Human Geography
By James Rubenstein
Chapter 5
Key Issue 1
Where Are English-Language
Speakers Distributed?
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Estimates of Distinct
Languages
 2000 to 4000 languages in the
world.
 About 100 languages are spoken
by at least 5 million people.
 Another 70 languages are
spoken by 2 to 5 million people.
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Language
A system of
communication through
speech.
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Literary Tradition
A system of written
communication.
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Official Language
A language designated
by a country for
business and
government.
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A country with more
than one official
language may require
all public documents to
be in all languages.
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Study of Geographic
Elements
 Migration spreads language.
 Cultural Values, such as religion
and ethnicity, or communicated
through language.
 Global distribution results from
- interaction
- isolation
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A language originates at
a particular place and
diffuses to other
locations through the
migration of its
speakers.
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Origin and Diffusion of
English
English is spoken fluently by 1/2
billion people, more than any
language except for Mandarin.
Whereas nearly all Mandarin
speakers are clustered in one
country – China – English
speakers are distributed around
the world.
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English Colonies
The contemporary distribution
of English speakers around
the world exists because the
people of England migrated
with their language when
they established colonies
during the past four
centuries.
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The Diffusion of English
 Beginning in the 17th century,
from England to America.
 Next to Ireland.
 To South Asia in the mid 18th
century.
 To South Pacific in the late 18th
century.
 To southern Africa in the late
19th century.
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Invasion
and
Migration
Routes
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Origin of English in
England
 Inhabited for thousands of years by
tribes whose languages are unknown.
 In 2000 B.C., the Celts arrived
from Europe.
 Around A.D. 450, Germanic tribes
arrived and pushed the Celts to
remote areas of parts of the island.
 In 1066, French speaking Normans
arrived from France.
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German Invasion
 The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons
were among the German tribes
that invaded England.
 In Old English, Angles is
spelled “Engles” and is the
source of the name England.
 The Angles came from a
corner or “angle” of Germany.
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Viking Invasion
 Failed in their attempt
to conquer the island.
 Many remained in the
country.
 The language was
enriched with many new
words of Viking origin.
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Norman Invasion
 England was conquered by the
Normans in 1066.
 From the French province of
Normandy
 The invaders made French the
language of the ruling court.
 The majority of the people
still spoke English.
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Loss of Normandy
 England lost control of Normandy
in 1204.
 In 1362, the Parliament enacted
the Statue of Pleading which made
English the official language of the
court.
 During the 300 years of Norman
influence, French and German
mingled to form new language.
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Dialects of English
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Dialect
A regional variation of a
language distinguished
by distinctive
vocabulary, spelling,
and pronunciation.
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Standard Dialect
A dialect that is well
established and widely
recognized as the most
acceptable for government,
business, education, and
mass communication.
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British Received
Pronunciation (BRP)
A dialect of England
associated with upperclass London, which is
recognized as the
“standard form” of British
speech.
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Dialects in England
 The 3 original dialects of Old
English were associated with
the 3 original invading groups.
 By 1362, 5 regional dialects
had emerged.
 The BRP was encouraged by
the introduction of the printing
press to England in 1476.
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Language expert
Professor
Henry Higgins
in
“My Fair Lady”
teaching
“Cockney”
speaking Eliza
Doolittle proper
English.
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Regional Dialects
 Rules for spelling and grammar
were established in the
eighteenth century.
 Several dozen dialects are
grouped into 3 main ones:
- Northern
- Midland
- Southern
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Differences between
British and American
English
The earliest colonists were
most responsible for the
dominant language patterns
that exist today in the
English-speaking part of the
Western Hemisphere.
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English in the UK and
US evolved
independently during
th
th
the 18 and 19
centuries.
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Differences in Vocabulary
 Settlers in America borrowed
names from Native Americans
for many new objects and
experiences encountered.
 New inventions acquired
different names on either side
of the Atlantic.
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Differences Spelling
Spelling diverged
because of a strong
national feeling of
need in U.S. for an
independent identity.
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Examples of differences
American
Elevator
Flashlight
Auto Hood
Auto trunk
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English
Lift
Torch
Bonnet
Boot
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Noah Webster
 Created the first comprehensive
American dictionary and grammar
books.
 Argued that spelling and
grammar reforms would help;
- establish a national language
- reduce cultural dependence on
England
- inspire national pride
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Differences in
Pronunciation
 Between the U.S. and British
speakers are immediately
recognizable.
Has changed more in England than
in the U.S.
 “Proper” English today is not the
same as “Proper” English during
the colonial period.
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Dialects in the United
States
Major differences in U.S.
dialects originated because
of differences in dialects
among the original
settlers.
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Settlement in the East
 Original American
settlements
- New England
- Middle Atlantic
- Southeastern
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Original
Settlements
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New England Colonists
Two-thirds were
Puritans from East
Anglia in southeastern
England.
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Southeastern Colonists
About half came from
southeast England and
represented a diversity of
social-class backgrounds.
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Middle Atlantic Colonists
More diverse – most
came from the north of
England, or from other
countries.
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Isogloss
Words that are not
used nationally, but
have regional
boundaries.
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Current Dialect
Differences in the East
 Major differences occur
primarily on the East Coast.
 Eastern U.S. is separated into 3
major dialect regions due to two
important isoglosses.
- Northern
- Midland
- Southern
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Regional Isoglosses
 Some words are commonly used
in one of the three major dialect
areas, but rarely in two.
 These words relate to
- rural life
- food
- objects from daily life
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Regional Isoglosses
 Many words that were once
regionally distinctive, now are
national in distribution.
 Mass media (especially radio
and television) influence the
adoption of the same words
throughout the country.
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Regional pronunciation
differences are more
familiar to us than word
differences, although it is
harder to draw precise
isoglosses for them.
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New England Accent
 Well-known for dropping the
“r” sound maintained especially
close ties to the important
ports of southern England.
 New Englanders received more
exposure to the changes in
pronunciation that occurred in
Britain during the 18th century.
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The mobility of Americans
has been a major reason
for the relatively uniform
language that exists
throughout much of the
West.
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