This is an authoritative reference guide to all the languages of Europe, covering nearly three hundred languages and language families. It focuses on extant languages but includes all languages known to have been spoken in Europe in the past. Arranged alphabetically, the encyclopedia includes special entries on non-European languages now spoken by substantial communities in Europe, such as Panjabi and Chinese in Britain and Arabic in France. The aim of the book is to provide surveys of the origins, historical development and, in the case of living languages, contemporary position of each language. Written by an international team of scholars, the Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe is of interest to all those involved in the study of language, linguistics or cultural history.