Which language family do nearly half of the world's people speak?

Which language family do nearly half of the world's people speak?

• A. Afro-Asiatic
• B. Sino-Tibetan
• C. Indo-European
• D. Niger-Congo

Answer: (C)

The main idea is how language families spread and accumulate speakers around the world. Indo-European covers Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Americas, and more, and includes widely spoken languages such as English, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, French, and many others. This broad geographic reach, built up over centuries of migration, trade, and colonization, pushes its total share of speakers to roughly half of the world’s population. Afro-Asiatic is strong in parts of North Africa and the Middle East but is more regionally concentrated. Niger-Congo is dominant in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of languages and speakers, but not on a global scale. Sino-Tibetan includes Mandarin and other languages centered in East and Southeast Asia; while large, its global share doesn’t exceed that of Indo-European when added across all its languages.

The main idea is how language families spread and accumulate speakers around the world. Indo-European covers Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Americas, and more, and includes widely spoken languages such as English, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, French, and many others. This broad geographic reach, built up over centuries of migration, trade, and colonization, pushes its total share of speakers to roughly half of the world’s population. Afro-Asiatic is strong in parts of North Africa and the Middle East but is more regionally concentrated. Niger-Congo is dominant in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of languages and speakers, but not on a global scale. Sino-Tibetan includes Mandarin and other languages centered in East and Southeast Asia; while large, its global share doesn’t exceed that of Indo-European when added across all its languages.