When this series started, the Bradford family consisted of Tom, the father, a respected columnist for the Sacramento Register, Joan, his wife for about 25 years, and the eight children of the couple, all of them were very normal but quite independent. Unexpectedly, actress Diana Hyland died of cancer and was written off the series after 5 episodes.
Let's first take a closer look at the linguistic diversity that existed five hundred years ago. In 1500 there were probably about 7 thousand languages spoken across the earth, most still groupable into the 25 or so major families represented today.
Meanwhile, just 23 languages account for more than half the worldâs population. Zoom in above to see just how many pins are packed onto each region. Myriad factors â terrain, cultural history, the spread of ancient civilizations â play into how many languages exist in a certain area. As shown in the pie chart, the majority of languages are concentrated in Africa and Asia, with the fewest belonging to Europe. On this map, each language is shown just once, with a pin in its primary country.