1. Language

2. Key Issue 1: Where Are English-Language Speakers Distributed?
English is spoken fluently by a total of one half billion people
This is more than any other language except Mandarin
It is very widely distributed throughout the world, and is the official language in 50 countries

3. Why is English so widely distributed?
The people of England first migrated with their language when they established colonies
The United States is also responsible for diffusing English to many different places (ex - Philippines

4. Where did English first originate?
The British Isles is the official origin of the English language
Tribes from the mainland of Europe invaded the British by pushing the Celts into the remote northern and western parts of Britain

5. These tribes included the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons
Anglo-Saxons originated in England, and the name “England” comes from the Angles land
Modern English evolved primarily from the language spoken by the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons

6. How is English related to other languages?
Because England was conquered by the Normans, it is different from German
Many straightforward words come from Germanic roots
Fancy and more elegant words are often French

7. Dialect
Dialect is a regional variation of a language, distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation
Because of the large number of speakers and its wide distribution around the world, English has a large number of dialects

8. How do the dialects differ?
The United States and England have completely different dialects even though they share the same language, English
Isolation is a key reason for the differences in vocabulary and spelling in these two countries
Within the United States, dialects can be distinguished between the eastern and northern US

9. Key Issue 2: Why is English Related to Other Languages?
English is part of the Indo-European Language Family, and more specifically the Germanic branch
This is because it was spoken by the Germanic tribes that invade England 1500 years ago
This is then divided into 8 branches
4 main branches: Indo-Iranian, Romance, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic
4 less common branches: Albanian, Armenian, Greek, and Celtic

10. Indo-Iranian Branch
Divided into 2 groups - Eastern Group (Indic) and Western Group (Iranian)
Iranian Group:
Major Iranian group languages include Persian, Pashto, and Kurdish
Indic Group:
The widely used language in India is in the Indic group
1/3 of Indians use Hindi
The principal language of Pakistan is Urdu
In 1947 Hindu became the official language for India

11. Balto-Slavic Branch Divided into East, West, and South Slavic groups
The most widely used Slavic languages are primarily Eastern, Ex: Russia
Polish - most commonly spoken Western Slavic language; Czech and Slovak also popular

12. Romance Language Branch
Evolved from the Latin language
4 most widely used Romance languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian
Spanish and French are 2 of the 6 total official languages of the United Nations
The dialect of the Ile-de France region became the standard form of French
Spanish is the official language in 18 Latin American states

13. Romance Language Branch

14. Key Issue 3 8 main language branches:
Indo European (lime green): spoken by 48% of the world, Ex: English
Sino Tibetan (red): spoken by 26% of the world, Ex: Chinese
Afro Asiatic (yellow): spoken by 6% of the world, Ex: Arabic
Austronesian (pink): spoken by 5% of the world, Ex: Southeast Asia
Dravidian (light green): spoken by 4% of the world, Ex: India
Altaic (dark green): spoken by 3% of the world, Ex: mostly in Asia
Niger-Congo (orange): spoken by 3% of the world
Japanese: spoken by 2% of the world

15. Extinct Languages
An extinct language is a language once spoken and also used fairly recently, but not used anymore
Examples: Celtic, Hebrew
Because Judaism is still in practice and is a religion, Hebrew is technically not dead but still has come to not be a common language

16. Multilingual States:
A multilingual state is a state that uses multiple languages
Example: Belgium (French, Dutch, and German)
Isolate Languages:
A language unrelated to any other language, and therefore not attached to any language family
Examples: The Bosque in the Bosque region of France near the Spain border

17. Other Terms to Know
Language Family: a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history. (Indo-European largest)
Language Branch: a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago. Differences are not extensive or as old as with language families.
Language Group: a 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.
Lingua Franca: an international language of communication, Ex: English
Pidgin language: learning a simplified lingua franca
Ebonics: An African American dialect of English
Franglais – French and English
Spanglish – Spanish and English
Denglish – German and English

18. Photo Sources http://www.thw.coventry.sch.uk/MFL/MFL.htm