Cultural diversity

A woman walks by a mural in New York.

Why are so many languages spoken in some places and so few in others?

Language

Linguists have a lot of largely untested theories. Borrowing a tool from ecology, researchers built a model that didn’t look for one worldwide explanation.

Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!

We respect your time, attention and privacy

This is a news website, not a click casino. We do NOT employ deceptive behaviors, display annoying ads or use third party cookies and trackers to monetize your visit or help advertisers track you across the internet.

Simply, we ask that you would consider a donation to support the journalism we produce every weekday. Thank you.