Chapter 5

Language

PPT by Abe Goldman

An Introduction to Human GeographyThe Cultural Landscape, 8e

James M. Rubenstein

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de5hDNY2Uoo

Ch 5 Key Issues Questions:

• 1. Where are English speakers distributed?

• 2. Why is English related to other languages?

• 3. Where are other language families distributed?

• 4. Why do people preserve local languages?

Key Issue 1: Where are English-Language Speakers Distributed?

• I. Origin and diffusion of English– A. English colonies– B. Origin of English in England

• II. Dialects of English– A. Dialects in England– B. Differences between British and

American English– C. Dialects in the United States

English Speaking Countries

Fig. 5-1: English is the official language in 42 countries, including some in which it is not the most widely spoken language. It is also used and understood in many others.

• Why is English the official language in the S & E African countries?

• “The sun never sets on the British Empire”

• Do we see the correlation between this and the previous slide?

What is colonialism?

• An attempt by one country to establish settlements and impose its political/economic/cultural principles in another territory.

• Often called IMPERIALISM– which differs in its attempt to take over a territory that is already established as a society.

European Languages around the World

Countries where a European language is the language most Countries where a European language is the language most widely spoken by country’s population. widely spoken by country’s population.

• pink= purple=

• red= brown=

“Foreign” Languages

Legend:Legend:

Arabic – Arabic – GreenGreenFrench – French – OrangeOrange English – English – YellowYellowPortuguese – Portuguese – Light BlueLight BlueArabic & French – Arabic & French – BlueBlueEnglish & FrenchEnglish & French - PurplePurple

Spanish in Spanish in Equatorial Equatorial GuineaGuinea

Language

• System of communication through speech• What is literary tradition?• System of written communication• Hundreds of languages lack a literary

tradition• Official language• Used by government for laws, reports and

public objects• The means through which culture is

communicated

How do languages get distributed around the world?

• Cultural Diffusion. • Results from the migration of people• English has reached the level of globalization

• Why has English become globalized?• Ability to participate in global economy and culture• Why do you think it is important for people to keep

their native language?• Uniqueness• Source of pride and cultural identity• How does isolation and interaction affect the

distribution of languages?• Creation of regional dialects

So, what is the origin of the English language? (where did it

come from)• Where was English first spoken? • On the British Isles:• Early civilizations– unknown language• 2000 BCE: Celtic • http://vimeo.com/714637

• Series of invasions led to formation of English.

Invasions of England 5th–11th centuries

Fig. 5-2: The groups that brought what became English to England included Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Vikings. The Normans later brought French vocabulary to English.

Let’s hear the story of 1066….

English in England from German and French

• After the Norman invasion in 1066, French became the official language of England for the next 300 years.

• This brought many words to the English language– Germanic English: sky, horse, man, woman– French influence: celestial, equestrian, masculine,

feminine

Old and Middle English Dialects

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.

Middle English and Modern Translation of The Canterbury Tales – 14th Century

Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury.

• 1  Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote,

• 2  The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

• 3  And bathed every veyne in swich licour,• 4  Of which vertu engendred is the flour;• 5  Whan Zephirus eek with his swete

breeth6  Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

• 7  The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

• 8  Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,• 9  And smale foweles maken melodye,• 10  That slepen al the nyght with open

eye-11  So priketh hem Nature in hir corages-12  Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages

• 13  And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes

• 14  To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

• 15  And specially, from every shires ende

Here begins the Book of the Tales of Canterbury

• 1  When April with his showers sweet with fruit

• 2  The drought of March has pierced unto the root

• 3  And bathed each vein with liquor that has power

• 4  To generate therein and sire the flower;• 5  When Zephyr also has, with his sweet

breath, • 6  Quickened again, in every holt and

heath, • 7  The tender shoots and buds, and the

young sun • 8  Into the Ram one half his course has

run, • 9  And many little birds make melody • 10  That sleep through all the night with

open eye • 11  (So Nature pricks them on to ramp

and rage)- • 12  Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage, • 13  And palmers to go seeking out

strange strands, • 14  To distant shrines well known in

sundry lands. • 15  And specially from every shire's end

Dialects

• So are Middle English and Modern English different languages or different dialects?

• http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=248250&title=Beowulf_in_Old_English__Prologue_

• Dialect:• regional variation of language distinguished

by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciations

Differences between British and American English

• Earliest colonists responsible for dominant language patterns that exist today.

• What are the differences?

• New words taken from Natives, along with new inventions.– Vocabulary – moose, raccoon, chipmunk, mocassin,

squash– Spelling – “ou” as in “colour”– Pronunciation

Noah Webster

• Who is this man?

Dialects in the Eastern U.S.

Fig. 5-4: Hans Kurath divided the eastern U.S. into three dialect regions, whose distribution is similar to that of house types (Fig. 4-9).

Create a flow map of the origin and diffusion of English.

• Begin coloring world map of Language families.

• Homework: Key Issue 2--- Quiz on Monday

Thursday 12-01-2011Happy December!!

• On your desk: Ch 5 notes, English Language flow map, Map set, 4-5 map pencils

• Warm-up: trade flow maps with someone near you. Read theirs, add 1-2 facts to theirs then discuss.

• 5 minutes

Key Issue 2: Why is English Related to other Languages?

• I. Branches of Indo-European Language Family– A. Germanic branch– B. Indo-Iranian branch– C. Balto-Slavic branch– D. Romance branch

• II. Origin and diffusion of Indo-European– A. Kurgan theory– B Anatolian theory

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 and 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.

Hindi in India and Urdu in Pakistan are very similar when spoken;

However, they use different alphabets

•Urdu – Arabic

•Hindi – Devanagari

• Language family – collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history. Most extensively spoken: Indo-European with 48%

• Language branch – collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago.

• Language group – collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.

• Language – a system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning. Language with the most native speakers – Mandarin Chinese

Iranian (Western) Group of Indo-Iranian Branch

Persian (Farsi) in Persian (Farsi) in Iran is largest Iran is largest group.group.

All are written with All are written with Arabic alphabetArabic alphabet

Sample of Arabic alphabet – read from right to left

Spread of Roman Empire meant Spread of Roman Empire meant the Spread of Latinthe Spread of Latin

• Latin – official language of Roman Republic and Latin – official language of Roman Republic and EmpireEmpire

• Isolation led to divergence Isolation led to divergence – Geography and limited Geography and limited technology of the time technology of the time allowed for regional allowed for regional changes changes

Language of the provinces Language of the provinces became known as became known as Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin

Collapse of empire increaseCollapse of empire increaseddisolation isolation

Roman Empire

• Roman Empire tried to extinguish or suppress local languages– forced Latin on all occupied regions.

• Each region formed a spoken Latin that combined their local languages to it. “Vulgar Latin”

• Isolation from other speakers of “Vulgar Latin” along with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. led to the formation of new languages in each province.

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.

Diffusion of LanguagesDiffusion of Languages

• How is the diffusion of languages different today than in the past?

• In the past– Warfare and conquest– “peaceful sharing of food”

• Can we make an educated guess here?• Could “peaceful sharing of food” mean trade?

• Today?– Trade – Media

How did the Indo-European languages first spread?

• Assumption is that there was a single Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language.

• All share common root words for winter and snow, but not for ocean

• So, first speakers might have lived in

• cold climate, or one that had winter• but not one that came in contact with oceans

Theory 1: Kurgan Theory• Marija Gimbutas postulated:Marija Gimbutas postulated:

• Kurgan people came from steppe region of Kurgan people came from steppe region of Russia and KazakhstanRussia and Kazakhstan

• 3500-2500 BC 3500-2500 BC

• used horses as weapons to conquer much used horses as weapons to conquer much of Europe and South Asiaof Europe and South Asia

• In short, war and conquest spread language In short, war and conquest spread language

Kurgan TheoryKurgan Theory of Indo-European Origin

Fig. 5-9: In the Kurgan theory, Proto-Indo-European diffused from the Kurgan Fig. 5-9: In the Kurgan theory, Proto-Indo-European diffused from the Kurgan hearth north of the Caspian Sea, beginning about 7,000 years ago.hearth north of the Caspian Sea, beginning about 7,000 years ago.

Theory 2: Anatolian Hearth Theory

Indo-European originated in Turkey Indo-European originated in Turkey around 2,000 years before the around 2,000 years before the Kurgans Kurgans

Diffused through agricultural Diffused through agricultural expansion.expansion.

Anatolian Hearth Theory of Indo-European Origin

..

Happy Monday 12-05-2011

• On your desk: Ch 5 notes, pencil• Quiz will begin shortly.

• Warm-up: copy the midterm schedule from my board, write down tests you have this week and next. STAY FOCUSED and ORGANIZED.

After the quiz..

• Work on outlines for Key Issues 3-4.

• Answer questions in packet.

• Vocabulary.

• Color language family map.

Want extra credit?

• Video about the Lost Boys of Sudan.

• 10 points on a test!!

• When/where:

• Barber: Friday 7:30am

• Lineberger C105: Thursday 4:25

KI3: Where are Other Language Families Distributed?

• I. Classification of languages– A. Family Branch Group language– B. Possible pre-historic superfamily

• II. Distribution of language families– A. Sino-Tibetan language family– B. Afro-Asiatic language family– C. Altaic and Uralic language families– D. Niger-Congo language family

Language Families of the World

Fig. 5-11: Distribution of the world’s main language families. Languages with more than 100 million speakers are named.

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.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1RjI7G8rFw&NR=1

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T39G5QDiSto

Language Family Trees

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

Sino-Tibetan Family• Major language: Mandarin – largest

“leaf” of any tree• There are 420 symbols in the Chinese

alphabet, each one-syllable• A combination of these symbols along

with pronunciation, tone, and context give meaning

• What do you think China’s literacy rate would be?

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.6%

male: 95.7% female: 87.6%

Chinese language ideograms mostly represent concepts rather than sounds. The two basic characters at the top can be built into more

complex words.

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.

Mandarin is spoke by majority, but there are many other “Chinese” languages and dialects.

All spoke differently, but use the same base of 420 symbols each one-syllable

Combining them creates thousands of ideograms

Japanese and Korean

• Although similar to Chinese in spoken words and sharing of some symbols, Japanese and Korean are each their own “trees” and “leaves.”

• Geography has influenced the formation of these languages:– Japan as an island has been isolated– Korea, as a peninsula, has been relatively isolated– Because of their proximity to China, they have

borrowed some vocabulary and symbols

Language Families of Africa-Because of little interaction between tribes there are thousands of documented languages and dialects within 5 families

-Few have a literary tradition

-Of all the languages on the continent, only 8 are spoken by at least 10 million people

-Swahili is first language of only about 800,000 people but it is the 2nd language of over 30 million!

-Because of interaction with Muslim traders, Swahili has borrowed many words from Arabic.

Language Families of Africa

Fig. 5-14: The 1,000 or more languages of Africa are divided among five main language families, including Austronesian languages in Madagascar.

• Khoisan languages – the “click” languages

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c246fZ-7z1w

• Why do you think English is the official language of Nigeria?

Thursday 12-08-2011

• On your desk: ch 5 notes, pen/pencil

• Warm-up: Read the printed article, highlighting/underlining as directed.

Test Monday…..is

• Open notes!!

• Have completed, thorough notes over chapter 5, you may use them on the test.

Key Issue 4: Why do people preserve local languages?

• I. Preserving language diversity– A. Hebrew: reviving extinct languages– B. Celtic: preserving endangered languages– C. Multilingual states– D. Isolated languages

• II. Global dominance of English– A. English as a lingua franca– B. Diffusion to other languages

• Enduring voices

Language Families of the World

Fig. 5-11: Distribution of the world’s main language families. Languages with more than 100 million speakers are named.

Hebrew

• Language Family: – Afro-Asiatic

• Language Branch: – Semitic

• Major Languages:– Arabic, Hebrew, Berber

• Geographic Distribution: – Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and Malta

Hebrew Revived • The Babylonians in the 8th century BCE and the Romans in

the 2nd century CE forced the Jews out of present-day Israel. – This became known as the Diaspora.

• In the 19th century, the Zionist Movement pushed for the creation of a Jewish state.

• B/c of the Diaspora, Hebrew had become the language of religion, but not of everyday communication. Why?

• Eliezer Ben- Yehuda (1858-1922) began the process of creating Hebrew as a spoken language again

• With creation of Israel in 1948, a common language was needed to facilitate communication and to unite the people

Celtic Language

• Language group dying due to invasion and assimilation

• Today: Three groups remain– Irish Gaelic – 75,000 speakers, British forbade

them to speak it for nearly 200 years– Scottish Gaelic – 80,000 speakers– Brythonic in Wales and Cornwall in UK, Brittany in

France – 300,000 speakers

Efforts to Revive Celtic Languages

• Educational efforts • Britain required • Welsh to be taught in schools in Wales

• Welsh history

– Cornish in now taught in schools and offered in adult classes

• Cultural Efforts• Irish TV stations broadcast in Gaelic• Street signs show English and Gaelic• Popular musicians sing in Gaelic

Multilingual States

Points to consider:

• What problems might a country with multiple languages face?

• How have countries attempted to deal with these problems?

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.

Gov’t has attempted to create two separate regions•Flanders •Wallonia

Problems: Not all Flemish speakers live in Flanders and visa versa.

This has led to economic problems in parts of the country where the language of business is in conflict

Language Areas in Switzerland

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

Switzerland has had better success

Each region called a “canton” is given local control

Regional language is official language for government, business, and education

Students are required to learn German, French and Italian. Romansh is offered as an elective outside of its cantons.

French-English Boundary in Canada

Fig. 5-18: Although Canada is bilingual, French speakers are concentrated in the province of Québec, where 80% of the population speaks French.

French is the official language in Quebec.

Quebec has threatened repeatedly to secede (withdrawal) from Canada and form their own country.

This would damage Canada economically.

Languages of Nigeria

Fig. 5-15: More than 200 languages are spoken in Nigeria, the largest country in Africa (by population). English, considered neutral, is the official language.

Why did Nigeria keep the language of its colonizer, the United Kingdom?

Compounding problems:

Northern Nigeria is mainly Muslim

Southern Nigeria is mainly Christian or tribal religions

Ethnic boundaries Ethnic boundaries in Africa do not in Africa do not always coincide w/ always coincide w/ national national boundaries. boundaries.

How might the use different languages in a country impact the unity of the country?

Outside of North Africa, European languages are often used as a compromise btw groups in a country.

Legend:Legend:

Arabic – Arabic – GreenGreenFrench – French – OrangeOrange English – English – YellowYellowPortuguese – Portuguese – Light BlueLight BlueArabic & French – Arabic & French – BlueBlueEnglish & FrenchEnglish & French - PurplePurple

Isolated Languages

What do the speakers of these languages share?

• Basque – Located in Northern Spain and

Southern France in or around the Pyrenees Mtns.

• Icelandic– Middle of the North Atlantic

English as the World’s Lingua Franca

• Global Dominance economically

• Global Dominance culturally

In the past, English spread through war, conquest, colonization – these are examples of hierarchicalhierarchical diffusiondiffusion – or through immigration which is relocationrelocation diffusiondiffusion

Recently, English has mainly spread through expansion expansion diffusiondiffusion.

- Meaning that the language has spread, but not English speaking people (immigration)

- Trade and the media (film, music, TV, etc,) are the primary means of spreading the language.

Internet Hosts

Fig. 5-1-1: A large proportion of the world’s internet users and hosts are in the developed countries of North America and western Europe.

Internet Hosts, by Language

Fig 5-1-1a: The large majority of internet hosts in 1999 used English, Chinese, Japanese, or European languages.

How can a country “save” its language?

• France has a department in the gov’t to monitor invasion of “Franglais”– Agency will fine a business or media

source for using English

• Spanglish?

• Ebonics?

The Difference b/t a “–glish” and a dialect

Spanglish or Chinglish, Cubonics

• Primarily an exchange of words or phrases

• Not quite a dialect but with time could become one

• Not stable - very localized – Depends from where the

Spanish speakers immigrated– Depends on where the Spanish

speakers are located

Ebonics • Classified as African American

Vernacular English

• A dialect which shares many characteristics with other creoles in other parts of the world

• Shares some grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary with West African languages

• Product of both isolation and adaptation with Southern American English

• Just a few words that have made it into everyday English:

– Cool, hip, bling

• chinglish

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11878743