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How many Indigenous language families are found in North America?

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Map of North America showing international boundaries, country names, and capital cities. The map includes Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Central American countries, and Caribbean nations, with a locator inset at the bottom left for global context. Major bodies of water such as the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Caribbean Sea are labeled.
North America

The Indigenous languages of North America—specifically those spoken north of the Mexican border—are grouped into 57 language families.1

This classification includes:
* 14 larger language families1
* 18 smaller language families1
* 25 language isolates, which are languages with no known relatives and thus function as families consisting of a single member1

These families are considered independent of one another, and there is currently no evidence to demonstrate a common origin or relationship between them. The linguistic landscape is notably diverse, with 37 of these families located west of the Rocky Mountains, including 20 that exist exclusively within California.1