Chapter 6 Language.pptView

Language

E.Q: Explain language and how

language classification links to

culture?

Language

Language – a set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols that are used for communication.

*can be forced upon cultures, countries like France limit speaking of other languages *6,500 roughly exist yet 2,000 of them have less than 1,000speakers… LESS each year

Major World Languages

World Language Families

or Map you

Language Terms

• Language FAMILY-(15-20different) a group of languages

descended from a single, earlier tongue.(Indo-European Largest Family)

• Language BRANCH-a further division of language groups. E.g.

Germanic language is a subfamily or BRANCH of Indo-European and languages are German,English,Dutch,Flemish, Norwegian.

• Indo-Iranian largest Branch of Indo-European family(hindi) • Standard language(not required)-a language sustained by the

technologically advanced states/countries in the form of state examination for teachers, civil servants and others.

•

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

- government law

requiring citizens to learn specific language.

Major Language Families

Percentage of World Population-186

⅔ of world speak language from Indo-European or Sino-Tibetan language family

Language

and

National Identity

Standard Language

a language that is published, widely distributed, and

purposefully taught.

Government usually plays a big role in standardizing a language. NOT-legal or Required yet highly used.

Africa- Swahili is standard language of the continent

Monolingual State a country in which only one language is spoken Ex. Japan, Portugal, Iceland, Denmark

Multilingual State

a country in which more than one language is in use

Official Language +/-?

Nigeria

More than 400 different

languages.

English official language –

avoids

• The French

government has

fought very hard to

prevent the infusion

of English or other

foreign words into

the French language

• France has passed

Do you have an accent?

•

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfS

p2t6k

-distinct emphasis given to a syllable or

especially a vowel “Minnesooota”

American Accents Explained

DIALECTS

• Regional differences in a standard language;

– Syntax-the way words are put together

– Vocabulary DIFFERENCE

– Ex= y’all, you all, you guys, all of you, etc…

DIALECT DIFFERENT FROM ACCENT

– Accents can reveal the regional home of a person.

Isogloss -A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs

How many can you understand?

Let it go!

• In summary take

FRQ: Describe how languages

form and then theories how they

Language divergence –

when a lack of spatial interaction among speakers of a language breaks the language into dialects too much to comprehend and then new languages form. EX- Catalan/Spanish/Portuguese or Quebecois/French

Language convergence

when peoples with different languages have consistent spatial interaction and their languages collapse into one. EX-Creole

Mutual Intelligibility- means two people can understand each other when speaking. (or writing?)

Problems: (Mandarin/Cantonese Chinese)(Norwegian vs Danish)

• Cannot measure mutual intelligibility

• Many “languages” fail the test of mutual intelligibility • Standard languages and governments impact what is a

“language” and what is a “dialect”

• An example of sound shift:

– Latin for milk is lacte

– Italian is latta

– Spanish is leche

– French is lait

• Another example of

sound shift is:

– German vater

– Dutch vader

– English father

• Still another example is

– Latin for eight is octo

– Spanish is ocho

– French is huit

Spatial Interaction (time-space compression) now

creates RAPID Language Convergence:

•

Lingua franca

– EX Arabic, Swahili,

English

A language used among speakers of different languages for the purposes of international trade and commerce.

•

Pidgin language

– EX=Lingua Franca, creole

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

•

Creole language

– EX Caribbean

Origin & Diffusion of Languages

• Mother Tongue-the first language spoken by Homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago.

– Nostratic- mother tongue of English

• Deep reconstruction-by studying sound shifts, linguists try to re-create an extinct language.

• Language replacement-traditional languages of small groups of less advanced people were replaced or greatly

modified by an invading tongue. Assimilation dominates…

– Why has English become dominant language in world?

• Linguists can find linkages among languages by examining

sound shifts – a slight change in a word across languages over time. These sound shifts represent Language Divergence.

Hawaii NO xmas…? Are you Mento?

How do Languages Diffuse?

• human interaction-2,000 years ago-Han China, Roman Empire-spread languages over vast empires likely due to

conquest and agriculture Theories (contagious hand-to-hand)

• print distribution-Gutenberg’s movable type printing press (1452-first Gutenberg Bible) helped to diffuse, standardize & stabilize European languages (Hierarchical- educated)

• Migration-ancient & more recent migration from 16th century to now, (Relocation) diffused languages e.g. Spanish, Portuguese,

English & French –dispersal hypothesis

• Trade-(Contagious) encouraged the spread of goods & languages

• Rise of nation-states-stabilized & standardized languages-endangering other languages

Proto-Indo-European

• Russian scholars have led the way on research of ancient languages

• Nostratic-the ancient

ancestor of Indo-European languages-were

hunter-gatherers of 14,000 yrs. ago

• Indo-European is the largest and most widespread

Toponym

Toponym

– a place name

A

toponym

:

• Imparts a certain character on a place

• Reflects the social processes in a place

• Can give us a glimpse of the history of a place

Changing Toponyms

• When people change the toponym of a place, they have the

Changing Toponyms

• Major reasons people

change toponyms:

– After decolonization – After a political

revolution

– To memorialize people or events

– To commodify or brand a place

Martin Luther King, Jr. Streets

Geographer Derek Alderman asks: * Where are MLK streets?

* Why are they where they are?

Wrap Up ?

• Choose

two

concepts from today’s notes

Language Tree Activity

EQ: Explain how language patterns and distributions can be represented on language trees or maps and what knowledge

we gain from understanding these relationships.

Steps: p186 can guide you or

1st- # off 1-22, then you are in charge of finding one

locations language, branch, family.

2nd- Find 12 others from different regions not

bordering your country.

3rd- For 13 languages you found,

draw a language tree!

Major Language Families

Percentage of World Population-186

⅔ of world speak language from Indo-European or Sino-Tibetan language family

• The vocabulary of a ancient language can reveal its cultural

hearth.

• The Indo-European branches of the

language tree at right illustrates the concept of language divergence.

• August Schleicher was the first to compare the world’s language

Languages of Africa

• There are 1,000 spoken languages in Africa and many are unwritten.

• There are 4 major indigenous language families;

• Afro-Asiatic of N. Africa • Nilo-Saharan

• Niger-Congo • Khosian

• Largest ethnic groups are associated with a

Languages of

Subsaharan Africa

-

- effects of colonialism

-follows tribalism

Indo-European Language Family

Languages

of

Europe

• Dominated by Indo-European.

• Subfamilies include: • Germanic

• Romance

• Slavic

• Celtic

• There is a high correlation between languages and

Romance Branch of Indo-European

Germanic Branch

of Indo-European

Languages of China

• Chinese has the most speakers of any language.

• It is one of the world’s oldest languages spoken by the greatest contiguous population on Earth.

• Southern China-the most variety and dialects-most are mutually unintelligible.

• Some scholars argue that for this reason-it is not one language, but several.

• Mandarin-the dominate language of the North spoken by 700 million including Beijing.

• Wu is next with 100 million speakers in Shanghai area.

Chinese Ideograms

Languages of India

• India had 4 language

families with the largest being Indo-European and Dravidian.

• There are 15 major

languages-all but 4 are Indo-European.

• Over 1,600 lesser languages.

• The largest Indo-European language is Hindi

South Asian Languages & Language Families

Language and Culture

“No one was allowed to speak the language – the

Dena’ina language. They [the American government]

didn’t allow it in the schools, and a lot of the women had married non-native men, and the men said, ‘You’re

American now so you can’t speak the language.’ So, we became invisible in the community. Invisible to each

other. And, then, because we couldn’t speak the language – what happens when you can’t speak your own language is you have to think with someone else’s words, and that’s a dreadful kind of isolation [emphasis added].”

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.

Belgium:

Flanders (Flemish language)

French-English Boundary in Canada