Languages of study

The members of our department work on a variety of languages around the world. In some cases a person may have published just one paper on a language, while in other cases this involves a multi-year commitment to a language community. 

The list of languages is always changing, especially as new students enter the department, so that it’s impossible to give a definitive list. The map below represents a snapsnot of the diversity of languages by showing the approximate location of languages that Yale linguistics research included in October 2023.

Languages include: Roro/Waima, Bardi, Kullilli/Bulloo River, Diyari/Dieri, Yan-nhaŋu, Burarra, Yidiny/Yidiñ, Hong Kong Cantonese, Hong Kong Mandarin, Vietnamese, Hungarian, Káínai Blackfoot, Wampanoag, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, Yue Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Pashto, South Bolivian Quechua, Kupang Malay, Central Javanese, Pontianak Malay, Icelandic, Abkhaz, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish, North American English, Kriol, Djambarrpuyŋu, Akan, Welsh, O’odham, Choctaw.

Why use dots on a map? 

Languages are spoken by communities of people, who may be spread out over great distances. 

We use points on this map to identify the geographical area saliently associated with a given language to give you an idea of our interests, rather than claiming to capture the entire geographical zone where there might be users. The coordinates shown here are either taken from Glottolog, or they represent the location of specific communities that Yale linguists have worked with. 

Here, we intend to represent the diversity of research within the department. That is, the map represents research at Yale Linguistics rather than language areas. Like all maps, it’s a simplification.