| Name |
Code |
Subgroup ID |
Subgroup Name |
Description |
| Adai |
xad |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An extinct Native American Indian language of Louisiana and Texas. Survived until the 19th century. Wordlist 1804. |
| Aequian |
xae |
IEJC
|
Unclassified Italic |
An ancient language of the Alban hills of East-central Italy near Rome. The Aequi lived in this area at least as early as the 5th century BC, but after the second Samnite war in 304 BC they were conquered by the Romans and Latinized. The language is very close to Latin, and may be simply a dialect of it. 5th to 3rd centuries BC. Very few texts exist. |
| Aghwan |
xag |
ECACB
|
Udi |
An extinct language of the Caucasus. 6th-8th Centuries AD. No connection with the IE language Albanian or the modern country of Albania. Inscriptions in Daghestan. Thought to be related to the modern Udi language. |
| Akkadian |
akk |
AFFB
|
East Semitic |
An ancient language of the Middle East. The language of diplomacy and culture from the 3rd Millennium BC to the early 1st Millennium. Survived until around 100 AD. |
| Alanic |
xln |
IEIB
|
Iranian |
The extinct unknown language of the Alans, who came from Asia and overran the Iberian Peninsula around AD 409, before being displaced by the Visigoths. 5th century AD. |
| Ammonite |
aoq |
AFFABB
|
Canaanite |
A language spoken in Jordan during the Iron Age. Though scholars treat this language as distinct, it (and Moabite) were probably dialects of the same language as Hebrew. Early first millennium BC. |
| Ancient Macedonian |
xmk |
IEGB
|
Macedonian |
The ancient language of the Macedonian kingdom in N. Greece and modern Macedonia during the later 1st millennium BC. Survived until the early 1st millennium AD. Not to be confused with the modern Macedonian language, which is a close relative of the Slavic Bulgarian. |
| Ancient North Arabian |
xna |
AFFABA
|
Arabic |
This language is found in fragmentary inscriptions in Jordan and what is now the northern part of Saudi Arabia. It seems to represent a language which is a precursor of Classical Arabic, and is written in a script which descends from South Arabian. It appears in three versions: Dedânic, Lihyanic and Thamudic, which are probably dialectal (and perhaps diachronic) variants of the same language. 4th century BC to 2nd century AD. |
| Ancient Zapotec |
xzp |
OMGB
|
Zapotec |
The language of possibly the earliest Mesoamerican script, though the Olmec script may be earlier. Since texts are few and relatively short, and difficult to interpret, the script is essentially undeciphered. Most texts come from Monte Albán. Since the numbering system can be understood, however, it is known that the Zapotecs used a solar calendar of 365 days as well as a sacred calendar of 260 days. 300 BC - 700 AD. |
| Andalusian Arabic |
xaa |
AFFABA
|
Arabic |
Introduced in the 8th century following the Arab conquest of Spain, Arabic became heavily influenced by the Romance dialects of the Iberian peninisular, and evolved into a distinct colloquial language with numerous Romance loanwords. It became the vehicle of a lively literary and musical tradition, and is found in numerous texts. It continued to be spoken in Spain until the sixteenth century, and songs in this dialect are still sung by North African Andalusī musicians. In medieval times, Ibn Khaldūn described it as the third major non-nomadic Arabic variety, alongside Maghrebī and Mashreqī. It is characterized by strong fronting of low vowels ("'imāla") and stress-based phonology. (Information in part from Lameen Souag) |
| Anglo-Norman |
xno |
IEJAAABBAABAA
|
French |
An extinct language spoken in England. Based upon the Norman dialect of Old French, it developed after the Norman conquest of England into a distinct variety of its own. 12th - 15th centuries AD. |
| Apalachee |
xap |
MOC
|
Unclassified Muskogean |
An extinct Native American language of Florida and Georgia. Survived until the 18th century. There exists a letter to Charles II of Spain with translation, from 1688 AD. |
| Aquitanian |
xaq |
BQ
|
Basque |
An ancient language of Southwestern Gaul and (marginally) northern Spain. Early centuries AD. Recorded only as about 400 personal names and 70 divine names embedded in brief Latin texts. Now thought to be related to Basque. |
| Aranama-Tamique |
xrt |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An extinct Native American language of Texas. Survived until the late 19th century. One two-word phrase from a non-native speaker, 1884 AD. |
| Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit |
xaa |
IEIAC
|
Indo-Aryan Eastern Zone |
This language was spoken in the Middle Indic period, and figures prominently in the literature of the Jains, and is used to write their scriptures. The Oriya languages are descended from this language. Though probably spoken from circa 600 BC to 100 AD, most works in the language can be dated much later, in the 5th century AD. |
| Arin |
xrn |
YO
|
Yenisei Ostyak |
An extinct native Siberian language. Survived until the 18th century AD. |
| Armazic |
xrm |
AFFAA
|
Aramaic |
An extinct language of the Caucasus. A local variant of Aramaic used as a language of administration. 1st-2nd centuries AD. |
| Assan |
xss |
YO
|
Yenisei Ostyak |
An extinct native Siberian language. Survived until the 18th century AD. |
| Bactrian |
xbc |
IEIBA
|
Eastern Iranian |
An ancient language of Central Asia. 300 BC - 1000 AD. |
| Camunic |
xcc |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of Northwestern Italy. Survived until the second half of first millennium BC. |
| Carian |
xcr |
IEB
|
Anatolian |
An ancient language of southwestern Anatolia. Only a few inscriptions have been found there, most from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. Mmost texts are from Egypt, where Carian communities left epitaphs and graffiti from the 7th to the 4th century BC. 7th to 3rd centuries BC. |
| Cayuse |
xcy |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An extinct Native American language of Oregon and Washington. Survived until 1930s. |
| Celtiberian |
xce |
IEEC
|
Hispanic Celtic |
An ancient Celtic language of the northern Iberian Peninsular. Few texts have survived, and much of the evidence for the language is found in place names, personal names, and in short inscriptions found on bronze and lead plaques written in the Celtiberian script. The language shows an archaic stage of Celtic, and preserves the original labiovelars which became bilabials in Gaulish and Brythonic. The most extensive evidence for the language is found on three bronze plaques found at Botorrita near Zaragoza in Spain, dating to the early 1st century BC.
Botorrita I, the longest text in the language, is only 20 lines long. But it shows the nature of the language -- Celtic of a very archaic kind -- very clearly:
A.1. tirikantam bercunetacam tocoitoscue sarnicio cue sua combalcez nelitom
A.2. necue [u]ertaunei litom necue taunei litom necue masnai tizaunei litom soz aucu
A.3. arestaio tamai uta oscues stena uerzoniti silabur sleitom conscilitom cabizeti
A.4. cantom sancilistara otanaum tocoitei eni: uta oscuez boustomue coruinomue
A.5. macasiamue ailamue ambitiseti camanom usabituz ozas sues sailo custa bizetuz iom
A.6. asecati ambitincounei stena es uertai entara tiris matus tinbituz neito tiricantam
A.7. eni onsatuz iomui listas titas zizonti somui iom arznas bionti iom custaicos
A.8. arznas cuati ias ozias uertatosue temeiue robiseti saum tecametinas tatuz somei
A.9. enitouzei iste ancios iste esancios uze areitena sarniciei acainacubos
A.10. nebintor tocoitei ios ur antiomue auzeti aratimue tecametam tatuz iom tocoitoscue
A.11. sarniciocue aiuizas combalcores aleites iste icues ruzimuz abulu ubocum
B.1. lubos counesicum melnunos bintis letontu litocum
B.2. abulos bintis melmu barauzanco lesunos bintis
B.3. letontu ubocum turo bintis lubinaz aiu bercanticum
B.4. abulos bintis tirtu aiancum abulos bintis abulu louzocum
B.5. uzeisunos bintis acainaz letontu uicanocum suostuno/s
B.6. bintis tirtanos statulicum lesunos bintis nouantutaz
B.7. letontu aiancum melmunos bintis useizu aiancum tauro [bin]/tis
B.8. abulu aiancum tauro bintis letontu leticum abulos bintis
B.9. [ ]ucontaz letontu esocum abulos bintis
Circa 175 BC to 100 AD. |
| Chemakum |
xch |
CI
|
Chimakuan |
An extinct Native American language of Washington, USA. Survived until the 1940s AD. |
| Chorasmian |
xco |
IEIBA
|
Eastern Iranian |
An ancient language of Central Asia. 300 BC - 1000 AD. |
| Chuvantsy |
xcv |
YK
|
Yukaghir |
Extinct language of Siberia. Survived until perhaps the 18th century AD. |
| Cisalpine Gaulish |
xcg |
IEEA
|
Continental Celtic |
An ancient language found primarily in Northern Italy. ca. 150-50 BC |
| Classical Armenian |
xcl |
IEC
|
Armenian |
The earliest texts in Classical Armenian date to around 450 AD, written in the alphabet traditionally thought to have been invented in 410 A.D by the monk St. Mesrob. Classical Armenian remained the literary language until the 19th century, and is still used in some basic prayers and songs of the Armenian Apostolic Church. |
| Classical Mongolian |
cmg |
ATA
|
Mongolian |
Language of Central Asia. An earlier form of Mongolian used c. 1500 AD. |
| Classical Tibetan |
xct |
STBBBC
|
Tibetic |
The classical language of Tibet, and the language of most Tibetan Buddhist texts. Early 10th century AD until 12th Century AD. |
| Coahuilteco |
xcw |
CU
|
Coahuiltecan |
An extinct Native American language of Texas and northeastern Mexico. Survived until mid 20th century AD. Materials dated 1732-1760 AD. |
| Comecrudo |
xcm |
CU
|
Coahuiltecan |
An extinct Native American language of northeastern Mexico. Survived until 19th century AD. wordlists 1829-1886 AD. |
| Cotoname |
xcn |
CU
|
Coahuiltecan |
An extinct Native American language of northeastern Mexico. Survived until 19th century. Wordlist 1828 AD. |
| Cumbric |
xcb |
IEEBA
|
Brittonic |
An extinct language from northern England, whose traces have been found in a Latin legal tract dating from ca. 1000 AD. |
| Cuneiform Luwian |
xlu |
IEBA
|
Luwic |
An ancient language of Eastern Anatolia. Limited to a few texts from the Hittite archives in Hattusa. 2nd Millennium BC. |
| Curonian |
xcu |
IEDB
|
Western Baltic |
A language spoken on the coast of Lithuania and Latvia until the 17th century AD. |
| Dacian |
xdc |
IEM
|
Thracian |
An ancient language of the Balkans. 1st Millennium BC - 500 AD. |
| Deir Alla |
xdr |
AFFAC
|
Unclassified Central Semitic |
Only two texts of this language are extant, both very fragmentary. One, painted on the walls of a temple in the Jordan valley, recounts a vision of the prophet Balaam son of Beor. The language is sometimes treated as Canaanite. Circa 800 BC |
| Early Tripuri |
xtr |
STBCBA
|
Bodo-Garo |
An ancient language of Northeast India. ? centuries AD. |
| Eblan |
xeb |
AFFB
|
East Semitic |
An ancient language of N. Mesopotamia. 3rd Millenium BC. |
| Edomite |
xdm |
AFFABB
|
Canaanite |
An ancient language of the area east of the Jordan river. Earlier half of the 1st Millennium BC. |
| Egyptian |
egy |
AFD
|
Egyptian |
An ancient language of Egypt, usually known as Ancient Egyptian. 3000 BC - 300 BC. |
| Elamitic |
elx |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of southwestern Iran. Unclassified, perhaps related to Dravidian. 3rd millennium BC - 8th Century BC. |
| Elymian |
xly |
IEO
|
Unclassified Indo-European |
An ancient language of Sicily. Indo-European, but probably not a member of the Italic branch. 2nd half of 1st Millennium BC. |
| Epi-Olmec |
xep |
MZB
|
Zoque |
The language of a hieroglyphic Mesoamerican script deciphered in 1993 by John S. Justeson and Terrence Kaufman. It was spoken in the modern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Oaxaca and was used ca. 100 BC - 200 AD. |
| Epigraphic Mayan |
emy |
MAF
|
Unclassified Mayan |
The language or languages of the Mayan glyphs, these are still too recently deciphered to be fully understood. The monuments are mostly in a language of the Cholan subgroup, an archaic version of either Chol or Chortí; they may also be in one of the Tzeltalan languages, which are closely related to Cholan. The codices seem to be often in Yucatec. (Information provided by Lyle Campbell). |
| Etchemin |
etc |
AGD
|
Unclassified Algic |
An extinct language of North America. Survived until the 18th Century. Numbers 1-10 from 1609 AD. |
| Eteocretan |
ecr |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of Crete, 4th-3rd centuries BC. Written in Greek alphabet, but uninterpretable. Possibly a later form of Minoan. |
| Eteocypriot |
ecy |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of Cyprus, up to 4th C BC. Undeciphered tablets from Enkomi, written in a syllabary, possibly a descendant of Linear A. Eight short inscriptions (4th century BC) in Cypriot syllabic script. One partial bilingual. |
| Etruscan |
ett |
TY
|
Tyrrhenian |
An ancient language of Central and Northern Italy. In their time, the Etruscans were the most culturally dominant people in Italy, and it is through their adoption of the Greek alphabet that most of the people of early Italy acquired a script. There are many thousands of Etruscan inscriptions, though most are fairly short and repetitive. Since the inscriptions span such a long period, it is possible to see the influence of language change on the language, in particular the ever-increasing influence of vowel syncope. The majority of Etruscan inscriptions are found in Tuscany, in which their main centers of power were sited, but others are found as far afield as Corsica and Northern Africa. The language seems to be unrelated to any other, with the exception of Lemnian, found in a few texts on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean. This lends some credence to a tradition that the Etruscans originated in the east. 7th century BC - 100 AD. |
| Faliscan |
xfa |
IEJA
|
Latino-Faliscan |
An ancient language of Central Italy, just north of Rome. It was very closely related to Latin. The chief Faliscan city was Falerii Veteres (modern Cività Castellana) about 40 km north of the city. Faliscan can be broken down chronologically into the following periods: Archaic Faliscan c. 650-500 BC; Medio-Faliscan 500 BC - 241 BC, which ended when Rome destroyed the city and resettled the Faliscans at Falerii Novi; and Neo-Faliscan 241 BC - 100 BC. 650 - 100 BC. |
| Gabrielino-Fernandeño |
xgf |
UAACB
|
Serrano-Gabrielino |
An extinct Native American language. Survived until mid 20th century. Materials collected until 1933 AD. |
| Galatian |
xga |
IEEA
|
Continental Celtic |
An ancient language of Asia Minor. The dates of this language are problematic, since all material is contained within texts in other languages. Perhaps from the late 1st millenium BC, and spoken until the 6th century AD, according to Greek Historians. |
| Galindan |
xgl |
IEDB
|
Western Baltic |
A language spoken in Northern Poland and Russia. Until 14th century. Very similar to Old Prussian. |
| Garza |
xgr |
CU
|
Coahuiltecan |
An extinct Native American language of Texas and northeastern Mexico. Until the 19th century. Wordlist 1828 AD. |
| Hadrami |
xhd |
AFFCB
|
South Arabian |
An ancient language of Yemen. 100 BC - 600 AD. |
| Harami |
xha |
AFFCB
|
South Arabian |
An ancient language of Yemen. 100 BC - 600 AD. |
| Hattian |
xht |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of Central Anatolia. It seems to have been the original language of the area around the city of Hattushas (modern Boğazköy) before it was conquered by the Hittites and became the capital of their empire. It is erroneously called "Proto-Hittite" by some, but the name should be avoided. The language was replaced by Hittite, but remained a liturgical language for the Hittites. Hattic is, unusually for the area, largely prefixing, and though attempts have been made to link it to some of the Caucasian languages spoken today, its relationships remain unclear. 2nd Millennium BC. |
| Hernican |
xhr |
IEJBA
|
Oscan |
An ancient language of central Italy, member of the Oscan group within Sabellic. Two inscriptions identified thus far, dating to first millennium BC. |
| Hieroglyphic Luwian |
hlu |
IEBA
|
Luwic |
An ancient language of Southern and Western Anatolia. 2nd-1st Millennium BC. |
| Hittite |
hit |
IEB
|
Anatolian |
An ancient language of Central Anatolia. This corresponds to the language spoken in both the Middle and New Kingdoms of Hatti. 1500–1180 BC |
| Hunnic |
xhc |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An extinct language of Eastern Europe. Unclassified, possibly Turkic. 4th century AD. The unrecorded language of the Huns. |
| Hurrian |
xhu |
HU
|
Hurro-Urartean |
An ancient language of Northeast Anatolia: the native language of the state of Mitanni. 2nd - Ist Millennium BC. |
| Iberian |
xib |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of the Iberian Peninsular. 2nd half of 1st Millennium BC - 1st half of 1st Millennium AD. |
| Illyrian |
xil |
IEH
|
Illyrian |
An ancient language of the Balkans. Based upon geographical proximity, this is traditionally seen as the ancestor of Modern Albanian. It is more likely, however, that Thracian is Modern Albanian's ancestor, since both Albanian and Thracian belong to the Satem group of Indo-European, while Illyrian belonged to the Centum group. 2nd half of 1st Millennium BC - 1st half of 1st Millennium AD. |
| Imperial Aramaic |
arc |
AFFAA
|
Aramaic |
The most widespread language during the period of the New Assyrian empire, and the chancellery language of the Persian Empire. This language appears in the Old Testament of the Bible in five places: Ezra 4:8-6:18, Ezra 7:12-26, Daniel 2:4-7:28, Jer. 10:11 and Gen. 31:47. 7-4th centuries BC. |
| Indus Valley Language |
xiv |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of the Indus Valley and Baluchistan. 2500-1900 BC. The unknown language (or possibly languages) of the undeciphered Indus Valley inscriptions. |
| Jewish Palestinian Aramaic |
jpa |
AFFAAB
|
Western Aramaic |
This is the language of the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and also of the Palestinian Talmud and Midrashim, all sufficiently close to be considered dialects, but clearly distinct from other Aramaic languages of the period ca. 200 CE and following. |
| Kara |
zra |
UN
|
Unclassified |
A possible extinct language of Korea. Since it is known only from approximately thirteen placename glosses, evidence for this language is scant, and its existence is suspect. What evidence there is looks
Japonic, but it is not known whether these placenames reflect the language of the Kara tribal confederation, or possibly some more earlier
stage. |
| Karakhanid |
xqa |
ATCEA
|
Aralo-Caspian |
The Middle Turkic literary language of Central Asia, centered on Kashgar. Known from a variety of works, such as Mahmud al-Kashghari's Diwan lughat it-Tur. M. Mansuroğlu: Das Karakhanidische. In: Philologiae Turcicae Fundamenta. 1. [Türkische Sprachen]. Wiesbaden 1959, 87-112. 1. [Türkische Sprachen]. Wiesbaden 1959, 87-112. 11th to 12th centuries AD. |
| Karankawa |
zkk |
HK
|
Hokan |
An extinct Native American language of Texas. Until 19th Century. Wordlists 1698-1828 AD. |
| Kaskean |
zsk |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of Northeastern Anatolia. 2nd Millennium BC. |
| Kaurna |
zku |
AUOPL
|
Yura |
A language of the Adelaide Plains and Fleurieu Peninsula in Australia. The last known first language speaker died in 1931. There has been a reclamation movement in recent years, documented by Rob Amery, based on an excellent missionary grammar and dictionaries from the mid nineteenth century. |
| Kawi |
kaw |
ANBCJC
|
Javanese |
An ancient language of Java. 1st Millenium AD. |
| Khazar |
zkz |
ATCA
|
Bolgar |
An extinct language of Southern Russia. 6th - 12th century AD. |
| Khorezmian |
zkh |
ATC
|
Turkic |
An extinct language of Central Asia. 13th-14th century AD. |
| Kitan |
zkt |
ATA
|
Mongolian |
The extinct language of the Kitan or Khitan dynasty, who at one time ruled much of Mongolia, Manchuria and northern China. They are called Liao in Chinese sources. The Kitan used two distinct scripts. One, called the "large script" is largely logographic, and contains many signs drawn from Chinese. The second one, called the "small script", was reputedly created by the Khitan scholar Diela around 925 CE with inspiration from the Uyghur alphabet. It is a mixture of logograms, syllabic and even alphabetical signs. 916 - 1125 AD. |
| Koguryo |
zkg |
UN
|
Unclassified |
A possible language once spoken in NE China (Liaoning), Manchuria, and Korea, 1st century to mid-8th century A.D. The earliest solid historical reference to the Koguryo people (1st century A.D.) has them in the Liao-hsi area (now part of Liaoning province, northeast of Tientsin) of China. The evidence for this language lies almost solely in toponyms rather than texts, and is thus unreliable. The Archaic Koguryo corpus dates to the third and fourth century A.D. and consists of about a dozen identifiable lexemes recorded in Chinese historical and geographical accounts of the Koguryo kingdom. The Old Koguryo corpus, largely dating to the seventh and eighth centuries, consists of over a hundred lexemes found in the form of glossed toponyms, plus a small number of words recorded in Chinese historical and geographical accounts. The language, if real, may be related to Japanese. After the conquest of the Koguryo kingdom in 668 A.D., its inhabitants were partly dispersed deep within the territory of T'ang China and partly gradually absorbed by Silla Korean speakers. The most extensive body of data on the language was recorded in the mid-eighth century when the former Koguryo place names were changed to Chinese names.(Information provided by Christopher Beckwith and Sasha Vovin) |
| Koibal |
zkb |
URB
|
Samoyed |
An extinct language of Southern Siberia. Survived until 18th-19th century AD. |
| Kott |
zko |
YO
|
Yenisei Ostyak |
An extinct language of Siberia. Survived until middle of 19th century AD. Spoken along Siberian rivers Kan and Berjusa. Some records and word lists collected in the 19th century, by M.A.Castren. |
| Krevinian |
zkv |
URAAABAA
|
Finnic |
An extinct language of Latvia. Material from 15th-19th centuries AD. |
| Kuman |
qwm |
ATCEB
|
Ponto-Caspian |
An extinct language of Southern Russia. 11th-14th centuries AD). |
| Kwalhioqua-Tlatskanai |
qwt |
NDBAA
|
Athapaskan |
An extinct Native American language of Oregon and Washington, USA. Survived until about 1930 AD. |
| Langobardic |
lng |
IEFBBAAB
|
Upper German |
An ancient language of Hungary and Northern Italy. 4th - 9th century AD. |
| Late Middle Chinese |
ltc |
STA
|
Chinese |
An earlier form of Chinese, used in North China. 7th to 10th centuries AD. |
| Lemnian |
xle |
TY
|
Tyrrhenian |
An ancient language of the Greek island of Lemnos. Until perhaps 400 BC. Attested on one stele and some fragments of pottery. Believed by some to be a distinct language from Etruscan, but related. |
| Lepontic |
xlp |
IEEA
|
Continental Celtic |
An ancient language of Northern Italy. The written data is rather sparse, and it has sometimes been seen as a "Celticized" version of a close relative of Ligurian, but modern opinion now sees it as simply a Celtic language. c. 600 BC - 1 BC. |
| Liburnian |
xli |
IEO
|
Unclassified Indo-European |
An ancient language of the coast of Croatia. Indo-European, but of doubtful affiliation. Roman period. |
| Ligurian |
xlg |
UN
|
Unclassified |
An ancient language of northwestern Italy, in the territory between the Apennines and the Gulf of Genoa. Though the Ligurians seem to have spread widely in the Mediterranean, very little is known of their language, since only a few words remain. The language is possibly Indo-European, but if so it has not been related to any grouping. 300 BC- 100 AD. |
| Linear A |
lab |
UN
|
Unclassified |
The language which Linear A, an undeciphered syllabary which developed from an earlier hieroglyphic script prevalent in the southern Aegean between 2100 - 1700 BC, was used to write. The script probably originated on Crete, where it is most commonly found, though it is also found on other Aegean islands. The language which the script contains is unknown, though it is probably a precursor of Greek, and thus non-Indo-European. Judging by the evidence of Linear B, which developed from Linear A and was used to write an archaic form of Ancient Greek, it was used to represent a language with no distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants, long and short vowels, or [l] and [r]. 1700 - 1550 BC. |
| Loup A |
xlo |
AGAD
|
Unclassified Algonquian |
An extinct Native American language of New England. Until early 19th century. Materials dated 1740-1781 AD. |
| Loup B |
xlb |
AGAD
|
Unclassified Algonquian |
An extinct Native American language of New England. Survived until the 18th century. Wordlist from 1755 AD. |
| Lusitanian |
xls |
IEO
|
Unclassified Indo-European |
An ancient language of the southwestern Iberian Peninsular. 2nd Century AD. |
| Lycian |
xlc |
IEBA
|
Luwic |
An ancient language of Western Anatolia, which may have descended from the earlier Anatolian language Luwian. 500 BC to about 200 BC. The language is attested in a few inscriptions, all written in a version of the Greek alphabet. The term 'Lycian' is now used in place of 'Lycian A.' A variety of Lycian, formerly called 'Lycian B,' is Milyan, which dates to the first millenium BC and is attested in two texts in Anatolia. |
| Lydian |
xld |
IEB
|
Anatolian |
An ancient language spoken on the coast of western central Anatolia. Most texts are in a variety of the Greek alphabet, though some are in Old Phrygian. These date from as early as the 8th centrury BC, though most are from the 4th and 5th centuries BC. 8th to ? 3rd century BC. |
| Maek |
hmk |
UN
|
Unclassified |
A possible extinct language or dialect spoken in the eastern Korean peninsula north of Silla (which kingdom was for centuries limited to the SE corner of the peninsula), it was absorbed by Koguryo some time before the demise of the Koguryo kingdom. The evidence for this language is scant, since it is based on toponyms, and the existence of the language is questionable. The Koguryo themselves are also sometimes called Maek in Chinese sources. The name Maek is attested as the name of a foreign people to the NE of China in high antiquity, and the identifications with the ancient people may be ahistorical. |
| Mamulique |
emm |
CU
|
Coahuiltecan |
An extinct Native American language of Northeastern Mexico. Survived until the 19th Century AD. Wordlist 1829 AD. |
| Manichaean Middle Persian |
xmn |
IEIBCBC
|
Persian |
Manichaean Middle Persian is a variant of Middle Persian, written in a Syriac form of the Aramaic script, which was the cult language of Manichaeism, the dualist, syncretistic religion founded by the Babylonian-borm Prophet Mani (215-276 AD). The language provides an excellent idea of what spoken Middle Persian was like, for, unlike Pehlevi, it does not contain numerous borrowings from other Iranian dialects. c. 300-600 AD. |
| Marrucinian |
umc |
IEJBA
|
Oscan |
An ancient language of the Central Adriatic coast of Italy. Probably a member of the Oscan group within Sabellic. Only one substantial text, found on a bronze tablet from Rapinum, exists. It is very difficult to interpret, and since the tablet itself seems to have been lost during the Second World War, it cannot be further examined. The tablet seems to have dated to the mid 3rd century BC. |
| Marsian |
ims |
IEJBB
|
Umbrian |
An ancient language of east-central Italy. The Marsi lived east of the Paeligni in the Lacus Fucinus area. The chief Marsian town was Marruvium. Scanty remains exist, and since the language seems to have been Latinized at an early date, what is left is problematic. 300-150 BC. |
| Mator-Taygi-Karagas |
ymt |
URB
|
Samoyed |
An extinct language of southern Siberia. 18th-19th century AD. |
| Median |
xme |
IEIBC
|
Western Iranian |
An ancient language of Iran, and the language of the Median Empire. 500 BC - 100 AD. |
| Meroitic |
xmr |
UN
|
Unclassified |
The ancient language of the Meroitic culture in the Sudan. 200 BC - 4th century AD. |
| Messapic |
cms |
IEO
|
Unclassified Indo-European |
An ancient language of Southeastern Italy, spoken along the Adriatic coast. It was the language of the Apuli, Daunii, Peucetti, Messapi, Calabri and Salentini tribes in the area. Once believed related to Illyrian, it is now recognized to be an independent Indo-European language, unrelated to Italic. So far 22 inscriptions have been found. 600-100 BC. |
| Michigamea |
cmm |
SIBABE
|
Unclassified Mississippi Valley |
The Michigamea (Mihshikamiia) were members of the Miami-Illinois-speaking Illinois alliance. In 1673, Marquette and Joliet needed a translator from Miami-Illinois in order to understand the Michigamea. Later, in the mid 18th century, Jean-Bénard Bossu, in his Nouveaux voyages aux Indes Occidentales, quotes in passing two sentences which John Koontz suggests indicate that Michigamea was a Siouan language, of the Mississippi subgroup. |
| Middle Armenian |
axm |
IEC
|
Armenian |
Extinct language spoken in eastern Anatolia. 11th - 15th century AD |
| Middle Breton |
xbm |
IEEBA
|
Brittonic |
An extinct language of Brittany, France. Middle Breton dates from ca. 1100 - 1600 AD |
| Middle Cornish |
cnx |
IEEBA
|
Brittonic |
An extinct language spoken in southwestern England. Middle Cornish is attested from the 14th to the 16th century AD. |
| Middle Dutch |
dum |
IEFBBC
|
Low Franconian |
A language of the Netherlands and Belgium, the ancestor of Modern Dutch. 1150-1500 AD. |
| Middle English |
enm |
IEFBBBA
|
English |
A language of Great Britain, the ancestor of Modern English. 11th - 15th centuries AD. |
| Middle French |
frm |
IEJAAABBAABAA
|
French |
A language of the Northern and Central France and Belgium. The ancestor of Modern French. 15th - 17th century AD. |
| Middle High German |
gmh |
|