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Internationalhandbookofbilingualismandbilingualeducation.

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1.Bilingualism.2.Education,Bilingual.

I.Paulston,ChristinaBratt,1932

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CONTENTSPREFACE ix1.BilingualismandBilingualEducation:AnIntroduction

ChristinaBrattPaulston 12.LanguagesoftheWorldSarahGreyThomason 173.TheLanguageSituationinArabicSpeakingNationsAlaaElgibali 474.BilingualismandLinguisticSeparatisminBelgianSchoolsElizabethShermanSwing 635.BilingualisminBoliviaXavierAlb 856.TheCelticLanguagesintheBritishIslesNancyC.Dorian 1097.LanguageinNativeEducationinCanada

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BarbaraBurnaby8.TheCanadianSecondLanguageImmersionProgramFredGenesee1639.BilingualismandBilingualEducationinthePeople'sRepublicofChinaJamesH.Y.Tai 185

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10.PatternsofBilingualisminEastAfrica(Uganda,Kenya,andTanzania)CarolMyersScotton 20311.LinguisticMinoritiesandtheMotherTongueDebateinEnglandLinguistic Minorities Project 22512.SocietalBilingualismandBilingualEducation:AStudyoftheIndianSituationR.N.Srivastava 24713.LanguagePlanningandLanguageAcquisition:The"GreatLeap"intheHebrewRevivalMosheNahir 27514.CreoleEnglishandEducationin

297

JamaicaDennisR.Craig15.PublicBilingualEducationinMexicoNancyModiano 31316.AspectsofBilingualisminMoroccoAbdelliBentahila 32917.BilingualismandBilingualEducationinNigeriaAdebisiAfolayan 34518.BilingualisminParaguayGraziellaCorvaln 35919.BilingualisminPeruAlbertoEscobar 37920.BilingualismandBilingualEducationinSingaporeS.Gopinathan 39121.BilingualismandBilingualEducationinaDivided

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SouthAfricanSocietyDouglasYoung22.BilingualEducationinSovietCentralAsia

M.MobinShorish 42923.BilingualEducationinSpainMiguelSiguan 44924.BilingualismandEducationofImmigrantChildrenandAdultsinSwedenKennethHyltenstamandLenoreArnberg 475

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25.LanguageContactandBilingualisminSwitzerlandGottfriedKolde 51526.BilingualismandBilingualEducationintheUnitedStatesRichardRuiz 53927.SomeAspectsofBilingualismandBilingualEducationinZaireLufuluaboMukeba 561GLOSSARY 579BIBLIOGRAPHICALESSAY 581BIBLIOGRAPHY 583AUTHORINDEX 585LANGUAGEINDEX 595SUBJECTINDEX 599ABOUTTHECONTRIBUTORS 601

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PREFACETheInternationalHandbookofBilingualismandBilingualEducationconsistsoftwentysevenchapters.Thefirstchapter,"BilingualismandBilingualEducation:AnIntroduction,"presentsatheoreticalframeworkofthecontextualsituationsoflanguagemaintenanceandshiftinwhichwefindbilingualismandbilingualeducation.Thesecondchapter,"LanguagesoftheWorld,"presentsthebasicfactsaboutlanguagesandlanguagefamiliesintheworldandwheretheyarelocated.Thechapterspellsouttherangeofpossibilitiesoflanguagesincontact.

Theothertwentyfivechaptersarecasestudiesofbilingualism/multilingualismwithinnationstates,thenormaroundtheworldinspiteofthenineteenthcentury'sEuropeanmodelofonenationonelanguage.(Intoday'sEurope,onlytwocountriesIcelandandPortugalaremonolingual.)Becausesomeofthechapterscontainfairlytechnicalvocabularyfromlinguisticsandthesocialsciences,aglossaryhasbeenincluded.Thebookcloseswithsomesuggestionsforfurtherreading.

Thecasestudychaptersarearrangedinalphabeticalorderandwereselectedtorepresentspecificsituationsfromallcornersoftheworld.InEurope,Belgiumisatrilingualcountrywithconsiderabletension(andlegislation)accompanyingthelanguagecontactsituation.Incontrast,Switzerland,withitsfourofficiallanguages,presentsamuchmorepeacefulsituation.IntheUnitedKingdom,tothenorthandwest,wefindtheCelticlanguagesslowlydyingout,whiletheurbancentersofEnglandfacetheuneasyeducationalproblemsofasecond(andthird)generationofimmigrants.SocialistSwedenhasaneasiertimewithhereducationalpoliciesforimmigrantchildren.AndinpostFrancoSpainwefindareemergenceofminoritylanguages,withCatalaninastrongpositionoflanguagemaintenancebeyondwhatonemighthaveexpected.

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IntheAmericas,wehaveachapterontheAmericanIndiansituationinCanada(similartothatintheUnitedStatesandsonotduplicated)whichisbasicallyoneofassimilationandlanguagedeathorlanguagemaintenancethroughphysicalisolation.OwingprimarilytoCanadianlegislationvisvislanguage,wefindparentsresortingtoaveryunusualeducationalexperiment,nowestablishedasroutine,theFrenchEnglishimmersionprograms.ThechapterontheUnitedStatesreveals,interalia,thedifferentcourseofeducationalprogramsforchildrenofcolonizedgroupscomparedwiththoseoftheEuropeanimmigrants,whohavecompletelyassimilated.

InLatinAmerica,thechaptersonMexico,Bolivia,andPerupresentanotherformofcolonizationfromtheNorthAmerican,thatofcolonizationbymenwithoutwomen,andthesubsequentcourseofmothertonguediversity,whichisbasicallyoneofslowshiftmotivatedbyeconomicnecessity.Incontrast,ParaguaypresentsapictureofmaintenanceofGuaraniwithSpanishbilingualism,rootedinthefunctionaldistributionofthelanguages.Finally,intheCaribbean,Jamaicaisouronecasestudyofacreolecontinuumanditseducationalproblems.

TheArabicspeakingcountrieshavetheirowncharacteristics.ThechapteronthelinguisticsituationinArabicspeakingnationsistheonlychapterthatdescribesindetailthelinguisticfeaturesofabilingualsituation.StableArabicdiglossiaisaverypoorlyunderstoodphenomenonandisfrequentlygiventomisunderstandingandmisinformation.ThechapteronMoroccoprovidesacasestudyofArabicdiglossiaandBerberbilingualism.

China,India,andSovietCentralAsiaareexamplesofenormous,multilingualnationswithconsiderablelanguageproblems,whichhavebeensubmittedtoconsciouseffortsoflanguageplanning.OnlyChinacanclaimtohavebeensuccessfulinitsplanningprograms.Singapore,anationcity,isanothersuccessstorywithfourofficiallanguagesbut,unusually,withoutanystrifeamonglinguisticethnicgroups.

TheextremelymultilingualsubSaharaAfricaprovidesfourcasestudies.ThethreenationsofEastAfricaKenya,Tanzania,andUgandaandNigeriainwesternAfricaallhaveretainedtheexcolonialEnglishasanationallanguage.OnlyTanzaniahasbeensuccessfulinimplementinganativeAfricantongue,Kiswahili,asanationallanguageincommonusage.Zaire(withMorocco),ourexampleofaFrancophoneAfricanstate,showsasimilarpatterntothatoftheotherAfricancountries.ThechapterontheRepublicofSouthAfricashowshowtheeducationalpoliciesandlanguagebordersofethnicminoritygroupsareusedtoshoreupthetragicpolicyofapartheidinanofficiallybilingualcountry.

NocollectionofcasestudiesonbilingualismwouldbecompletewithoutachapteronIsrael.ThesuccessfulrevivalofHebrewisauniqueoccurrenceintheworld.Therehavebeenmanyattemptsatlanguagerevivals,Irish,forexample,buttheyhaveinvariablyfailed.ThehistoricalaccountoftherevivalofHebrewandthesocioculturalconditionsunderwhichittookplacemakethecaseofIsraeluniquelyinteresting,andthechapterprimarilyaddressesitselftotheproblemofexplainingthesuccessofHebrew.

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Eachchapterstandsaloneandcanbereadsimplyfortheinformationitcontains.Ifthechaptersareconsideredtogether,however,trendsandgeneralizationsofsocietalbilingualismemerge,andthishandbookwithitscasestudieslendsitselfverywelltotheorytesting.

ChristinaBrattPaulston

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1BILINGUALISMANDBILINGUALEDUCATION:ANINTRODUCTIONChristinaBrattPaulston

Ethnicgroupsincontactwithinonestatecreatecertaincharacteristicproblems,oneofwhichissociostructural.AsR.A.Schermerhornstates,"Theprobabilityisoverwhelmingthatwhentwogroupswithdifferentculturalhistoriesestablishcontactsthatareregularratherthanoccasionalorintermittent,oneofthetwogroupswilltypicallyassumedominanceovertheother"(1970:68).Elsewhereheobservesthatthenatureofthisdominanceisthemajorfactorinethnicrelations(1964).ThedominanceofapartheidinSouthAfricaisextreme,buttoalesserextentweseesimilarrelationsinLatinAmerica.TheSwedishlaissezfairepolicyforimmigrantsrepresentstheotherextremeoftolerantacceptanceineducationalpolicies.Typically,theethnicminoritygroupsarestructurallysubordinatewithconcomitanteconomicdisadvantage.CataloniainSpainisverymuchanexception.Occasionally,languagebecomescoupledtoreligion,andthechaptersonIsraelandtheArabspeakingnationsshowusthepowerofsuchacombination.Manybilingualnationsrecognizeonlythelanguageofthedominantethnicgroupastheofficiallanguage,butothernationsrecognizemorethanonenationallanguage.(ThesituationoftheUnitedStateswhichdoesnotlegallyhaveanofficial,nationallanguageisunusual.)OfficialbilingualismmaybepeacefulasinSingaporeandSwitzerland,oritmaybeaccompaniedbyoccasionalstrifeasinBelgiumandCanada.Thekeytounderstandingsuchrelationsisofteneconomic.Infact,thecentralquestioninunderstandingethnicrelationsconcernsthesocialconditionsthathinderorfostertheintegrationofethnicgroupsintotheirenvironingsocieties(Schermerhorn,1970:14).

Anothercharacteristicproblemofethnicgroupsincontactconcernslanguageandlanguageplanning,especiallyineducationalpolicies.InherstudyoflanguagepolicyinMexico(1972),S.B.Heathmakesclearthatlanguagedecisionsarebasedprimarilyonpoliticalandeconomicgroundsandreflectthevalueof

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thoseinpoliticalpower.Linguisticissuesperseareofminorconcern.Sincethemattersdiscussedareovertlythoseoflanguage,therefrequentlyisconfusionaboutthesalientissuesdiscussedinlanguageplanning,whethertheyaremattersofpolitical,economic,religious,sociocultural,orlinguisticconcerns,orevenmoralconcerns.Thechaptersinthisbookdocumenttherangeofeducationalpoliciesforminoritysocialgroupsandemphasizethelegitimateandimportantscholarlystudywhichthetopicmerits.

Languagechoiceisoneofthemajorlanguageproblems,whetheritbechoiceofnationallanguage(asinIsrael),choiceofnationalalphabet(asinSomalia),orchoiceofmediumofinstruction(asinSweden).InIsrael,socialconditionsandreligiousattitudestowardHebrewandthePromisedLandmadepossibletherebirthofHebrewanditsimplementationasanationallanguage."AstothesuccessoftheHebrewrevival,itwasprobablyduelargelytotheprevalenceoftherequiredconditions"(Nahir,1984:302);thatis,Israelservesasanexampleofsocialforcesfacilitatingnationallanguageplanning.Incontrast,duringtheVelascogovernmentPeruofficializedQuechuaasanationallanguage(Mannheim,1984)withresoundingfailureofimplementation.InPeru,asinmuchofLatinAmerica,raceisdefinedprimarilybyculturalattributes:wearalongbraidandmanyfaldas(wideIndiantypeskirts)andspeakQuechuaandyouareanIndian;cutyourhair,wearEuropeanstyleclothingandspeakSpanish,andyoubecome,ifnotwhite,atleastmestizo(Patch,1967).ToembraceQuechuawouldbetodeclareoneselfIndianwithalltheaccompanyingsocioeconomicstigmatization,andsuchplanningheldnohopeofsuccessfulimplementation.Peruservesasanexampleoflanguageplanningwhichgoescountertoexistingsocioculturalforces.

Theproblem,ofcourse,istobeabletoidentifyrelevantsocialforcesandpredicttheiroutcomes.Forexample,contrarytoexpectation,choiceofmediumofinstructionintheschools,especiallyforminoritygroups,hasverylittlepredictivepowerinthefinallanguagechoiceoftheethnicgroup.Thedifficultyisthatwehaveaverypoorgraspofwhattherelevantsocialforcesareandofwhatthecorrespondingeducational,social,andculturaloutcomeswillbe.Threepointsneedtobemadehere.Themajorpointtounderstandaboutlanguageasgroupbehavioristhatlanguageisalmostneverthecausalfactorthatmakesthingshappen;rather,languagemirrorssocialconditionsandhumanrelationships.ItisquitetruethatdenyingblacksaccesstoschoolingaswascommonintheU.S.Southinthelastcenturymadethemunfitforanythingbutmenialjobs,butblackilliteracywasnotthecauseofblack/whiterelationsandexploitation.Rather,itwastheresultofit,muchasisthesituationinSouthAfricatoday.

Thecorollarytothissimple,yethardtograsp,pointisthatbilingualeducation(mothertongueeducation,homelanguageeducation,thatis,educationinboththenationallanguageandtheethnicgroup'sownlanguage)isinitselfnotacausalfactor.Schoolsandschoolingcanfacilitateexistingsocialtrends,buttheycannotsuccessfullycountersocial,economic,andpoliticalforces.English

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mediumschoolswerethemajorlanguagelearningfacilityforthechildrenoftheEuropeanimmigrantstotheUnitedStates,butthesameschoolshavenotbeensuccessfulinteachingEnglishtoNavajochildrenonthereservationsandtheyhavehadtheirfairshareoffailureinChicanoeducation.Onekeyquestionthatremainsis,Underwhatsocialconditionsdoesthemediumofinstructionmakeadifferenceforschoolchildreninachievingsuccess?

Thethirdpointrelatestothepossiblelinguisticoutcomesoftheprolongedcontactofethnicgroupswithinonenation,thetypicalbackgroundsituationthatnecessitatesspecialeducationalpoliciesforminoritygroups.Therearenotmanypossibilities:thethreemainonesarelanguagemaintenance,bilingualism,orlanguageshift.(AnotherpossibilityisthecreationofpidginsandcreolesasweseeinZairewithLingala.)

Themajorpointtobemadehereisthat,inordertounderstandbilingualismandbilingualeducation,onemustconsiderwhetherthegeneralsituationisoneoflanguagemaintenanceorlanguageshift.Providedbothopportunityandincentivearepresent,thenormforethnicgroupsinprolongedcontactwithinonenationisforthesubordinategrouptoshifttothelanguageofthedominantgroup,eitheroverseveralhundredyearsashappenedwithGaelicinGreatBritainoroveraspanofthreegenerationsashasbeenthecaseoftheEuropeanimmigrantstoAustraliaandtheUnitedStatesinanextraordinarilyrapidshift.PreciselythelanguageshiftandattemptstostopithavecausedmuchofthetroubleinQuebec(fromFrenchtoEnglish)andinBelgium(fromFlemishtoFrench).

LANGUAGEMAINTENANCEANDLANGUAGESHIFT

Tothestudyoflanguagemaintenanceandshift,weneedtoaddtwootherrelatedtopics:languagespread(Cooper,1982)andlanguagedeath(Dorian,1981;DresslerandWodakLeodolter,1977).R.L.Cooperdefineslanguagespreadas"anincrease,overtime,intheproportionofacommunicationnetworkthatadoptsagivenlanguageorlanguagevarietyforagivencommunicativefunction"(1982:6).Mostlanguagespreadprobablytakesplaceaslinguafrancas,asLWCs(languagesofwidercommunication),andEnglishisagoodexample(Fishman,Cooper,andConrad,1977).Onthewhole,suchspreadisneutralinattitudes.

Butlanguagesalsospreadforpurposesofwithinnationcommunication,andwhentheydoso,notasanadditionallanguagelikeEnglishinNigeriabutasanewmothertongue,thenlanguagespreadbecomesacaseoflanguageshift.Whensuchlanguagespreadthroughshifttakesplacewithingroupsthatdonotpossessanotherterritorialbase,wehaveacaseoflanguagedeath.Languagesdobecomeextinct.ThemanydeadAmerindianlanguagesaremutewitnessestothespreadofEnglish(Bauman,1980),asisalsothecaseoftheCelticlanguages.Languageshift,especiallyifitinvolveslanguagedeath,tendstobeanemotionaltopic.Socialscientistswhoarenotbasicallyinterestedinlanguageandculturepersewillsimplyhavetoaccepttheideathatitisoftenfutileto

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insistonareasonedviewinmattersoflanguageshiftwhereitconcernstheopinionsandattitudesofthespeakersoftheshiftinggroups.Linguistsandanthropologistsfrequentlybelongtothiscategory.Still,wecanmakesomegeneralizationsaboutlanguageshiftandmaintenancewhichseemtoholdinallcases.Oneoftheprimaryfactorsinaccountingforthesubsequentcourseofmothertonguediversity,touseS.Lieberson'sphrase,liesintheoriginofthecontactsituation(Lieberson,Dalto,andJohnston,1975;Schermerhorn,1970).Voluntarymigration,especiallyofindividualsandfamilies,resultsinthemostrapidshift,whereasannexationandcolonializationwhereuponentiregroupsarebroughtintoanationwiththeirsocialinstitutionsofmarriageandkinship,religions,andotherbeliefandvaluesystemsstillmoreorlessintacttendtoresultinmuchslowerlanguageshift,ifatall.Themechanismoflanguageshiftisbilingualism,oftenbutnotnecessarilycombinedwithexogamy,whereparent(s)speak(s)theoriginallanguagewiththegrandparentsandthenewlanguagewiththechildren.Thecaseofbilingualismholdsinallcasesofgroupshifts,althoughtherateofshiftmayvarywithseveralbilingualgenerationsratherthanjustone.Laymenandsocialscientistsalikeoftentreatlanguageshiftasanincontrovertibleindicatorofculturalassimilation,anditisoftenthepainfulthoughtofforesakingthecultureandvaluesoftheforefathersthatisattherootofthestrifeoverlanguageshift.Assimilationisamuchmorecomplexissuethanlanguageshift,butafewpointsneedtobeconsidered.First,weneedtomakeacarefuldistinction,inSchermerhorn'sterms(1970),betweensocialandculturalinstitutions.Economicincorporationofanethnicgroupwithaccesstothegoodsandservicesofanation(whichisthecommongoalofminoritygroupsandthemostcommonreasonforvoluntarymigration)isdifferentfromculturalassimilationandthegivingupofvaluesandbeliefs.Itisprimarilytotheperceptionofforcedassimilationthattheissueofthemediumofinstructioninthenationallanguagebecomestied.ManyChicanos,forexample,bemoanthelossofChicanoculturewiththelossofSpanish.Butthereisnotnecessarilyanisomorphicrelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture;SpanishisthecarrierofmanyotherculturesbesidesChicano,andasislesscommonlyaccepted,languagemaintenanceisnotnecessaryforculturalandethnicmaintenance,asindeedD.E.Lopez(1976)documentsfortheChicanosinLosAngeles.Inotherwords,groupscanmaintaintheirownethniccultureevenafterlanguageshifttakesplace,asweseeingroupsliketheEnglishgypsiesandmanyAmerindiantribes.Althoughmostethnicminoritygroupswithinanationdoshiftlanguage,theywillvaryintheirdegreeofethnicmaintenanceandintheirrateofshift.Groupsalsovaryingroupadhesion,andthereiswideintragroupvariationinmembers'attitudestowardlanguagemaintenanceandculturalassimilation.Whereshiftdoesnottakeplace,itisforthreemajorreasons:1. Selfimposedboundarymaintenance(Barth,1969),alwaysforreasonsotherthanlanguage,

mostfrequentlyreligion,forexample,theAmishandthe4

orthodoxJewishHassidim.TheHassidimareperfectlyawareoftheroleofEnglish,buttheirchoiceisgroupcohesionforreligiouspurposes.

Many(Lubovitch)familieselecttosendtheirchildrentotheYiddishspeakingschool[noEnglishcurriculum].Insodoing,theyincreasethepossibilityofupwardmobilitywithintheethnicgroupanddecreasetheprobabilitythatthesechildrenwillgainthesecularandtechnicalskillsnecessaryforemploymentintheeconomyofthelargersociety.AllLobovitchersareawareofthepotentialusefulnessofsecularskillsandanEnglishcurriculum,butfew...familieselectthebilingualschoolfortheirchildren(Levy,1975:40).

Suchextrememeasuresoflanguagemaintenanceareveryunusualandareneverundertakenovertimeonlyforthesakeoflanguageitself.

2. Externallyimposedboundaries,usuallyintheformofdeniedaccesstogoodsandservices,especiallyjobs.TheblackcommunityofthepastintheUnitedStatesisanexample.Geographicisolation(whichistheoreticallyuninterestingbutneverthelesseffective)isalsoaformofexternalboundarythatcontributestolanguagemaintenance,asGaelicintheHebridesorQuechuaintheAndes.

3. Adiglossiclikesituationinwhichthetwolanguagesexistinasituationoffunctionaldistributionwhereeachlanguagehasitsspecifiedpurposeanddomainandtheonelanguageisinappropriateintheothersituation,aswithGuaraniandSpanishinParaguayorwithModernStandardArabicandtheirmothertonguesinMorocco.

Weseethenthatthemajorlinguisticconsequenceofethnicgroupsinprolongedcontactwithinonenationislanguageshiftofthesubordinategroupstothelanguageofthedominantgroup.Themajordependentvariableistherateofshift.Butthisshiftonlytakesplaceifthegrouphastheopportunityandincentivetolearnthenationallanguage.Thereareprobablymanykindsofincentives(thedatabasehereisveryinadequate),butthetwomajoronesare(1)economicadvantage,primarilyintheformofsourceofincome,and(2)socialprestige.InL.Brudner'sterms(1972),jobsdeterminelanguagelearningstrategies,whichistosaywherevertherearejobsavailablethatdemandknowledgeofacertainlanguage,peoplewilllearnit.Withoutrewards,languagelearningisnotsalient.Sometimeslanguageshiftisheldtobeproblematic(Quebec),sometimesitisencouragedasnationalpolicy(France),sometimesitisresistedbytheethnicgroups(Catalan),andsometimesitisencouraged(EuropeanimmigrantstoAustraliaandtheUnitedStates),butonemustinvariablylooktothesocialconditionstounderstandtheattitudesandvaluesthataccompanylanguageshift.

Anotherlesscommonresultoflanguagesincontactislanguagemaintenance,frequentlywithbilingualism,anditisalwaysforreasonsotherthanappreciationofthelanguageperse.Thethirdconsequenceisprolongedgroupbilingualism.ThisIntroductionisnottheplaceforathoroughdiscussionofthelinguistic

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natureofbilingualism(AlbertandObler,1978;Grosjean,1982;Hornby,1977;Lambert,1972),butitshouldbementionedthatfullfledged,balancedbilingualismistheexceptionratherthantherule.Bilingualismspansarangefrompassive,imperfectknowledgeofdeadsacredlanguages(Sanskrit,ClassicalArabic,ClassicalHebrew,Suryoyo,etc.)tothelinguisticcompetencenecessaryforsimultaneousinterpretation,(butevensoU.N.interpretersonlytranslateintoonelanguage,notbackandforth).Degreeofproficiencyhaslittletodowithlanguageattitudes,andthesacredlanguagesparticularlyassertavastinfluenceonattemptstoorderlylanguageplanning(e.g.,choiceofnationallanguageinIndia).Whenwetalkaboutbilingualismandbilingualeducationasaneducationalpolicy,weshouldthereforebecarefultoconsiderthedegreeandfunctionalpossibilitiesofthelinguisticcompetenceofthegroupdiscussed.Ihaveobserved"mothertongue"educationforAssyrianchildreninSwedenwhocouldnotevencounttotenintheirmothertonguebutwerefluentinthenationallanguage.Inthesamecountry,IhaveseenclassesforTurkishprimarystudentswhoknewverylittleSwedish.Thehighlyvariednatureofbilingualismforcesustofacetheproblemofwhetherequityineducationwillallowthesameeducationalpoliciesforallethnicgroups.Indeed,theU.S.SupremeCourthassuggestedthatequaltreatmentdoesnotconstituteequalopportunityinthematterofeducationofethnicminoritychildrencomparedtomainstreamchildren.Onecaneasilytakethatargumentastepfurtherandconsiderthatthevariousethnicgroupsmaymeritdifferentialtreatment.

Whenimmigrantgroupsseethatlearningthenationallanguagewellandfluentlyisinthebestinterestoftheirchildren(andsocialinstitutionsliketheschoolsandthechurchareavailabletohelpthemdoso),veryfewproblemsareassociatedwiththeeducationalpoliciesforminoritygroups.WithinthesinglecitystateofSingaporewithitsfourofficiallanguagesandthreemajorreligions,thereisnosignofethnicstrifeoreducationalproblems.ManySingaporeansfavortheexcolonialEnglishasamediumofinstruction.ThesimpleexplanationistobefoundinSingapore'sverystrongandexpandingeconomy.Thereisenoughofthegoodofthislifetogoaroundforeverybody,andcompetitiontakesplaceonthebasisofindividualqualities,notethniclines.

Butwhenthesesameimmigrantgroupsencounterstigmatization,economicexploitation,andsystematicunemploymentratherthansocioeconomicopportunity,theyarelikelytousetheoriginalmothertongueasastrategyformobilization.Languageboundarymaintenancereinforcedwithreligionisanevenstrongertool.TheTurksinEuropehavefrequentlyfollowedthislatterprocess.ItisnotthatmainstreammembersandthosefromassimilatedformerethnicgroupslikethePolesandSlovaksinPittsburghdon'tfacedifficultiesinadecliningeconomy;itisratherthattheydon'tfeelawetheyinjusticeandantagonismand(throughlanguageshift)theyhavelostlanguageasamobilizationstrategy.InPittsburgh,theCityCouncilrecentlydecidedtomergethePoliceForceandtheFireFighterunits.Bothgroupsperceivethisnewpolicyasbeingagainsttheirbestinterestsandareviolentlyopposedtoit.Asbothgroupsshare

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thesameethnicmix,languageandethnicityarenotavailableresources.Instead,bothgroupshavemobilizedalongthelinesoftheirlaborunions.Hadethnicitybeenanavailableresource,theywouldverylikelyhavemobilizedalongethniclines,tojudgefromD.ElazarandM.Friedman(1976)casestudyofteachersinPhiladelphiawhodidjustthatandwhowereabletosuccessfullydefendtheirjobsinthatfashion.

Almosttwentyyearsago,NathanGlazerasked:"JustwhyAmericaproducedwithoutlawsthatwhichothercountries,desiringaculturallyunifiedpopulation,werenotabletoproducewithlawsisnotaneasyquestion"(1966:360).ThereisafablebyAesopwhichholdstheanswertothatquestionandwhichbestillustratesthepointsraisedhere.Thesunandthewindseeamanwithacloak(readlanguage)walkingalongtheroad.Theydecidetoenteracontesttoseewhocanfirstcausehimtoshedhiscoat.Thewindtearsathimforhours,butthemanonlywrapshimselfmoretightlyinhiscloak.Thesuntakesoverandspreadsherbenevolenceovertheman,who,afterashorttime,divestshimselfofhiscloak.Moral:Inhardtimes,peoplewillclingtotheirlanguageandethnicgroup;intimesofplenty,theypaylittleattentiontoresourceslikeethniclanguages.

EthnicityandNationalism

Theprecedingdiscussionhasdealtexclusivelywiththecourseoflanguageandthelinguisticconsequencesofethnicminoritygroupsinprolongedcontactwithinonenation.Butgroupscanfindanotherfocusofsocialmobilizationthanethnicity.IntherestofthisIntroduction,itisarguedthattherearefourdistincttypesofsocialmobilization,whichundercertainspecifiedsocialconditionsresultindifferentlinguisticconsequences:ethnicity,ethnicmovements,ethnicnationalism,andgeographicnationalism.1

Pastscholarshiponlanguageandethnicgroupsoftenusedthetermnationalitysynonymouslywithethnicgroup(Deutsch,1953).Thereismeritinreconsideringthephenomenaofethnicgroupsincontact,andinsteadofentwiningtheconceptsofethnicityandnationalism,wewouldhaveabetterunderstandingoflanguagemaintenanceandshiftifweweretodifferentiatethetwo.Fourtypesofsocialmobilizationcomeclosetoformingacontinuumratherthanfourdistincttypes:(1)Ethnicity,whichcloselycorrespondstotheoldnotionofethnicity;(2)ethnicmovement,whichisbasedontheconceptofthenewethnicity(Bennett,1975);(3)ethnicnationalism;and(4)geographicnationalismwhichcorrespondstoH.Kohn'sclosedandopennationalism(1968)aswellastoJ.A.Fishman'snationalismandnationism(1968).

Ethnicity

An"ethnicgroup"isareferencegroupinvokedbypeoplewhoshareacommonhistoricalstyle(whichmaybeonlyassumed),basedonovertfeaturesandvalues,andwho,through

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theprocessofinteractionwithothers,identifythemselvesassharingthatstyle."Ethnicidentity"isthesumtotalofthegroupmembers'feelingsaboutthosevalues,symbols,andcommonhistoriesthatidentifythemasadistinctgroup."Ethnicity"issimplyethnicbasedaction(Royce,1982:18).Ethnicitytendstostressrootsandasharedbiologicalpastandthecommonancestors(factualorfictional).Thebasisofpersonalidentityiscultural(includingreligion),andethnicityisamatterofselfascription.Culturalvaluesandbeliefs,whichareheldincommon,areunconsciouslylearnedbehavior,andethnicityisjusttakenforgranted.Thememberstendtofeelcomfortablewithpastandfuture,andnooppositionorviolenceisinvolved.Ethnicityinvolveslittlepowerstruggleandnotmuchpurpose,andsothecommoncourseisassimilationandconcomitantlanguageshift.Forexample,theWalloonswerebroughttoSwedeninthe1600stodeveloptheironindustryandhavecompletelyassimilatedintoSwedishculture(Douhan,1982).Ethnicitywillnotmaintainalanguageinamultilingualsetting,ifthedominantgroupallowsassimilation,andincentiveandopportunityofaccesstothesecondlanguage(L2)arepresent.SomegeneralsocialconditionsthatinfluenceaccesstotheL2are:1. Participationinsocialinstitutions,primarilyuniversalschooling,exogamy,andrequired

militaryservice,andoftenreligiousinstitutions.2. Accesstothemassmedia,especiallytelevision.3. Accesstoroadsandtransportationversusphysicalisolation,likeislandsandmountains.4. Travel,includingtrade,commerce,war,andevangelism.5. Someoccupations.6. Demographicfactors,likesizeofgroups,vastinmigration,continuedmigration,back

migration,andurbanization.Adiscussionofthesesocialconditionswouldtakeustoofarafield,andsoonlyafewcommentsaremadehere.

Exogamy,thatis,marryingoutsidetheethnicgrouporothersocialunit,obviouslynecessitateslanguageshiftforonepartner,atleastwithinthefamily.Thisshifttypicallyisinthedirectionofthelanguageofthesocioeconomicallyfavoredgroup(Gal,1979).Exogamy,showingdefinitetrendsofdirection,isthemostpositiveindicatorofincipientshift,andanimportantmechanismforlanguageshiftandassimilation.

Thislisthasbeencollectedfromareadingofcasestudieswheretheseconditionsareoftentreatedobservationallyandanecdotally.Nodoubtsomeadditionscanbemade.

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EthnicMovementThemajordifferencebetweenethnicityandethnicmovementdevelopswhenethnicityasanunconscioussourceofidentityturnsintoaconsciousstrategy,usuallyincompetitionforscarceresources.Anethnicmovementisethnicitythathasturnedmilitant,consistingofethnicdiscontentswhoperceivetheworldasagainstthem,anadversitydrawnalongethnicboundaries.Althoughethnicitystressesthecontentoftheculture,ethnicmovementswillbeconcernedwithboundarymaintenance,inBarth'sterms,with"us"against"them."Itisverymuchaconscious,cognitiveethnicityinapowerstrugglewiththedominantgroupforsocialandeconomicadvantage,astrugglethatfrequentlyleadstoviolenceandsocialupheaval.Manyethnicmovementshavecharismaticleaders(probablyalwaysbornamemberoftheethnicgroup)likeStephenBikoinSouthAfricaandMartinLutherKing,buttheyneednothaveanintellectualeliteorasignificantmiddleclass.

Movementsneedrallyingpoints,andlanguageisagoodobvioussymbolifitisavailable.(Itmaynotbe.TheIrishRepublicanArmy,forexample,usesEnglish.)Soisreligion.Originalmothertonguesandsacredlanguagesarepowerfulsymbolsandmayservetosupportpeopleintheirstruggleforwhattheyperceiveasabetterlife(thatlifemaybeafterdeath,asinJihad,HolyWar).Butnotethatlanguageasasymbolneednotbetheethnicgroup'smothertongue.BothStephenBikoandMartinLutherKingusedEnglishandpartiallyforthesamereasonthediversityofAfricanlanguages.ThesymbolinBiko'scasewasthechoiceoflanguage,EnglishratherthanAfrikaans;inKing'scase,thesymbollaywiththecharacteristicstyleofBlackEnglishrhetoric,manyofwhosefeaturesoriginatedwiththeWestAfricanlanguages.

Whenanethnicmovementdrawsonreligionasaresourceforitsidentitybaseasstrategyinsocialcompetition,whencognitiveethnicityisjoinedwithreligiousfervor,thelikelyconsequenceisoneoflanguagemaintenance,probablyofasacredlanguage(only).Sacredlanguagestendwithgreatdiligencetobekeptunchanged.Theresultisthatsacredlanguagesareseldomspokenandexistonlyinwrittenforms.Groupsthatmaintainasacredlanguage,theAssyrians,forinstance,willtypicallyshifttheireverydaylanguagetothatofthesurroundingcommunity.Hence,wefindallAssyriansmaintainingSuryoyo(aformofAramaic)butspeakingArabic,Turkish,Swedish,orAmericanEnglish.Maintainingtwoextralanguagesseemstoocumbersome.

Thereareexceptions.PreIsraeliJewsmaintainedbothHebrewandYiddish,butasaresultofexternallyimposedboundarymaintenanceandtheenvironingcommunity'srefusaltoletthemassimilate.Whenallowedtoassimilate,Yiddishdisappeared.ThatexplainswhyYiddishwasmaintainedinSlavicEastEuropebutnotinGermany,thatis,asafactorofdegreeofsocialenclosure(Schermerhorn,1970).Thedropoutrateislikelytobehighforsuchreligiousgroupsifthehostcommunityallowsassimilation,asitisfortheAmishandasJ.W.BennettcitesfortheNewYorkHassidim.Ethnicmovementsbythemselves

9

probablycannotmaintainalanguagebutwillaffecttherateofshiftsothattheshiftismuchslowerandspansmanymoregenerations.

Nationalism

Thereseemstobeasmanydefinitionsofnationalismastherearescholarsofnationalism,basicallybecause,inBoydC.Shafer'swords(1972),nationalismhasmanyfaces.Shaferconcludesthatitisimpossibletofitnationalismintoashortdefinition(1972:5).ButH.Kohnpointsoutthat,whileallinstancesofnationalismwillvaryaccordingtopasthistoryandculture,aswellasthepresentsocialstructureandgeographicallocation,allformsofnationalismstillsharecertaintraits(1968:64).R.W.Cottam'sinsistencethatnationalismnotbedealtwithasathingreifiedbutratherasamanifestationofnationalisticbehaviorisveryusefulhere.Heidentifiessomeofthesharedtraitsinhisdefinitionofanationalist"asanindividualwhoseeshimselfasamemberofapoliticalcommunity,anation,thatisentitledtoindependentstatehood,andiswillingtograntthatcommunityaprimaryandterminalloyalty"(Cottam,1964:3).Groupcohesiontotheend,agoalorientationofselfdetermination,aperceivedthreatofopposingforces,andaboveallaccesstoorhopeofterritoryarecharacteristicsofallnationalmovements.BothA.P.Royce'sandCottam'sdefinitionsstressthatethnicityandnationalismaresetsorsyndromesofbehavior,perceptions,andattitudesofagroupofpeople.Givencertainsocialconditions,theywillbehaveincertainpredictablefashions,includinglanguagebehaviorwhichisourpresentinterest.

Ethnicandgeographicnationalismshareallofthesefeatures.Thegoalisindependence,theirownpoliticalstatus,andsocialinstitutionsontheirownterritory.Themostcommonidealisthenationstate,butthereareothers.Catalunya,Quebec,andFlemishBelgiumarecontenttoremainpartofalargerstateaslongastheycansafeguardtheirownsocialandculturalinstitutions,ofwhichlanguagebecomesaveryprominentsymbol.

Theimprovementofone'sownlotinlifeoratleastofone'schildren'sstatusisprobablyacommongoalofallnationalmovements.Themotivation,asinethnicmovements,isoneofperceivedselfinterest,aselfchosenstate.Veryoftennationalismtakesplaceasaprotestagainstoppression,againstacommonenemy,whetheritbeagainsta(dominant)groupwithinthesamestateoragainstanotherstate.Euskadi,theBasquenationwithinSpain,isanexampleofthefirsttype,anditintroducesanotherproblemofinterpretation,theunanimityofdegreeofintensityofanationalmovement.TheBasquesrangefromterroristsandseparatiststoassimilistswithlanguageshiftmorecommonthanadmitted.Thereistypicallyagreatemphasisonloyaltyandgroupcohesion,whichareconsciouslytaughtbehaviors,taughtthroughsocialinstitutionslikeschool,church,andarmy,withtypicalsymbolsbeingtheflag,thenationalanthem,and,aboveall,thelanguage.Toadmittolanguageshiftistobedisloyal,and

10

thisverydeepseatedfeelingofdisloyaltyisanadditionalprobleminelicitingvalidsurveydatainthistypeofresearch(Thompson,1974).

Thegoalsofnationalmovements,besidesgeneralindependence,tendtobequitedefiniteandspecific.Thesegoalsareoftenlegitimatizedbyorbasedonhistoricalpasteventsorconditions.DuringtheFinnishschoolstrikeinStockholmduringFebruaryof1984,whenFinnishparentskepttheirchildrenoutofschoolinsupportoftheirdemandforFinnishmediumschoolinginkindergartenthroughuniversitylevelcourses,thereasongivenwasthatFinlandwasbilingualinSwedishFinnishandthatSwedenshouldreciprocate.Itisademandlegitimizedonthenationallawoftheethnicimmigrantgroupanditspasthistory.Itismuchmorecharacteristicofnationalismthanofethnicmovementswhichtendtobasetheirclaimsonarationaleofequitywithotherswithinthenationstate.

Anationalmovementmusthaveawelldevelopedmiddleclassinwhichconditionitdiffersfromethnicmovements.VictorAlba(1975)anecdoteoftheCatalanworkerswhoconsideredissuesoflanguageimmaterialisrepresentative."Wedon'tcareifweareexploitedinCastilianorCatalan,"wastheirrejoinder,andtheyalignedthemselveswiththeworkers'unionsandtheSocialistpartyratherthanmobilizethemselvesalongnationallines.Withoutastakeinproperty,nationalismisnotperceivedtofurtherone'sselfinterest.

Whenethnicdiscontentsturnseparatist,wegetethnicnationalism.A.P.RoyceconsidersthesituationoftheBasques.TheETA,theBasquenationalorganization,isledbymembersofthemiddleclass.ThelowerclassperceivednoadvantageinaBasquemovement,andtheconcernsandeconomicinterestsoftheeliteareprimarilystate/nationalandinternational.Theregionaleconomicinterestsareincontrolofthemiddleclass,whofeeltheycarryanunfairshareofSpain'seconomicburdenandaregivennoadequatecompensation."TheimportantpointinthiscaseisthattheimpetusforethnicnationalismcamefromthesectorwhoseprivilegesandpowerdependedontheeconomicwellbeingoftheBasqueprovinces.Basquenationalismwastheobviouswaytomaintaintheirposition"(Royce,1982:104).

Thecrucialdifferencebetweenethnicmovementandethnicnationalismisaccesstoterritory;withoutlandonecannottalkaboutBasquenationalism.Itisalsoaccesstoterritorythatgivesviabilitytoaseparatistmovement.

Ethnicnationalismandgeographicnationalismshareagreatmanyfeatures,asthepreviousdiscussionmakesobvious.ThedifferencebetweenthemisthesameasthatwhichHansKohnoutlinesfor"open"and"closed"nationalism(1968:66).Inethnicorclosednationalism,theethnicgroupisisomorphicwiththenationstate.Theemphasisisonthenation'sautochthonouscharacter,onthecommonoriginandancestralroots.Inethnicnationalism,languagecanattainanimportancethatisfaroutofproportionofitscommunicativefunction.Thetypicalclaimisthatthedeepthoughtsandthesoulofthenationcanonlybeadequatelyexpressedinthecommonmothertongue.Hitler'sGermany,withitsemphasisonracialexclusivenessandrootednessintheancestralsoil,wasthemostextremeformofethnicnationalism.(Itisaninterestingobservationthat

11

theleadersofnationalmovementsneednotbeoriginalmembersofthatnation;Hitler,Stalin,anddeGaulleandNapoleonbeforethemdidnothavetheiroriginalrootsinthestateofwhichtheybecamenationalleaders.)

Kohncalls"open"nationalismamoremodernform;itisterritoriallybased(hencegeographicnationalism)andfeaturesapoliticalsociety,constitutinganationoffellowcitizensregardlessofethnicdescent.ThesocalledgreatimmigrationcountriesofCanada,Australia,andtheUnitedStatesaregoodexamples.AsKohnobserves,theyrejectedthenotionofanationbasedonacommonpast,acommonreligionoracommonculture.Instead,"[They]owetheirnationhoodtotheaffirmationofthemoderntrendsofemancipation,assimilation,mobility,andindividualism"(1968:66).

Inethnicnationalism,languageisaprimesymbolofthenation,butthatisnotnecessarilysowithgeographicnationalism.Actually,theUnitedStatesdoesnotevenlegallyhaveanationallanguage.Canadahastwonationallanguages,butEnglishandFrencharenotthoughtofasnationalsymbolsofCanada.Rather,themaintenanceofacommonlanguagewasundertakenprimarilyforpragmaticLWC(languageofwidercommunication)purposes.Atthesametime,althoughonecannotchangeone'sgenes,onecanlearnanewlanguage,andinanationthatdoesnotcareaboutgenesbutuseslanguagetodefineitsmembership,asdoesCatalunya,learningthenewlanguageobviouslyheldbothpracticalandsymbolicsignificance:knowingthenationallanguagebecamethehallmarkofmembershipandingroupstatus.Thecombinationofvoluntarymigration,thesocialincentivesofingroupmembership,andeasyaccesstothenewlanguagehastendedtoresultinveryrapidbilingualism,oftenwithconsequentshifttothenationallanguage.

CONCLUSION

Theuncertaintyoflanguageplanningineducationwillbereducedifweconsiderthesocialcontextoflanguageproblems,especiallythesocial,cultural,andeconomicforcesthatcontributetolanguagemaintenanceandshift.Themosteleganteducationalpoliciesforminoritygroupsaredoomedtofailureiftheygocountertoprevailingsocialforces,especiallytheeconomicsituation.Languageplanningeffortsaremostlikelytobesuccessfulwhentheyaresupportedbyeconomicadvantageorsimilarsocialincentivesfortheminoritygroups.

Atthesametime,weneedtoacknowledgeandrespectthefactthatthereareotherpointsofviewonlanguagemaintenanceandshiftthanthestrictlypragmaticaspectsarguedhere.Religiousgroupstakelanguagemaintenanceseriouslywithoutanyimmediatelyobviousincentives,andsodoafewethnicgroups.Actualtoleranceofreligiousdisparityvariesfromnationtonation,buttheprincipleofreligiousfreedomiswellrecognizedinmostcountries.Simply,itisoneofrespectfortherightofagrouptoselfdetermination,toholdthevaluesandbeliefsasitschooses.Similarly,weshouldholdthetruthselfevidentthatanethnicgrouphasarighttoitsownlanguageifitsochooses.Thepointmadein

12

thischapter,thatethnicgroupsveryrarelyoptforcontinuedlanguagemaintenanceifthesocialconditionsfavorashifttothenationallanguage,isnocounterargumenttotheethicalprinciplethatminoritygroupshavearighttoculturalselfdetermination.

NOTE1. Partsofthischapterarebasedon"LinguisticConsequencesofEthnicityandNationalismin

MultilingualSettings,"apaperpresentedattheOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD),Paris,1985.

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AlbertM.,andL.Obler.1978.TheBilingualBrain.NewYork:AcademicPress.

BarthF.1969.EthnicGroupsandBoundaries.Boston:Little,BrownandCo.

BaumanJ.J.1980.AGuidetoIssuesinIndianLanguageRetention.Washington,D.C.:CenterforAppliedLinguistics.

BennettJ.W.1975."AGuidetotheCollection."InTheNewEthnicity:PerspectivesfromEthnology,ed.J.W.Bennett.St.Paul:WestPublishingCo.

BrudnerL.1972."TheMaintenanceofBilingualisminSouthernAustria."Ethnology11,1:3954.

CooperR.L.,ed.1982."AFrameworkfortheStudyofLanguageSpread.".Arlington,Va.:CenterforAppliedLinguistics,andBloomington:IndianaUniversityPress.

CottamR.W.1964.NationalisminIran.Pittsburgh:UniversityofPittsburghPress.

CreweW.,ed.1977.TheEnglishLanguageinSingapore.Singapore:EasternUniversitiesPress.

DeutschK.W.1953.NationalismandSocialCommunication:AnInquiryintotheFoundationsof Nationality.Cambridge,Mass.:MITPress.

DorianN.1981.LanguageDeath:TheLifeCycleofaScottishGaelicDialect.Philadelphia:UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress.

DouhanB.1982."TheWalloonsinSweden."AmericanSwedishGenealogicalReview2:117.

DresslerW.,andR.WodakLeodolter,eds.1977."LanguageDeath."InternationalJournaloftheSociologyofLanguage,No.12(SpecialIssue).

ElazarD.,andM.Friedman.1976.MovingUp:EthnicSuccessioninAmerica.NewYork:InstituteonPluralismandGroupIdentityoftheAmericanJewishCommittee.

FishmanJ.A.1968."NationalityNationalismandNationNationism."InLanguageProblemsinDevelopingNations,eds.J.A.Fishman,C.A.Ferguson,andJ.DasGupta.NewYork:JohnWiley.

.1977."LanguageMaintenance."HarvardEncyclopediaofAmericanEthnicGroups.Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress.

FishmanJ.A.,R.Cooper,andA.Conrad,eds.1977.TheSpreadofEnglish.Rowley,Mass.:NewburyHouse.

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GalS.1979.LanguageShift:SocialDeterminantsofLinguisticChangeinBilingualAustria.NewYork:AcademicPress.

GlazerN.1966."TheProcessandProblemsofLanguageMaintenance:AnIntegrativeReview."InLanguageLoyaltyintheUnitedStates,ed.J.Fishman.TheHague:Mouton.

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HornbyP.1977Bilingualism:Psychological,Social,andEducationalImplications.NewYork:AcademicPress.

KohnH.1968."Nationalism."InternationalEncyclopediaoftheSocialSciences11:6370.

LambertW.E.1972.Language,Psychology,andCulture.Stanford,Calif.:StanfordUniversityPress.

LevyS.B.1975."ShiftingPatternsofEthnicIdentificationAmongtheHassidim."InTheNewEthnicity:PerspectivesfromEthnology,ed.J.W.Bennett.St.Paul:WestPublishingCo.

LiebersonS.,G.Dalto,andM.E.Johnston.1975."TheCourseofMotherTongueDiversityinNations."AmericanJournalofSociology81,1:3461.

LopezD.E.1976."TheSocialConsequencesofChicanoHome/SchoolBilingualism."Social Problems24,2:23446.

MacDougallJ.A.,andC.S.Foon.1976."EnglishLanguageCompetenceandOccupationalMobilityinSingapore."PacificAffairs49,2:294312.

MannheimB.1984."Unanacinacorrolada:SouthernPeruvianQuechuaLanguagePlanningandPoliticsinHistoricalPerspective."LanguageinSociety13:291309.

NahirM.1984."LanguagePlanningGoals:AClassification."LanguageProblemsandLanguagePlanning8,3:294327.

PainterM.1983."AymaraandSpanishinSouthernPeru:TheRelationshipofLanguagetoEconomicClassandSocialIdentity."InBilingualism,ed.A.Miracle.Athens:UniversityofGeorgiaPress.

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.1977."LanguageandEthnicBoundaries."InPapersfromtheFirstNordicConferenceonBilingualism,ed.T.SkutnabbKangas.Helsinki:HelsingforsUniversitet.

RosierP.,andW.Holm.1980.TheRockPointExperience:ALongitudinalStudyofaNavajoSchoolProgram.Washington,D.C.:CenterforAppliedLinguistics.

RoyceA.P.1982.EthnicIdentity:StrategiesofDiversity.Bloomington:IndianaUniversityPress.

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.1970.ComparativeEthnicRelations.NewYork:RandomHouse.

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.1976.Nationalism:ItsNatureandInterpreters.Washington,D.C.:AmericanHistoricalAssociation.

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2LANGUAGESOFTHEWORLD

SarahGreyThomason

Theidealstartingpointforadiscussionoflanguagesoftheworldwouldbethefirsthumanlanguage.Fromtherewecouldtracethediversificationprocessthatultimatelyproducedtheseveralthousandlanguagesnowspoken.Unfortunately,thisorderlyhistoricalpathisnotopentous:hominidremainsseveralmillionyearsoldhavebeenfoundinAfrica,butlanguagesarenotfossilizedwiththebones.Linguistic"fossils"appearonlywiththeinventionofwritingaboutsixthousandyearsago.Historicallinguisticmethodologypermitsthepartialreconstructionofprehistoriclanguages,butthetimedepthachievedbythosemethodsisstillonlyabouttenthousandyearsatmost.Wecannotevenbecertainthatlanguageevolvedonlyonceinhumanhistory.Itispossiblethatearlyhumanpopulationsseparatelydevelopedlanguage,thoughinthatcasewemightexpectgreaterorganizationaldifferencesamongwidelyseparatedlanguages,andmoredifficultyinlearningadistantculture'slanguage.Atanyrate,thedirectlinguisticevidencedatesfromaperiodwhentherewereatleastasmanylanguagesspokenastherearetoday.

Giventhecontinuingspreadofthelanguagesofpoliticallyandeconomicallydominantgroupsattheexpenseofthelanguagesoflesspowerfulcultures,itissafetoassumethatthenumberofhumanlanguagesisrapidlydecreasing.SuchadecreasecanbetraceddirectlyinthehistoriesofcountriesliketheUnitedStatesandAustralia,wheremanylanguagesspokenatthetimeoffirstcontactwithEuropeanshavevanished.Newlanguagesmaystillbeemerginginsomepartsoftheworld,butcertainlynotataratethatmatchesthedismayingrateoflanguagedisappearance.

Forthisreason,today'sguessatthetotalnumberoflanguagesmustdifferfromtomorrow's.Otherfactors,too,makeanysuchestimatetentative.Inparticular,someregionsoftheworldprobablystillharborafewlanguagesundis

17

coveredbyoutsiders;andtwodifferentlanguagenamesmayinfactdesignatemerelyseparatedialects(oreventhesamedialect!)ofasinglelanguage.Itisthereforenotsurprisingthatlinguists'guessesatthenumberoftheworld'slanguagesvarywidely,roughlyfromthreethousandtosixthousand.Thefirstfigureissurelytoolow.ThereareaboutathousandlanguagesinAfricaaloneandanotherthousandintheNewGuineaarea(includingNewGuineaitselfandneighboringislands).OveronethousandAmericanIndianlanguagesareprobablystillspokenintheAmericas.Europehasonlyaboutfiftylivinglanguages,butAustraliamaystillhaveabouttwohundred.HundredsoflanguagesarespokeninmainlandAsia,andseveralhundredmoreontheislandsofthePacificandneighboringseas.

Sometimeinthelastfewmillionyears,thefirsthumanlanguage(orthefirstfew)evolvedandthen,overtime,diversifiedintothousandsofdifferentlanguages.Theprocessesofdiversificationthatproducetwoormoredaughterlanguagesfromasingleparentlanguagearewellunderstood,becausetheycanbemoreorlessdirectlytracedinrealtime.Thisispossibleforthosefewgroupsinwhichanancientlanguagepreservedinwrittenrecordshassplitintoseveraldaughters.ThebestdocumentedcaseisthatofLatin,whichgaverisetothemodernRomancelanguagesafterRomanpowerspreadoverWesternEuropeandpartsofEasternEurope.ChinesehasamuchgreatertimedepththantheRomancegroup,sincewrittenChinesedatesfromtheShangdynasty(17661123?B.C.);butsinceChinesewritingitselfhaschangedrelativelylittleoverthecenturies,theprocessesofchangeintothevariousmodernChinese"dialects"actuallyseparatelanguages,judgedonacriterionofmutualintelligibilityarenotrepresentedinthewritingsystem.GreekhasanattestedhistoryintermediatebetweenthatofLatinandChinese,butinthiscasevirtuallynodiversificationhastakenplace:oftheseveralAncientGreekdialects,onlyAtticsurvives(exceptperhapsforaminorrelicofaDoricdialectinthePeloponnese),andGreekisstilljustonelanguage.Otherlanguagesaredocumentedfromaveryearlydatebuthaveleftnolivingdescendants.Sumerianhasprideofplaceinthiscategory:itistheearliestdocumentedhumanlanguage,withwrittenrecordsfromasearlyasthefourthmillenniumB.C.ButSumeriandiedoutlongbeforetheturnofourera,and,indeed,isnotknowntoberelatedtoanyotherlanguage.OtherancientMesopotamianlanguages,notablyAkkadian(withitsdialectsAssyrianandBabylonian),datingfromthethirdmillenniumB.C.,andHittite,thelanguageofanempirethatflourishedfrom1700to1200B.C.,arerelatedtogroupswithlivingrepresentatives,butnotinadirectlineofdescentwithanymodernlanguages.ThesameistrueoftheNorthAfricanlanguageEgyptian:itisattestedfrom3200B.C.andisdistantlyrelatedtomodernSemiticandotherAfroAsiaticlanguages,butEgyptianitself(initsmodernformCoptic)haddiedbytheendoftheseventeenthcenturyA.D.

FromthedirectevidenceprovidedbytheRomancegroupandlanguagesthathavediversifiedintoseveralmoderndialects,andtheindirectevidenceprovidedbygroupswhosetimedepthcanbetentativelydeterminedthrough

18

extralinguisticmeans,wecanmakeatleastaroughguessatthetimerequiredforasinglelanguagetosplitintotwoormoredaughterlanguages.Westartwithapremisewhoseempiricalfoundationissolid:alllivinglanguagesareconstantlychanging.Ifaspeechcommunitydividesintotwogroupsthathavenofurthercontactwitheachother(forinstance,ifonegroupmovesfarawayfromtheoriginalhomeland),thetwoversionsoftheoriginalcommunity'slanguagewilldiverge,becauselanguagechangeisnotdeterministicthatis,itisimpossibletomakespecific,detailedpredictionsabouttheexactchangesthatagivenlinguisticsystemwillundergo.Afterfivehundredtoathousandyears,thetwogroupswillbespeakingseparate,mutuallyunintelligiblelanguages.Theprocessoflanguagesplitmaybehastenedifthespeechofone(ormorethanone)groupisheavilyinfluencedbysomeforeignlanguage,anditmaybeslowedintheunlikelyeventthatneithergroupisinfluencedbyanyforeignlanguagecontact.

Givenenoughtimeandappropriategeographicalspreadandisolation,thedaughterlanguagesproducedbylanguagesplitmaysplitagainandagain,untilanelaboratebranchingfamilytreehassprungfromthesingleoriginallanguage.Mostfamilytreesthatlinguistsconstructhaveanunattestedstartingpoint,calledaprotolanguage,whoseexistenceisinferredfromtheevidenceofcertainkindsofsimilaritiesintheattesteddaughterlanguages.Familytreesarethushypotheses,andtheextenttowhichinterrelationshipswithinlanguagefamiliescanbeabsolutelydeterminedcontinuestobeamuchdebatedissue.Thegreaterthetimedepthinaproposedlanguagefamily,thelessdetailedourhistoricalhypothesesare.Themethodsforestablishingbranchingfamilyrelationships,likethemethodsforreconstructingunattestedstagesinthehistoryofalanguagefamily,breakdownatabouttenthousandyears.Ifallhumanlanguagesarosefromasingleparentlanguage,ourcurrentmethodswouldneverpermitustoprovethepoint,becausethetimedepthsrequiredtoproducealltheattestedhumanlanguagesareclearlyfargreaterthantenthousandyears.Thismeans,amongotherthings,thatwecanneverprovetwolanguagestobeunrelated;wecanonlynotetheabsenceofevidencethattheyarerelated.Linguistsoftentalkaboutunrelatedlanguages,tobesure,butsuchstatementsalwayscarrytheimplicithedge"asfarasweknow."

Numbersoflanguagefamiliesareeventrickiertoestimatethannumbersofindividuallanguages,becauseinmostareasscholarsdisagreeaboutthefamilygroupingstheyconsideradequatelydemonstrated.Togivejustoneexample,somelinguistshaveclaimedjustsixlargelanguagefamiliesamongAmericanIndianlanguagesnorthofMexico,whileothersalmosteveryonenowadaysaremuchmorecautiousaboutacceptingfamily(orgenetic)groupings,estimatingaboutthirtyfivetofortyfamilies.Probablythereareatleastahundredlanguagefamiliesintheworld.Afewofthemostdiversefamilies,notablyAustronesianinthePacificandNigerKordofanianinAfrica,containfivehundredtoathousandlanguageseach;IndoEuropean,withoverahundredlanguages,isstillamongthemostdiversefamilies.Mostlan

19

guagefamilieshaveonlyafewmemberlanguages,andscatteredabouttheworldareanumberoflanguageisolates,oronelanguage"families."ExamplesofisolatesareBurushaskiinIndia,BasqueinEurope,andKutenaiinnorthwesternNorthAmerica,aswellastheextinctlanguageSumerian.Furtherresearchmaywellconsolidatesomesetsoflanguagefamiliesintosinglelargerfamilies;Kutenai,forinstance,isbelievedbysomelinguiststoberelatedtotheAlgonquianfamilyofCanadaandthenorthernUnitedStates.Buttherewillnodoubtstillbemanyseparatelanguagefamiliesevenafterallthemethodologicallyfeasibleconsolidatinghasbeendone.

Surveysoftheworld'slanguagesaccordingtofamilygroupingscanbefoundinanumberofsources.Linguisticstextbooksoftenincludeachapteronthesubject,forexample,HenryA.Gleason(1961)andVictoriaFromkinandRobertRodman(1978).Moreambitiouslistsandclassificationsarerarer.ThefirstauthoritativemodernlinguisticworkthataimedatcompletenesswasthatbyAntoineMeilletandMarcelCohen(1952,butoriginallypublishedearlier),whichincludestwentyonemaps,discussionsofclassifications,listsoflanguages,structuralsketches,andbriefanalyzedtextsforoneormoreimportantlanguagesinmostgroups.Morerecently,thejournalAnthropologicalLinguistics(196466)publishedaseriesofissuesbyC.F.andF.M.Voegelinsurveyingalltheworld'slanguages,withclassificationsandlists,and,occasionally,abitofstructuralinformation.MerrittRuhlen(1975)differsinscopefrombothoftheearliersources,sincethebulkofthevolumeistakenupwithsomesevenhundredrepresentativephonemeinventories.Butitalsoincludesfamilytreesanddescriptionsofmostoftheworld'slanguagefamilies,soitisusefulasareferencework.Thesethreepublicationsalsodifferinquality.MeilletandCohenisconsistentlyofverygoodquality,butmanyofitsclassificationsarenowseriouslyoutofdate.Theothertwovaryinqualityfromfamilytofamily,andthereaderisseldomwarnedthatsomefamilygroupingsarehighlycontroversial(orevengenerallyrejectednowadays).Allthesesourcesmustthereforebeusedwithcaution.Readersinterestedinclassificationsforparticularareasshouldconsultthemorespecializedsurveysthatareavailableformanyfamiliesandmanyregionsoftheworld;someofthesearelistedinthereferencetothischapter.AgoodsourceforgeneralinformationistheEncyclopediaBritannica,whosemostrecenteditionhasanumberofgoodarticlesonmajorfamiliesandsomeminoronesaswell.ThevariousvolumesoftheCurrentTrendsinLinguisticsseries,editedbyThomasA.Sebeok,havemorecomprehensivesurveysofmostfamilies.HereIwilldiscusstheworld'smostfirmlyestablishedlanguagefamilies,concentratingonthosewiththemostmemberlanguagesandthemostspeakers.Thissurveywillthenserveasbackgroundforadiscussionoftheworld'slanguagesinpoliticalterms,thatis,alookatthenationalandinternationalstatusofparticularlanguages.Thegeographicallydesignatedsectionheadingsbelowarenotmeanttoimplyexclusivity:languagefamiliescan,andfrequentlydo,spillovercontinentalboundaries.

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LANGUAGEFAMILIESCENTEREDINEUROPEANDNORTHERNASIAEvenbeforetheAgeofExploration,theIndoEuropeanfamilyhadoneofthegreatestgeographicalrangesintheworld.Atthetimeoftheearliesthistoricalrecords,asthefamilynamesuggests,IndoEuropean(IE)languagesspreadfromIndiatonorthwesternEurope.TheeasternmostIElanguage,Tocharian,haslongbeenextinctandisknownonlyfromdocumentsdiscoveredinChineseTurkestan(westernSinkiang).OfthetenIEbranches,sevenareattestedbefore500A.D.:Anatolian,anentirelyextinctbranchwhosemajorrepresentativewasHittite(AsiaMinor);Greek,attestedintheancientMyceneanformfromca.1400B.C.;IndoIranian,withIndicattestedinSanskrithymnsfromabout800B.C.(andevenearlierIndicwordsinadocumentfrom1300B.C.),andIranianinthereligiouswritingsofZarathustra(whoisbelievedtohavebeenbornin637B.C.),writtenintheancientlanguageAvestan;Italic,includingLatin,withinscriptionsbeginningabout600B.C.;Germanic,withtheoldestextensivetextsinthenowextinctlanguageGothicfromabout350A.D.andrunicinscriptionsinEarlyNorsefromthethirdcenturyA.D.;Celtic,withinscriptionsinthecontinentallanguageGaulish,whichbecameextinctinabout500A.D.,andinOldIrishfromthefourthorfifthcenturyA.D.;andArmenian(theUSSRandelsewhere),aonelanguagebranchfirstattestedinthefifthcenturyA.D.

BesidesthesesevenearlyattestedIEbranches,therearethreemorerecentlydocumentedones.Ofthese,onlyBaltoSlavicdiversifiedintoanumberofmodernlanguages,thetwolivingBalticlanguagesLithuanianandLatvianandtheseveralSlaviclanguages.Theothertwobranchescontainjustonelanguageeach:AlbanianandTocharian.TheearlierattestedIEbranches,exceptforAnatolian,haveleftoneormoremoderndescendants.IntheIndoIranianbranch,thereareovertwentylivingIndiclanguages(mainlyinIndiaandPakistan)andaboutthirtyIranianones(Iran,Afghanistan,theUSSR);andthereareclosetotwentylanguages,forexample,Kashmiri,inDardic(northernIndiansubcontinent),thethirdsubbranchofIndoIranian.TheGermanic,Celtic,andItalicbrancheshaveseverallanguageseach(thelastcomprisesthemodernRomancelanguages).MostoftheIndiansubcontinentandalmostallofEuropearenowIEterritoryaswellasalmosttheentireWesternHemisphere,thankstoEuropeancolonizers.

TwolanguageisolateshavebeenimportantinEuropeanhistory.TheseareBasque,whichisspokeninthePyreneesMountainsofSpainandFrance,andtheextinctlanguageEtruscan,whichwasspokeninwhatisnowItaly.Asidefromthesetwolanguages,onlyoneotherfamilybesidesIEoccupiesasignificantportionofEurope:theUralicfamily,whosemostprominentmembersareFinnish,Hungarian,andEstonian.MostofthetwentyeightorsoUraliclanguagesarespokeninboththeEuropeanandtheAsianpartsoftheSovietUnion,and

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thefamilynameisderivedfromitsproposedoriginalhomelandtheUralMountains.Thefamilyisdividedintothreemainbranches,FinnoPermic(e.g.,Finnish,Estonian,andLappish),Ugric(e.g.,Hungarian),andSamoyed,asmallgrouplocatedinnorthcentralsubarcticSiberia.

BetweenEuropeandAsia,intheCaucasusMountainsoftheUSSRandneighboringpartsofIranandTurkey,areanumberoflanguagestowhichtheumbrellatermCaucasianisgiven.Inspiteoftheirgeographicalproximity,theselanguagesseemtobedividedintotwoquitedistinctgeneticgroups:themorediverse(overthirtylanguages)NorthCaucasianfamilyandtheSouthCaucasian,orKartvelian,family(fourlanguages).ThemostimportantlanguageineitherfamilyistheSouthCaucasianlanguageGeorgian,whichhasbeenaliterarylanguagesincethefifthcenturyA.D.

TheAltaicfamily,whosenamecomesfromtheAltaiMountainsofCentralAsia,stretchesfromthebordersofEuropeacrossNorthernAsiatothePacificOcean.Itsmajorrepresentativesarefoundattheextremesofitsrange:theTurkiclanguage(Ottoman)Turkishisthewesternmostlanguageofthefamilynowadays(thoughthecountryofBulgariaisnamedafteraTurkicpeoplenolongertherewhooncepenetratedintoEurope);andintheeast,many(perhapsmost)specialistsnowclassifybothKoreanandJapaneseasbranchesofAltaic.MostoftheothertwentyormorelanguagesoftheTurkicbrancharespokenintheSovietUnion,butafewspilloverintoAfghanistan,Iran,Mongolia,andChina(Sinkiang).Theothertwobranchesofthefamily,bothinNorthernAsia,areMongol(ninelanguages)andTungus(seventeenlanguages).TungusistheleastimportantAltaicbranchnow,butoneofitsmembers,Manchu,wasthelanguageoftherulersofChinafrom1644to1911.WiderrelationshipshavebeenproposedforAltaic,especiallywithUralic,butnoneoftheseisconsideredwellestablishedbymosthistoricallinguists.

InthefarnorthoftheSovietUnion,particularlyinnortheasternSiberia,areafewlanguagesthatdonotfitintoanyofthefamiliesdiscussedsofar.SiberianEskimobelongstothecircumpolarEskimoAleutfamily.ItiscloselyrelatedtotheEskimolanguagesofAlaska,Canada,andGreenland,andmoredistantlyrelatedtoAleut,whichisspokenontheislandchainbetweentheUSSRandAlaska.ThenthereisasetofeightlanguagesoftencalledPaleosiberianastrictlygeographicaldesignationindicatingthattheirspeakerswereinSiberiabeforeothers(Uralic,Altaic,andthenRussianspeakers)arrivedinthearea.Severalofthesebelongtothesamefamily,Luoravetlan(orChukotian);theseinclude,inparticular,Chukchi,whichwasalanguageofpoliticalandeconomicimportanceintheregionbeforetheRussianscameinnumbers.TheremainingPaleosiberianlanguagesarenotknowntoberelatedtoeachotherortoanyotherlanguages,thoughhypothesesaboutpossiblegeneticgroupingsareoftenputforward.AmongthemostinterestinghypothesesarethosethatlinkoneormorePaleosiberianlanguages,especiallytheLuoravetlan,withIndianlanguagesofNorthAmericaorwithEskimoAleut.Someoftheresearchalongtheselines

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lookspromising,butthetimedepthisgreat,andnoneofthecasesisgenerallyconsideredasprovenatleastnotyet.

LANGUAGEFAMILIESCENTEREDINAFRICA

InWesternAsiaandNorthernAfrica,themostimportantlanguagefamilyisAfroAsiatic,whosefivefirmlyestablishedbranchesareSemitic,Egyptian,Berber,Chadic,andCushitic.OnlytheSemiticbranchisspokeninAsiaaswellasAfrica.Fivemembersofthisbranchhaveparticularhistoricalimportance.HebrewandAramaicarethelanguagesinwhichtheOldTestamentoftheBibleiswritten,andAramaicwasthenativelanguageofJesus.ArabicwasthelanguageofMuhammadandoftheQur'an;startingintheseventhcenturyA.D.,itwasspreadwithIslamfromArabiaovermostofNorthAfricaandlargepartsofAsia.Akkadian,nowextinct,wastheearliestwrittenSemiticlanguageandthemajorlinguafrancaoftheNearEastuntilitwasdisplacedbyAramaictowardtheturnofourera.Finally,Phoenician,withitsoffshootPunic,wasthelanguageofthegreatMediterraneanseapowerbasedinCarthage(modernTunisia)inNorthAfrica.ItwasprobablythePhoeniciansfromwhomtheGreekslearnedtowrite,perhapsasearlyastheninthcenturyB.C.Phoenician,likeAkkadian,islongdead.

BesidesSemitic,AfroAsiatichasfourorfiveotherbranches.Egyptianformsaonelanguagebranch,nowextinct.TheseverallanguagesoftheBerberbranch,forexample,TuaregandShilha,arespokenbyisolatedgroupsinnorthwesternAfrica;theywereoncewidespreadthroughoutthisregion,butinrecentcenturiestheyhavesteadilylostgroundtoArabic.Chadiclanguagesarestilllittleknown.Thereareprobablyoveronehundredlanguagesinthisbranch,clusteredinthevicinityofLakeChadandspokenmainlyinNigeria,Chad,Cameroon,andtheCentralAfricanRepublic.ThebestknownChadiclanguagebyfarisHausa,whichisalinguafrancaofgreatimportanceinlargepartsofWestAfricaandistheofficiallanguageofNigeria'snorthernprovinces.TheCushiticbranchissubdividedbysomespecialistsintoCushiticproperandanindependentsixthAfroAsiaticbranch,Omotic.CushiticlanguagesarespokenontheAfricansideoftheRedSea,inSomalia,Ethiopia,Jibouti,theSudan,Kenya,andTanzania;themostimportantlanguagesinthisbranchareSomali(Somaliaandelsewhere)andGallaorOromo(Ethiopia).

ThevastmajorityoftheterritoryinsubSaharanAfricaisoccupiedbytheNigerKordofanianfamily,whichcontainsnearlyninehundredlanguages.Althoughmanydetailsofthegeneticgroupingsremaintentative,JosephH.Greenberg's1966classificationofNigerKordofanianintoKordofanianandsixbranchesofNigerCongoiswidelyaccepted.Allbutoneofthesesevenbrancheshaverelativelymodestnumbersoflanguages.Kordofanian,withaboutthirtyonelanguages(e.g,KoalibandTegali),isspokenintheKordofanregionoftheSudan,southofKhartoum.FourofthesixNigerCongobranchesareWest

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African.ThetwentythreeorsoWestAtlanticlanguagesarespokenprimarilyinSenegal,Guinea,andSierraLeone;themostimportantlanguageinthisbranch,intermsofnumbersofspeakers,isFula(Senegalandseveralothercountries).TheMandebranchisaboutthesamesizeandisnearbyinWestAfrica.ItstwentysixlanguagesarespokeninSierraLeone,Liberia,IvoryCoast,Mali,andothercountries.TheyincludetheimportantlanguageknownvariouslyasMalinke,Mandinka,Bambara,andDyula,whichwasthelanguageofthegreatthirteenthcenturyMaliempire(BirdandShopen,1979:59)andisnowspokeninseveralcountries.TheGurbranchislarger,withaboutfiftylanguages(e.g,DagombaandBariba)spokeninGhana,UpperVolta,Benin,IvoryCoast,andelsewhere.TheKwabranchhasaboutfiftylanguagesandincludesseveralofthemostimportantlanguagesofWestAfrica.ProbablythebestknownoftheseareYorubaandIgboinNigeriaandAkan(TwiFante)inGhana,eachwithseveralmillionsofspeakers.ThefifthNigerCongobranch,AdamawaEastern,containsabouteightylanguages(e.g.,NgbandiandGbeya)spokeninCentralAfrica,fromeasternNigeriatothewesternSudan.

TheremainingbranchofNigerCongoisthehugeBenueCongogroup,whichconsistsofnearlysixhundredBantulanguagesandabouteightynonBantulanguages.NonBantulanguagesbelongingtothisbrancharespokenasfarnorthandwestasNigeria(e.g.,TivandEfik);BantulanguagesspreadfromCamerooninthenorthwestandKenyainthenortheastallthewaysouthtosouthernSouthAfrica.ThegreatEastAfricanlinguafrancaSwahiliisaBantulanguage;soarekikuyu(Kenya),Zulu(SouthAfrica),andkiKongo(theCongoandZaire).

BesideAfroAsiaticandNigerKordofanian,theremainingtwolanguagefamiliesofAfricaNiloSaharanandKhoisanarerelativelyinsignificant,bothinnumbersoflanguagesandinnumbersofspeakers.MostoftheeightyorsoNiloSaharanlanguagesarespokeninCentralandEastCentralAfrica,buttwoofthemostimportantmembersofthisfamily,SonghaiandKanuri,arespokenfartherwest(Niger,Nigeria).Thelargestbranchofthefamily,ChariNile,withaboutsixtylanguages,includesseveralimportantlanguagesoftheSudan,forexampleDinkaandNubian,andalsoMaasaiinTanzania.

Finally,thereareabouttwentylanguagesintheKhoisanfamily,whosenamederivesfromtheHottentot'sselfname(Khoi)combinedwiththeirnamefortheBushmen(San).Mostoftheselanguages,includingHottentotitselfnowknownasKhoikhoiandtheBushman(San)languages,arespokeninSouthAfrica;theothertwomembersofthefamily,SandaweandHatsa,arespokenfarthernorthinTanzania.TheKhoisanlanguagesareapparentlyremnantsofearlierpopulationswhoselanguageswerelargelyabandonedforBantuastheBantuspeakersincreasedtheirterritory:evidenceofinfluenceofKhoisanonBantuisfoundinthepresenceofthemostfamousKhoisanstructuralfeaturetheclickphonemesinseveralsouthernBantulanguages,notablyZuluandXhosa.

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LANGUAGEFAMILIESOFSOUTHERNANDEASTERNASIAANDOCEANIA

ImmediatelytotheeastofAfrica(ifweignoreMadagascarforthemoment)areArabia,whichissolidlySemiticspeaking,andthenIran,whichislinguisticallydominatedbyIndoEuropeanlanguagesoftheIraniansubbranch,especiallyPersian(Farsi).NeighboringPakistanismostlydividedbetweentheIEsubbranchesIndic(e.g.,Urdu)andIranian(e.g.,Balochi),butinIndiaIndiclanguagescompeteforterritorywithlanguagesoftwootherfamilies,DravidianandAustroAsiatic.

LiketheIndicspeakers,butmuchearlier,thelinguisticancestorsofthemodernDravidiansenteredtheIndiansubcontinentfromthenorthwest.SouthernIndiaisnowsolidlyDravidianspeaking,whileIndiclanguagesdominateinthenorth.OnlyoneDravidianlanguageisspokenentirelyoutsideIndiaBrahui,inPakistan.ThereareaboutthirtyDravidianlanguagesinall,butasofthe1961census96percentofallDravidianspeakersspokeoneofthefourliterarylanguages:Tamil,Telugu,Kannada,andMalayalam.VariousproposalshavebeenmadeaboutgeneticlinksbetweenDravidianandotherlanguagefamilies,forexample,UralicandAltaic.ThebestdevelopedhypothesisconnectsDravidianwiththeextinctlanguageElamite,anancientlanguageofwesternAsia(modernwesternIran)attestedasearlyasthethirdmillenniumB.C.

TheAustroAsiaticfamilyisrepresentedincentralandeasternIndiabythesixteenorsolanguagesoftheMundabranch(e.g.,SantaliandMundari),butMundaspeakersarethoughttohaveenteredIndiafromtheeast;mostoftheotherAustroAsiaticlanguages,perhapsoverahundredofthem,arespokeninmainlandSoutheastAsia,theproposedoriginalhomelandofthefamily.ProposedsubgroupingswithinAustroAsiaticvarysowidelythatnoconsensusseemsclear(compare,forinstance,thedivergentclassificationsofPinnow,1963,Benedict[ascitedbyMatisoff,1973],andRuhlen,1975:89).Munda,atleast,iswellestablishedasabranchofthefamily.SoisthelargeMonKhmerbranch,whichincludesKhmer(Cambodian)ofKampucheaandmayalsoincludetheVietMuonggroup(e.g.,Vietnamese).Theinterrelationshipsofmanyoftheotherlanguages,forexample,Nicobarese,thelanguageoftheNicobarIslandsintheBayofBengal,arelesswellunderstood.Inanycase,mostAustroAsiaticlanguagesareclusteredinVietnam,Kampuchea,andLaos,butothersarescatteredthroughThailand,Burma,Malaysia,andChina,aswellasIndia.

TheenormousAustronesianfamily(sometimesalsoknownasMalayoPolynesian)alsohasafirmtoeholdinmainlandSoutheastAsia,thoughthevastmajorityofthethreehundredtofivehundredlanguagesinthefamilyarespokenonalmostalltheislandsinthePacific,fromHawaiiallthewaywesttoMadagascarthusgivingthisfamilythelargestgeographicrangeofanylanguagefamilyintheworld,beforeEuropeanscolonizedtheAmericas.Onthemainland,AustronesianlanguagesarespokeninMalaysia(notablyMalay)andsouthern

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Vietnam.ThegreatmajorityofAustronesianspeakersspeaklanguagesoftheIndonesian(orWestern)branch,whichincludesMalay;IndonesianandotherlanguagesofIndonesia,forinstance,thoseonSumatra,Borneo,andSumatra;MalagasyonMadagascar;thelanguagesofthePhilippines,forexample,Tagalog,Visayan,andIlocano;andsomeofthenonChineselanguagesofTaiwan.(AtleastoneAustronesianlanguageofTaiwan,Atayal,maybelongtoathirdbranchofthefamily,independentfrombothIndonesianandOceanic.)ThesecondlargebranchofAustronesian,Oceanic(orEastern),containsoverhalfofthelanguagesofthefamilybuthasfarfewerspeakersthanIndonesianlanguages.TheOceanicbranchisgenerallyfurthersubdividedintothreegroupsoflanguagesnamedaftergeographicallycontiguousgroupsofislands:Micronesia(e.g.,theMarianas,Marshalls,Carolines,andGilberts);Melanesia(e.g.,NewGuinea,NewBritain,NewIreland,theSolomons,VanuatuorNewHebrides),NewCaledonia,andFiji;andPolynesia(e.g.,Hawaii,Samoa,theMarquesas,theSocietyandCookIslands,Tonga,EasterIsland,andNewZealand).Thereisconsiderablecontroversyoverthevalidityofthesegroupingsasgeneticlinguisticsubbranches,butthebroadoutlinesoftheclassificationareprobablyreasonablyaccurate.Notallthelanguagesspokenineachareabelongtothearea'ssubbranch,butforthemostpartthegeographyandthelinguisticclassificationmatchratherwell.

TheMicronesiansubbranchisthesmallest;itslanguagesincludeMarshalleseandTrukese(orTruk).Melanesianisbyfarthelargestbranch,withwellovertwohundredlanguages.AlargepercentageofthesearespokenonNewGuinea,forexample,MotuandBuang,thoughAustronesianlanguagesareintheminoritythere.ThePolynesianbranchcontainsanumberoflanguageswhosenamesarefamiliartooutsidersbecausetheislandsarefamous:examplesareHawaiian,Tahitian,Samoan,andTongan.Maori,spokenonNewZealand,isalsoPolynesian.

NotallthelanguagesofOceaniaareAustronesian,however.Asmentionedabove,mostNewGuinealanguagesperhapssixhundredofthemarenonAustronesian.Ingeneral,Austronesianlanguagesarespokeninthecoastalareas,whilenonAustronesian(NANorPapuan)NewGuineanlanguagesarespokenintheinterioroftheisland.ThegeneticaffiliationsoftheNANlanguagesaremuchdisputed,partlybecauseveryfewofthelanguageshavebeenstudiedextensively.(AfewofthebetterknownlanguagesareEnga,Usurufa,andWahgi.)Somescholarsdividetheselanguagesintofiveseparatefamilies,thelargestofwhichistheTransNewGuineagroup,withoverthreehundredlanguages.Inthisclassificatoryschema,besidesthesefivefamilies,aratherlargenumberoflanguagesremainunclassified.AttheotherextremeisJosephH.Greenberg's(1971)IndoPacifichypothesis,accordingtowhichalltheNANlanguagesofNewGuineaaregeneticallyrelatedtoeachotherandtosomeotherlanguagesaswellnamely,theindigenouslanguagesofTasmania,whichhavebeenextinctsinceabout1900;somelanguagesspokenontheAndamanIslands;andothersspokenonseveralislandsclosertoNewGuinea.Evensomeofthe

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conservativegroupingsareconsideredhighlytentativebyvariousscholars,soitisnotsurprisingthatmanyormostlinguistsareunwillingtoaccepttheIndoPacifichypothesisuntilandunlessmuchmoreevidencecanbeadducedtosupportit.

OnepointonwhichspecialistsdoagreeisthatthereisnoevidencethateithertheNANNewGuinealanguagesortheTasmanianlanguagesarerelatedtothelanguagesofAustraliaandthewesternTorresStraitIslands.Moreover,thereisquitegeneralagreementthat,withinAustraliaandthewesternTorresStraitIslands,allthelanguagesaregeneticallyrelated.EstimatesofthetotalnumberoflanguagesspokeninthisareabeforeEuropeansarrivedrangefrom150to650(Yallop,1982:27),butS.A.Wurm(1972)andColinYallop(1982)agreeonanestimateofaround250;ofthese,perhapsfiftyhavebecomeextinctsinceEuropeancolonizationbeganinthelateeighteenthcentury.Oftheroughlytwohundredextantlanguages,mosthaveonlyafewspeakerseach,andonlyfivehaveoverathousandspeakers:theWesternDesertLanguage(3,0004,000),Warlpiri(ca.2,500),Mabuyag(2,000+),Aranda(1,500+),andTiwi(ca.1,400)(Yallop,1982:44).Australianlanguageshavebeententativelysubdividedintotwentysevenbranches.Oneofthese,PamaNyungan,occupiesthevastmajorityofthecontinent'sterritoryandcontainsbyfarthelargestnumberoflanguages(ca.175),includingtheWesternDesertLanguage,Warlpiri,Mabuyag(spokenontheTorresStraitIslands),andAranda.TheremainingtwentysixbranchesareclusteredtogetherinnorthcentralAustralia.

ToreturntomainlandAsia,fromwhichtheramificationsofAustronesianledusintoOceania,wefindtwomajorremaininggeneticgroups.ThelargerisSinoTibetan;thisisthesecondlargestlanguagefamilyintheworldintermsofspeakernumbers,afterIndoEuropean.Atleast,thisisthestandardclaim,butitmaynolongerbeaccurate:thetotalnumberofChinesespeakershasrecentlybeenestimatedat900million(LiandThompson,1979:295),andifthisiscorrect,thefamily'sspeakersmaynowoutnumberIndoEuropeanspeakers,evenwiththehugefiguresforEnglish(asafirstlanguage),HindiUrdu,Spanish,andotherwidelyspokenIElanguages.SinoTibetanisalsooneofthemostdiverseofallfamilies,thoughChineseisfarandawaythelargest,interritoryasinspeakers.

Classificationinthisfamily,asinsomanyothers,ishighlycontroversial,butChineseitselfisgenerallyconsideredtoformitsownbranch,Sinitic.Chineseisdividedintoseveraltraditionaldialectsboundtogetherbytheirancientnationalunityandbytheircommonwritingsystem,whichhasthelongestcontinuoushistoryofanywritingintheworld(fromtheShangdynasty,whichbeganin1766B.C.,untiltoday).Althoughnosinglecriterionoffersafoolproofwayofdistinguishingdialectsofonelanguagefromseparatelanguages,thelinguisticcriterionofmutualintelligibilityismostoftenappealedto,anditgivesratherreliableresultsexceptwhenculturalfactorsinterfere.WithChinese,historyandsharedculture(includingthewritingsystem)dictatestatusasasinglelanguage;butapplyingthecriterionofmutualintelligibilitywouldyieldatleastfiveseparateChineselanguages.ThelargestbyfarisMandarin,thenativelanguageofover

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halfoftheChinesepeopleandofmostoftheterritoryofChina.TheotherfourlanguagesarespokenineasternandsoutheasterncoastalChinaandonnearbyislands:Wu,includingthedialectofShanghai;Min,includingthedialectofChaozhouonthemainlandandmostdialectsspokenonTaiwan;YueorCantonese,ontheSouthChinacoast,includingthedialectofHongKong;andHakkainsoutheasternChinaandTaiwan.

TibetanandLoloBurmesehavetraditionallybeenclassifiedintoasinglebranchofSinoTibetan,calledTibetoBurman,butsomespecialistsnowsplittheseintotwoormorebranches.TheTibetanbranchproperconsistsofonlytwoorthreelanguages,withmanydialects.Tibetanitselfhasalongtraditionasaliterarylanguage,withClassicalTibetantextsdatingfromtheseventhcenturyA.D.andwritteninascriptderivedfromnorthIndianwriting.IntheLoloBurmesebranch,Burmeseisthemajorlanguageandtheonlyonewithnationalandliterarystatus(itisattestedfromthetwelfthcenturyA.D.).ItiscloselyrelatedtolanguagesoftheLologroup(China,Burma,Thailand,Laos,Vietnam),forexample,LahuandLisu.

OvertwohundredSinoTibetanlanguagesarespokenintheeasternHimalayanregion,especiallyAssamineasternIndiaanddownintoBurma.ThesearesometimesgroupedintotheoneTibetoBurmanbranchandsometimessplitintoseveralbranchesindependentofTibetanandLoloBurmese.Fewofthelanguagesarewellstudied,soitisnotsurprisingthattheirdetailedinterrelationshipsremainobscure.AmongtheeasternHimalayanlanguagesaretwocompletelydifferentgroupscalledNaga,onecomprisingseverallanguagesofBurmaandtheotherspokeninSikkim,Nepal,Bhutan,andelsewhere.TheimportantBodogroup,includingBodoproperandGaro,iscenteredinAssamandiscloselyrelatedtothesecondgroupofNagalanguages(i.e.,thoseoutsideBurma)andtoKachin(Jinghpaw)inBurma.OthergroupsareChinandKukiinBurma,closelyrelatedtotheNagalanguagesofBurma,andtheGyarungMishmigroupintheHimalayas(especiallyNepal,Assam,andTibet).

Karen,whichconsistsofseverallanguagesspokenprimarilyintheIrrawaddydeltaofsouthernBurma,apparentlybelongseitherinaseparateSinoTibetanbranchorinabranchwithTibetanandLoloBurmeseasopposedtoSinitic.Finally,thefewMiaoYaolanguagesarespokeninsouthernChina(especiallyGuizhouandHunan)andnearbynorthernVietnam,Laos,andThailand.Thegeneticaffiliationoftheselanguagesisstillcontroversial,buttheyarenowsometimesclassifiedasanindependentbranchofSinoTibetan.

OneotherimportantgeneticgroupremainsinAsia.ThisistheTaiKadaigroup(sometimescalledKamTai),comprisingthirtytofiftylanguages,anditswidergeneticaffiliationsaresomuchdisputedthatIwillgiveithereasanindependentfamily.ItwaslongclassifiedasasubbranchofSinoTibetan,butacounterproposaltogroupitwithAustronesianhasgainedgroundinrecentdecades.Bothproposalshavebeenchallengedonmethodologicalgrounds.ProbablymostscholarsnowrejecttheSinoTibetanconnection;nevertheless,theAustronesianlinkisbynomeansgenerallyaccepted.ThebestknownTaiKadai

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languagesareintheTaibranch,notablyThai(orSiamese)inThailandandLaoinLaos.AlthoughanumberoftheotherlanguagesarespokeninThailand,Laos,Vietnam,Kampuchea,andevenAssam(India),probablymostTaiKadailanguages,includingallfourmembersoftheKadaibranch,arespokeninChina(Yunnan,Guizhou,Hunan,Guangxi,andHainanIsland).

AfewsouthernAsianlanguageshavenotbeenclassifiedintoanyofthegeneticgroupsmentionedabove.Someofthese,forexample,BurushaskiandKhasiinIndiaandAinuinJapan,aregeneticisolates,withnorelationshipsestablishedtoanyotherlanguages.Others,suchasthesmall(ca.twelvelanguages)PalaungWafamilyofSoutheastAsia(Burma,Thailand,Laos,Vietnam,andChina),havenotbeengroupedwithanyoftheseverallargefamiliesintheirregion.

LANGUAGEFAMILIESOFNORTHAMERICANORTHOFMEXICO

ThenativelanguagesoftheAmericashaveevolvedfromtheoneormorelanguagesspokenbyhunterswhocrossedtoNorthAmericaonalandbridgeovertheBeringStrait,fromSiberiatoAlaska.Thedatesoftheircrossingsarestilldisputed;landbridgesemergedthereseveraltimesduringthelasticeage.Archaeologicalevidencefromasearlyas10,000B.C.isabundant,andearlyhumansreachedTierradelFuegobyabout8,000B.C.(Driver,1969:34).Butrecentarchaeologicalfindingssupportamuchearlierestimateddateofman'sarrivalintheNewWorldatleastasearlyasca.20,000B.C.(AdovasioandCarlisle,1984),andquitepossiblythousandsofyearsearlier.

Asmentionedabove,viewsontheclassificationofAmericanIndianlanguageshavevariedfromextremelybroadtoextremelyconservativenarrowgroupings.Thelattertypeiscurrentlyinfashion.AsMaryHaasobservednotlongago,today"thereisagreaterwillingnesstoleavesomethingsunassignedandtoadmitourinabilitytotieupalllooseends"(1976:32)or,atleast,toadmitthatwehavenotyetgatheredsufficientevidencetojustifymanyofthegroupingsthatwerepopularuntilrecently.Inthediscussionbelow,languagesarereferredtoasbeingwheretheywereatthetimeofthefirstEuropeancontact,ratherthanwheretheywere,orare,duringthereservationperiod.ForthesoutheasternUnitedStatesinparticular,entireIndiancommunitieswereforcedtomovewestwardtoIndianTerritory(Oklahoma)asthenumberofwhitesettlersincreased.

InNorthAmerica,mostofthesixhugegeneticgroupsproposedbyEdwardSapir(1921)havebeensplitandsplitagain.Onlyoneremainsintact:EskimoAleut,whichwasdiscussedabove.

AnotherofSapir'sgroupshasbeenseparatedfromone,orperhapstwo,ofitsputativemembers.ThisisNaDene,consistingofAthabaskanEyak,awellestablishedgrouping;Tlingit(Alaska,BritishColumbia),whoserelationshiptoAthabaskanEyakisconsideredshakybymany(ormost)specialists;andHaida

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(BritishColumbia,Alaska),whosegeneticconnectionwiththeothertwoisnolongerviewedevenaspromising,muchlessasestablished.Tlingit,Haida,andEyak(Alaska)aresinglelanguages,butAthabaskanconsistsofaboutthirtylanguagesspokeninthreewidelyseparatedareas:AlaskaandCanada(e.g.,KutchinandChipewyan);connectedcoastalareasofOregonandCalifornia(e.g.,Hupa);andtheApacheanlanguages,spokenprimarilyinArizonaandNewMexiconotablyApacheitselfandNavajo(Arizona),whoseapproximately120,000speakersmakeitthemostwidelyspokenIndianlanguagenorthofMexico.

NoneofSapir'sotherproposedgroupingsofNorthAmericanIndianlanguageshasremainedintact.ArecentconservativeclassificationintosixtytwogeneticunitsthatarewellsupportedbytheavailableevidenceispresentedbyLyleCampbellandMarianneMithun(1979b),andthediscussionbelowfollowstheiranalysis.Nooneargues,however,thattheclassificatoryworkinthisareaiscomplete:futureresearchwillalmostsurelypermitustoreducethetotalnumberoffamilies.

Amongthesixtytwofamiliesaretwentyeightisolates,forinstance,Haida,Kutenai,Tsimshian,Cayuse,Natches,Zuni,Yuchi,andTunica.Alltwentyeighthave,ofcourse,beenclaimedtoberelatedtootherlanguages(forexample,HaidatoNaDene,Kutenai(Montana,BritishColumbia)toAlgonquian,Zuni(NewMexico)to"Penutian,"andYuchi(Tennessee,Kentucky,andelsewhere)toSiouan.Butnoneofthegroupingsiscurrentlyacceptedbyallspecialists,andforatleastsomeoftheisolatesnewgroupingsarebeingproposed(e.g.,YuchiwithTunica).

Therearealso,ofcourse,wellestablishedfamilies,thoughveryfewhavemorethantwentylanguages.IntheNorthwest,immediatelytothesouthofnorthernAthabaskanterritory,thelargestfamilyisSalishan,withabouttwentythreelanguagesinWashington,Idaho,Montana,Oregon,andsouthernBritishColumbia.AmongtheSalishanlanguagesareBellaCoola,Tillamook,Shuswap,andKalispel.ThePacificNorthwestcoastoftheUnitedStatesandCanadaisanareaofgreatlinguisticdiversity,sothecoastalSalishanlanguagesinparticularhavemanynonSalishanneighbors.AmongthesearethesixlanguagesoftheWakashanfamily,notablyKwakiutl(orKwak'wala),onnorthernVancouverIslandandtheneighboringBritishColumbiacoast,andNootka,onthewestcoastofVancouverIsland.JustsouthofWakashanterritory,intheOlympicPeninsulaofWashington,are(orwere)thetwolanguagesoftheChimakuanfamily:Quileute(withabouttenremainingspeakers)andChemakum(extinctsinceaboutfiftyyearsago).

TwentyormorelanguagesspokentothenorthandtothesouthofSalishanandWakashanwereonceclassifiedintoagroupwhichSapircalledPenutian.Thisclassificationhasnowfallenapartcompletely,butcurrentresearchwillprobablyprovidesolidevidenceofrelationshipsamongsome(sub)groupsthatwereincludedin"Penutian"(Silverstein,1979).AmongthegeneticgroupsalreadysolidlyestablishedareChinookan,consistingoftwoormorelanguages

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alongtheColumbiaRiver,Sahaptian,withtwoorthreelanguagesfartheruptheColumbia(e.g.,NezPerce),KalapuyaTakelmainOregon,andCaliforniaPenutian,withaboutfivelanguages(e.g.,Yokuts).AnimportantisolateoriginallyplacedinPenutianisTsimshian,withseveraldialectsor,perhaps,severalseparatelanguagesontheBritishColumbiacoast.Aproposedgeneticlinkof"Penutian"languagesofNorthAmericaandMayanandotherMesoamericangroupshasnotbeenwidelyacceptedbyspecialistsinanyofthegroups.Littlesystematicevidencehaseverbeenpresentedinsupportofthatambitioushypothesis(orinsupportofanalternativehypothesisconnectingMayanwithHokan).

MuchofCaliforniaandsmallareasinArizona,Texas,Mexico,andevenCentralAmericaare,orwere,occupiedbythenumerouslanguagesofthecontroversialHokangroup.WilliamH.Jacobsen(1979)mentionsthirteenbranchesofthefamily;elevenofthesearelocatedatleastpartlyinCalifornia,andsixoftheelevenarenowentirelyextinct.LyleCampbellandMarianneMithun(1979b)listtwentygeneticunits,buttheydonotclassifythemfurtherintoasingleestablishedHokanfamily.ManyofthethirteentotwentyunitsoftheproposedHokanfamilycontainonlyonelanguage,butothershaveseverallanguageseach,forinstance,Pomoan,withsevenlanguages.Aswith"Penutian,"manyspecialistsnowprefertoabandontheHokanhypothesisentirely,startanewwithmoremodestgenetichypotheses,andseewhetherthosewillinturnprovideevidenceforwidergroupings.Examplesof"Hokan"languages,inanycase,areShastaandKarok(northernCalifornia),Washo(eastoftheSierras),Tequistlatec(Oaxaca,Mexico),andJicaque(Honduras).

AmongtheneighborsoftheselanguagesistheimportantUtoAztecanfamily,withaboutthirtylanguagesinCalifornia,Nevada,Arizona,NewMexico,Texas,andMexico.Subgroupingwithinthisfamilyisstillamatterofsomedispute,butthefamilyitselfiswellestablishedasageneticunit.SeveralUtoAztecanlanguagesarenowextinct,andothersaremoribund.Butthefamilyincludesanumberoflanguageswhosenamesarelikelytobefamiliartooutsiders,forinstance,Shoshone,SouthernPaiute,Comanche,Luiseno,Hopi,Pima,Yaqui,Huichol,andNahuatl(orAztec).ThelastwasthelanguageofoneofthegreatpreConquestMesoamericancivilizations,andisstillspoken,invariousdialects,bywelloveramillionpeopleinMexico.ClassicalNahuatliswellattestedinnumeroustextsdatingmainlyfromthesixteenthcentury.BeforetheSpanishConquest,theAztecsusedasymbolicsystemthathasbeencalled"rebuswriting,"butthiswasusedonlytonamepeopleandplacesandwasessentiallypictorial,ratherthanatruewritingsystem(TerrenceKaufman,personalcommunication,1984).ThisleavestheMayans(seebelow)astheonlyNewWorldpeoplewhodevelopedagenuinewritingsystembeforecontactwithEuropeans.

ThesmallKiowaTanoangroup,consistingofafewlanguagesspokeninOklahoma,Mexico,andelsewhere,hasoftenbeenlinkedwithUtoAztecan,butthisgroupingisnotuniversallyaccepted.

InthecentralandeasternUnitedStates,andextendingnorthintoCanada,are

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(orwere)languagesofthreefamiliesthatmayturnouttobedistantlyrelatedtoeachother:Siouan,Caddoan,andIroquoian.TheelevenSiouanlanguagesonceoccupiedmostoftheGreatPlainsregionandafewareasinthesoutheasternUnitedStates.ThefoursoutheasternlanguagesareCatawba(NorthandSouthCarolina),whichisdistantlyrelatedtotherestofSiouan,andtheextinctlanguagesOfo,Biloxi,andTutelo.SiouanlanguagesoftheGreatPlainshavenamesfamiliartooutsiders,mostlybecausetheyhavebeenusedasAmericanplacenames:Dakota,withitsdialectsAssiniboin,Dakhota(orYankton),andLakota(orTeton,orOglala);Mandan;Winnebago;Cinwere,includingIowaandtheextinctdialectMissouri;Dhegiha,whosedialectsincludeOmaha,Osage,andtheextinctKansa;Hidatsa;andCrow.

ThefourorfiveCaddoanlanguagesare(orwere)alsoGreatPlainslanguages,spokeninsmallareasfromSouthDakotatotheGulfstates:Pawnee(Nebraska),withitsoffshootArikara;Wichita(Kansas,Oklahoma)andthenearbyKitsai;andCaddo(Louisiana,Arkansas,eastTexas).

IroquoianlanguageswereoncespokenaroundandtothenortheastoftheeasternGreatLakes,andinaseparatedareainsouthernAppalachia.ThereisevidencefortheexistenceofperhapsfifteenIroquoianlanguages,butmostofthese,forexample,HuronWyandot,Erie,andSusquehanna(orAndaste),havelongbeenextinct.Cherokee,theonlymemberofthesouthernbranchofIroquoian,hasthelargestnumberofspeakerstoday,abouteleventhousand(NorthCarolina,Oklahoma)(Mithun,1979).ThefamousCherokeeSequoyainventedasyllabicwritingsystemforthelanguageearlyinthenineteenthcentury,notlongbeforemostofhispeoplewereforcemarchedfromAppalachiatoOklahoma.OfthenorthernIroquoianlanguages,themostfamousarethoseoftheFiveNations:Seneca,Cayuga,Onondaga,Oneida,andMohawk.

WhenEuropeansfirstarrivedontheAtlanticcoastofNorthAmerica,thenorthernIroquoiswerealmostsurroundedby(andinconflictwith)speakersoflanguagesbelongingtotheAlgonquianfamily.ThisfamilyisoneofthelargestinNorthAmerica,intermsofnumberoflanguages,numberofspeakers,andamountofterritory.ThetwentysixorsoknownAlgonquianlanguagesonceoccupiedmostoftheAtlanticseaboardfromNorthCarolinatoNewfoundland(butnotNewfoundlandIsland),andextendedacrossCanadaandthenorthernUnitedStatesintotheGreatPlains.IntheWest,speakersoftheAlgonquianlanguagesCree(Saskatchewanandeastward),Blackfoot(Montana),andCheyenne(Wyoming,SouthDakota)areneighborsofSalishan,Athabaskan,andSiouanspeakers.ThemostwidelyspokenAlgonquianlanguagestodayareCreeandOjibwa(Minnesota,NorthDakota,andelsewhere),butsomanyEasternandMidwesternplacenamesderivefromthenamesofAlgonquiantribesthatthelanguagenamesarefamiliar:Delaware,Passamaquoddy,Connecticut(extinct),Narragansett(extinct),Menomini,IllinoisPeoriaMiami,Ottawa(thesamelanguageasOjibway),andFox(Wisconsin)areexamples.Otherfamiliarnames(forotherreasons)areShawnee(Tennessee),Kickapoo(Michigan,Illinois,andelsewhere),Potawatomi(Michigan),andtheextinctlanguagesMahican

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(NewYorkandelsewhere)andPowhatan(Virginia).MostofthewidergeneticgroupingsthathavebeenproposedforAlgonquianhavegenerallybeenabandoned(atleasttemporarily),butoneproposalisnowuniversallyregardedasfirmlyestablished:AlgonquianhasbeenshowntobedistantlyrelatedtotwolanguagesofthenorthernCaliforniacoast,WiyotandYurok.TheentirefamilyisvariouslycalledAlgonquianRitwanorAlgic.

OnlyoneothermajorfamilyisprimarilyaU.S.group.ThisisMuskogean,whosesixmemberlanguagesoriginallyoccupiedmostofthesoutheasterncornerofthecountry.MostMuskogeanspeakerswereforcedtomovewestoftheMississippiRivertoIndianTerritoryin183640,butSeminole(adialectofCreek)isstillspokeninFloridaaswellasinOklahoma,andChoctawisspokeninMississippiandLouisianaaswellasOklahoma.OtherMuskogeanlanguagesareChickasaw(actuallyadialectofChoctaw),AlabamaKoasati,Hitchiti,Mitasuki,andtheextinctlanguageApalachee.

LANGUAGEFAMILIESOFMESOAMERICA

SouthoftheU.S.borderistheratherwelldefinedlinguisticareacalledMesoamerica,whichincludesMexicoandCentralAmerica.Thelanguagesofseveralfamiliesarespokeninthisareaandshareanumberoflinguistictraits.TwoofthemostimportantfamiliesinMexico,UtoAztecanandMayan,arerepresentedmoreextensivelyoutsideMexico,intheUnitedStatesandCentralAmerica,respectively.Athirdimportantfamily,Otomanguean(twentyfivetothirtyfivelanguages,orperhapsmore),islocatedentirelyinMexico,exceptfortheextinctlanguageMangue,whichwasspokeninCentralAmerica(coastalNicaragua,CostaRica,ElSalvador,andHonduras).Onebranchofthefamily,includingOtomiandPame,isfoundnorthofMexicoCity.TheremainingOtomangueanlanguagesarespokeninChiapas(justoneextinctlanguage,Chiapanec),Puebla(centralMexico),Guerrero(PacificCoast),andOaxaca(southernMexico).AmongthemareMixtec,Mazatec,Zapotec,Chatino,andAmuzgo.

TwosmalllanguagefamiliesarealsofoundinMexico.TheseareTotonacan(Hidalgo,NorthPuebla,andVeracruz),withjusttwomembers,TotonacandTepehua;andMixeZoquean(southernMexico),withabouteightmemberlanguages,notablyMixeandZoqueandtheiroffshoots.BothofthesegroupsmayberelatedtoMayan(andthustoeachother),buttheclassificationisbynomeansuniversallyacceptedbyspecialistsinMesoamericanlanguages.

ThethirtyorsolanguagesoftheMayanfamilyarespokeninMexico,Guatemala,Belize,andHonduras.Theirterritoryiscontinuous(includingtheentireYucatanPeninsula)exceptforHuastec,whichislocatedonandne