Editing Ethnologue

{{Short description|Catalogue of the world's languages}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox website
| name            = ''Ethnologue''
| logo            = Ethnologue.com logo.svg
| logo_alt        = Ethnologue's logo
| logo_caption    =
| screenshot      =
| company_type    = 
| screenshot_alt  = Photo of the print 17th edition of Ethnologue
| screenshot_size = 270px
| type            = Language database
| language        = English
| founded         = 1951
| location_city   = [[Dallas]]
| location_country = United States
| caption         = Screen of Ethnologue.com
| url             = {{official URL}}
| commercial      = Yes
| founder         = Richard S. Pittman
| owner           = [[SIL International]], United States
| editors         = {{ubl|David M. Eberhard|Gary F. Simons|Charles D. Fennig}}
| registration    = Required to access most content since 2019<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/>
| issn            = 1946-9675
| oclc            = 43349556
| ipv6            = Yes
}}

'''''Ethnologue: Languages of the World''''' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the [[living language]]s of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1125944248 |publisher=Springer |title=Handbook of the Changing World Language Map|volume=1 |date=2020 |editor-first1=Stanley D.|editor-last1=Brunn|editor-first2=Roland|editor-last2=Kehrein |isbn=978-3-030-02438-3 |location=Cham, Switzerland |oclc=1125944248 |page=46 |quote=Cites: Pereltsvaig, A. (2012). ''Languages of the World: An Introduction''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.}}</ref> It was first issued in 1951, and is now published by [[SIL International]], an American [[evangelical]] [[Parachurch organization|Christian non-profit organization]].

== Overview and content ==
''Ethnologue'' has been published by SIL Global (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian [[linguistics|linguistic]] service organization with an international office in [[Dallas]], Texas. The organization studies numerous minority languages to facilitate language development, and to work with speakers of such language communities in translating portions of the Bible into their languages.<ref name="NYT"/> Despite the Christian orientation of its publisher, ''Ethnologue'' is not ideologically or theologically biased.<ref name="Collin2010"/>

''Ethnologue'' includes alternative names and [[Exonym and endonym|autonyms]], the number of L1 and L2 speakers, [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|language prestige]], domains of use, [[Literacy|literacy rates]], locations, dialects, [[language classification]], [[Language family|linguistic affiliations]], [[Linguistic typology|typology]], language maps, country maps, publication and use in media, availability of the [[Bible]] in each language and dialect described, [[Religious denomination|religious affiliations]] of speakers, a cursory description of revitalization efforts where reported, [[Mutual intelligibility|intelligibility]] and [[lexical similarity]] with other dialects and languages, writing scripts, an estimate of language viability using the [[Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale]] (EGIDS), and bibliographic resources.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/><ref name="Chelliah2021"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis|first1=M. Paul|first2=Gary F.|last2=Simons|year=2010|title=Assessing Endangerment: Expanding Fishman's GIDS |journal=[[:fr:Revue Roumaine de Linguistique|Romanian Review of Linguistics]]|volume=55|issue=2|pages=103–120 |url = https://www.lingv.ro/RRL%202%202010%20art01Lewis.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405043558/https://lingv.ro/RRL%202%202010%20art01Lewis.pdf |archive-date= Apr 5, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bickford|first1=J. Albert|last2=Lewis|first2=M. Paul|first3=Gary F. |last3=Simons|year=2015|title=Rating the vitality of sign languages|journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development|volume=36|issue=5|pages=513–527|doi=10.1080/01434632.2014.966827 |s2cid=55788703|hdl=10125/26131|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="pricing"/> Coverage varies depending on languages.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/><ref name="Chelliah2021"/> For instance, as of 2008, information on [[word order]] was present for 15% of entries while religious affiliations were mentioned for 38% of languages.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/> According to [[Lyle Campbell]] "language maps are highly valuable" and most country maps are of high quality and user-friendly.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/>

''Ethnologue'' gathers information from SIL's thousands of [[Field research|field linguists]],<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> surveys done by linguists and literacy specialists, observations of [[Bible translations|Bible translators]], and [[Crowdsourcing|crowdsourced]] contributions.<ref name="Chelliah2021">{{Citation |last=Chelliah |first=Shobhana L. |title=Supporting Linguistic Vitality |date=2021 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66190-8_5 |work=Why Language Documentation Matters |series=SpringerBriefs in Linguistics |pages=51–67 |editor-last=Chelliah |editor-first=Shobhana L. |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-66190-8_5 |isbn=978-3-030-66190-8 |s2cid=234332845 |access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-23 |title=Careers |url=https://www.sil.org/careers |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=SIL International |language=en}}</ref> SIL's field linguists use an online collaborative research system to review current data, update it, or request its removal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-01 |title=What I did on my summer vacation... |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/what-i-did-my-summer-vacation |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref> SIL has a team of editors by geographical area who prepare reports to Ethnologue's general editor. These reports combine opinions from SIL area experts and feedback solicited from non-SIL linguists. Editors have to find compromises when opinions differ.<ref name="Hammarström2005" /> Most of SIL's linguists have taken three to four semesters of graduate linguistics courses, and half of them have a master's degree. They're trained by 300 PhD linguists in SIL.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Olson |first=Kenneth S. |date=2009 |title=SIL International: An Emic View |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40492900 |journal=Language |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=646–658 |doi=10.1353/lan.0.0156 |jstor=40492900 |s2cid=144082312 |issn=0097-8507}}</ref>
 
The determination of what characteristics define a single language depends upon [[sociolinguistics|sociolinguistic]] evaluation by various scholars; as the preface to ''Ethnologue'' states, "Not all scholars share the same set of criteria for what constitutes a 'language' and what features define a '[[dialect]]'."<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/> The criteria used by ''Ethnologue'' are [[mutual intelligibility]] and the existence or absence of a common literature or ethnolinguistic identity.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/><ref name="Hammarström2005"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/scope.asp |title=Scope of denotation for language identifiers |publisher=SIL International |access-date=2013-06-23}}</ref> The number of languages identified has been steadily increasing, from 5,445 in the 10th edition (in 1984) to 6,909 in the 16th (in 2009), partly due to governments according designation as languages to mutually intelligible varieties and partly due to SIL establishing new Bible translation teams.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aUxveGrrv-4C&pg=PA463 |title=Basic Linguistic Theory Volume 3: Further Grammatical Topics |first=R. M. W. |last=Dixon |author-link=Robert M. W. Dixon |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2012 |pages=463–464 |isbn=978-0-19-957109-3 }}</ref> ''Ethnologue'' codes were used as the base to create the new [[ISO 639-3]] international standard. Since 2007, ''Ethnologue'' relies only on this standard, [[registration authority|administered]] by SIL International,<ref name="iso sil"/> to determine what is listed as a language.<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/>

In addition to choosing a primary name for a language, ''Ethnologue'' provides listings of other name(s) for the language and any dialects that are used by its speakers, government, foreigners and neighbors. Also included are any names that have been commonly referenced historically, regardless of whether a name is considered official, politically correct or offensive; this allows more complete historic research to be done. These lists of names are not necessarily complete.

==History==
''Ethnologue'' was founded in 1951 by Richard S. Pittman and was initially focused on minority languages, to share information on Bible translation needs.<ref name="ELL"/><ref name="history">{{Cite web |title=History of the Ethnologue |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/about/history-ethnologue |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> The first edition included information on 46 languages.<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/> Hand-drawn maps were introduced in the fourth edition (1953).<ref name="history"/> The seventh edition (1969) listed 4,493 languages.<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/> In 1971, ''Ethnologue'' expanded its coverage to all known languages of the world.<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/>

''Ethnologue'' database was created in 1971 at the [[University of Oklahoma]] under a grant from the [[National Science Foundation]].<ref name="history"/> In 1974 the database was moved to [[Cornell University]].<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/> Since 2000, the database has been maintained by SIL International in their Dallas headquarters.<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/> In 1997 (13th edition), the website became the primary means of access.<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/>

In 1984, ''Ethnologue'' released a three-letter coding system, called an 'SIL code', to identify each language that it described. This set of codes significantly exceeded the scope of other existing standards, e.g. [[ISO 639-1]] and [[ISO 639-2]].{{sfn|Everaert|Musgrave|Dimitriadis|2009|p=204}}<ref name="history"/><ref name="ELL"/>

The 14th edition, published in 2000, included 7,148 language codes. In 2002, ''Ethnologue'' was asked to work with the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) to integrate its codes into a draft international standard. ''Ethnologue'' codes have then been adopted by ISO as the international standard, [[ISO 639-3]].<ref name="Hammarström2005" /><ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/> The 15th edition of ''Ethnologue'' was the first edition to use this standard. This standard is now administered separately from Ethnologue. SIL International is the [[registration authority]] for languages names and codes,<ref name="Campbell&Grondona"/> according to rules established by ISO.<ref name="iso sil">{{cite web | title = Maintenance agencies and registration authorities | url = http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards_development/list_of_iso_technical_committees/maintenance_agencies.htm | publisher = ISO }}</ref> Since then ''Ethnologue'' relies on the standard to determine what is listed as a language.<ref name="ELL">{{cite book | contribution = Ethnologue | first1 = Gary F. | last1 = Simons | first2 = Raymond G. | last2 = Gordon | volume = 4 | pages = 250–253 | title = Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics | editor-first = Keith | editor-last = Brown|editor-link=Keith Brown (linguist) | edition = 2nd | publisher = [[Elsevier]] | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-08-044299-0|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080448542049002|doi=10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/04900-2}}</ref> In only one case, ''Ethnologue'' and the ISO standards treat languages slightly differently. ISO 639-3 considers [[Akan language|Akan]] to be a [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|macrolanguage]] consisting of two distinct languages, [[Twi]] and [[Fante dialect|Fante]], whereas ''Ethnologue'' considers Twi and Fante to be dialects of a single language (Akan), since they are mutually intelligible. This anomaly resulted because the ISO 639-2 standard has separate codes for Twi and Fante, which have separate literary traditions, and all 639-2 codes for individual languages are automatically part of 639-3, even though 639-3 would not normally assign them separate codes.

In 2014, with the 17th edition, ''Ethnologue'' introduced a numerical code for language status using a framework called [[Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS)|EGIDS (Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale)]], an elaboration of [[Joshua Fishman|Fishman's]] GIDS ([[Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale]]). It ranks a language from 0 for an [[World language|international language]] to 10 for an [[extinct language]], i.e. a language with which no-one retains a sense of ethnic identity.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/about/language-status |title=Language status |publisher=Ethnologue |year = 2014 |access-date=2015-01-24 }}</ref>

In 2015, SIL's funds decreased and in December 2015, ''Ethnologue'' launched a metered [[paywall]] to cover its cost, as it is financially self-sustaining.<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> Users in [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income countries]] who wanted to refer to more than seven pages of data per month had to buy a [[paid subscription]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-01 |title=Ethnologue launches subscription service |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/ethnologue-launches-subscription-service |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref><ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> The 18th edition released that year included a new section on [[language policy]] country by country.<ref name="2015work">{{Cite web |date=2015-02-01 |title=What we are working on here at Ethnologue Central |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/what-we-are-working-here-ethnologue-central |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref><ref name="welcome18"/>

In 2016, ''Ethnologue'' added date about [[language planning]] agencies to the 19th edition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-01 |title=Looking back and looking ahead |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/looking-back-and-looking-ahead |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref>

As of 2017, ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s 20th edition described 237 [[language families]] including 86 [[language isolates]] and six typological categories, namely [[sign language]]s, [[Creole language|creole]]s, [[pidgin]]s, [[mixed language]]s, [[constructed language]]s, and as yet [[unclassified languages]].<ref name="EthnologueList">{{cite web |url = http://www.ethnologue.com/browse/families |title=Browse by Language Family |publisher=Ethnologue |access-date=2015-03-05 }}</ref>

The early focus of the Ethnologue was on native use (L1) but was gradually expanded to cover L2 use as well.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Olson |first1=Kenneth S. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/25957/chapter/193751372 |title=The Ethnologue and L2 Mapping |last2=Lewis |first2=M. Paul |date=2018-02-15 |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190657543.003.0003}}</ref>

In 2019, ''Ethnologue'' disabled trial views and introduced a [[Paywall#"Hard" paywalls|hard paywall]] to cover its nearly $1 million in annual operating costs (website maintenance, security, researchers, and SIL's 5,000 field linguists).<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/><ref name="2019 changes">{{Cite web |date=2019-10-26 |title=Changes at Ethnologue.com |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/changes-ethnologuecom |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Rob|last=Hess}}</ref> Subscriptions start at $480 per person per year,<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> while full access costs $2,400 per person per year.<ref name="pricing">{{Cite web |date=2019-07-22 |title=Pricing |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/pricing |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> Users in [[low and middle-income countries]] as defined by the [[World Bank]] are eligible for free access and there are discounts for libraries and independent researchers.<ref name="pricing"/> Subscribers are mostly institutions: 40% of the world's top 50 universities subscribe to ''Ethnologue'',<ref name="Chelliah2021"/> and it is also sold to business intelligence firms and Fortune 500 companies.<ref name="ScienceOrg2020">{{Cite web |title=World's largest linguistics database is getting too expensive for some researchers |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-largest-linguistics-database-getting-too-expensive-some-researchers |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}</ref> The introduction of the paywall was harshly criticized by the community of linguists who rely on ''Ethnologue'' to do their work and cannot afford the subscription<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> The same year, ''Ethnologue'' launched its contributor program to fill gaps and improve accuracy,<ref name="Updates and Corrections">{{Cite web |title=Updates and Corrections |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/updates-corrections |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref name="2019 changes"/> allowing contributors to submit corrections and additions and to get a complimentary access to the website.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contributor Program |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/contributor-program/ |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s editors gradually review crowdsourced contributions before publication.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-12 |title=Ethnologue Contributor Community Norms |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/community-norms |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Chelliah2021"/> As 2019 was the [[International Year of Indigenous Languages]], this edition focused on [[language loss]]: it added the date when last fluent speaker of the language died, standardized the age range of language users, and improved the [[EGIDS]] estimates.<ref name="welcome22">{{Cite web |first=Gary|last=Simons|date=2019-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 22nd edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/gary-simons/welcome-22nd-edition |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, the 23rd edition listed 7,117 living languages, an increase of 6 living languages from the 22nd edition. In this edition, ''Ethnologue'' expanded its coverage of [[immigrant language]]s: previous editions only had full entries for languages considered to be "established" within a country. From this edition, ''Ethnologue'' includes data about first and second languages of [[refugee]]s, temporary [[foreign workers]] and immigrants.<ref name="welcome23">{{Cite web |date=2020-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 23rd edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/gary-simons/welcome-23rd-edition |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Chelliah2021"/>

In 2021, the 24th edition had 7,139 modern languages, an increase of 22 living languages from the 23rd edition. Editors especially improved data about [[language shift]] in this edition.<ref name="welcome24">{{Cite web |date=2021-02-22 |title=Welcome to the 24th edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/gary-simons/welcome-24th-edition |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

In 2022, the 25th edition listed a total of 7,151 living languages, an increase of 12 living languages from the 24th edition. This edition specifically improved the [[Medium of instruction|use of languages in education]].<ref name="welcome25"/>

In 2023, the 26th edition listed a total of 7,168 living languages, an increase of 17 living languages from the 25th edition.

In 2024, the 27th edition listed a total of 7,164 living languages, a decrease of 4 living languages from the 26th edition.<ref name="welcome27"/>

== Reception, reliability, and use ==
In 1986, [[William Bright]], then editor of the journal ''[[Language (journal)|Language]]'', wrote of ''Ethnologue'' that it "is indispensable for any reference shelf on the languages of the world".<ref>{{cite journal |title = Ethnologue: Languages of the world Ed. by Barbara F. Grimes, and: Index to the Tenth edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the world Ed. by Barbara F. Grimes (review) |journal = Language |year = 1986 |issn = 1535-0665|pages = 698|volume = 62 |issue = 3|doi = 10.1353/lan.1986.0027 |first = William |last = Bright |s2cid = 143911105 }}</ref> The 2003 ''[[International Encyclopedia of Linguistics]]'' described ''Ethnologue'' as "a comprehensive listing of the world's languages, with genetic classification",<ref>{{Citation |last=Comrie |first=Bernard |title=Languages of the World |date=2003 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195139778.001.0001/acref-9780195139778-e-0584 |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195139778.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-513977-8 |access-date=2022-11-22}}</ref> and follows Ethnologue's classification.<ref name="Hammarström2005" /> In 2005, linguists [[Lindsay J. Whaley]] and [[Lenore Grenoble]] considered that ''Ethnologue'' "continues to provide the most comprehensive and reliable count of numbers of speakers of the world's languages", still they recognize that "individual language surveys may have far more accurate counts for a specific language, but ''The Ethnologue'' is unique in bringing together speaker statistics on a global scale".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grenoble |first1=Lenore A. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511615931/type/book |title=Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization |last2=Whaley |first2=Lindsay J. |date=2005-11-03 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-81621-2 |edition=1 |page=164 |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511615931}}</ref> In 2006, [[Computational linguistics|computational linguists]] John C. Paolillo and Anupam Das conducted a systematic evaluation of available information on language populations for the [[UNESCO Institute for Statistics]]. They reported that ''Ethnologue'' and [[Linguasphere Observatory|Linguasphere]] were the only comprehensive sources of information about language populations and that ''Ethnologue'' had more specific information. They concluded that: "the language statistics available today in the form of the ''Ethnologue'' population counts are already good enough to be useful"<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Paolillo |first1=John C. |last2=Das |first2=Anupam |date=2006 |title=Evaluating Language Statistics: The Ethnologue and Beyond |url=https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/evaluating-language-statistics-the-ethnologue-and-beyond-en_0.pdf |publisher=UNESCO Institute for Statistics |language=en|pages=2, 3, 53}}</ref> According to linguist [[William Poser]], ''Ethnologue'' was, as of 2006, the "best single source of information" on language classification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reliable Sources on Classification |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003009.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Language Log|date=2006-04-11|first1=Bill|last1=Poser|author-link=William Poser}}</ref> In 2008 linguists [[Lyle Campbell]] and Verónica Grondona highly commended ''Ethnologue'' in ''Language''. They described it as a highly valuable catalogue of the world's languages that "has become the standard reference" and whose "usefulness is hard to overestimate". They concluded that ''Ethnologue'' was "truly excellent, highly valuable, and the very best book of its sort available."<ref name="Campbell&Grondona">{{Cite journal|title = Ethnologue: Languages of the world (review) |journal = Language |date = January 1, 2008 |issn = 1535-0665 |pages = 636–641 |volume = 84 |issue = 3 |doi = 10.1353/lan.0.0054 |first1 = Lyle |last1 = Campbell |first2 = Verónica|last2 = Grondona |s2cid = 143663395 }}</ref>

In a review of ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s 2009 edition in ''[[Ethnopolitics]]'', [[Richard O. Collin]], professor of politics, noted that "''Ethnologue'' has become a standard resource for scholars in the other social sciences: anthropologists, economists, sociologists and, obviously, sociolinguists". According to Collin, ''Ethnologue'' is "stronger in languages spoken by indigenous peoples in economically less-developed portions of the world" and "when recent in-depth country-studies have been conducted, information can be very good; unfortunately [...] data are sometimes old".<ref name="Collin2010">{{Cite journal |last=Collin |first=Richard Oliver |year=2010 |title=Ethnologue |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17449057.2010.502305 |journal=Ethnopolitics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3–4 |pages=425–432 |doi=10.1080/17449057.2010.502305 |s2cid=217507727 |issn=1744-9057}}</ref>

In 2012, linguist [[Asya Pereltsvaig]] described ''Ethnologue'' as "a reasonably good source of thorough and reliable geographical and demographic information about the world's languages".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pereltsvaig |first=Asya |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/756913021 |title=Languages of the World: An Introduction |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00278-4 |location=Cambridge |page=11 |oclc=756913021}}</ref> She added in 2021 that its maps "are generally fairly accurate although they often depict the linguistic situation as it once was or as someone might imagine it to be but not as it actually is".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pereltsvaig |first=Asya |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1154423212 |title=Languages of the World An Introduction |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-108-47932-5 |edition=3rd |location=Cambridge |page=69 |oclc=1154423212|doi=10.1017/9781108783071}}</ref> Linguist George Tucker Childs wrote in 2012 that: "''Ethnologue'' is the most widely referenced source for information on languages of the world", but he added that regarding African languages, "when evaluated against recent field experience [Ethnologue] seems at least out of date".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/973799450 |title=Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of African Linguistics, Buea, 17-21 August 2012|volume=2 |date=2017 |publisher=African Books Collective |editor-first1=Evelyn Fogwe|editor-last1=Chibaka|editor-first2=Gratien|editor-last2=Atindogbé |isbn=978-9956-764-98-3 |location=Oxford|first1= George Tucker|last1=Childs|chapter=One language or two? Bom and Kim, two highly endangered South Atlantic "languages"|page=304|oclc=973799450}}</ref> In 2014, ''Ethnologue'' admitted that some of its data was out-of-date and switched from a four-year publication cycle (in print and online) to yearly online updates.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-01 |title=How NOT to use the Ethnologue |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/how-not-use-ethnologue |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Robert Phillipson]] and [[Tove Skutnabb-Kangas]] described ''Ethnologue'' as "the most comprehensive global source list for (mostly oral) languages".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/964294896 |title=The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes |date=2017 |editor-first1=Markku |editor-last1=Filppula|editor-first2=Juhani|editor-last2=Klemola|editor-first3=Devyani|editor-last3=Sharma |first1=Robert|last1=Phillipson|first2=Tove|last2=Skutnabb-Kangas|isbn=978-0-19-977771-6 |location=New York |oclc=964294896| page=319}}</ref> According to the 2018 ''Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics'', ''Ethnologue'' is a "comprehensive, frequently updated [database] on languages and language families'.<ref>{{Citation |last=Leben |first=William R. |title=Languages of the World |date=2018-02-26 |url=http://linguistics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.0001/acrefore-9780199384655-e-349 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.349 |isbn=978-0-19-938465-5 |access-date=2022-11-22}}</ref> According to [[quantitative linguist]]s [[Simon Greenhill]], ''Ethnologue'' offers, as of 2018, "sufficiently accurate reflections of speaker population size".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Greenhill |first1=Simon J. |last2=Hua |first2=Xia |last3=Welsh |first3=Caela F. |last4=Schneemann |first4=Hilde |last5=Bromham |first5=Lindell |date=2018 |title=Population Size and the Rate of Language Evolution: A Test Across Indo-European, Austronesian, and Bantu Languages |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=9 |page=576 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00576 |pmid=29755387 |pmc=5934942 |issn=1664-1078|doi-access=free }}</ref> Linguists Lyle Campbell and Kenneth Lee Rehg wrote in 2018 that ''Ethnologue'' was "the best source that list the non-endangered languages of the world".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Lyle |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1003268966 |publisher=Oxford University Press |title=The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages |last2=Rehg |first2=Kenneth L. |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-061002-9 |location=New York, NY |chapter=Introduction |oclc=1003268966}}</ref> Lyle Campbell and Russell Barlow also noted that the 2017 edition of ''Ethnologue'' "improved [its] classification markedly". They note that ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s genealogy is similar to that of the [[World Atlas of Language Structures]] (WALS) but different from that of the [[Catalogue of Endangered Languages]] (ELCat) and Glottolog.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barlow |first1=Russell |title=Language Classification and Cataloguing Endangered Languages |date=2018-02-02 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317413905/chapters/10.4324/9781315686028-3 |journal=Cataloguing the World's Endangered Languages |pages=23–48 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Lyle |edition=1 |publisher=Routledge |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315686028-3 |isbn=978-1-315-68602-8 |access-date=2022-11-30 |last2=Campbell |first2=Lyle |editor2-last=Belew |editor2-first=Anna}}</ref> Linguist [[Lisa Matthewson]] commented in 2020 that ''Ethnologue'' offers "accurate information about speaker numbers".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-10 |title=UBC Library users now able to access the most authoritative resource on world languages |url=https://about.library.ubc.ca/2020/02/10/ubc-library-users-now-able-to-access-the-most-authoritative-resource-on-world-languages/ |first1=Michelle |last1=Blackwell  |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=About UBC Library |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 2021 review of ''Ethnologue'' and Glottolog, linguist [[Shobhana Chelliah]] noted that "For better or worse, the impact of the site is indeed considerable. [...] Clearly, the site has influence on the field of linguistics and beyond." She added that she, among other linguists, integrated ''Ethnologue'' in her linguistics classes."<ref name="Chelliah2021"/>

The ''[[Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics]]'' uses ''Ethnologue'' as its primary source for the list of languages and language maps.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/771916896 |title=Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics |date=2006 |publisher=Elsevier |editor-first1=E. Keith|editor-last1=Brown|editor-first2=Anne|editor-last2=Anderson |isbn=978-0-08-044854-1 |edition=2 |location=Amsterdam |oclc=771916896|chapter=Notes on the List of Languages & Language Maps}}</ref> According to linguist [[Suzanne Romaine]], ''Ethnologue'' is also the leading source for research on [[language diversity]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Romaine |first=Suzanne |editor-first1=Alwin F |editor-first2=Hermine |editor-last1=Fill |editor-last2=Penz |url=https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315687391.ch3 |title=Language Endangerment and Language Death |date=2017-08-21 |publisher=Routledge Handbooks Online |isbn=978-1-138-92008-8 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315687391|page=40}}</ref> According to ''The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society'', ''Ethnologue'' is "the standard reference source for the listing and enumeration of Endangered Languages, and for all known and "living" languages of the world"."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugU1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA227 |publisher=Oxford University Press |title=The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society |date=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-021289-6 |editor-last1=García |editor-first1=Ofelia |location=New York, NY |page=227 |oclc=964291142 |editor-last2=Flores |editor-first2=Nelson |editor-last3=Spotti |editor-first3=Massimiliano}}</ref> Similarly, linguist [[David Bradley (linguist)|David Bradley]] describes ''Ethnologue'' as "the most comprehensive effort to document the level of endangerment in languages around the world."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1130060519 |title=Language endangerment |date=2019 |first2=Maya |last2=Bradley |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-64457-0 |location=Cambridge |oclc=1130060519|page=4}}</ref> The US [[National Science Foundation]] uses ''Ethnologue'' to determine which languages are endangered.<ref name="Chelliah2021"/> According to Hammarström et al., ''Ethnologue'' is, as of 2022, one of the three global databases documenting language endangerment with the ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'' and the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zariquiey |first1=Roberto |last2=Arakaki |first2=Mónica |last3=Vera |first3=Javier |last4=Torres-Orihuela |first4=Guido |last5=Cuba-Raime |first5=Claret |last6=Barrientos |first6=Carlos |last7=García |first7=Aracelli |last8=Ingunza |first8=Adriano |last9=Hammarström |first9=Harald |date=2022 |title=Linking endangerment databases and descriptive linguistics: An assessment of the use of terms relating to language endangerment in grammars |journal=Language Documentation and Conservation |issn=1934-5275|page=292|hdl=10125/74681 |hdl-access=free |via=ScholarSpace |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/017c8ee3-72c9-4c95-91d2-c82efdfd87ba |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725210211/https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4d0c5e45-0f7b-48f6-aa89-44bbe8952ef2/content |archive-date= 2024-07-25}}</ref> The University of Hawaii [[Kaipuleohone]] language archive uses ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s metadata as well.<ref name="Chelliah2021"/> The ''[[World Atlas of Language Structures]]'' uses ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s genealogical classification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acknowledgements |date=23 December 2010  |first1=Matthew S. |last1=Dryer |first2=Martin |last2=Haspelmath |url=https://wals.info/about/credits |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=WALS Online }}</ref> The [[Rosetta Project]] uses ''Ethnologue''<nowiki/>'s language metadata.<ref>{{Cite web |title=17th Edition of the Ethnologue  |url=https://rosettaproject.org/blog/02013/mar/20/Ethnologue_17th_Edition/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website= The Rosetta Project |date=March 20, 2013 |first1=Karin |last1=Wiecha }}</ref>

In 2005, linguist [[Harald Hammarström]] wrote that ''Ethnologue'' was consistent with specialist views most of the time and was a catalog "of very high absolute value and by far the best of its kind".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1022117457 |title=The Handbook of Dialectology |year=2018 |editor-first1=Charles|editor-last1= Boberg|editor-first2= John A. |editor-last2=Nerbonne|editor-first3=Dominic James|editor-last3=Landon Watt |isbn=978-1-118-82758-1|chapter=Dialect Intellibility |oclc=1022117457|page=206|first1=Charlotte |last1=Gooskens|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref><ref name="Hammarström2005">{{citation|first=Harald|last=Hammarström|year=2005|title=Review of the Ethnologue, 15th edn, in: R.J. Gordon (Ed.), SIL International, Dallas|publisher=LINGUIST LIST|issue=16.2637|url=http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/linguist/issues/16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615000000/http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/linguist/issues/16|archive-date=June 15, 2011|access-date=November 23, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, Hammarström created [[Glottolog]] in response to the lack of a comprehensive language bibliography, especially in ''Ethnologue''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nordhoff |first1=Sebastian |last2=Hammarström |first2=Harald |date=2012 |title=Glottolog/Langdoc:Increasing the visibility of grey literature for low-density languages |url=http://www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2012/pdf/733_Paper.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC'12) |location=Istanbul |publisher=European Language Resources Association (ELRA) |pages=3289–3294}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://glottolog.org/about |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Glottolog 4.6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |date=2015 |title=Glottolog: A Free, Online, Comprehensive Bibliography of the World's Languages |url=https://www.mpi.nl/publications/item2354764/glottolog-free-online-comprehensive-bibliography-worlds-languages |journal=Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace|pages=183–188|editor-first=E. |editor-last=Kuzmin |language=en}}</ref> In 2015, Hammarström reviewed the 16th, 17th, and 18th editions of ''Ethnologue'' and described the frequent lack of citations as its only "serious fault" from a scientific perspective. He concluded: "''Ethnologue'' is at present still better than any other nonderivative work of the same scope. [It] is an impressively comprehensive catalogue of world languages, and it is far superior to anything else produced prior to 2009. In particular, it is superior by virtue of being explicit."<ref>{{cite journal |title = Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: A comprehensive review |journal = Language |year = 2015 |issn = 1535-0665 |pages = 723–737 |volume = 91 |issue = 3 |doi = 10.1353/lan.2015.0038 |first = Harald |last = Hammarström |hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0014-C719-6|s2cid = 119977100 |hdl-access = free |quote=Conclusion. From a scientific perspective, there is really only one serious fault with E16/E17/E18, namely, that the source for the information presented is not systematically indicated.}}</ref> According to Hammarström, as of 2016, ''Ethnologue'' and Glottolog are the only global-scale continually maintained inventories of the world's languages. The main difference is that ''Ethnologue'' includes additional information (such as speaker numbers or vitality) but lacks systematic sources for the information given. In contrast, Glottolog provides no language context information but points to primary sources for further data.<ref name="Hammarström2016">{{Cite journal |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |date=January 2016 |title=Linguistic diversity and language evolution |journal=Journal of Language Evolution |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=19–29 |doi=10.1093/jole/lzw002 |issn=2058-4571|doi-access=free |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0029-2F3E-C |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Drude |first=Sebastian |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24814 |title=Reflections on diversity linguistics: Language inventories and atlases |date=2018-12-01 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |isbn=978-0-9973295-3-7 |language=en|page=127|hdl=10125/24814 }}</ref> Contrary to ''Ethnologue'', Glottolog does not run its own surveys,<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/> but it uses ''Ethnologue'' as one of its primary sources.<ref name="ScienceOrg2020"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=References Information |url=https://glottolog.org/langdoc/langdocinformation#provider-sil16 |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Glottolog 4.6}}</ref> As of 2019, Hammarström uses ''Ethnologue'' in his articles, noting that it "has (unsourced, but) detailed information associated with each speech variety, such as speaker numbers and map location".<ref>{{Citation |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |title=An inventory of Bantu languages |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315755946-2/inventory-bantu-languages-harald-hammarstr%C3%B6m |work=The Bantu Languages |year=2019 |doi=10.4324/9781315755946-2 |access-date=2022-11-22|pages=66–67|isbn=9781315755946|s2cid=129471421 |editor-first1=Mark|editor-last1=van de Velde|editor-first2=Koen |editor-last2=Bostoen|editor-first3=Derek|editor-last3= Nurse|editor-first4= Gérard|editor-last4= Philippson}}</ref> In response to feedback about the lack of references, ''Ethnologue'' added in 2013 a link on each language to language resources from the [[Open Language Archives Community]] (OLAC)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-06-30 |title=Language Resources |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/paul-lewis/language-resources |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref> ''Ethnologue'' acknowledges that it rarely quotes any source verbatim but cites sources wherever specific statements are directly attributed to them, and corrects missing attributions upon notification.<ref name="Ethnologue">{{Cite web |title=Plan of the Site |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/about/plan-site |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> The website provides a list of all of the references cited.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-09-25 |title=About the Ethnologue |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/node/19267 |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-09-26 |title=Bibliography of Ethnologue Data Sources |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/bibliography |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> In her 2021 review, Shobhana Chelliah noted that Glottolog aims to be better than ''Ethnologue'' in language classification and genetic and areal relationships by using linguists' original sources.<ref name="Chelliah2021"/>

==Editions==
Starting with the 17th edition, ''Ethnologue'' has been published every year,<ref name="welcome18">{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Lewis| url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/m-paul-lewis/welcome-18th-edition#.VT78MdKqpBc |title=Welcome to the 18th edition! |publisher=Ethnologue |date=February 21, 2015 |access-date=2015-04-28}}</ref> on [[February 21]], which is [[International Mother Language Day]].<ref name="welcome23"/>
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Edition!!Date!!Editor!!Notes
|-
|1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/60071.xhtml |title=[SIL01] 1951 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1951 || Richard S. Pittman || 10 mimeographed pages; 40 languages<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/science/19lang.html |url-access=subscription |title=How Linguists and Missionaries Share a Bible of 6,912 Languages|first=Michael|last=Erard|date=July 19, 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907024300/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/science/19lang.html |archive-date= Sep 7, 2014 }}</ref> 
|-
|2<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/54356.xhtml |title=[SIL02] 1951 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1951 || Pittman || 
|- 
|3<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/22769.xhtml |title=[SIL03] 1952 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1952 || Pittman || 
|- 
|4<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/21528.xhtml |title=[SIL04] 1953 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1953 || Pittman || first to include maps<ref name="ESRI">{{cite web|url=http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring06articles/pinpointing.html |title=Pinpointing the Languages of the World with GIS |publisher=[[Esri]] |date=Spring 2006 |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref>
|- 
|5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/17736.xhtml |title=[SIL05] 1958 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1958 || Pittman || first edition in book format
|- 
|6<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/161714.xhtml |title=[SIL06] 1965 |year=1965 |publisher=[[Glottolog]] |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1965 || Pittman || 
|- 
|7<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/59425.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1969 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1969 || Pittman || 4,493 languages
|- 
|8<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/76438.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1974 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1974 || Barbara Grimes ||<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyVgAAAAMAAJ |title=Ethnologue |editor1=Barbara F. Grimes |editor2=Richard Saunders Pittman |editor3=Joseph Evans Grimes |publisher=Wycliffe Bible Translators |date=1974 |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref>
|- 
|9<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/53624.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1978 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1978 || Grimes || 
|- 
|10<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/81352.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1984 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1984 || Grimes ||  SIL codes first included
|- 
|11<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/92772.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1988 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1988 || Grimes || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 11|6,253 languages]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UWdiAAAAMAAJ |title=Ethnologue volume 11 |publisher=SIL |date=April 28, 2008 |isbn=9780883128251 |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref>
|- 
|12<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/79725.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1992 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 1992 || Grimes || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 12|6,662 languages]]
|- 
|13<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/67429.xhtml |title=Glottolog 2.3 |year=1996 |publisher=Glottolog.org |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/13/|title=Ethnologue, 13th edition, 1996|work=www.ethnologue.com|access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> || 1996 || Grimes || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 13|6,883 languages]]
|- 
|14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/14/ |title=Ethnologue Fourteenth Edition, Web Version |publisher=ethnologue.com |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 2000 || Grimes || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 14 and 15|6,809 languages]]
|- 
|15<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/15/ |title=Ethnologue 15, Web Version |publisher=ethnologue.com |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 2005 || Raymond G. Gordon Jr.{{sfn|Everaert|Musgrave|Dimitriadis|2009|p=61}} || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 14 and 15|6,912 languages]]; draft ISO standard; first edition to provide color maps<ref name="ESRI"/>
|- 
|16<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/16/web |title=Ethnologue 16, Web Version |publisher=ethnologue.com |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> || 2009 || M. Paul Lewis || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 16 by ISO code|6,909 languages]]
|- 
|17 || 2013, updated 2014<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/mpl/check-out-new-ethnologue |title=Check out the new Ethnologue |publisher=Ethnologue |date=April 30, 2014 |access-date=2014-07-13 }}</ref> || M. Paul Lewis, Gary F. Simons and Charles D. Fennig ||[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 17 by ISO code|7,106 living languages]]
|- 
|18 || 2015 || Lewis, Simons & Fennig ||[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Languages/Primary language names in Ethnologue 18|7,102 living languages; 7,472 total]]
|-
|19 || 2016 || Lewis, Simons & Fennig || 7,097 living languages
|-
|20 || 2017 || Simons & Fennig || 7,099 living languages
|-
|21<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.ethnologue.com |title = Ethnologue 21, Web Version |website = ethnologue.com |access-date=2018-02-22 }}</ref> || 2018 || Simons & Fennig || 7,097 living languages
|-
|22<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.ethnologue.com |title = Ethnologue 22, Web Version |website = ethnologue.com |access-date=2019-02-22 }}</ref> || 2019 || Eberhard, David M., Simons & Fennig || 7,111 living languages
|-
|23<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/|title=Ethnologue 23, Web Version|website=ethnologue.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-23}}</ref>
|2020
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,117 living languages
|-
|24<ref name="welcome24"/>
|2021
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,139 living languages
|-
|25<ref name="welcome25">{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 25th edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/welcome-25th-edition/ |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|2022
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,151 living languages
|-
|26<ref name="welcome26">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 26th edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/welcome-26th-edition/ |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|2023
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,168 living languages
|-
|27<ref name="welcome27">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 27th edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/welcome-27th-edition/ |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|2024
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,164 living languages
|-
|28<ref name="welcome28">{{Cite web |date=2025-02-21 |title=Welcome to the 28th edition |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/ethnoblog/welcome-28th-edition/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|2025
|Eberhard, Simons & Fennig
|7,159 living languages
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SbwaRARlVvgC&pg=PA365 |title = The Use of Databases in Cross-Linguistic Studies |editor1-first=Martin |editor1-last=Everaert |editor2-first=Simon |editor2-last=Musgrave |editor3-first=Alexis |editor3-last=Dimitriadis |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]] |date=March 26, 2009 |access-date=2014-07-13 |isbn = 9783110198744 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Portal|Language|Linguistics}}
* {{oweb}}

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