CHAPTER 5

LANGUAGE

INTERESTING STATISTICS

• Over 7,000 languages

• 100 spoken by at least 5 million

• 30% of U.S. graduates have 3 or more years of foreign language

• Dutch are required to learn at least 2 languages in high school

• 17% of U.S. high school students have no foreign language at all

• 62% of Dutch students have learned at least 3 foreign languages

LANGUAGE• Language - definition on p.146

• Official language – used by government and for laws (ex. Street signs, money)

• It is a HUGE part of culture (along with religion and ethnicity)– “To have another language is to possess a

second soul” – Charlemagne– Sense of pride for people/nations

• Distribution of languages is a result of past migrations

• Geographers look at the similarity of languages to understand the diffusion and interaction of people around the world

LANGUAGE cont.

• Some languages (English) become global

• Individual language vs. language family (know the difference and examples – p.147)

ISSUE #1

Where are English-Language Speakers Distributed?

English Speaking Countries

Fig. 5-1: English is an official language in 50 countries, including some in which it is not the most widely spoken language. It is also used and understood in many others.

ENGLISH - ORIGINS

• 2nd most widely spoken language to…..?

• English is globally distributed, unlike Mandarin

• English is a Germanic language (it then mixed with French brought by Normans to create our “modern” English)

MANDARIN

ENGLISH

Invasions of England

5th - 11th

centuries

Fig. 5-2: The groups that brought what became English to England included Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Vikings. The Normans later brought French vocabulary to English. KNOW THIS

ENGLISH – DIALECTS (general)• Dialect – def. page 149

• Dialects reflect distinctive features of the places people live

• A result of migration (English has a LOT…..why?)

• Dialect and Standard Language (ex. British Received Pronunciation)

What do you call this?

ENGLISH – DIALECTS (in England)• 5 major dialects (Northern, East

Midland, West Midland, Southwestern, Southeastern/Kentish)- basically Northern, Midland and Southern

• Standard Language (used by upper-class in London and what university cities?)

• Printing press led to diffusion of the Standard dialect

Old & Middle English Dialects

Fig. 5-3: The main dialect regions of Old English before the Norman invasion persisted to some extent in the Middle English dialects through the 1400s.

DIFFRENCES BETWEEN BRITISH &

AMERICAN ENGLISH

• Early colonists are most responsible for the dominant language patterns we see today in the U.S.

• The Atlantic led to isolation (in terms of language) between the two, leading to differences in languages

• 3 main differences are in vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation

• Role of Webster (agenda?)

Isolation

DIALECTS IN THE U.S.

• Originated due to different dialects among original settlers

• Early settlers were clustered in:– New England (2/3 from SE England)– Mid Atlantic (N England, Ireland, Scots, German,

Dutch, Swedish – most diverse of the 3 regions)– Southeast (1/2 from SE England)

DIALECTS IN THE U.S. cont.

• Major dialect differences primarily on the East Coast

• What is an isogloss?

• Isoglosses separate the eastern U.S. into 3 major dialect regions:1. Eastern2. Midlands3. Southern

Dialects in the Eastern U.S.

Fig. 5-4: Hans Kurath divided the eastern U.S. into three dialect regions, whose distribution is similar to that of house types (Fig. 4-9).

DIALECTS IN THE U.S. cont.• Regional pronunciation

differences are more common than differences in word use

• Westward movement of colonists diffused dialects to middle and western parts of the U.S.

• Standard pronunciation of the West comes from the Mid-Atlantic states

Key Issue #1 Case Study

1. True/False: Canada has two official languages2. True/False: Most French speaking Canadians

are clustered in Vancouver 3. Quebec was colonized by the French in the

_____ century and captured by the British in 17____

Key Issue #1 Case Study

1. True/False: Canada has two official languages True (French and English)

2. True/False: Most French speaking Canadians are clustered in Vancouver – False (Quebec)

3. Quebec was colonized by the French in the _____ century and captured by the British in 17____ (17th century; 1763)

ISSUE #2

Why is English Related to Other Languages?

INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY

• English is part of the Indo-European language family (the largest language family in the world)

• I-E is divided into 8 branches (see graphic organizer)

Indo-European Language Family

Fig. 5-5: The main branches of the Indo-European language family include Germanic, Romance, Balto-Slavic, and Indo-Iranian.

ORIGIN & DIFFUSION OF I-E

• Proto-Indo-European - would be the common ancestral language (cannot be proven, why not?)– Evidence is “internal”

• Theories about location and time period of P-I-E differ, two major are the Kurgan and Anatolian theories

ORIGIN & DIFFUSION OF I-E

KURGAN• Homeland near steppes near

border of Kazakhstan and Russia

• About 4300 B.C.

• Nomadic herders

• Migrated westward through Europe and Eastern Siberia – conquered much of this area

between 3500 B.C. – 2500 B.C.

ANATOLIAN• Homeland in eastern Anatolia

(think Turkey)

• 2,000 years before Kurgans, some say even earlier

• Migrated westward through Greece through Europe and South Asia

• Diffused through agricultural practices, not military conflict (as the Kurgans did)

Kurgan Theory of Indo-European Origin

Fig. 5-9: In the Kurgan theory, Proto-Indo-European diffused from the Kurgan hearth north of the Caspian Sea, beginning about 7000 years ago.

Anatolian Hearth Theory of Indo-European Origin

Fig. 5-10: In the Anatolian hearth theory, Indo-European originated in Turkey before the Kurgans and diffused through agricultural expansion.

ISSUE #3

Where are Other Language Families Distributed?

INTRO

• 48% of the world’s population speaks an Indo-European language

• 2nd largest family is Sino-Tibetan

• Superfamilies????

SUPER

Language Families of the World

Fig. 5-11: Distribution of the world’s main language families. Languages with more than 50 million speakers are named. Make sure you know the difference between family, branch and group and examples of each.

Major Language FamiliesPercentage of World Population

Fig. 5-11a: The percentage of world population speaking each of the main language families. Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan together represent almost 75% of the world’s people.

Language Family Trees

Fig. 5-12: Family trees and estimated numbers of speakers for the main world language families. Trunks = family languages; Smaller branches = language branches; Leaves = individual languages

• For detailed notes on Key Issue 3 refer to your graphic organizer.

ISSUE #4

Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?

PRESERVING LANGUAGE DIVERSITY

• Extinct and nearly extinct (endangered) languages

• Hebrew is a rare example of an extinct language that has been revived

Jerusalem Street sign

A street in Jerusalem was re-named New York after Sept. 11, 2001. The street name is shown in Hebrew, Arabic, and English

PRESERVING LANGUAGE & DIVERSITY cont.

• CELTIC– Major language before

Germanic “invasions”

– divided into 2 branches

– Efforts to preserved this endangered language

(examples of efforts?)

Ireland Road Signs

Road signs in Ireland are written in both English and Gaelic (Goidelic).

MULTILINGUAL STATES• Trouble can emerge on

the border of regions speaking different languages

• Belgium – southern speaks French while northern speaks Flemish– Compounded by

economic and political differences

Language Divisions in Belgium

Fig. 5-16: There has been much tension in Belgium between Flemings, who live in the north and speak Flemish, a Dutch dialect, and Walloons, who live in the south and speak French.

Bookstore in Brussels, Belgium

The name of the bookstore is printed in both French (top) and Flemish (bottom).

MUTILINGUAL cont.

• Switzerland – peacefully exists with multiple languages– Why? Decentralized

government and use of voter referenda

– 4 official languages (German, French, Italian, Romansh)

Language Areas in Switzerland

Fig. 5-17: Switzerland remains peaceful with four official languages and a decentralized government structure.

ISOLATED LANGUAGES• No relation to others,

not part of any language family

• Arise through lack of interaction with speakers of other languages

– Ex. Basque (Europe)– also look at Icelandic

GLOBAL DOMINANCE ENGLISH

• English has become the language of int’l communication– Lingua franca (created to facilitate

trade – history and meaning?)

• Lingua franca vs. pidgin

• Modern lingua franca languages: English, Swahili, Hindustani, Indonesian, Russian

• 500 million speak English as a second language

EXPANSION DIFFUSION of ENGLISH• LF’s have historically diffused

through migration and conquest

• Current spread of English is a result of expansion diffusion (spread of a trait through the snowballing effect of an idea rather than through the relocation of people)

• Recent changes in English have been bottom up, historically they have been top down– modern ex. – Ebonics, Appalachia

the world

English

expansion diffusion

DIFFUSION of ENGLISH TO OTHER LANGUAGES

• English has, more and more, become integrated with other languages

• Franglais – combination of French and English– French pride detests

spread of English– Extreme protection of

French in Quebec

French-English Boundary in Canada

Fig. 5-18: Although Canada is bilingual, French speakers are concentrated in the province of Quebec, where 80% of the population speaks French.

French Signs in Québec City

DIFFUSION of ENGLISH TO OTHER LANGUAGES

• Spanglish – combination of Spanish and English

– 28 million Hispanics speak Spanish in the U.S.

– Includes the invention new words (ex. bipiar)

– Widespread in popular culture such as music

• Denglish – diffusion of English words into German – use of happy birthday

• English has spread into other languages as well– ex. Baseball is beisboru

in Japanese

Spanish Signs in New York City

Chapter 05: Review

05.01 Which of the following will encompass the largest number of speakers?

1. Language family2. Language branch3. Individual language4. Dialect 5. Language group

05.01 Which of the following will encompass the largest number of speakers?

1. Language family2. Language branch3. Individual language4. Dialect 5. Language group

05.02 Which of the following is not a Romance language?

1. Portuguese2. Italian3. Spanish4. German5. French

05.02 Which of the following is not a Romance language?

1. Portuguese2. Italian3. Spanish4. German5. French

05.03 Which of the following language branches is not a member of the Indo-European language family?

1. Balto-Slavic2. Celtic3. Germanic4. Greek5. Caucasian

05.03 Which of the following language branches is not a member of the Indo-European language family?

1. Balto-Slavic2. Celtic3. Germanic4. Greek5. Caucasian

05.04 The ancestral roots of the English language have been traced back to present-day

1. France2. Iceland3. Finland4. Denmark5. Greece

05.04 The ancestral roots of the English language have been traced back to present-day

1. France2. Iceland3. Finland4. Denmark5. Greece

05.05 The second-most commonly spoken language in South America is

1. Portuguese2. Spanish3. French4. English5. Chinese

05.05 The second-most commonly spoken language in South America is

1. Portuguese2. Spanish3. French4. English5. Chinese

05.06 A creolized language is a local language mixed with

1. Another local language2. At least 20% slang3. The language of a colonial power4. English5. French

05.06 A creolized language is a local language mixed with

1. Another local language2. At least 20% slang3. The language of a colonial power4. English5. French

05.07 The most common language branch in eastern Europe is

1. Romance2. West Germanic3. Balto-Slavic4. Greek5. East Germanic

05.07 The most common language branch in eastern Europe is

1. Romance2. West Germanic3. Balto-Slavic4. Greek5. East Germanic

05.08 The primary reason why there are so many distinct languages in Africa is

1. The long periods of isolation between tribes2. The policies of the European colonial powers3. The migrations to Africa from Asia and Europe4. The major religious differences between tribes5. A cultural preference for languages that are unintelligible to others outside the immediate political unit

05.08 The primary reason why there are so many distinct languages in Africa is

1. The long periods of isolation between tribes2. The policies of the European colonial powers3. The migrations to Africa from Asia and Europe4. The major religious differences between tribes5. A cultural preference for languages that are unintelligible to others outside the immediate political unit

05.09 The predominant lingua franca today is

1. Swahili2. Pidgin3. Creole4. French5. English

05.09 The predominant lingua franca today is

1. Swahili2. Pidgin3. Creole4. French5. English

05.10 _________ is the native language of the largest number of people.

1. Hindi2. English3. Spanish4. Mandarin5. Russian

05.10 _________ is the native language of the largest number of people.

1. Hindi2. English3. Spanish4. Mandarin5. Russian