As a result of these historical processes written and unwritten languages from various extractions form layer upon layer in a three-dimensional mosaic of tongues. Getting a grip on the linguistic composition of such a multifarious region is an arduous task. The present volume is the fruit of many years of patient and painstaking work. A total of nearly 1,500 languages are listed, almost one third of the languages of the world. They are spoken by close to two billion people, again almost one third of the world population.
Language diversity varies significantly across countries.
The region under consideration here includes both linguistically most diverse and very homogeneous countries. Because Indonesia is home to so many languages, its data are presented in seven territorial subdivisions. The combined population of North and South Korea, on the other hand, display very little language diversity. On this account the Korean peninsula might just as well have been treated as a single entry. Linguistic boundaries do not coincide with political ones.