AP Human Geography – Language Lab – Abrey/Ewald
Names: ________________________________________
Watch: The Last Speakers (National Geographic) on YouTube
1. Why does Harrison travel the world interviewing speakers of endangered languages? Do you agree that “the transmission of knowledge
has been disrupted?” Do you think what K. David Harrison is doing is interesting or worthwhile? Explain.
2. If you were the last speaker of the English language, would you want someone to try to understand you? Explain.
Go To: Enduring Voices Project
1. Every ____ days a language dies.
2. Read about a Low Threat Level endangered language and tell me about it.
3. Read about a Medium Threat Level endangered language and tell me about it.
4. Read about a High Threat Level and explain how people could help save the language.
5. Read about a Severe Threat Level language. What do you think you could do to help preserve this language?
Go To: The Primitive Language of the Amazon's Pirahã People
1. What is this primitive language called?
2. What makes the Pirahã unique?
3. Write down a few interesting things that you learned about the Pirahã language by reading this article.
Go To: The English Pronunciation Poem
1. How far did you get before becoming frustrated?
2. Were there any words you had trouble pronouncing?
3. What does this poem tell you about the English Language and why it is a challenge to learn?
Go To: The English History Timeline
Choose a decade from each century to read about. Explain what you read. (Skip the 2000 century; there should be ten century’s explained.)
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
Go To: The MLA Language Map
Above the map there is a Language box and a State box. Change the state box from U.S. Mainland, to Illinois. On the right side, check the
County Names box. Zoom in on the Chicago land area and find Du Page. Go back above the map to the language box.
1. Compare the percentage of English speakers in Du Page to the percent of all languages except English combined.
2. Compare the percentage of English speakers in Du Page to the rest of Illinois. Do you think there are truly less English speakers in Du
Page than in the majority of Illinois?
3. Choose another state in the U.S. and compare the percentages of different languages in the state. What language, other than English, is the
most spoken in this state?
Go To: About World Languages
1. Choose a language you have never heard of from the list of individual languages. Read about the language and explain here what language
you learned about and what you learned about it.
2. Read up on other languages that you are curious about.
Go To: The Pop v. Soda Map
1. What do you say? Pop, Soda, Coke, or something different? If something different, what do you call it?
2. Are you part of the majority in Chicago that calls these drinks ‘Pop’? If not, why do you think you say something different?
3. Scroll down the page to the survey. Submit your information. Name and Email are optional.
Go To: TED Talks Video - Murray Gell-Mann on the ancestor of language
Watch the 2 minute video and answer these questions.
1. “Does it really lead to a single ancestor some 20, 25,000 years ago?” Do you think that there is a single ancestor of all languages and that it
is only about 20,000 years old?
2. “Well, I would guess that modern language must be older than the cave paintings and cave engravings and cave sculptures and dance steps in the
soft clay in the caves in Western Europe, in the Aurignacian Period some 35,000 years ago, or earlier. I can't believe they did all those things and
didn't also have a modern language. So, I would guess that the actual origin goes back at least that far and maybe further.” What do you think of
this idea do you agree with it? Explain why you do or don’t agree with this.
Go To: TED Talks Video - Jay Walker on the world's English mania
1. “And now English is becoming the language of problem-solving. Not because America is pushing it, but because the world is pulling it.” Do you
believe this to be true? Do you think America isn’t pushing its language or that is?
2. Why should English, the second language of the world, be the languages of problem-solving? Why can’t Mandarin Chinese, the most
spoken language in the world, be the language of problem-solving?
Last question: What was your favorite video of the group of ten? Why?