instance_of western malayo-polynesian languages
Hinduism is a ___MASK39___ , or a way of life , found most notably in India and Nepal . Hinduism has been called the oldest ___MASK39___ in the world , and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as "", " the eternal law ," or the " eternal way ," beyond human origins . Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions , with diverse roots and no founder . This " Hindu synthesis " started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period ( 1500 BCE to 500 BCE ). The Austronesian languages are a ___MASK24___ that is widely dispersed throughout Maritime Southeast Asia , Madagascar and the islands of the Pacific Ocean , with a few members in continental Asia . Austronesian languages are spoken by about 386 million people , making it the fifth - largest ___MASK24___ by number of speakers , behind only the Indo - European languages , the Sino - Tibetan languages , the Niger - Congo languages , and the Afroasiatic languages . It is on par with Indo - European , Niger  Congo , and Afroasiatic as one of the best - established language families . Major Austronesian languages with the highest number of speakers are Malay ( Indonesian and Malaysian ), Javanese , and Filipino ( Tagalog ). If we make a ranking base on the number of languages in Austronesian languages , then this ___MASK24___ will be the second largest ___MASK24___ in the world , which contains 1 , 257 languages in total . The Pacific ___MASK91___ is the largest of the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic ___MASK91___ in the north to the Southern ___MASK91___ ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east . The Western Malayo - Polynesian languages , also known as the Hesperonesian languages , are those Malayo - Polynesian languages which are not in the Central -- Eastern ___MASK18___ . Since there are no features which define these languages positively as a group , recent classifications have abandoned it . The Malayo - Polynesian languages are a ___MASK54___ of the Austronesian languages , with approximately 385 . 5 million speakers . The Malayo - Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian ___MASK53___ of the ___MASK29___ nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean , with a smaller number in continental Asia . ___MASK78___ , Laos , and Vietnam serve as the northwest geographic outlier , going well into the Malay peninsula . On the northern most ___MASK47___ outlier does not pass beyond the north of Pattani , which is located in southern Thailand . Malagasy is spoken in the ___MASK29___ of Madagascar located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean . Part of the ___MASK24___ shows a strong influence of Sanskrit and particularly Arabic as the Western part of the region has been a stronghold of Buddhism , Hinduism , and , since the 10th century , Islam . ___MASK34___ (' ;) is a ___MASK39___ articulated by the Quran , a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of ___MASK77___ ('), and , for the vast majority of adherents , the teachings and normative example ( called the " sunnah ", composed of accounts called " hadith ") of Muhammad ( 570  8 June 632 CE ). It is the world ' s second - largest ___MASK39___ and the fastest - growing major ___MASK39___ in the world , with over ___MASK62___ . 7 billion followers or 23 % of the global population , known as Muslims . ___MASK34___ is an Abrahamic ___MASK11___ that upholds that ___MASK77___ is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship ___MASK77___ . Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last prophet of ___MASK77___ . ___MASK56___ ( or ) is a ___MASK39___ and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions , beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha . ___MASK56___ originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE , from where it spread through much of Asia , whereafter it declined in India during the middle ages . Two major extant branches of ___MASK56___ are generally recognized by scholars : Theravada ( Pali : " The ___MASK36___ of the Elders ") and Mahayana ( Sanskrit : " The Great ___MASK23___ "). ___MASK56___ is the world ' s fourth - largest ___MASK39___ , with over 500 million followers or 7 % of the global population , known as Buddhists . The Polynesian languages are a ___MASK24___ spoken in geographical Polynesia and on a patchwork of " Outliers " from south central Micronesia , to small islands off the northeast of the larger islands of the Southeast Solomon Islands and sprinkled through Vanuatu . They are classified as part of the Austronesian family , belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family . Polynesians share many unique cultural traits that resulted from about 1000 years of common development , including common linguistic development , in the Tonga and Smoa area through most of the first millennium BC . The Indian ___MASK91___ is the third largest of the world ' s oceanic divisions , covering ( approximately 20 % of the ___MASK57___ on the Earth ' s surface ). It is bounded by Asia on the north , on the west by Africa , on the east by Australia , and on the south by the Southern ___MASK91___ or , depending on definition , by Antarctica . It is named after the country of India . The Indian ___MASK91___ is known as " Ratnkara ", "" the mine of gems "" in ancient Sanskrit literature , and as " Hind Mahsgar ", "" the great Indian ___MASK61___ "", in Hindi . Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a ___MASK55___ of Asia , consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China , east of India , west of New Guinea and north of Australia . The region lies near the intersection of geological plates , with heavy seismic and volcanic activity . Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions : Madagascar , officially the ___MASK79___ of Madagascar , and previously known as the Malagasy ___MASK79___ , is an island country in the Indian Ocean , off the coast of Southeast Africa . The nation comprises the island of Madagascar ( the fourth - largest island in the world ), and numerous smaller peripheral islands . Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana , Madagascar split from the Indian peninsula around 88 million years ago , allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation . Consequently , Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot ; over 90 % of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth . The island ' s diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats . Arabic (' or ' ) is a Central Semitic ___MASK75___ that was first spoken in Iron ___MASK72___ northwestern Arabia and is now the " lingua franca " of the Arab world . Arabic also is a liturgical ___MASK75___ of 1 . 7 billion Muslims . It is one of six official languages of the United Nations . It is named after the Arabs , a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti - Lebanon mountains in the west , and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south . Asia is Earth ' s largest and most populous ___MASK80___ , located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres and sharing the continental landmass of Eurasia with the ___MASK80___ of Europe . Asia covers an area of , about 30 % of Earth ' s total land area and 8 . 7 % of the Earth ' s total surface area . The ___MASK80___ , which has long been home to the majority of the human population , was the site of many of the first civilizations . Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population , but also dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the ___MASK80___ of 4 . 4 billion people . Sanskrit ( English pronunciation :; written in ___MASK84___ ___MASK83___ ; : or ', originally ', " refined speech ") is the primary sacred language of Hinduism and " Mahyna " Buddhism , a philosophical language in Hinduism , Jainism , Buddhism and Sikhism . It was also a literary language that was in use as a " lingua franca " in ancient and medieval South Asia . It is a standardised dialect of Old Indo - Aryan , originating as Vedic Sanskrit and tracing its linguistic ancestry back to Proto - Indo - Iranian and Proto - Indo - European . Today it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand . As one of the oldest Indo - European languages for which substantial written documentation exists , Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo - European studies .