Language isolate

File:Isolated Languages.png

Locations of a few relatively well-known examples of isolated languages

A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Basque in Europe, Ainu<ref name=":1" /> and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi in Oceania are all examples of such languages. The exact number of language isolates is yet unknown due to insufficient data on several languages.<ref>p. xi. Lyle Campbell. 2018. "Introduction". Language Isolates edited by Lyle Campbell, pp. xi–xiv. Routledge.</ref>

One explanation for the existence of language isolates is that they might be the last remaining member of a larger language family. Such languages might have had relatives in the past that have since disappeared without being documented, leaving them an orphaned language. One example is the Ket language spoken in central Siberia, which belongs to the wider Yeniseian language family; had it been discovered in recent times independently from its now extinct relatives, such as Yugh and Kott, it would have been classified as an isolate. Another explanation for language isolates is that they arose independently in isolation and thus do not share a common linguistic genesis with any other language but themselves. This explanation mostly applies to sign languages that have developed independently of other spoken or signed languages.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families if some of their dialects are judged to be sufficiently different from the standard to be seen as different languages. Examples include Japanese and Georgian: Japanese is now part of the Japonic language family with the Ryukyuan languages, and Georgian is the main language in the Kartvelian language family. There is a difference between language isolates and unclassified languages, but they can be difficult to differentiate when it comes to classifying extinct languages.<ref name=":1" /> If such efforts eventually do prove fruitful, a language previously considered an isolate may no longer be considered one, as happened with the Yanyuwa language of northern Australia, which has been placed in the Pama–Nyungan family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Since linguists do not always agree on whether a genetic relationship has been demonstrated, it is often disputed whether a language is an isolate.

Genetic relationships

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A genetic relationship is when two different languages are descended from a common ancestral language.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> This is what makes up a language family, which is a set of languages for which sufficient evidence exists to demonstrate that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related.<ref name=":1" /> For example, English is related to other Indo-European languages and Mandarin Chinese is related to other Sino-Tibetan languages. By this criterion, each language isolate constitutes a family of its own.<ref name=":4" /> This is not to be confused with family-level isolates, which are not language isolates themselves but form a primary branch of a language family, such as Armenian within Indo-European and Paiwan within Austronesian.

In some situations, a language with no ancestor can arise. This frequently happens with sign languages—most famously in the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language, where deaf children with no language were placed together and developed a new language.<ref name="journals.sagepub.com">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Extinct isolates

Caution is required when speaking of extinct languages as language isolates. Despite their great age, Sumerian and Elamite can be safely classified as isolates, as the languages are well enough documented that, if modern relatives existed, they would be recognizably related.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A language thought to be an isolate may turn out to be related to other languages once enough material is recovered, but this is unlikely for extinct languages whose written records have not been preserved.<ref name=":1" />

Many extinct languages are very poorly attested, which may lead to them being considered unclassified languages instead of language isolates. This occurs when linguists do not have enough information on a language to classify it as either a language isolate or as a part of another language family.<ref name=":1" />

Isolates v. unclassified languages

Unclassified languages are different from language isolates in that they have no demonstrable genetic relationships to other languages due to a lack of sufficient data. In order to be considered a language isolate, a language needs to have sufficient data for comparisons with other languages through methods of historical-comparative linguistics to show that it does not have any genetic relationships.<ref name=":1" />

Many extinct languages and living languages today are very poorly attested, and the fact that they cannot be linked to other languages may be a reflection of our poor knowledge of them. Hattic, Gutian, and Kassite are all considered unclassified languages, but their status is disputed by a minority of linguists.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many extinct languages of the Americas such as Cayuse and Majena may likewise have been isolates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Several unclassified languages could also be language isolates, but linguists cannot be sure of this without sufficient evidence.<ref name=":1" />

Sign language isolates

A number of sign languages have arisen independently, without any ancestral language, and thus are language isolates. These include Nicaraguan Sign Language, a well-documented case of what has happened in schools for the deaf in many countries.<ref name="journals.sagepub.com"/> In Tanzania, for example, there are seven schools for the deaf, each with its own sign language with no connection to any other language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sign languages have also developed outside schools, in communities with high incidences of deafness, such as Kata Kolok in Bali, and half a dozen sign languages of the hill tribes in Thailand including the Ban Khor Sign Language.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

These and more are all presumed isolates or small local families, because many deaf communities are made up of people whose hearing parents do not use sign language, and have manifestly, as shown by the language itself, not borrowed their sign language from other deaf communities during the recorded history of these languages.<ref name=":3" />

Reclassification

Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families because their genetic relationship to other languages has been established. This happened with Japanese and Ryukyuan languages, Korean and Koreanic languages, Atakapa and Akokisa languages, Tol and Jicaque of El Palmar languages, and the Xincan Guatemala language family in which linguists have grouped the Chiquimulilla, Guazacapán, Jumaytepeque, and Yupiltepeque languages.<ref name=":1" />

List of language isolates by continent

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

The status column indicates the degree of endangerment of the language, according to the definitions of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.<ref name="UNESCO Atlas End.">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Vibrant" languages are those in full use by speakers of every generation, with consistent native acquisition by children. "Vulnerable" languages have a similarly wide base of native speakers, but a restricted use and the long-term risk of language shift. "Endangered" languages are either acquired irregularly or spoken only by older generations. "Moribund" languages have only a few remaining native speakers, with no new acquisition, highly restricted use, and near-universal multilingualism. "Extinct" languages have no native speakers, but are sufficiently documented to be classified as isolates.

Africa

With few exceptions, all of Africa's languages have been gathered into four major phyla: Afroasiatic, Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan.<ref>Blench, Roger. 2017. African language isolates. In Language Isolates, edited by Lyle Campbell, pp. 176–206. Routledge.</ref> However, the genetic unity of some language families, like Nilo-Saharan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> is questionable, and so there may be many more language families and isolates than currently accepted. Data for several African languages, like Kwisi, are not sufficient for classification. In addition, Jalaa, Shabo, Laal, Kujargé, and a few other languages within Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic-speaking areas may turn out to be isolates upon further investigation. Defaka and Ega are highly divergent languages located within Niger–Congo-speaking areas, and may also possibly be language isolates.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Bangime	3,500	Vibrant	Mali	Spoken in the Bandiagara Escarpment. Used as an anti-language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Bayot	35,000		Senegal, Guinea-Bissau	Basic vocabulary shows no relation to other languages.<ref>https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/BLS/article/download/3924/3619/5154 Template:Bare URL inline</ref>
Gule	Extinct		Sudan	Although this language is poorly known, Zamponi (2025) unambiguously classified it as an isolate.<ref>Zamponi, Raoul (2025, forthcoming). Gule. Routledge World Languages. London: Routledge.</ref> Not enough evidence exists to classify it as one of the Koman languages.<ref name="glot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hadza	1,000	Vulnerable	Tanzania	Spoken on the southern shore of Lake Eyasi in the southwest of Arusha Region. Once listed as an outlier among the Khoisan languages.<ref name="Witzlack-Nakagawa">Template:Cite book</ref> Language use is vigorous, though there are fewer than 1,000 speakers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Jalaa	Extinct		Nigeria	Strongly influenced by Dikaka, but most vocabulary is very unusual.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Laal	750	Moribund	Chad	Spoken in three villages along the Chari River in Moyen-Chari Region. Poorly known. Also known as Gori. Possibly a distinct branch of Niger–Congo, Chadic of the Afroasiatic languages, or mixed.Template:Citation needed
Mpra	Extinct		Ghana	It is known only from a 70-word list given in a 1931 article. Blench (2007) considers it to be a possible language isolate.<ref>Blench, Roger (2007) Recovering data on Mpra (=Mpre) a possible language isolate in North-Central Ghana</ref>
Ongota	12	Moribund	Ethiopia	Likely isolated.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Sandawe	60,000	Vibrant	Tanzania	Spoken in the northwest of Dodoma Region. Tentatively linked to the Khoe languages.<ref name="Witzlack-Nakagawa" />
Shabo	400	Endangered	Ethiopia	Spoken in Anderaccha, Gecha, and Kaabo of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. Linked to the Gumuz and Koman families in the proposed Komuz branch of the Nilo-Saharan languages.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Siamou	40,000	Vibrant	Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast	Traditionally classified as Kru. Due to lack of evidence or any resemblance is classified now as an isolate.<ref name="Guldemann">Template:Cite book</ref>

Asia

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Ainu	2<ref>Template:E25</ref>	Moribund	Japan	Spoken on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Sometimes hypothesized to be related to Korean and Japanese,<ref name=grenberg2000>Joseph Greenberg (2000–2002): Indo-European and Its Closest Relatives: The Eurasiatic Language Family, 2 volumes. Stanford University Press.</ref> while at other times proposed to be a branch of Altaic.<ref name=patrie78>James Tyrone Patrie (1978): The genetic relationship of the Ainu language. PhD thesis, University of Hawaii.</ref><ref name=patrie82>James Tyrone Patrie (1982): The Genetic Relationship of the Ainu Language. University of Hawaii Press. Template:ISBN</ref>
Akajeru	3		India	Language isolate as of 2020 after the last speaker of Akachari died of tuberculosis, the last of the Great Andamanese languages.
Bugun	900	Endangered	India	Possible language isolate spoken by the Bugun people of Arunachal Pradesh in India.<ref name="auto">Blench, Roger. 2011. (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconsidering the evidence Template:Webarchive</ref>
Burushaski	130,000<ref>Template:E27</ref>	Vulnerable	Pakistan, India	Spoken in the Yasin Valley and Hunza Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan and Hari Parbat of Jammu and Kashmir. Linked to Caucasian languages,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Indo-European,<ref name=hamp2013>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Casule, Ilija. 2003. Evidence for the Indo-European laryngeals in Burushaski and its genetic affiliation with Indo-European. The Journal of Indo-European Studies 31:1–2, pp 21–86.</ref> and Na-Dene languages<ref>John Bengtson, Some features of Dene–Caucasian phonology (with special reference to Basque). Cahiers de l'Institut de Linguistique de Louvain (CILL) 30.4: 33–54,</ref><ref>John Bengtson and V. Blazek, "Lexica Dene–Caucasica". Central Asiatic Journal 39, 1995, 11–50 & 161–164</ref> in various proposals.
Elamite	Extinct		Iran	Formerly spoken in Elam, along the northeast coast of the Persian Gulf. Attested from around 2800 BC to 300 BC.<ref>Stolper, Matthew W. 2008. Elamite. In The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Aksum. pp. 47–50.</ref> Some propose a relationship to the Dravidian languages (see Elamo-Dravidian), but this is not well-supported.<ref>David McAlpin, "Toward Proto-Elamo-Dravidian", Language vol. 50 no. 1 (1974); David McAlpin: "Elamite and Dravidian, Further Evidence of Relationships", Current Anthropology vol. 16 no. 1 (1975); David McAlpin: "Linguistic prehistory: the Dravidian situation", in Madhav M. Deshpande and Peter Edwin Hook: Aryan and Non-Aryan in India, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1979); David McAlpin, "Proto-Elamo-Dravidian: The Evidence and its Implications", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society vol. 71 pt. 3, (1981)</ref>
Hruso	3,000	Vulnerable	India	Possible language isolate spoken by the Hruso people of Arunachal Pradesh in India.<ref name="auto">Blench, Roger. 2011. (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconsidering the evidence Template:Webarchive</ref>
Ket	60	Endangered	Russia	Language isolate since 1972 after the Yugh language went extinct. Linked to the Na-Dene languages in the Dene–Yeniseian languages.
Kusunda	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Moribund	Nepal	Spoken in Gandaki Province. The recent discovery of a few speakers shows that it is not demonstrably related to anything else.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Miju	18,000	Endangered	India	Possible language isolate spoken by the Miju Mishmi of Arunachal Pradesh in India.<ref name="auto"/>
Nihali	2,500<ref>Template:Citation</ref>			Spoken in northern Maharashtra along the Tapti River. Strong lexical Munda influence from Korku,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages. Used as anti-language by speakers.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>
Nivkh	200	Moribund	Russia	Also known as Gilyak. Spoken in the lower Amur River basin and in the northern part of Sakhalin. Dialects sometimes considered two languages.<ref name="Fortescue2016">Fortescue, Michael. 2016. Comparative Nivkh Dictionary. Languages of the World/Dictionaries (LW/D) 62. Munich: Lincom Europa. Template:ISBN</ref> Has been linked to Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Puroik	20,000	Vulnerable	India, China	Possible language isolate spoken by the Puroik people of Arunachal Pradesh in India and of Lhünzê County, Tibet, in China.<ref name="auto"/>
Sumerian	Extinct		Iraq	Spoken in Mesopotamia until around 1800 BC, but used as a classical language until 100 AD.<ref name=oates79>Joan Oates (1979). Babylon [Revised Edition] Thames and Hudston, Ltd. 1986 p. 30, 52–53.</ref> Long-extinct, but well-attested language of ancient Sumer.
Tambora			Indonesia	Poorly documented, extinct since the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, basic vocabulary points towards it being an isolate.
Vedda	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Endangered	Sri Lanka	Highly influenced by Sinhala and Tamil to the extent some linguists have classed it as a creole language.

Oceania

Current research considers that the "Papuasphere" centered in New Guinea includes as many as 37 isolates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (The more is known about these languages in the future, the more likely it is for these languages to be later assigned to a known language family.) To these, one must add several isolates found among non-Pama-Nyungan languages of Australia:<ref name="Evans 2003" />

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Abinomn	300	Vibrant	Indonesia	Spoken in the far north of New Guinea. Also known as Bas or Foia. Language is considered safe by UNESCO but endangered by Ethnologue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Abun	3,000			Spoken in the northern area of Bird's Head Peninsula located in the province of Southwest Papua. Linked to West Papuan languages but Palmer (2018), Ethnologue, and Glottolog consider it an isolate.<ref>Template:E25</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Palmer-LLNGA">Template:Cite book</ref>
Anêm	800		Papua New Guinea	Spoken on the northwest coast of New Britain.<ref name="Ethnologue22-PNG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Perhaps related to Yélî Dnye and Ata.<ref name="Stebbins-Island">Template:Cite book</ref>
Ata	2,000			Spoken in the central highlands of New Britain. Also known as Wasi. Perhaps related to Yélî Dnye and Anem.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Burmeso	250		Indonesia	Spoken in Mamberamo Raya Regency, Papua Province. Linked to West Papuan languages but Stephen Wurm and William A. Foley consider it an isolate.<ref>Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.</ref>
Busa	370		Papua New Guinea	Spoken in Sandaun Province, northwestern Papua New Guinea. Added to Senu River.<ref>NewGuineaWorld, Senu River</ref>
Giimbiyu	Extinct		Australia	Spoken in the northern part of Arnhem Land until the early 1980s. Sometimes considered a small language family consisting of Mengerrdji, Urningangk and Erre.<ref name="Campbell 2006">Campbell, R. "A Sketch Grammar of Urningangk, Erre and Mengerrdji: the Giimbiyu languages of Western Arnhem Land". Honours thesis. University of Melbourne, 2006.</ref> Part of a proposal for the undemonstrated Arnhem Land language family.
Kol	4,000	Vibrant	Papua New Guinea	Spoken in the northeastern part of New Britain. Possibly related to the poorly known Sulka, or the Baining languages, suggested as part of the East Papuan languages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dunn">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Kuot	1,500	Vulnerable		Spoken on New Ireland. Also known as Panaras. Suggested to form part of the East Papuan family.<ref name="Dunn" />
Laragiya	14	Moribund	Australia	Spoken near the city of Darwin located in the Northern Territory in Australia. Also known as Gulumirrgin. Part of the proposed Darwin Region language family and the only extant member of it as the Limilngan language had gone extinct since 2009.
Malak-Malak	10			Spoken in northern Australia. Often considered part of one Northern Daly family together with Tyeraity. Used to be considered genetically related to the Wagaydyic languages, but nowadays they are considered genetically distinct.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Marrgu	Extinct			Marrgu had been assumed to be an Iwaidjan language like its neighbours. However, Evans (2006) has produced evidence that it was a language isolate, with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attested Wurrugu.<ref>Template:AIATSIS</ref>
Mawes			Indonesia	Likely isolate.<ref>Foley (2018)</ref><ref>Harald Hammarström. 2010. The Genetic Position of the Mawes Language. Paper presented at the Workshop on the Languages of Papua 2, 8–12 February 2010, Manokwari, Indonesia.</ref>
Maybrat	25,000	Vibrant		Spoken in the central area of Bird's Head Peninsula located in the province of Southwest Papua. Sometimes linked to West Papuan languages but others consider it an isolate.
Mpur	5,000			Spoken in the Mpur and Amberbaken Districts, Tambrauw Regency on the north coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula.
Murrinh-patha	citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Australia	Spoken on the eastern coast of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Top End. The proposed linkage to Ngan'gityemerri in one Southern Daly family<ref name="Green 2003">Green, I. "The Genetic Status of Murrinh-patha" in Evans, N., ed. "The Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages of Northern Australia: comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically complex region". Studies in Language Change, 552. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 2003.</ref> is generally accepted to be valid.
Ngan'gityemerri	26	Moribund	Spoken in the Top End along the Daly River. The proposed linkage to Murrinh-patha in one Southern Daly family<ref name="Green 2003" /> is generally accepted to be valid.
Porome	1,200	Vibrant	Papua New Guinea	Spoken in 6 villages in West Kikori Rural LLG and East Kikori Rural LLG of Gulf Province, near the Aird Hills and Kikori River tributaries.
Pyu	250	Vulnerable		Spoken in Green River Rural LLG in Sandaun Province, near the Indonesian border. Linked to neighboring Left May and Amto-Musan in a proposed Arai-Samaia family.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sulka	2,500	Vibrant		Spoken across the eastern end of New Britain. Suggested to form part of the East Papuan family.<ref name="Dunn" />
Tayap	<50	Moribund		Formerly spoken in the village of Gapun. Links to Lower Sepik languages and Torricelli languages have been explored, but the general consensus among linguists is that it is an isolate unrelated to surrounding languages.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Tiwi	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Vulnerable	Australia	Spoken in the Tiwi Islands in the Timor Sea. Traditionally Tiwi is polysynthetic, but the Tiwi spoken by younger generations is not.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Umbugarla	Extinct		Possibly a language isolate. Ngomburr likely a dialect.
Wagiman	11	Moribund	Spoken in the southern part of the Top End. May be distantly related to the Yangmanic languages,<ref name="Merlan 1994">Merlan, F. "A Grammar of Wardaman: a language of the Northern Territory of Australia." Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994.</ref> which might in turn be a member of the Macro-Gunwinyguan family,<ref name="Evans 2003">Evans, N. "Introduction" in Evans, N., ed. "The Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages of Northern Australia: comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically complex region". Studies in Language Change, 552. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 2003.</ref> but neither link has been demonstrated.
Wardaman	50		Spoken in the southern part of the Top End. The extinct and poorly attested Dagoman and Yangman dialects are sometimes treated as separate languages, forming a Yangmanic family, to which Wagiman may be distantly related.<ref name="Merlan 1994"/> Possibly a member of the Macro-Gunwinyguan family,<ref name="Evans 2003"/> but this has yet to be demonstrated.
Yele	5,000	Vibrant	Papua New Guinea	Stebbins et al. (2018) classifies Yélî Dnye as an isolate.<ref>Stebbins et al. 2018</ref> They explain similarities with Austronesian as being due to contact and diffusion.

Europe

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Basque	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> 434,000 passive speakers<ref name="inkesta2016">Template:In lang VI° Enquête Sociolinguistique en Euskal herria (Communauté Autonome d'Euskadi, Navarre et Pays Basque Nord) Template:Webarchive (2016).)</ref>	Vulnerable	Spain, France	Natively known as Euskara, the Basque language is found in the historical region of the Basque Country between France and Spain. It has no known living relatives, although Aquitanian is commonly regarded as related to or a direct ancestor of Basque. Some linguists have claimed similarities with various languages of the Caucasus<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> that are indicative of a relationship, while others have proposed a relation to Iberian<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and to the hypothetical Dené–Caucasian languages.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Hattic	Extinct		Turkey	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
North Picene			Italy	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

North America

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Alsea	Extinct		United States	Poorly attested. Spoken along the central coast of Oregon until the early 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Sometimes regarded as two separate languages. Often included in the Penutian hypothesis in a Coast Oregon Penutian branch.<ref name="journals.uchicago.edu">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Atakapa				Spoken on the Gulf coast of eastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana until the early 1900s. Often linked to Muskogean in a Gulf hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Chimariko				Spoken in northern California until the 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Chitimacha				Well-attested. Spoken along the Gulf coast of southeastern Louisiana until 1940.<ref name="chitmacha">Template:Cite journal</ref> Possibly in the Totozoquean family of Mesoamerica.<ref name="chitmacha" />
Coahuilteco			United States, Mexico	Spoken in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico until the 1700s. Part of the Pakawan hypothesis,<ref name="Campbell">Template:Cite journal</ref> has been linked to the hypothesised Hokan languages in a larger group.<ref name="Langdon">Template:Cite book</ref>
Cotoname				Spoken in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico until Template:Circa. Part of the Pakawan hypothesis, has been linked to the hypothesised Hokan languages in a larger group.
Cuitlatec			Mexico	Spoken in northern Guerrero until the 1960s.<ref name="El Cuitlateco">Template:Cite book</ref> Has been proposed to be part of Macro-Chibchan<ref name="Amerind Dictionary">Template:Cite book</ref> and Uto-Aztecan.<ref name="El Cuitlateco"/>
Esselen			United States	Poorly known. Spoken in the Big Sur region of California until the early 1800s. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Haida	13	Moribund	Canada, United States	Spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the northwest coast of British Columbia, and the southern islands of the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. Some proposals connect it to the Na-Dené languages, but these have fallen into disfavor.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Huave	20,000	Vulnerable	Mexico	Spoken in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast of Oaxaca state. Has been linked to various language families, but is still generally considered an isolate.<ref name="AmerIndLang-Campbell">Template:Cite book</ref>
Karuk	12	Moribund	United States	Spoken along the Klamath River in northwestern California. Part of the Hokan hypothesis, but little evidence for this.<ref name="AmerIndLang-Campbell" />
Keres	13,200	Endangered		Spoken in several pueblos throughout New Mexico, including Cochiti and Acoma Pueblos. Has two main dialects: Eastern and Western. Sometimes those two dialects are separated into languages in a Keresan family.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Konkow	3	Moribund		Spoken in California in the United States. Also known as Northwest Maidu. The last surviving member of the Maiduan language family after the other languages went extinct by 2000. Part of the Penutian hypothesis.
Kutenai	345		Canada, United States	Spoken in the Rockies of northeastern Idaho, northwestern Montana and southeastern British Columbia. Attempts have been made to place it in a Macro-Algic or Macro-Salishan family, but these have not gained significant support.<ref name="AmerIndLang-Campbell" />
Natchez	Extinct		United States	Spoken in southern Mississippi and eastern Louisiana until 1957.<ref name=kimball2>Template:Cite book</ref> Often linked to Muskogean in a Gulf hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Attempts at revival have produced six people with some fluency.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Purépecha	142,500<ref>Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.</ref>	Endangered	Mexico	Spoken in the north of Michoacán state. Language of the ancient Tarascan kingdom. Sometimes regarded as two languages.<ref name="AmerIndLang-Campbell" />
Salinan	Extinct		United States	Spoken along the south-central coast of California. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Seri	720	Vulnerable	Mexico	Spoken along the coast of the Gulf of California, in the southwest of Sonora state. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Siuslaw	Extinct		United States	Spoken on the southwest coast of Oregon until 1960. Likely related to Alsea, Coosan languages, or possibly the Wintuan languages. Part of the Penutian hypothesis.<ref name="journals.uchicago.edu"/>
Takelma				Spoken in western Oregon until mid 20th century. <ref name="jstor.org">Template:Cite journal</ref> Part of the Penutian hypothesis.<ref name="jstor.org"/>
Timucua				Well attested. Spoken in northern Florida and southern Georgia until the mid- to late 1700s. Briefly spoken in Cuba by a migrant community established in 1763. A connection with the poorly known Tawasa language has been suggested, but this may be a dialect.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Tol	500	Endangered	Honduras	Spoken in La Montaña de la Flor reservation in Francisco Morazán Department in Honduras. The only surviving member of the Jicaquean language family. Language isolate since the Western Jicaque language went extinct after the 19th century. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.
Tonkawa	Extinct		United States	Spoken in central and northern Texas until the early 1940s.Template:Citation needed
Tunica				Spoken in western Mississippi, northeastern Louisiana, and southeastern Arkansas until 1948. Attempts at revitalization have produced 32 second-language speakers.Template:Citation needed
Washo	20	Moribund		Spoken along the Truckee River in the Sierra Nevada of eastern California and northwestern Nevada. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Yana	Extinct			Well-attested. Spoken in northern California until 1916. Part of the Hokan hypothesis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Yuchi				Spoken in Oklahoma, but formerly spoken in eastern Tennessee. A connection to the Siouan languages has been proposed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The last native speaker died in 2021, but there is an ongoing revitalization project that has trained a small number of L2s.
Zuni	9,600	Vulnerable		Spoken in Zuni Pueblo in northwestern New Mexico. Links to Penutian<ref name="goddard">Template:Cite book</ref> and Keres<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> have been proposed.

South America

Language	Speakers	Status	Countries	Comments
Aikanã	150	Endangered	Brazil	Spoken in the Amazon of eastern Rondônia. Links to Kanoê and Kwaza have been tentatively proposed.<ref name="Voort, Hein 2005">Van der Voort, Hein. 2005. Kwaza in a comparative perspective. International Journal of American Linguistics 71: 365–412.</ref> Arawakan has been suggested.Template:Citation needed
Andoque	370		Colombia, Peru	Spoken on the upper reaches of the Japurá River. Extinct in Peru. Possibly Witotoan.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Arutani	6	Moribund	Brazil, Venezuela	Spoken along the Paragua River and Uraricaá River in the far southern area of Bolívar State, Venezuela and the far northern area of Roraima, Brazil. Part of the proposed Arutani–Sape language family but more likely to be an isolate.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Betoi	Extinct		Venezuela	Spoken in the Apure River basin near the Colombian border until the 18th century. Paezan has been suggested.<ref name=":0" />
Candoshi-Shapra	1,100	Endangered	Peru	Spoken along the Chapuli, Huitoyacu, Pastaza, and Morona river valleys in southwestern Loreto. Has been linked to various language families, but no agreement exists on its classification.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Canichana	Extinct		Bolivia	Spoken in the Llanos de Moxos region of Beni Department until around 2000. Connections with various language families have been proposed, none widely accepted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Cayuvava	12	Moribund		Spoken in the Amazon west of Mamore River, north of Santa Ana del Yacuma in the Beni Department.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chimane	5,300	Vulnerable		Spoken along the Beni river in Beni Department. Also spelled Tsimané. Sometimes split into multiple languages in a Moséten family. Linked to the Chonan languages in a Moseten-Chonan hypothesis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chipaya	1,800	Vibrant		Spoken in the southern area of Lake Titicaca along the Desaguadero River in the mountains of Bolivia and mainly in the town of Chipaya located in the Sabaya Province of the Bolivian department of Oruro. The only surviving member of the Uru–Chipaya language family. Language isolate since 2012 after the Uru language went extinct.
Chiquitano	2,400	Endangered	Bolivia, Brazil	Spoken in the eastern part of Santa Cruz department and the southwestern part of Mato Grosso state. Has been linked to the Macro-Jê family.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Cofán	1,500		Colombia, Ecuador	Spoken in northern Sucumbíos Province and southern Putumayo Department. Also called A'ingae.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sometimes classified as Chibchan, but the similarities appear to be due to borrowings. Seriously endangered in Colombia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Fulniô	1,000	Moribund	Brazil	Spoken in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, and the northern part of Bahia. Divided into two dialects, Fulniô and Yatê.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sometimes classified as a Macro-Jê language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Guachí	Extinct		Argentina	Formerly spoken in Argentina by the Guachí. Linkage has been proposed to the Mataco–Guaicuru language family, however Campbell (2012) classifies it as an isolate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Guató	5	Moribund	Brazil	Spoken in the far south of Mato Grosso near the Bolivian border. Has been classified as Macro-Jê, but this is disputed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Irantxe	90	Endangered		Spoken by the Irántxe and Mỹky peoples in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. Recent descriptions of the language analyze it as a language isolate. According to Arruda (2003), it "bears no similarity with other language families".
Itonama	1	Moribund	Bolivia	Spoken in the far-eastern part of Beni Department. A relationship to Paezan has been suggested.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Kamëntšá	4,000	Endangered	Colombia	Spoken in Sibundoy in the Putumayo Department. Also known as Camsa, Coche, Sibundoy, Kamentxa, Kamse, or Camëntsëá.Template:Citation needed
Kanoê	3	Moribund	Brazil	Spoken in southeastern Rondônia. Also known as Kapishana. Tentatively linked to Kwaza and Aikanã.<ref name="Voort, Hein 2005"/> Part of a Macro-Paesan proposal.<ref name="Kaufman, Terrence 1994">Kaufman, Terrence. 1994. The native languages of South America. In: Christopher Moseley and R. E. Asher (eds.), Atlas of the World's Languages, 59–93. London: Routledge.</ref>
Kawésqar	10		Chile	Spoken in western Patagonia, Wellington Island off south Chilean coast, 49° south, with centre in Villa Puerto Edén located in Chile. Also known as Alacaluf. The only alive member of the Alacalufan language family after the other languages went extinct, of which the Kawésqar language is the northern variety.
Kunza	Extinct			Spoken in areas near Salar de Atacama until the 1950s. Also known as Atacameño. Part of a Macro-Paesan proposal.<ref name="Kaufman, Terrence 1994"/>
Kwaza	25	Moribund	Brazil	Spoken in eastern Rondônia. Connections have been proposed with Aikanã and Kanoê.<ref name="Voort, Hein 2005"/>
Leco	20		Bolivia	Spoken at the foot of the Andes in the department of La Paz.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Máku-Auari	Extinct		Brazil	Spoken on the Brazil–Venezuela border in Roraima until 2000. Also known as Máku or Maku. Likely language isolate. Has been linked to the Arutani–Sape and the Macro-Puinavean language families.
Mapuche	260,000	Vulnerable	Chile, Argentina	Spoken in areas of the far-southern Andes and in the Chiloé Archipelago. Also known as Mapudungun, Araucano or Araucanian.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Variously part of Andean,<ref name="Amerind Dictionary" /> Macro-Panoan,<ref name="Kaufman, Terrence 1994"/> or Mataco–Guaicuru<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> proposals. Sometimes Huilliche is treated as a separate language, reclassifying Mapuche into an Araucanian family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Matanawi	Extinct		Brazil	Spoken on the Castanha River and Madeirinha River in Amazonas in Brazil until the middle of the 20th century. Has been linked to the Mura-Pirahã language.
Mochica			Peru	Spoken along the northwest coast of Peru and in an inland village until Template:Circa. Usually considered to be a language isolate,<ref name="Campbell-SAmerica">Template:Cite book</ref> but has also been hypothesized as belonging to a wider Chimuan language family.
Movima	1,400	Vulnerable	Bolivia	Spoken in the Llanos de Moxos, in the north of Beni Department. Affiliations with Canichana, Chibcha and Macro-Tucanoan have been proposed, none of these have been proven.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Munichi	Extinct		Peru	Spoken in the southern part of Loreto Region until the late 1990s. Possibly evolved either from a mixed language or a sister language to Proto-Arawak.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Nasayuwe	60,000	Vulnerable	Colombia	Spoken in the northern part of Cauca Department. Also known as Páez. Several proposed relationships in the Paezan hypothesis but nothing conclusive.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Omurano	Extinct		Peru	Spoken near the Marañón River until 2006. Linkage to the Saparo–Yawan language family has been proposed.
Oti			Brazil	Spoken in São Paulo until the early 1900s. Macro-Jê has been suggested.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Pankararú				Spoken between the Moxotó River and the Pajeú River in eastern Brazil after until the 1960s. Probably a language isolate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Payaguá			Argentina, Paraguay	Spoken in Argentina and Paraguay by the Payaguá until 1943. Linkage has been proposed to the Mataco–Guaicuru language family, however Campbell (2012) classifies it as an isolate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Pirahã	380	Vibrant	Brazil	Spoken along the Maici River in Amazonas, Brazil. The only living dialect of Mura language.
Puelche	Extinct		Argentina, Chile	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sometimes linked to Het, as part of the Chonan languages.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Included in a proposed Macro-Jibaro family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Puinave	3,000	Endangered	Colombia, Venezuela	Spoken in 32 communities along the banks of the Inírida River in Guainía Department, Colombia and in 10 communities along the Orinoco River, in the Colombia–Venezuela border region. Generally considered to be a language isolate, but sometimes linked to Macro-Puinavean language family along with other families and lesser attested languages.
Sapé	Extinct		Venezuela	Spoken along the Paragua River and Karuna River in Venezuela until 2018. Also known as Kaliana or Caliana. Part of the proposed Arutani–Sape language family but more likely to be an isolate.
Taushiro	1	Moribund	Peru	Spoken in the northeastern area of the Loreto province. Linkage to the Saparo–Yawan language family has been proposed.
Tequiraca	Extinct			Spoken in the central part of Loreto until the 1950s. Also known as Auishiri. A connection with Canichana has been proposed.Template:Citation needed
Timote	200	Endangered	Venezuela	Spoken around the city of Mérida and south of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Last surviving member of the Timotean language family.
Tinigua	1	Moribund	Colombia	Spoken somewhere in Colombia. The only surviving member of the Tiniguan language family.
Trumai	51		Brazil	Settled on the upper Xingu River. Currently reside in the Xingu National Park in the northern part of Mato Grosso.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
Urarina	3,000	Vulnerable	Peru	Spoken in the central part of the Loreto Region.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Part of the Macro-Jibaro proposal.<ref>Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. Template:ISBN.</ref>
Waorani	2,000		Ecuador, Peru	Also known as Sabela. Spoken between the Napo and Curaray rivers. Could be spoken by several groups living in isolation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Warao	32,800	Endangered	Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela	Spoken in the Orinoco Delta. Sometimes linked to Paezan.<ref name="Kaufman, Terrence 1994"/>
Yagua	5,700	Vibrant	Peru, Colombia	Spoken primarily in Loreto Department, Peru. The only surviving member of the Peba–Yaguan language family.
Yahgan	Extinct		Chile	Spoken in far-southern Tierra del Fuego until 2022. Also called Yámana.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Yaruro	7,900	Vibrant	Venezuela	Spoken along the Orinoco, Cinaruco, Meta, and Apure rivers. Linked to the extinct Esmeralda language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Yuracaré	2,700	Endangered	Bolivia	Spoken in the foothills of the Andes, in Cochabamba and Beni Departments. Connections to Mosetenan, Pano–Tacanan, Arawakan, and Chonan have been suggested.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Unclassified languages
• List of language families

Bibliography

• Campbell, Lyle, ed. 2017. Language Isolates. Routledge.
• Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.
• Goddard, Ives (Ed.). (1996). Languages. Handbook of North American Indians (W. C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) (Vol. 17). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Template:ISBN.
• Goddard, Ives. (1999). Native Languages and Language Families of North America (rev. and enlarged ed. with additions and corrections). [Map]. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press (Smithsonian Institution). (Updated version of the map in Goddard 1996). Template:ISBN.
• Grimes, Barbara F. (Ed.). (2000). Ethnologue: Languages of the world, (14th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. Template:ISBN. (Online edition: Ethnologue: Languages of the World).
• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Template:ISBN (hbk); Template:ISBN.
• Salaberri, Iker, Krajewska, Dorota, Santazilia, Ekaitz & Zuloaga, Eneko (eds.). (2025). Investigating Language Isolates. Typological and Diachronic Perspectives. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Template:ISBN {{#invoke:doi|main}}
• Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). (1978–present). Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 1–20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1–3, 16, 18–20 not yet published).

External links

• Ethnologue's list of language isolates