EUROPE

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  Albania Albanian 2,900,000 speakers in Albania Official language. It is used in schools. Grammar. Bible: 1993. The Jevgjit claim to be Egyptians, but may be assimilated Roma. SVO. Coastal, mountain slope. Deciduous forest. Sea level to 800 meters. Peasant agriculturalists; animal husbandry: sheep; petroleum workers. Muslim, Christian (Orthodox).
         
  Spain Spanish 28,173,600 in Spain, 72.8% of the population (1986). Population total all countries 322,200,000 to 358,000,000 first language users Official language. 60,000,000 second-language speakers. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1553–2000. The Aragonese dialect of Spanish is different from the Aragonese language. SVO; prepositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads; articles, numerals before noun heads; adjectives before or after noun heads depending on whether it is evaluative or descriptive; question word initial; (C(C))V(C); nontonal. Christian.
    Basque 580,000 in Spain (1991 L. Trask U. of Sussex). There are 2,000,000 residents of the 3 provinces of Basque territory; 25% were born outside the territory, 40% in the territory were born to Basque parents. 4,400,000 in Spain have a Basque surname; 19% live in Basque country. Population total all countries: 588,108. French-Spanish border, 3 Basque provinces: Alava (Araba), Biskaia (Biskay), and Gipuzkoa of the Autonomous Basque Community (CAV); in the northern area of the Autonomous Region of Navarra (Nafarroa) of north central Spain. Official regional language. Ages 2 to 20 and over 50 as first language, all ages as first or second language in mainly Basque-speaking areas. Speakers also use Castilian or Catalan. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1855–1998. 'Euzkadi' is the name of the Basque region, not for the language. Avalan is no longer spoken. Batua uses a unified orthography. SOV; prepositions; genitives, articles, adjectives, numerals, relatives after noun heads; question word initial; verb affix gender agreement obligatory; prefix marks causative; comparative shown lexically. Mountain slope, coastal, riverine. Deciduous forest. Sea level to 1,000 meters. Christian.
         
  Bulgaria Bulgarian 7,986,000 speakers in Bulgaria National language. Grammar. Bible: 1864–1923. SVO. Christian.
         
  Denmark Danish 5,000,000 speaker in Denmark. . Also spoken in Greenland. National language. Newspapers. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1550. SVO. Christian.
         
  Netherlands Dutch 12,360,338 in the Netherlands. Also spoken in Aruba, Belgium, France, Germany, Indonesia, Netherlands Antilles, Suriname. Population total all countries: 17,370,777. Official language. Practically all speakers of other languages in the Netherlands are also fluent in Dutch. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1522–1995. SOV.
    Frisian 700,000 (1976 Stephens). Population includes 400,000 in Friesland, 300,000 elsewhere. Official language. Over 70% of those in Friesland still speak Western Frisian. Positive language attitude. Most speakers also use Dutch. Literacy rate in first language: Speakers not generally literate in Frisian. Radio programs. TV. Bible: 1943–1978. Has an official orthography in the Netherlands.
         
  United Kingdom English 55,000,000 in United Kingdom, 15,682,000 in Australia, 17,100,000 in Canada, 2,600,000 in Ireland, 3,213,000 in New Zealand, 3,457,467 in South Africa, 210,000,000 in the USA. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1382–2002. SVO; prepositions; genitives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word initial; word order distinguishes subject, object, indirect objects, given and new information, topic and comment; active and passive; causative; comparative; consonant and vowel clusters; nontonal. Island, plains, hills. Deciduous forest. Industrial workers, fishermen; craftsman. Christian.
         
  Estonia Estonian 953,032 speakers in Estonia Official language. Estonian has remained the language of education, including universities. Those over 60 and under 20 speak little Russian. It is spoken less in rural areas and in southern areas. 75% to 80% of the population in the northeast are Russian speakers. Those over 60 know some German. Most in the north speak Finnish for common topics. Roman script. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1739–1995. Some linguistic influences from Russian, German, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Finnish. SVO; 14 cases: affixes indicate case of noun phrases; verb affixes mark person, number of subject, and agreement (obligatory); genitives, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word initial; 1 prefix maximum; 5–6 suffixes maximum; word order distinguishes given and new information; active and passive voice; 4 moods in both voices: indicative, imperative, conditional, oblique; 2 infinitives for all verbs; 4 tenses in both voices and all moods: present, past, perfect, pluperfect; 3 degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative; V, CV, CVC, CVCCC, CVV, CVVC, VC, VCCC, VV, VVC, CCV, CCVV, CCVC, CCVCC, CCVVCC, CCVCCC; stress on first syllable; possible secondary stress on third syllable; nontonal. Christian.
         
  Faroe Islands Faroese 45,400 speakers in the Faroe Islands. Bible: 1948–1961. The Faroe Islands are self-governing in most matters.
         
  Finland Finnish 4,700,000 speakers in Finland. Official language. About 300,000 also use Swedish. Grammar. Bible: 1642–1991. SVO. Christian.
         
  France French 51,000,000 first language speakers in France. Population total all countries 77,000,000 first language speakers (1999 WA), 128,000,000 including second language speakers (1999 WA). Also spoken in 53 other countries including Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, CAR, Chad, Comoros Islands, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon. 51,000,000 first language speakers in France. 6,700,000 mother tongue speakers in Canada. Also spoken in 53 other countries including Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, CAR, Chad, Comoros Islands, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon.
         
  Germany German 75,300,000 in Germany, 7,500,000 in Austria, Population total all countries: 95,392,978. National language. 28,000,000 second-language speakers. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Poetry. Newspapers. Radio programs. Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1466–1982.Christian.
         
  Greece Greek: Modern 9,859,850 in Greece, 578,000 in Cyprus, Population total all countries: 12,258,540. Official language. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1840–1994. Greeks in Russia and Ukraine speak either Greek or Turkish and are called 'Urums'. The Karamanli were Orthodox Christian Turks who came from central Turkey. SVO.
         
  Greenland Greenlandic 40,000 in Greenland (1990 L.D. Kaplan), including 3,000 East Greenlandic, 44,000 West Greenlandic, 800 North Greenlandic. Population total both countries 47,000. National language. Vigorous in Greenland. Speakers also use Danish. Taught in primary schools. Radio programs. Bible: 1900. Fishermen; fur export.
         
  Hungary Hungarian 10,298,820 speakers in Hungary (1995), 98% of the population National language. Newspapers. Grammar. Bible: 1590–1991. 'Magyar' is the Hungarian name. SVO.
         
  Ireland Irish 260,000 fluent or native speakers (1983 census), 13% of the population (1983 census). 13% of the population over 3 claim to be Irish speakers (1981 census). National language. Speakers also use English. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1685–1989. It is taught as an official language in schools and encouraged by the government. VSO.
         
  Scotland Gaelic 58,650 in United Kingdom, North and central counties of Ross, islands of Hebrides and Skye, Glasgow. Books and journals are produced on various topics. Resurgence of interest in Scottish Gaelic in the 1990s has been given a boost by the establishing of Scotland's own Parliament, for the first time in 300 years. In some communities it is primarily used in the home, in church, and for social purposes. In bilingual areas Gaelic usually is first language of instruction for most primary subjects. Literacy rate in first language: 50% (1971 census). Taught in primary schools. Gaelic Medium Education schools have been set up. Newspapers. Radio programs. Bible: 1801–1992. The status is rising since the establishment of the Scots Parliament. VSO.
         
  Wales Welsh 508,098 in United Kingdom, including 32,700 monolinguals. Northern, western, and southern Wales. Official language. 19% of the Welsh population speak the language, and 33% are able to understand it (1998). Literature being produced. The Royal National Eisteddfod meets annually. 44,600 between 5 and 9 years old speak Welsh, 47,100 between 10 and 14 years old (1991). 88% of those questioned believe they should be proud of Welsh, and that it should be treated equally with English. There is an increase in the number of parents choosing a Welsh-medium education for their children. 525 Welsh primary and secondary schools provide Welsh-medium education to over 82,000 children (1999). Compulsory in most Welsh schools. Magazines. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1588–1988. VSO.
         
  Isle of Man Manx Extinct. Ethnic population: On the Isle of Man: 77,000 residents. Isle of Man, part of the British Isles, a Crown Dependency, with its own Parliament, laws, currency, and taxation. The United Kingdom represents the Isle of Man at the United Nations. It became extinct in 1974 as a first language. There are efforts to revive it. Second language for several hundred who have mainly learned it as adults. Children are taught it in play-groups. Used for some public functions. Different from Scottish Gaelic orthography. Grammar. Bible: 1773. It was supplanted by Manx Vernacular English, which in turn is now being supplanted by other varieties of English. VSO.
         
  Italy Italian 55,000,000 in Italy. Population includes some of whom are native bilinguals of Italian and regional varieties, and some of whom may use Italian as second language. Population total all countries: 61,489,984. Official language. Most Italians use varieties along a continuum from standard to regional to local according to what is appropriate. Possibly nearly half the population do not use Standard Italian as first language. Only 2.5% of Italy's population could speak standard Italian when it became a unified nation in 1861. Grammar. Bible: 1471–1985. SVO.
         
  Vatican City Latin National language. Used in Roman Catholic liturgy. There is an effort to revive it. The Vatican Latin Foundation was established in 1976. Radio programs. Dictionary. Bible: 1385–1906. Second language only.
         
  Latvia Latvian 1,394,000 in Latvia. Population includes over 500,000 Latgalians. Population total all countries: 1,543,844. Official language. Roman script. Grammar. Bible: 1689–1995. Latvians do not like the term "Lettish". Christian.
         
  Lithuania Lithuanian 2,955,200 in Lithuania (1998). Population includes 3,460 Tatar. Population total all countries: 3,125,281. Official language. All domains. All ages. Some speakers have reserved attitudes toward Russian and Polish. Russian or English used with foreigners. Literacy rate in first language: 99%. Roman script. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1735–1998. Postpositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads. Christian, Muslim (Tatar).
         
  Norway Norwegian Bokmål 4,250,000 including Nynorsk, 99.5% of population Norwegian form of Danish and based on urban dialects. One of the two norms for written Norwegian. Spoken Norwegian has many dialects, grouped as shown under the dialect list. It was reported in 1971 that 82.5% of the pupils used Riksmaal as their main written language. Primarily urban. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO. Bible 1834-1978.
    Norwegian Family Bible
    Norwegian Nynorsk The linguist Ivar Aasen founded this written variety in the 1850s from spoken Norwegian and Old Norse. Primarily rural and based on rural dialects. One of the two norms for written Norwegian. In 1971 30% of the people used Nynorsk as their main written language. National language. SVO. Bible 1921-1938.
    Norwegian Braille
    Sami:Northern 15,000 in Norway, Finnmark, Troms, Nordland, Ofoten. Also spoken in Finland, Sweden. Population total all countries: 21,000. Ethnic population: 30,000 to 40,000 in Norway. Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 75% to 100%. Taught in primary schools. Bible: 1895. The people were formerly called "Finns", which they consider to be derogatory. The name "Lapp" is derogatory.
         
  Sweden Swedish 7,825,000 speakers in Sweden, 93% of the population National language. Bible: 1541–1999.
    Sami: Lule 1,500 in Sweden, Lapland along the Lule River in Gällivare and Jokkmokk. Also spoken in Norway. Population total all countries: 2,000. Ethnic population: 6,000 in Sweden. Few children speakers. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 75% to 100%. NT: 1903. The name "Lapp" is derogatory.
         
  Poland Polish 36,554,000 speakers. National language. Roman script. Bible: 1561–1965. SVO. Christian, Muslim.
         
  Portugal Portuguese 10,000,000 in Portugal. 163,153,389 in Brazil . Population total all countries 176,000,000 first language speakers, 191,000,000 including second language speakers. Official language. 15,000,000 second-language speakers. Literacy rate in second language: 83% to 84%. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1751–1995. SVO. Christian.
         
  Romania Romani Kalderash (Vlax) 200,000 to 250,000 in Romania. Also spoken in 27 other countries. Population total all countries 1,500,000 (1986). 6,000,000 to 11,000,000 all Gypsies in the world. Vlax developed from the Romani spoken when they were slaves in Romania for 500 years. There were migrations out of Romania from the mid-14th to mid-19th centuries. Those who left earlier have less Romanian influence in their dialects. Kalderash, Ursari, Churari are occupational ethnonyms; Machvano is a geographical one. Other names are Argintari 'silversmith', and Lingurari 'spoonmakers'. Machvano and Serbian Kalderash have a south Slavic superstratum; Russian Kalderash is influenced by east Slavic, mainly Russian; Lovari is influenced by Hungarian; Grekurja is probably Turkish influenced and is distinct from the Greek Romani dialect of Balkan Romani. All 20 or more Vlax dialects are inherently intelligible; the differences are mainly lexical and sociolinguistic (I. Hancock). Ethnic groups: Chache, Kaldarari, Lovári. The people are called Rroma. Grammar. Christian. NT 1984-1995.
  Romania Romanian 19,741,356 in Romania Official language. Radio programs. TV. Grammar. Bible: 1688–1989. SVO. Mountain slope. Deciduous forest. Peasant agriculturalists. Christian.
         
  Russia Russian 117,863,645 in Russia, Population total all countries: 145,031,551. National language. The Chuvan are a Yukagiric people now speaking Russian. The Meshcheryak are ethnically Erzya, but speak Russian. The Teryukhan are ethnically Erzya in Gorkiy, but speak Russian. 110,000,000 second-language speakers. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1680–1993. SVO; prepositions; genitives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word initial; 1 prefix on a word; recursive addition of suffixes allowed; nontonal. Christian.
         
  Ukraine Ukrainian 31,058,000 in Ukraine, Western Ukraine, adjacent republics. Official language. 83% speak it as first language. Cyrillic script. Grammar. Bible: 1903–1999. Christian.
         
         
  Serbia Serbian 10,200,000 in Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia National language. Roman and Cyrillic scripts; Roman script in Macedonia. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1804–1968. Speakers are Serbs, Montenegrins. SVO; postpositions; genitives, articles, adjectives, numerals, relatives after noun heads; question word initial; 1 suffix; case determines subject, object; obligatory verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject, object, other noun phrase; passive for each tense, today not commonly used; causatives marked by separate words; comparatives marked by prefix; CCVCVC; nontonal. Christian.
         
  Slovakia Slovak 4,865,450 in Slovakia, Western upland country around Bratislava. Official language. Grammar. Bible: 1832–1999. Christian.
         
  Slovenia Slovenian 1,727,360 in Slovenia National language. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1584–1996. SVO.
         
  Macedonia Macedonian 1,386,000 speakers in Macedonia National language. Sociopolitical attitudes are strong: called 'Slavic' in Greece, considered to be a dialect of Bulgarian by some in Bulgaria. Newspapers. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1990.
         
  Moldova Moldovian 2,664,000 in Moldova Official language. Many Gypsies in Moldova and southern Ukraine speak Moldavan as first language. Cyrillic script in Moldaova.
    Gagauzi 138,000 in Moldova. Cultural center is Kishinev. Also spoken in Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Romania, Ukraine. 89% speak it as first language. Cyrillic script. Bible portions: 1927–1996.Speakers have proclaimed autonomy from Moldova and appealed to Turkey for protection. Christian.
         
  Turkey Turkish 46,278,000 in Turkey Official language. The Karamanli are Turkish-speaking Greeks.
    Kurdish: Kurmanji 3,950,000 in Turkey. The majority are in provinces of Hakkari, Siirt, Mardin, Agri, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Bingol, Van, Adiyaman, and Mus. Population total all countries: 9,113,505. Ethnic population: 6,500,000 in Turkey. Language of wider communication. Positive language attitude. Not many speakers use Turkish. Literacy rate in second language: 28%. Much literature produced especially in twentieth century; Roman alphabet developed in 1932; originally based on Boti (Botani, Ciziri) variety and more recently influenced by that which is used around Diyarbekir and other areas. There are literary works from 16th and 17th centuries and onward. Roman, Arabic, and Cyrillic scripts; also in Iran, Iraq, and Syria; Cyrillic script in Armenia. Newspapers. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1872–2000. Mountain slope. Muslim (Sunni, Alevi), Yezidi.
         
  Israel Hebrew: Modern 4,847,000 in Israel Official language. Some who use it as primary language now in Israel learned it as their second language originally. Spoken by all Israelis as first or second language. There is a Hebrew Language Academy.Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1599–1877. SVO. Jewish.
         
  Malta Maltese 300,000 speakers in Malta It is descended from Maghrebi Arabic but has borrowed heavily from Italian; it is a separately developed form with different syntax and phonology. No diglossia with Standard Arabic. Not endangered. National language. Grammar. Roman script. Bible 1932-1984.
         
    Esperanto 200 to 2,000 Speakers in about 115 countries, used most widely in central and eastern Europe, China and other countries in eastern Asia, certain areas of South America, and southwest Asia. Was developed from 1872 to 1885 by L. L. Zamenhof of Warsaw, Poland, for intercommunication by first-language speakers of other languages. SVO; prepositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word initial; accusative '-n', dative '-al'; affixes mark tense; passive with 'esti' passive participle; causative '-ig'; comparative word; nontonal.