European Languages: Exploring Languages Spoken In Europe

The European continent includes a multitude of cultures, customs, norms, nationalities and, of course, languages! For such a relatively small continent, Europe’s diverse geography and plentiful national borders helped create an interesting linguistic landscape.If you’d like to know how many languages are spoken in Europe, which ones are the most widely spoken, and even a few helpful phrases for travel purposes, Pimsleur has you covered…keep reading!

How Many Languages are Spoken in Europe?

With so many countries, European linguistic variety is sometimes (literally) hard to comprehend. Plus, with recent immigration into the continent, more languages are spoken in Europe than ever before.

Even though nearly 300 languages are spoken in Europe today, the European Union officially recognizes a total of 24 languages. But there are more than 24 languages. Here’s a comprehensive list of European languages:

• Albanian
• Bosnian
• Bulgarian
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Irish (Gaelic)
• Italian
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Macedonian
• Maltese
• Moldovan
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Turkish
• Ukrainian

Family Languages of Europe

European languages are grouped into different families. These language families differ in their roots. Most are based in Latin, but others developed outside the influence of the once-mighty Roman Empire, which wielded influence over the continent two thousand years ago.

The major languages of Europe, by family, are:

• Indo-European languages. Think of this as the super category of the languages spoken in Europe. The Indo-European branch of languages includes all the major sub-categories of spoken languages on the continent, including Hellenic (Greek), Celtic (Irish), Slavic, Romance, Baltic, and Germanic languages.
• Romance languages. Often referred to as the “languages of love,” Romance languages are noted for their heavy vowel usage and unique lyrical composition. French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian comprise the bulk of Romance languages.
• Germanic languages. What began as a regional tongue in the backwater of the Roman Empire has developed into a global powerhouse with hundreds of millions of speakers. English is the most widely spoken German language. Others include German, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch.
• Slavic languages. Prominent in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, this is the third-most prevalent sub-branch of Indo-European languages, after Germanic and Romance. This branch includes Slovak, Serbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and more.
• Other language families. Other major (but less widely spoken) European language families include Baltic, Celtic, Uralic, Basque, Albanian, and Armenian (both Eastern and Western). 

Now that you’ve learned more about European languages with a virtual trip around the continent, here are some helpful phrases to learn, just in case you’re planning some travel!

Exploring Europe Through Language Learning

Pimsleur has most of the major languages of Europe available to learn. Our unique teaching techniques, based on the Pimsleur Method, are ideal for anyone looking to connect with a relative, experience more enriching travel, or learn more about Europe’s fascinating culture.

Whether you have a list of European languages to learn or would like to acquire just one European language to start, we have the perfect learning programs to get you started.Choose our All Access subscription for our entire catalog or sign up with a Premium subscription for a single language. Either way, you can start speaking European languages after your first lesson. Get started today!