What is a language and how does a language family differ from a language branch and language group?

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Answer: Language: A language is a system of communication through speech. It is a collection of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning. Not all languages have a written tradition, but many languages have a literary tradition, or a system of written communication. Approximately 85 languages are spoken by at least 10 million people, and 304 languages by between 1 million and 10 million people. There are over 6,000 languages in the world today, which can be classified into families, branches, and groups. It is estimated that only around 100 of these languages are used by more than 5 million people.

A language Family: A language family is a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history.

A language branch: A language branch is a collection of languages within a family related through
a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago. Differences between language branches are not as extensive or as old as between language families, and archaeological evidence can confirm that the branches derived from the same family.

A language group: A Language group is a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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List the four basic types of air masses. Give an example of where each type could originate, and describe how each air mass could affect local weather conditions if it moved into your region.

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Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences