailing Jello to the Wall: Language Identification

    The Ethnologue deals with the languages of the world, so it would seem to be important that we be able to say what we mean when we refer to "a language".

  • 2013-09-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    So what's in a name?

    Often there are more than one language called by the same name. Sometimes the same language is known by different names. In order to look up a specific language in such cases, you need more than just the name.

  • 2013-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Why are Sign Languages Included in the Ethnologue?

    Sign languages are not in the same category as all the other languages in Ethnologue, people say to me. What is the reason they are included right along with spoken languages?

  • 2013-07-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Language Resources

    Where did the language resources go?

  • 2013-06-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Ethnologue in the News

    It makes us happy when we see that others are making use of the Ethnologue.

  • 2013-05-31 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Evaluating Endangerment and Development

    The 17th edition of the Ethnologue has been online for a month now, and we are gratified by the response we have received.

  • 2013-03-31 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    One month later...

    The 17th edition of the Ethnologue has been online for a month now, and we are gratified by the response we have received.

  • 2013-02-25 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

    Welcome to the Ethnoblog!

    This is the first of many posts to this blog in which we hope to discuss topics of interest to lovers of language.