Geography
Spatial Patterns of Linguistic Diversity in Mountainous Regions
Quick fact
The Caucasus Mountains, covering an area roughly the size of France, are home to over 50 indigenous languages from five different language families—a density unmatched in most flat regions of comparable size.
Why this is interesting
You live near mountains? Listen closely: the same slopes that host rare plants and animals also shelter hundreds of distinct languages—some spoken by just a few hundred people. Why do mountains hold so many tongues?