The Geography

of Languages and Religions

Language & Religion

Two most important forces that bond and define human cultures

Each originated in a distinct hearth

Two most important of all types of cultural regions

Defining LanguageLanguage - Pronunciation and combination of words used to communicate within a group of people

Important cultural index – each language has a unique way of dealing with facts, ideas, and concepts.

Structures individual perception of world

Language RegionsDialects

Minor variations within a language

Standard languageFollowing formal rule of diction and grammar

Official languageParticular language for any given country

Lingua franca - Current language of international discourse (English)

Linguistic GeographyThe study of different dialects across space

Speech community – sounds are localized only among a group of people who speak together

Isoglosses – boundary lines around places where speakers use linguistic features in the same way

Parallel physical landscape features

Geographical dialect continuum – chain of dialects or languages spoken across an area

World’s Major Languages7,299 distinct languages (ethnologue)

50% of world population speak one of 12 major languages listed

Mandarin Chinese is largest with 885 million

English is the primary language of 350 million and is the official language of about 50 countries

Language DevelopmentProtolanguage

Common ancestor to any group of today’s languages

Language familyLanguages related by descent from a common protolanguage

Cognate – a word that clearly looks like or sounds like another word which it is related to

Etymology- the study of word origins and history

Indo-European Language Family

Identified by Sir William Jones, 1786Proto-Indo-European

• Common ancestor of many modern languages

Grimm’s Law – rules to describe regular shifts in sounds that occurred when various Indo-European languages diverged

Set forth by Jacob Grimm of the Brothers Grimm

Geography of WritingOrthography - system of writingIndependent inventions of writing

• Sumerians – Mesopotamia before (3000 B.C.)• Olmec – Central America (650 B.C.)

Alphabets – system of letters which represent soundsRoman – modern western European languages KazakhstanCyrillic – Greek alphabet augmented by “Saint Cyril”Arabic – language of the Koran (uniting force)

Non-alphabetic – each character represents a word or concept

Chinese, Japanese, Korean

Toponymy- The study of place names

Consists of:Natural features (Oak Bay)

Origins/values of inhabitants (British Colombia)

Belief structures, religions (Islamabad – place of Islam)

Current or past heroes (St. Petersburg)

Linguistic DifferentiationNational languages

Iceland and Japan – exclusive to the country

Nation buildingPhilological nationalism – mother tongues have given rise to nationalism

Postcolonial societiesImposed official languages by colonial rulerNot spoken by locals

Multiple Language States

Polyglot statesHaving multiple official languages

United StatesEnglish always lingua francaThree major dialects in 13 coloniesNon-English languages – creole, french, spanish

Language Vocab.British Received Pronunciation (BRP) – standard form of British speech used by upper class BritonsCreole – 159 – mix of colonizers language and indigenous language of people being colonizedEbonics – African American dialect heavily influenced by Western African languagesExtinct language 168 – once in use, even in the recent pastFranglais – combination of French and EnglishIdeograms – written character that usually represents a concept rather than a pronunciationIsolated language – a language that is not related to any other

Language Vocab. Cont…Language Branch – a collection of language related to a common ancestral language that existed several thousands of years agoLanguage group – a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin, i.e. West GermanicLiterary Tradition 146Pidgin Language – includes grammar rules of lingua franca and some elements of a native languageSpanglish – combination of Spanish and English (Cubonics) bacunclinerVulgar Latin – non standard literary Latin spread by Roman Soldiers

World’s Major ReligionsSystems of beliefs guiding behavior

Orthopraxy• Ethic and pscyhological based belief systems• (Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism)

Orthodoxy• Philosophical and theological based belief system

Fundamentalism – strict adherence to traditional beliefs

Secularism – lifestyle or policy that purposely ignores or excludes religious considerations

Judaism14 million adherentsMonotheisticPentateuch

First five books of the Old Testament

SectsOrthodox - fundamentalist Conservative, Reform

IsraelHomeland for Jewish people Created 1948Conflict between Israel and Palestine

ChristianityEmerged from JudaismCoptic Church

Founded in Alexandria in A.D. 41Official religion of Roman Empire

Facilitated geographical spreadDark Ages – church was the focal point for medieval peopleProtestant Reformation – Martin LutherSignificant growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America

IslamMuhammad (570 -632)Allah –one god

Cognate of “eloh”

Five Pillars of IslamBelief in one GodFive daily prayersCharity – generous alumsFasting during RamadanPilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

SectsSunni – leader is chosen (85%)Shiite – leader is descendant of Muhammad (15%)

Hinduism & SikhismHinduism - Most ancient religious tradition in Asia

Vedas – Hindu sacred textsReincarnation, KarmaCastes

• Brahman, priestly• Kshatriya, warrior• Vaisya, tradesman and farmer• Sudra, servant and laborer

Untouchables

Sikhism Offshoot of HinduismGuru Nanak – combined teaching of Hinduism and Islam

BuddhismBuddha – Enlightened One (Siddhartha- Hindu prince)Four Noble Truths

Life involves sufferingCause of suffering is desireElimination of desire ends sufferingRight thinking and behavior eliminate desire

8 Fold Path can = NirvanaDiffused from India – East/SE Asia, Tibet, & Nepal

Other ReligionsEastern Religions

Confucianism – based on The Analects (governed China’s political and moral culture for 2,000 years)Taoism – 3rd Century, Tao-te Ching (Live in harmony w/ nature)Shinto – native to Japan, recognized emperor as divine

Animism and ShamanismAnimism

• Belief in ubiquity of spirits or spiritual forces, hierachies of divinities

Shamanism• Shaman – is a medium who goes into hupnotic trances – communes

with the sprit world

Religion & PoliticsFreedom of religion – most countries guarantee this and observe a form of secularism (political boundaries stabalize religious affiliations) (see map pg 305)Theocracy

Church rules directly (Iran)

Separation of church and stateIslamic is inherently politicalUnited States – several states established as theocracies

• Treaty between US and Tripoli 1797 “U.S. gov is not based on Christian religion”

Terrorism – Fundamentalism (failure of education (pg 303), bombing Abortion clinics

Social Impact of ReligionGender roles

Women’s rights

DietVegetariansPork, beef cultural taboos, cows, pigs wars and witchesAlcohol

Ethics and moralsSchools and institutions

Economic Impact

Burial practices

Protestantism and capitalism

Catholic Church and capitalism

Confucianism verses individualism

Religion and Environment

Burial practices

Origin of the world

Relationship with natureExploitive approach

Adaptive approach

Religion Vocab. Cont…Animism – Believe that inanimate objects have spirits

Autonomous Religion – self sufficient and interaction among communities is confined to little more than loose cooperation

Branch – a large and fundamental division within a religion

Caste – The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law

Cosmogony – Set of beliefs concerning the origin of the universe

Denomination – is a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body

Ethnic Religion – Relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose characteristics of the physical characteristics of the particular location

Religion Vocab. Cont…Fundamentalism - strict adherence to basic principles of a religion

Ghetto – city neighborhood where Jews were forced to live

Hierarchical Religion – well defined geographic structure that organizes territory into local administrative units

Missionary – individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion

Pagan – follower of a polytheistic religion “countryside”

Sect – small group that has broken away from a denomination

Universalizing Religion – attempt to be global and appeal to all people wherever they live

Liberation Theology – the idea that the Catholic church should work to liberate oppressed people through political activistm