Learn The Root Of Each Language With This Linguistic Family Tree

The history of all languages are intertwined. When tracing language descent, most linguists use a tree model as a metaphor of their origins.

The spread of these languages might not sound all that interesting to you, but this gorgeous rendition of the linguistic family tree by Minna Sundberg might change your mind. Feast your eyes on the alternative to the boring linguistic tree diagram.

Sundberg, who is creator of the webcomic “Stand Still. Stay Silent“, made this linguistic map using data from ethnologue.com. Not all languages made it to the graph, as there were too many to fit, but most major languages with over 1 million speakers made the cut.

Language lovers, if you’re a fan of this beautiful family tree, you can order a poster version for yourself here.