English: Recorded in the United States. Greek is spoken by some thirteen million people, principally in the Mediterranean nation of Greece, and by significant communities in Eastern Europe and North America. An Indo-European language, it shares genealogical roots with many mother tongues across Europe and southern Asia; however, it is most closely related to modern varieties of Ionic and Doric Greek, such as Tsakonian. A literary language since at least the 12th century BCE, Greek has been the medium of many foundational texts of Western philosophy and literature, as well as Abrahamic religion, especially Christianity.