chapter 5 language

CHAPTER 5 LANGUAGE

Kovacs

THINKING LINGUISTICALLY German introduction Real models in German Super bowl- Coke Who speaks a second language?

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION An element of culture people value is

LANGUAGE Primary means of transmitting culture 1

generation to the next How many languages spoken globally? Estimated 7,000 Essential element in HumanGeo=

communication

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION Language is the most common form of

communication (written or oral) Only a language if it’s comprehended by other

people Difficult to represent its patterns on a single

map What is a language?

System of communication through speech; a group of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning Large # of languages

85 languages spoken by 10 million 300 languages 1-10 million ppl speak

HARD TO SHOW ON A MAP… Nigeria- 250

languages

Papua New Guinea-800 languages

Chinese…many native speakers, but not as large as English speaking regions

Therefore on a map…focus on fewer languages that 95% of the worlds population speaks 1 of most common 100

languages Chinese, English, Spanish,

Hindi, Russian, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Japanese, German

Languages don’t stop at national boundaries- only Japanese is spoken primarily in 1 country

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.

LANGUAGES OF NIGERIA

More than 200 languages are spoken in Nigeria, the largest country in Africa (by population). English, considered neutral, is the official language.

DEFINITIONS! Literary tradition Language Official language

System of communication through speech, a collection of sounds that a group of people understand to have the same meaning

Used by the government for laws, reports, public objects; road signs, money, stamps

System of written communication

Answers: languageofficial languageliterary tradition

INTO TO ENGLISH http://io9.com/this-animated-history-of-t

he-english-language-is-wonder-1464423756?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow (12 minutes)

ORIGIN, DIFFUSION, & DIALECTS OF ENGLISH Origin and diffusion of English

English coloniesOrigin of English in England

Dialects of EnglishDialects in EnglandDifferences between British & American EnglishDialects in the United States

MY FAIR LADY Received Pronunciation – England’s

standard

RP is used in London (upper class) + Cambridge and Oxford

Sub dialects reflect migration to London and outmigration of Londoners

YOUR TURN RUSSIAN/BRITISH Choose 10 words from the weebly to

incorporate into your British English paper.

You are to use formal writing giving context to the word and not DUMPING them. Also underline your words.

RUSSIAN SIGN

Russian is an Indo-European language written in the Cyrillic alphabet, originally brought to Russia by Greek missionaries

SECTION 1 VOCAB GAME

DIALECTS What were your 3 main cities from the

weebly? Particular chicken bone in USA

Wishbone Pulley-bone

USA- North, Midland, South Settlers routes determined by topography,

streams, arable land Dialects= shared identity + communication National Standard Language- parents

GEOGRAPHIC and SOCIAL origins

DIALECTS CONT. When little contact and external influence

exist= Elizabethan speech in Appalachian Mts although disappeared in England

Oldest places= most ingrained language habits ex. N England some people cannot understand

Regional dialects are less evident in USA because we move frequently (are not as old) and communicate using more modern terms (i.e. internet)

Ex. Southern “drawl,” New England “twang” In USA most evident ethnicity and socio-

economic class

WHY IS THE US SO DIFFERENT FROM BRITISH ENGLISH? Webster 1) ignored

2) was unaware

Created rules for grammar in order to have a 1. national language2. Reduce cultural dependency3. Inspire national pride

Colonists were not upper class Britains either…explain

DIALECTS CONT. Migration, external forces, borrowing of

new words Some languages get “updated” evident

in new editions of the dictionary. “archaic words” (British English vs. Colonial English)

France vs. Quebec

WE ARE FAMILY!!! Similarities are seen in language

families Common stem “family tree” Shared ancestry Today 70 language families

Today such a DIVERSIFICATION…subfamilies branching to individual language so…related historically, but mutually unintelligible

LANGUAGE FAMILY TREES

Fig. 5-12: Family trees and estimated numbers of speakers for the main world language families.

EXAMPLES OF LANGUAGE FAMILIES

Indo European Family –most extensive of all language families

Spoken by ½ worlds population

Origin: Prehistoric peoples-black sea- Migrants + conquers-> Europe, SW Asia,

Indian subcontinent Result: subfamilies and evolved

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY

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

GERMANIC BRANCH OF INDO-EUROPEAN

Fig. 5-6: The Germanic branch today is divided into North and West Germanic groups. English is in the West Germanic group.

SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGES & LANGUAGE FAMILIES

Fig. 5-7: Indo-European is the largest of four main language families in South Asia. The country of India has 18 official languages.

ROMANCE BRANCH OF INDO-EUROPEAN

Fig. 5-8: The Romance branch includes three of the world’s 12 most widely spoken languages (Spanish, French, and Portuguese), as well as a number of smaller languages and dialects.

THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY

Branches of Indo-EuropeanGermanic branch Indo-Iranian branchBalto-Slavic branchRomance branch

Origin and diffusion of Indo-EuropeanKurgan and Anatolian theories

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.

KURGAN THEORY Linguists and anthropologist debate

“Nomadic Warrior hypothesis” p. 150 Kurgan people present day

Russia/Kazakhstan were nomadic herders who domesticated horse/cattle and migrated in search of grassland.

w to Europe and e to Siberia and SE to Iran/S Asia

Warriors using horses as weapons-Conquering!

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.

ANATOLIAN THEORY Archaeologist Colin Renfrew+ Biologist Russell

D Gray support the idea that present day Turkey diffused W to Greece, W + N Europe/S Asia through agricultural practices not military. Growing food is better than relying on hunting = language speakers!

Also, their first speakers were 2,000+ years before Kurgans.

Distinct languages developed because Communication was poor and generations were isolated.

QUENTIN ATKINSON’S IDEAS New Zealand Researcher All languages trace to Africa- less

language diversity outside Africa because shorter time to evolve into new languages

INDO EUROPEAN Subfamily is Italic- aka Latin Romans spoke- conquests-standard

language (who?) and spoken dialect (who?)

20th century- Latin declined- doctors, lawyers, scientists

What does this show? Linguistic change is important to

geography because it reflects patters of social interaction

DISTRIBUTION OF OTHER LANGUAGE FAMILIES Classification of languages Distribution of language families

Sino-Tibetan language familyOther East and Southeast Asian language

familiesAfro-Asiatic language familyAltaic and Uralic language familiesAfrican language families

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 FAMILIES OF AFRICA

Fig. 5-14: The 1000 or more languages of Africa are divided among five main language families, including Austronesian languages in Madagascar.

CHINESE IDEOGRAMS

Fig. 5-13: Chinese language ideograms mostly represent concepts rather than sounds. The two basic characters at the top can be built into more complex words.

HINDRANCES TO LANGUAGE

Restrain divergence

1) need to communicate –large # ppl- common language

2) Government/institutions= Standard form Italy 1546, France 1635, Pure language

Academies 3) Mass communication

Radio/TV

PIDGIN / CREOLE / LINGUA FRANCA

Ppl with different languages attempt to communicate = development of a new language = “Pidgin”

When a second generation speaks Pidgin it is now a “Creole” language

Lingua Franca- 2nd language spoken by 2+ groups whose 1st language is different

I.E. Spanish/Chinese native speakers 2nd language is English- Lingua Franca

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

Haitian Creole and French are both official languages in Haiti, although English is also used.

WHY 6000+ LANGUAGES ARE STILL IMPORTANT (CH 5 ? # 2)

American Indian/Haiti/Ireland/Africa/Asia, etc.- maintain culture

French Canadians- unity Governments dictate standard language…smell a

revolt? Imperialism- reclaim roots Tele Mundo, German channels on TV- modern

technology allows for communication in many languages

Tourism…global world what do you have authentic to offer?

Government sanction to recognize cultures that are “dying out” “Navajo Code Talkers ceremony” “Miss Navajo”

SIGNS IN BARCELONA, SPAIN

Signs in Barcelona are written both in Catalán (top) and Spanish (bottom).

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

SPANISH SIGNS IN NEW YORK CITY

6000+ EXAMPLES Belgium North vs. South

Flemish vs. French = divided country= Preserve multiple languages

Switzerland – decentralized government local power German, French, Italian, Romansh

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.

LANGUAGE AREAS IN SWITZERLAND

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

LANGUAGE DIVERSITY & UNIFORMITY Preserving language diversity

Hebrew: reviving extinct languagesCeltic: preserving endangered languagesMultilingual states Isolated languages

Global dominance of EnglishEnglish as a lingua franca

90% of students in the EU learn EnglishDiffusion to other languages

IRELAND ROAD SIGNS

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

BOOKSTORE IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

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

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

MODERN LANGUAGE IS CHANGING…

ONLINE POPULATION, 1996 - 2005

Fig. 5-1.1: English is still the largest language on the internet, but there has been rapid growth in many others, especially Chinese.

E-COMMERCE LANGUAGES 2000 & 2004

Fig 5-1.2: English and English-speaking countries still dominate e-commerce, but other languages are growing rapidly.