{
  "dataset_name": "WALS Language Catalog",
  "last_updated": "2026-01-15",
  "source": "WALS - World Atlas of Language Structures (wals.info)",
  "record_count": 3573,
  "fields": {
    "ID": "WALS language identifier code (e.g., 'aab', 'aar')",
    "Name": "Language name with dialect specification if applicable (e.g., 'Arapesh (Abu)')",
    "Macroarea": "Geographic macroarea (Africa, Eurasia, Papunesia, Australia, North America, South America)",
    "Latitude": "Geographic latitude of the language area",
    "Longitude": "Geographic longitude of the language area",
    "Glottocode": "Glottolog identifier code for cross-referencing",
    "ISO639P3code": "ISO 639-3 language code",
    "Family": "Top-level language family name (e.g., 'Afro-Asiatic', 'Torricelli')",
    "Subfamily": "Subfamily within the language family if applicable",
    "Genus": "Lower-level genetic grouping (genus) within the family",
    "GenusIcon": "Icon identifier used for map display of the genus",
    "ISO_codes": "ISO language code(s) associated with this entry",
    "Samples_100": "Whether the language is included in the 100-language sample (true/false)",
    "Samples_200": "Whether the language is included in the 200-language sample (true/false)",
    "Country_ID": "ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code",
    "Source": "Primary bibliographic source reference",
    "Parent_ID": "Parent genus identifier for classification hierarchy"
  },
  "notes": "Each row represents a language documented in WALS with its geographic and genetic classification. Links to wals_values.csv via ID (as Language_ID) and to wals_parameters.csv for feature definitions. The Samples_100 and Samples_200 fields indicate inclusion in the genealogically balanced language samples used for statistical analysis."
}