LanguageLanguage

English Language English Language DistributionDistribution

1.5 Billion fluent1.5 Billion fluent 50 Countries: 2 billion people50 Countries: 2 billion people Official language in most former Official language in most former

coloniescolonies Distributed in every continentDistributed in every continent

English Speaking English Speaking CountriesCountries

Fig. 5-1: English is an official language in 50 countries, including some in which it is not the most widely

spoken language. It is also used and understood in many others.

English Migration over 400 English Migration over 400 YearsYears

North America 1600sNorth America 1600s Ireland 1600sIreland 1600s South-Asia mid 1700sSouth-Asia mid 1700s South Pacific late 1700s early 1800sSouth Pacific late 1700s early 1800s South Africa late 1800sSouth Africa late 1800s

Norman InvasionNorman Invasion

Why doesn’t English sound more like German?Why doesn’t English sound more like German? Normans make French the official language for Normans make French the official language for

300 years300 years Leaders/Nobility/Clergy= French, everyone Leaders/Nobility/Clergy= French, everyone

else=Germanicelse=Germanic 1204 Normans lost control war made French 1204 Normans lost control war made French

less popularless popular Statute of Pleading 1362= English used in Statute of Pleading 1362= English used in

CourtCourt Parliament used French until 1489Parliament used French until 1489

Modern EnglishModern English

Common language mingled with the Common language mingled with the Elite languageElite language

Simple/straightforward words : Sky, Simple/straightforward words : Sky, horse, man, woman are Germanic horse, man, woman are Germanic rootsroots

Elegant/complex words: celestial, Elegant/complex words: celestial, equestrian, masculine, and feminine equestrian, masculine, and feminine from the French invadersfrom the French invaders

Old & Middle English Old & Middle English DialectsDialects

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

American English!American English!

IsolationIsolation VocabularyVocabulary

New objects/experiencesNew objects/experiences Animals/Native American vocabAnimals/Native American vocab

SpellingSpelling Noah WebsterNoah Webster Ignored old and created new rulesIgnored old and created new rules

PronunciationPronunciation GeographyGeography A and RA and R ClassClass

Dialects in Dialects in the Eastern the Eastern

U.S.U.S.

Hans Kurath divided the eastern U.S. into three dialect regions,

whose distribution is similar to that of house types.

Spatial Interaction helps Spatial Interaction helps createcreate::

Lingua franca –Lingua franca –A language used among speakers of different languages for A language used among speakers of different languages for the purposes of trade and commerce.the purposes of trade and commerce.

Pidgin language –Pidgin language –a language created when people combine parts of two or a language created when people combine parts of two or more languages into a simplified structure and vocabulary.more languages into a simplified structure and vocabulary.

Creole language –Creole language –a pidgin language that has developed a more complex a pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary and has become the native structure and vocabulary and has become the native language of a group of people.language of a group of people.

ToponymToponym

Toponym – a place nameToponym – a place name

A toponym:A toponym: Imparts a certain character on a placeImparts a certain character on a place Reflects the social processes in a placeReflects the social processes in a place Can give us a glimpse of the history of a placeCan give us a glimpse of the history of a place

When people change the toponym of a When people change the toponym of a place, they have the power to “wipe out place, they have the power to “wipe out the past and call forth the new.” the past and call forth the new.”

- Yi-Fu Tuan- Yi-Fu Tuan

Where are MLK Streets in the Where are MLK Streets in the US?US?

Monolingual Monolingual State State a country in a country in which only one which only one language is language is spokenspoken

Multilingual Multilingual State State a country in which a country in which more than one more than one language is in uselanguage is in use

Official Official LanguageLanguageshould a should a multilingual state multilingual state adopt an official adopt an official language?language?

Indo-European Language Indo-European Language FamilyFamily

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

Countries with an IE language with official Countries with an IE language with official statusstatus

Majority Speakers=IEMajority Speakers=IE

Germanic Germanic Branch of Branch of

Indo-EuropeanIndo-European

The Germanic branch today is divided into North and West Germanic groups. English is in the West Germanic group.

South Asian Languages & South Asian Languages & Language FamiliesLanguage 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-Romance Branch of Indo-EuropeanEuropean

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.

Kurgan Theory of Indo-Kurgan Theory of Indo-European OriginEuropean Origin

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

Anatolian Hearth Anatolian Hearth (Renfew) Theory of Indo-(Renfew) Theory of Indo-

European OriginEuropean Origin

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

Language Families of Language Families of the Worldthe World

Fig. 5-11: Distribution of the world’s main language families. Languages with more than 50 million speakers are named.

Major Language FamiliesMajor Language FamiliesPercentage of World Percentage of World

PopulationPopulation

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

Language Family Language Family TreesTrees

Family trees and estimated numbers of speakers for the main world Family trees and estimated numbers of speakers for the main world language families. language families.

Chinese IdeogramsChinese Ideograms(Sino-Tibetan Language (Sino-Tibetan Language

Family)Family) Ideograms represent Ideograms represent

concepts rather than concepts rather than soundsound

The Ideograms are The Ideograms are used for all dialects used for all dialects and regional and regional variationsvariations

in order to be literate, a person must memorize thousands of symbols.

LanguagLanguage e

Families Families of Africaof Africa

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

Languages Languages of Nigeriaof Nigeria

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

Ireland Road SignsIreland Road Signs

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

JerusalJerusalem em

Street Street signsign

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

Language Areas in Language Areas in SwitzerlandSwitzerland

Switzerland remains peaceful with four official languages and a decentralized government structure.

French-English Boundary French-English Boundary in Canadain Canada

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

Online Population, 1996 Online Population, 1996 - 2005- 2005

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

E-E-Commerce Commerce Languages Languages 2000 & 20042000 & 2004

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