CHAPTER 5
LANGUAGE
INTERESTING STATISTICS
• Over 7,000 languages
• 100 spoken by at least 5
million
• 30% of U.S. graduates have 3
or more years of foreign
language
• Dutch are required to learn at
least 2 languages in high
school
• 17% of U.S. high school
students have no foreign
language at all
• 62% of Dutch students have
learned at least 3 foreign
languages
LANGUAGE
• Language - definition on p.146
• Official language – used by
government and for laws (ex. Street
signs, money)
• It is a HUGE part of culture (along
with religion and ethnicity)
– “To have another language is to possess
a second soul” – Charlemagne
– Sense of pride for people/nations
• Distribution of languages is a result of
past migrations
• Geographers look at the similarity of
languages to understand the diffusion
and interaction of people around the
world
LANGUAGE cont.
• Some languages (English)
become global
• Individual language vs.
language family (know the
difference and examples –
p.147)
ISSUE #1
Where are English-Language Speakers Distributed?
English Speaking Countries
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 - ORIGINS
• 2nd most widely spoken
language to…..?
MANDARIN
• English is globally distributed,
unlike Mandarin
• English is a Germanic
language (it then mixed with
French brought by Normans
to create our “modern”
English)
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. KNOW THIS
ENGLISH – DIALECTS (general)
• Dialect – def. page 149
• Dialects reflect distinctive
features of the places
people live
• A result of migration
(English has a LOT…..why?)
• Dialect and Standard
Language (ex. British
Received Pronunciation)
What do you
call
this?
ENGLISH – DIALECTS (in England)
• 5 major dialects (Northern,
East Midland, West Midland,
Southwestern,
Southeastern/Kentish)
- basically Northern,
Midland and Southern
• Standard Language (used by
upper-class in London and
what university cities?)
• Printing press led to diffusion
of the Standard dialect
Old & 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.
DIFFRENCES BETWEEN BRITISH
&
AMERICAN ENGLISH
• Early colonists are most
responsible for the dominant
language patterns we see today
in the U.S.
• The Atlantic led to isolation (in
terms of language) between the
two, leading to differences in
languages
• 3 main differences are in
vocabulary, spelling, and
pronunciation
• Role of Webster (agenda?)
Isolation
DIALECTS IN THE U.S.
• Originated due to different dialects among
original settlers
• Early settlers were clustered in:
– New England (2/3 from SE England)
– Mid Atlantic (N England, Ireland, Scots, German,
Dutch, Swedish – most diverse of the 3 regions)
– Southeast (1/2 from SE England)
DIALECTS IN THE U.S. cont.
• Major dialect differences
primarily on the East Coast
• What is an isogloss?
• Isoglosses separate the
eastern U.S. into 3 major
dialect regions:
1. Eastern
2. Midlands
3. Southern
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).
DIALECTS IN THE U.S. cont.
• Regional pronunciation
differences are more common
than differences in word use
• Westward movement of
colonists diffused dialects to
middle and western parts of the
U.S.
• Standard pronunciation of the
West comes from the MidAtlantic states
Key Issue #1 Case Study
1. True/False: Canada has two official languages
2. True/False: Most French speaking Canadians
are clustered in Vancouver
3. Quebec was colonized by the French in the
_____ century and captured by the British in
17____
Key Issue #1 Case Study
1. True/False: Canada has two official languages
True (French and English)
2. True/False: Most French speaking Canadians
are clustered in Vancouver – False (Quebec)
3. Quebec was colonized by the French in the
_____ century and captured by the British in
17____ (17th century; 1763)
ISSUE #2
Why is English Related to Other Languages?
INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY
• English is part of the
Indo-European
language family (the
largest language family
in the world)
• I-E is divided into 8
branches (see graphic
organizer)
Indo-European Language Family
Fig. 5-5: The main branches of the Indo-European language family include Germanic,
Romance, Balto-Slavic, and Indo-Iranian.
ORIGIN & DIFFUSION OF I-E
• Proto-Indo-European would be the common
ancestral language
(cannot be proven, why
not?)
– Evidence is “internal”
• Theories about location
and time period of P-I-E
differ, two major are the
Kurgan and Anatolian
theories
ORIGIN & DIFFUSION OF I-E
KURGAN
• Homeland near steppes near
border of Kazakhstan and
Russia
• About 4300 B.C.
• Nomadic herders
• Migrated westward through
Europe and Eastern Siberia
– conquered much of this area
between 3500 B.C. – 2500 B.C.
ANATOLIAN
• Homeland in eastern Anatolia
(think Turkey)
• 2,000 years before Kurgans, some
say even earlier
• Migrated westward through
Greece through Europe and South
Asia
• Diffused through agricultural
practices, not military conflict (as
the Kurgans did)
Kurgan Theory of Indo-European Origin
Fig. 5-9: In the Kurgan theory, Proto-Indo-European diffused from the Kurgan
hearth north of the Caspian Sea, beginning about 7000 years ago.
Anatolian Hearth Theory of Indo-European
Origin
Fig. 5-10: In the Anatolian hearth theory, Indo-European originated in Turkey
before the Kurgans and diffused through agricultural expansion.
ISSUE #3
Where are Other Language Families Distributed?
INTRO
• 48% of the world’s
population speaks an
Indo-European
language
• 2nd largest family is
Sino-Tibetan
• Superfamilies????
SUPER
Language Families of the World
Fig. 5-11: Distribution of the world’s main language families. Languages with more than 50
million speakers are named. Make sure you know the difference between family,
branch and group and examples of each.
Major Language Families
Percentage 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.
Language Family Trees
Fig. 5-12: Family trees and estimated numbers of speakers for the main world
language families. Trunks = family languages; Smaller branches =
language branches; Leaves = individual languages
• For detailed notes on Key Issue 3 refer to your
graphic organizer.
ISSUE #4
Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?
PRESERVING LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
• Extinct and nearly
extinct (endangered)
languages
• Hebrew is a rare
example of an extinct
language that has been
revived
Jerusalem
Street sign
A street in Jerusalem was renamed New York after
Sept. 11, 2001. The street
name is shown in Hebrew,
Arabic, and English
PRESERVING LANGUAGE & DIVERSITY cont.
• CELTIC
– Major language before
Germanic “invasions”
– divided into 2 branches
– Efforts to preserved this
endangered language
(examples of efforts?)
Ireland Road Signs
Road signs in Ireland are written in both English and Gaelic (Goidelic).
MULTILINGUAL STATES
• Trouble can emerge on
the border of regions
speaking different
languages
• Belgium – southern
speaks French while
northern speaks Flemish
– Compounded by economic
and political differences
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.
Bookstore in
Brussels,
Belgium
The name of the bookstore is
printed in both French (top)
and Flemish (bottom).
MUTILINGUAL cont.
• Switzerland – peacefully
exists with multiple
languages
– Why? Decentralized
government and use of
voter referenda
– 4 official languages
(German, French, Italian,
Romansh)
Language Areas in Switzerland
Fig. 5-17: Switzerland remains peaceful with four official languages and a
decentralized government structure.
ISOLATED LANGUAGES
• No relation to others, not
part of any language
family
• Arise through lack of
interaction with speakers
of other languages
– Ex. Basque (Europe)
– also look at Icelandic
GLOBAL DOMINANCE ENGLISH
• English has become the
language of int’l
communication
– Lingua franca (created to facilitate
trade – history and meaning?)
• Lingua franca vs. pidgin
• Modern lingua franca
languages: English, Swahili,
Hindustani, Indonesian, Russian
• 500 million speak English as a
second language
EXPANSION DIFFUSION of ENGLISH
English
• LF’s have historically diffused
through migration and
conquest
• Current spread of English is a
result of expansion diffusion
(spread of a trait through the
snowballing effect of an idea rather
than through the relocation of people)
• Recent changes in English
have been bottom up,
historically they have been
top down
– modern ex. – Ebonics,
Appalachia
the world
expansion
diffusion
DIFFUSION of ENGLISH TO OTHER
LANGUAGES
• English has, more and
more, become integrated
with other languages
• Franglais – combination
of French and English
– French pride detests
spread of English
– Extreme protection of
French in Quebec
French-English Boundary in Canada
Fig. 5-18: Although Canada is bilingual, French speakers are concentrated in
the province of Quebec, where 80% of the population speaks
French.
French Signs in Québec City
DIFFUSION of ENGLISH TO OTHER
LANGUAGES
• Spanglish – combination
of Spanish and English
– 28 million Hispanics speak
Spanish in the U.S.
– Includes the invention new
words (ex. bipiar)
– Widespread in popular
culture such as music
• Denglish – diffusion of
English words into
German
– use of happy birthday
• English has spread into
other languages as well
– ex. Baseball is beisboru
in Japanese
Spanish Signs in New York City
Chapter 05: Review
05.01 Which of the following will encompass the
largest number of speakers?
1. Language family
2. Language branch
3. Individual language
4. Dialect
5. Language group
05.01 Which of the following will encompass the
largest number of speakers?
1. Language family
2. Language branch
3. Individual language
4. Dialect
5. Language group
05.02 Which of the following is not a Romance
language?
1. Portuguese
2. Italian
3. Spanish
4. German
5. French
05.02 Which of the following is not a Romance
language?
1. Portuguese
2. Italian
3. Spanish
4. German
5. French
05.03 Which of the following language branches is
not a member of the Indo-European language
family?
1. Balto-Slavic
2. Celtic
3. Germanic
4. Greek
5. Caucasian
05.03 Which of the following language branches is
not a member of the Indo-European language
family?
1. Balto-Slavic
2. Celtic
3. Germanic
4. Greek
5. Caucasian
05.04 The ancestral roots of the English language
have been traced back to present-day
1. France
2. Iceland
3. Finland
4. Denmark
5. Greece
05.04 The ancestral roots of the English language
have been traced back to present-day
1. France
2. Iceland
3. Finland
4. Denmark
5. Greece
05.05 The second-most commonly spoken language
in South America is
1. Portuguese
2. Spanish
3. French
4. English
5. Chinese
05.05 The second-most commonly spoken language
in South America is
1. Portuguese
2. Spanish
3. French
4. English
5. Chinese
05.06 A creolized language is a local language mixed
with
1. Another local language
2. At least 20% slang
3. The language of a colonial power
4. English
5. French
05.06 A creolized language is a local language mixed
with
1. Another local language
2. At least 20% slang
3. The language of a colonial power
4. English
5. French
05.07 The most common language branch in eastern
Europe is
1. Romance
2. West Germanic
3. Balto-Slavic
4. Greek
5. East Germanic
05.07 The most common language branch in eastern
Europe is
1. Romance
2. West Germanic
3. Balto-Slavic
4. Greek
5. East Germanic
05.08 The primary reason why there are so many
distinct languages in Africa is
1. The long periods of isolation between tribes
2. The policies of the European colonial powers
3. The migrations to Africa from Asia and Europe
4. The major religious differences between tribes
5. A cultural preference for languages that are
unintelligible to others outside the immediate
political unit
05.08 The primary reason why there are so many
distinct languages in Africa is
1. The long periods of isolation between tribes
2. The policies of the European colonial powers
3. The migrations to Africa from Asia and Europe
4. The major religious differences between tribes
5. A cultural preference for languages that are
unintelligible to others outside the immediate
political unit
05.09 The predominant lingua franca today is
1. Swahili
2. Pidgin
3. Creole
4. French
5. English
05.09 The predominant lingua franca today is
1. Swahili
2. Pidgin
3. Creole
4. French
5. English
05.10 _________ is the native language of the largest
number of people.
1. Hindi
2. English
3. Spanish
4. Mandarin
5. Russian
05.10 _________ is the native language of the largest
number of people.
1. Hindi
2. English
3. Spanish
4. Mandarin
5. Russian