language family
/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ ˈfæmɪli/ · lan·gue fam·i·ly
noun
- A group of languages that share a common ancestral language. The Romance language family includes Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.
- A classification unit in comparative linguistics used to organize languages into hierarchical groups. Linguists often refer to the Altaic language family when discussing Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages.
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Did you know? The Indo‑European language family, which includes most languages of Europe and many of Asia, is the largest and most widely studied language family in the world.