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List of countries by number of languages

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This is a list of countries by number of languages according to the 22nd edition of Ethnologue (2019).[1]

Papua New Guinea has the largest number of languages in the world.[2][3]

Number of living languages and speakers

[edit]
Country or territory Number of living languages Number of speakers
Established Immigrant Total Percent

[note 1]

Total Mean Median
 Papua New Guinea 840 0 840 11.81 4,213,381 5,040 1,315
 Indonesia 707 2 709 9.98 222,191,197 315,165 3,500
 Nigeria 525 7 524 7.37 163,317,444 348,225 14,000
 India 453 6 459 ? 1,257,421,714 2,924,237 35,000
 China (mainland only) 302 3 305 4.29 1,319,419,348 4,472,608 27,700
 Mexico 287 5 292 4.11 125,535,200 435,886 4,730
 Cameroon 274 1 275 3.87 10,228,065 38,451 10,000
 Australia 226 93 319 4.49 22,693,732 72,504 10
 United States 219 116 335 4.71 326,756,719 999,256 12
 Brazil 217 11 228 3.21 204,653,402 934,490 210
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 212 2 214 3.01 42,128,230 209,593 29,450
 Philippines 183 8 191 2.69 70,776,614 386,757 19,200
 Malaysia 133 11 144 2.03 22,242,065 205,945 3,400
 Chad 130 1 131 1.84 8,865,556 74,500 14,000
 Tanzania 125 1 126 1.77 51,108,150 422,381 102,500
   Nepal 124 7 129 1.81 26,612,919 212,903 8,385
 Myanmar 120 6 126 1.77 49,284,095 397,452 15,000
 Russia 115 44 159 2.24 138,698,335 900,639 3,900
 Vanuatu 110 6 116 1.63 196,298 1,722 665
 Vietnam 109 3 112 1.58 86,884,520 835,428 14,900
 Canada 96 99 195 2.74 33,362,312 174,672 260
 Peru 93 1 94 1.32 30,994,201 336,893 4,635
 Ethiopia 90 1 91 1.28 66,766,720 750,188 48,000
 Côte d’Ivoire 86 15 101 1.42 18,439,310 209,538 34,150
 Colombia 85 4 89 1.25 47,673,568 560,866 885
 Laos 85 7 92 1.29 6,543,480 76,982 9,710
 Ghana 81 6 87 1.22 27,661,206 359,236 36,000
 Iran 79 5 84 1.18 82,927,520 1,256,478 62,000
 Sudan 75 1 76 1.07 35,091,200 516,047 13,000
 Pakistan 74 11 85 1.20 201,998,220 2,524,978 53,250
 Thailand 73 15 88 1.24 53,357,924 675,417 8,000
 Central African Republic 72 11 83 1.17 3,638,143 47,249 17,350
 Solomon Islands 72 0 72 1.01 379,966 5,352 2,770
 Burkina Faso 71 0 71 1.00 12,472,930 183,425 20,500
 South Sudan 69 0 69 0.97 4,504,650 80,440 27,500
 Mali 68 3 71 1.00 13,027,840 194,445 25,000
 Kenya 67 5 72 1.01 37,037,960 544,676 180,000
 Congo 62 2 64 0.90 3,690,660 60,503 14,400
 Benin 55 1 56 0.79 9,605,590 177,881 64,000
 Angola 46 1 47 0.66 24,288,770 528,017 30,000
 Zambia 46 9 55 0.77 11,364,870 236,768 32,850
 Togo 44 2 46 0.65 4,889,380 113,707 34,300
 Bolivia 43 2 45 0.63 7,349,368 170,916 350
 Gabon 43 1 44 0.62 1,077,960 25,069 4,000
 Mozambique 43 4 47 0.66 23,792,100 517,220 197,500
 Uganda 43 2 45 0.63 33,862,350 769,599 303,000
 Venezuela 42 6 48 0.68 31,087,151 777,179 770
 Afghanistan 41 1 42 0.59 23,352,300 569,568 16,500
 Bangladesh 41 4 45 0.63 165,220,330 3,842,333 15,500
 Turkey 39 15 54 0.76 90,297,204 2,149,933 66,000
 New Caledonia 38 2 40 0.56 143,010 3,972 950
 Senegal 38 8 46 0.65 13,977,980 310,622 20,000
 Guinea 37 3 40 0.56 11,600,930 341,204 25,000
 Israel 36 17 53 0.75 9,475,461 205,988 42,500
 Italy 35 12 47 0.66 82,319,110 1,870,889 100,000
 Botswana 31 7 38 0.53 2,213,660 63,247 5,950
 Liberia 31 3 34 0.48 4,290,730 134,085 85,600
 South Africa 30 12 42 0.59 51,004,892 1,416,803 133,500
 Cambodia 27 2 29 0.41 16,326,490 583,089 5,210
 Guatemala 27 0 27 0.38 14,708,590 544,763 28,000
 Namibia 27 6 33 0.46 2,668,940 83,404 13,800
 Romania 26 3 29 0.41 20,492,430 975,830 17,850
 Germany 25 70 95 1.34 88,571,690 1,107,146 80,000
 Argentina 24 16 40 0.56 46,160,150 1,318,861 5,120
 Ecuador 24 0 24 0.34 16,665,750 694,406 11,000
 Sierra Leone 24 2 26 0.37 6,977,150 290,715 138,000
 Singapore 24 7 31 0.44 6,105,380 226,125 15,200
 Bhutan 23 8 31 0.44 639,500 25,580 8,000
 Taiwan 23 12 35 0.49 23,985,650 726,838 4,000
 Guinea-Bissau 23 7 30 0.42 1,779,010 68,423 8,520
 Iraq 23 4 27 0.38 33,977,620 1,477,288 136,000
 Niger 23 0 23 0.32 15,810,500 718,659 28,450
 Paraguay 23 4 27 0.38 6,633,188 255,123 2,530
 France 22 73 95 1.42 69,961,900 1,793,895 126,000
 Poland 22 5 27 0.38 37,460,007 1,498,400 12,800
 Zimbabwe 22 2 24 0.34 11,926,440 596,322 145,000
 Suriname 21 6 27 0.38 562,014 22,481 1,250
 Ukraine 21 27 48 0.68 40,599,806 882,604 50,400
 East Timor 20 1 21 0.30 1,040,816 49,563 16,700
 Georgia 20 7 27 0.38 4,506,220 173,316 14,000
 Greece 20 14 34 0.48 11,693,492 377,209 9,700
 Algeria 18 4 22 0.31 38,548,160 1,927,408 40,000
 Azerbaijan 18 20 38 0.53 9,280,890 257,802 11,700
 Hungary 18 3 21 0.30 9,927,510 583,971 3,710
 Micronesia 18 1 19 0.27 111,010 6,167 1,410
 Malawi 17 7 24 0.34 13,016,000 813,500 200,000
 Oman 17 14 31 0.44 4,236,000 151,286 42,400
 Serbia 17 7 24 0.34 8,830,600 420,505 34,000
 Spain 17 17 34 0.48 52,439,510 1,691,597 72,500
 Syria 17 7 24 0.34 18,708,430 850,383 64,900
 Croatia 16 11 27 0.38 4,333,590 180,566 10,200
 Egypt 16 7 23 0.32 94,599,800 5,255,544 752,000
 Guyana 16 2 18 0.25 1,319,041 109,920 1,500
 Austria 15 21 36 0.51 9,490,430 316,348 32,750
 Brunei 15 2 17 0.24 459,685 28,730 8,150
 Eritrea 15 2 17 0.24 5,788,600 526,236 194,000
 Japan 15 4 19 0.27 129,414,863 8,627,658 5,050
 Netherlands 15 35 50 0.70 21,947,700 487,727 220,000
 Sweden 15 22 37 0.52 10,325,090 295,003 4,000
 Equatorial Guinea 14 2 16 0.23 699,150 58,262 7,000
 Madagascar 14 6 20 0.28 18,368,000 1,020,444 1,130,000
 Morocco 14 1 15 0.21 39,290,920 3,571,902 80,000
 Panama 14 4 18 0.25 4,255,840 327,372 22,500
 Bulgaria 13 12 25 0.35 7,833,570 356,071 5,310
 Finland 13 25 38 0.53 5,818,940 153,130 5,170
 French Guiana 13 3 16 0.23 178,780 14,898 2,400
 Kazakhstan 13 35 48 0.68 15,308,820 356,019 95,000
 Somalia 13 1 14 0.20 9,938,659 828,222 20,000
  Switzerland 13 20 33 0.46 8,980,230 320,722 40,000
 Tajikistan 13 20 33 0.46 7,580,210 303,208 27,500
 United Kingdom 14 72 85 1.20 61,546,750 799,308 16,700
 Belgium 12 24 36 0.51 13,686,200 506,896 200,000
 Mongolia 12 2 14 0.20 3,113,100 345,900 42,500
 Slovakia 12 3 15 0.21 5,524,990 460,416 25,100
 Chile 11 6 17 0.24 17,412,013 1,741,201 10,000
 Costa Rica 11 1 12 0.17 4,853,290 485,329 2,840
 Czechia 11 15 26 0.37 10,802,090 415,465 10,000
 Gambia 11 13 24 0.34 1,314,820 69,201 43,650
 Jordan 11 3 14 0.20 7,572,800 841,422 94,500
 Lithuania 11 4 15 0.21 3,573,225 274,863 7,555
 Nicaragua 11 0 11 0.15 6,404,490 582,226 740
 Norway 11 36 47 0.66 5,746,480 127,700 1,000
 Slovenia 11 4 15 0.21 2,103,960 191,269 8,700
 Uzbekistan 11 26 37 0.52 30,929,000 937,242 250,000
 Yemen 11 6 17 0.24 26,810,300 1,915,021 62,900
 Fiji 10 11 21 0.30 840,900 64,685 6,950
 Honduras 10 2 12 0.17 8,982,840 816,622 990
 Macedonia 10 5 15 0.21 2,154,380 179,532 25,000
 Moldova 10 4 14 0.20 2,718,530 339,816 107,000
 Portugal 10 13 23 0.32 10,259,240 446,054 15,000
 United Arab Emirates 10 17 27 0.38 9,266,400 370,656 370,000
 French Polynesia 9 1 10 0.14 257,960 25,796 3,000
 Libya 9 20 29 0.41 6,322,800 234,178 21,000
 Albania 8 4 12 0.17 2,847,936 284,794 9,820
 Armenia 8 6 14 0.20 3,036,180 276,016 8,850
 Belize 8 4 12 0.17 532,160 44,347 14,100
 Latvia 8 8 16 0.23 2,305,130 164,652 8,000
 Hong Kong 7 4 11 0.15 6,929,750 692,975 118,500
 Estonia 7 13 20 0.28 1,541,760 85,653 44,250
 Lebanon 7 9 16 0.23 6,603,910 471,708 294,000
 Mauritania 7 1 8 0.11 3,858,400 551,200 111,150
 Mauritius 7 7 14 0.20 1,234,660 94,974 28,550
 Palestine 7 3 10 0.14 4,258,410 473,157 705
 Saudi Arabia 7 18 25 0.35 18,763,220 852,874 500,000
 Sri Lanka 7 5 12 0.17 19,550,320 1,955,032 46,000
 Trinidad and Tobago 7 2 9 0.13 2,628,000 328,500 15,600
 Tunisia 7 8 15 0.21 11,582,100 827,293 34,650
 Bahrain 6 8 14 0.20 1,263,500 97,192 144,000
 Comoros 6 0 6 0.08 764,500 152,900 40,000
 Kyrgyzstan 6 27 33 0.46 5,825,990 215,777 290,650
 Montenegro 6 7 13 0.18 575,330 63,926 34,700
 Turkmenistan 6 25 31 0.44 5,300,460 176,682 256,900
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 7 12 0.17 3,757,804 341,619 554,000
 Caribbean Netherlands 5 1 6 0.08 18,540 3,708 3,390
 Macao 5 2 7 0.10 582,430 83,204 3,680
 Cook Islands 5 0 5 0.07 15,000 3,000 680
 Curacao 5 1 6 0.08 137,670 27,534 8,760
 Cyprus 5 11 16 0.23 1,541,700 110,121 34,800
 Denmark 5 34 39 0.55 5,924,220 151,903 23,100
 Djibouti 5 5 10 0.14 830,400 103,800 125,300
 El Salvador 5 0 5 0.07 6,378,000 2,126,000 7,500
 Eswatini 5 2 7 0.10 1,261,640 180,234 20,000
 Ireland 5 8 13 0.18 4,682,020 425,638 27,000
 Lesotho 5 0 5 0.07 2,164,000 541,000 190,000
 Monaco 5 0 5 0.07 33,850 6,770 7,110
 São Tomé and Príncipe 5 3 8 0.11 204,200 25,525 14,700
 Uruguay 5 9 14 0.20 3,589,050 398,783 25,500
 Andorra 4 1 5 0.07 73,500 18,375 19,650
 Aruba 4 2 6 0.08 86,790 21,698 7,000
 Belarus 4 7 11 0.15 8,946,400 813,309 1,121,000
 Dominican Republic 4 5 9 0.13 10,193,500 1,698,917 159,000
 Grenada 4 0 4 0.06 107,353 35,784 5,350
 Haiti 4 0 4 0.06 6,960,600 2,320,200 600
 Jamaica 4 4 8 0.11 2,692,540 448,757 7,500
 Liechtenstein 4 1 5 0.07 35,910 11,970 17,750
 Luxembourg 4 12 16 0.23 499,250 31,203 66,100
 Malta 4 4 8 0.11 468,650 58,581 9,515
 New Zealand 4 61 65 0.91 4,706,160 73,534 148,000
 Northern Mariana Islands 4 3 7 0.10 42,180 6,026 4,620
 Palau 4 2 6 0.08 20,870 3,478 2,185
 Puerto Rico 4 8 12 0.17 3,530,200 353,020 159,000
 Sint Maarten 4 5 9 0.13 39,880 4,431 6,000
 South Korea 4 1 5 0.07 48,586,000 16,195,333 24,202,500
 Aland Islands 3 0 3 0.04 27,652 9,217 1,450
 Bahamas 3 2 5 0.07 667,280 166,820 330,000
 Barbados 3 0 3 0.04 518,290 172,763 256,000
 Burundi 3 1 4 0.06 10,036,100 2,509,025 9,600
 Cuba 3 2 5 0.07 11,403,500 3,801,167 5,700,000
 Dominica 3 2 5 0.07 45,800 15,267 3,000
 Greenland 3 0 3 0.04 56,200 28,100 28,100
 Guadeloupe 3 1 4 0.06 449,300 149,767 218,650
 Guernsey 3 1 4 0.06 62,720 31,360 31,360
 Jersey 3 1 4 0.06 99,230 33,077 47,350
 Kuwait 3 4 7 0.10 3,187,200 637,440 1,163,600
 Martinique 3 1 4 0.06 427,330 142,443 213,500
 Mayotte 3 2 5 0.07 211,700 52,925 47,900
 Nauru 3 6 9 0.13 13,500 2,250 5,100
 Qatar 3 15 18 0.25 2,537,980 149,293 486,000
 Rwanda 3 2 5 0.07 11,124,180 2,224,836 5,440
 Réunion 3 5 8 0.11 656,200 93,743 313,000
 Saint Barthélemy 3 0 3 0.04 7,850 2,617 1,000
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 0 3 0.04 52,040 17,347 1,000
 Saint Lucia 3 1 4 0.06 159,600 79,800 79,800
 Saint Martin 3 2 5 0.07 28,500 5,700 5,000
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 0 3 0.04 138,500 46,167 400
 Seychelles 3 0 3 0.04 85,420 28,473 4,590
 Tonga 3 1 4 0.06 105,800 26,450 1,270
 Tuvalu 3 0 3 0.04 10,100 5,050 5,050
 U.S. Virgin Islands 3 3 6 0.08 85,850 21,462 9,540
 Wallis and Futuna 3 0 3 0.04 12,960 4,320 3,900
 Western Sahara 3 1 4 0.06 584,000 292,000 292,000
 American Samoa 2 5 7 0.10 56,090 9,348 25,890
 Anguilla 2 0 2 0.03 12,450 6,225 6,225
 Antigua and Barbuda 2 2 4 0.06 153,800 51,267 76,700
 Bermuda 2 1 3 0.04 64,610 32,305 62,000
 British Virgin Islands 2 0 2 0.03 39,700 19,850 19,850
 Cape Verde 2 1 3 0.04 489,800 244,900 244,900
 Christmas Island 2 0 2 0.03 1,000 500 500
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands 2 0 2 0.03 600 300 300
 Faroe Islands 2 0 2 0.03 48,000 48,000 48,000
 Gibraltar 2 1 3 0.04 46,700 15,567 21,950
 Guam 2 7 9 0.13 181,400 22,675 46,750
 Iceland 2 0 2 0.03 300,300 150,150 150,150
 Isle of Man 2 0 2 0.03 88,000 44,000 44,000
 Kiribati 2 1 3 0.04 106,000 35,333 52,750
 Maldives 2 0 2 0.03 331,000 331,000 331,000
 Marshall Islands 2 0 2 0.03 65,700 32,850 32,850
 Montserrat 2 0 2 0.03 3,920 1,960 1,960
 Niue 2 1 3 0.04 1,550 775 775
 Norfolk Island 2 0 2 0.03 2,110 1,055 1,055
 Pitcairn 2 0 2 0.03 36 18 18
 Samoa 2 1 3 0.04 187,000 62,333 93,400
 San Marino 2 0 2 0.03 25,000 12,500 12,500
 Tokelau 2 3 5 0.07 2,421 484 870
 Turks and Caicos Islands 2 2 4 0.06 29,840 9,947 14,365
 Vatican 2 0 2 0.03 330 165 165
 British Indian Ocean Territory 1 0 1 0.01 4,000 4,000 4,000
 Cayman Islands 1 3 4 0.06 74,840 18,710 50,000
 Falkland Islands 1 1 2 0.03 2,860 1,430 2,610
 North Korea 1 0 1 0.01 23,300,000 23,300,000 23,300,000
 Saint Helena 1 0 1 0.01 5,900 5,900 5,900
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1 0 1 0.01 6,000 6,000 6,000

Number of official languages

[edit]

This is the list of countries sorted by the number of official languages. Only countries with three or more official languages, either nationally or locally, are included.

Country Number Source
 Bolivia 37 [4]
 Zimbabwe 16 [5]
 Mali 13 [6]
 South Africa 12 [7]
 Rwanda 4 [8]
  Switzerland 4 [9]
 Singapore 4 [10]
 Belgium 3 [11]
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 [12]
 Burundi 3 [13]
 Comoros 3 [14]
 Ecuador 3 [15]
 Equatorial Guinea 3 [16]
 Fiji 3 [17]
 Luxembourg 3 [18]
 New Zealand 3 [19]
 Papua New Guinea 3 [20]
 Seychelles 3 [21]
 Vanuatu 3 [22]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ This refers to the percentage of total number of languages in the world, including both established and immigrant languages.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Summary by country". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. ^ Palmer, Bill (2018). "Language families of the New Guinea Area". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. ^ Hopwood, Sean Patrick (2018-05-07). "Linguistic Diversity: The Languages in Papua New Guinea". Day Translations Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  4. ^ Bowman, Kirk; Arocena, Felipe (2014). Lessons from Latin America: Innovations in Politics, Culture, and Development. Toronto, New York, Plymouth: University of Toronto Press. p. 79. ISBN 9781442605510.
  5. ^ Chisita, Collence Takaingenhamo; Rusero, Alexander R.; Shoko, Munyaradzi (2016). "Leveraging Memory Institutions to Preserve Indigenous Knowledge in the Knowledge Age: Case of Zimbabwe". In Callison, Camille; Roy, Loriene; LeCheminant, Gretchen Alice (eds.). Indigenous Notions of Ownership and Libraries, Archives and Museums. Berlin, Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 273. ISBN 9783110395860.
  6. ^ Sheppard, Charles; Joubert, Jané; Saayman, Gina (1998). "Education and Language Profile". In Kok, Pieter (ed.). South Africa's Magnifying Glass: A Profile of Gauteng Province. Pretoria: HSRC Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780796918796.
  7. ^ "Languages- South African Embassy to the Kingdom of the Netherlands". zuidafrika. nl.
  8. ^ "Rwanda | Religion, Population, Language, & Capital | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  9. ^ Werlen, Iwar (2007). "Receptive Multilingualism in Switzerland and the Case of Biel/Bienne". In ten Thije, Jan D.; Zeevaert, Ludger (eds.). Receptive Multilingualism: Linguistic Analyses, Language Policies, and Didactic Concepts. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 9789027219268.
  10. ^ Costa, Peter I. De (2016). The Power of Identity and Ideology in Language Learning: Designer Immigrants Learning English in Singapore. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. p. 55. ISBN 9783319302119.
  11. ^ Duca, Patrick L. Del (2010). Choosing the Language of Transnational Deals: Practicalities, Policy, and Law Reform. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association. p. 157. ISBN 9781604429374.
  12. ^ Leung, Janny H. C. (2019). Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders. Oxford Studies in Language and Law. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780190210342.
  13. ^ Uwimana, Diane (17 September 2014). "English is now official language of Burundi". IWACU English News. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  14. ^ Macmillan, Palgrave (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2017: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. London: Springer. p. 352. ISBN 9781349683987.
  15. ^ Borsdorf, Axel; Stadel, Christoph (2015). The Andes: A Geographical Portrait. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. p. 142. ISBN 9783319035307.
  16. ^ Leung, Janny H. C. (2019). Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders. Oxford Studies in Language and Law. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 9780190210342.
  17. ^ Zipp, Lena (2014). Educated Fiji English: Lexico-grammar and variety status. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 9789027270771.
  18. ^ Gilles, Peter; Seela, Sebastian; Sieburg, Heinz; Wagner, Melanie (2011). "Languages and Identities". In IPSE-Identités Politiques Sociétés Espaces (ed.). Doing Identity in Luxembourg: Subjective Appropriations - Institutional Attributions - Socio-Cultural Milieus. Piscataway, NJ: Transcript Verlag. p. 91. ISBN 9783839416679.
  19. ^ Leung, Janny H. C. (2019). Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders. Oxford Studies in Language and Law. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9780190210342.
  20. ^ Wanek, Alexander (1996). The State and Its Enemies in Papua New Guinea. Padstow, UK: Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9781136779091.
  21. ^ Michaelis, Susanne; Rosalie, Marcel (2009). "Loanwords in Seychelles Creole". In Haspelmath, Marin; Tadmor, Uri (eds.). Loanwords in the World's Languages: A Comparative Handbook. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 216. ISBN 9783110218435.
  22. ^ Mohns, William J. (2011). "The Digital Archive and Catalogues of the Vanuatu Cultural Center: Overview, Collaboration and Future Directions". In Taylor, John; Thieberger, Nick (eds.). Working Together in Vanuatu: Research Histories, Collaborations, Projects and Reflections. Canberra: ANU E Press. p. 142. ISBN 9781921862359.