Chapter 5 Key Issue 3 Why do Individual Languages Vary Among Places?

Big Question What is a dialect and describe the dialects present in English in general, the United Kingdom, and the United States? What attempts have been made to standardize languages and how have multilingual countries dealt with language diversity?

Key Terms Dialect Standard language Received Pronunciation (RP) Isogloss Ebonics Creole

English Dialects Dialect – a regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation (subdialects also exist) English has a large number of dialects from the original in England (North American, Australian, South African, etc.) Isolation is extremely important when understanding dialects After people of the same language split, they begin to create words that pertain to their situation (British English vs. American English) English variations see variations in vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation

English Dialects England itself also sees several dialects from the original standard language, which is the dialect that is well established and widely recognized by governments, education, media, and business In English, the standard language is called Received Pronunciation (RP) RP developed out of the London elite and academics from Oxford and Cambridge Universities…three main dialects stem from that in England – Northern, Midland, and Southern

U.S. Dialects Dialects are created with words and spellings that are only used regionally These words have boundaries to their use known as isogloss The U.S. has 4 major dialects: North, Midland, South, and West which can also be divided into subdialects

U.S. Dialects The three East Coast dialects diffused from the original locations of English colonies The Northern colonies were populated by Puritans from Eastern and Southern England, known for dropping the /r/ sound from words The Middle colonies were made up of Quakers from Northern England, Scots, Irish, Germans, and Dutch who learned English when they got to America

U.S. Dialects The Southern colonies came from lower classes of Southeastern England, deported prisoners, servants, and refugees who didn’t speak “Proper English” From the colonies, those dialects diffused west as America expanded The Midland dialect has become the standard dialect of America and is the one that also became the dialect of the West

U.S. Dialects Other dialects that occur in America are African-American (Ebonics), Appalachian, and Creole English

Dialects of Language? Globalization has often created tension between regional dialects and standard languages, as dialects have been suppressed and strengthened It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a language and a dialect Examples of the Romance branch include: Catalan-Valencian-Balear (Spanish), Galician (Spanish-Portuguese), Moldovan (Romanian), Italian dialects such as Lombard, Sicilian, Venetian, Occitan (French)

Dialect of Language? English is not the only language that has dialects French varies widely across France itself as well as its overseas possessions Spanish and Portuguese that is spoken in Spain and Portugal is different than that spoken in Latin America To unify these languages, efforts have been made by language organizations in France, Spain, and Portugal to standardize words, rules, and pronunciations The standardization of English occurs in the Oxford-English Dictionary

Multilingual Places Multiple languages coexist in some countries, with varying degrees of success Switzerland uses 4 official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romanish) with much success Canada uses 2 (English and French) languages with recent cooperation between the speakers. There have been conflicts and cultural isolation in the past

Multilingual Places Nigeria has 529 distinct languages with the most common only being spoken by 14% of the country. The country is further divided into Northern Muslims and Southern Christians. Igbo and Yoruba have been the leading languages but have also led to very deadly conflicts and talks of secession from the two groups Belgium is sharply divided by the two main language groups (French-speaking Walloons in the South and Dutch-speaking Flemings in the North). The country has been split into two since it was created and has even talked about forming two countries

Big Question & Key Terms What is a dialect and describe the dialects present in English in general, the United Kingdom, and the United States? What attempts have been made to standardize languages and how have multilingual countries dealt with language diversity? Dialect standard language Received Pronunciation (RP) Isogloss Ebonics Creole

Chapter 5 Key Issue 4 Why do Local Languages Survive?

Big Question Describe the difference between endangered, extinct, isolated, unchanged, new, and growing languages. Give examples for each.

Key Terms Endangered Languages Isolated languages Unchanged languages Extinct languages New languages Growing languages

Endangered Languages The distribution of a language is a measure of the fate of a cultural group (English vs. Icelandic)…globalization vs. isolation Of the 7,102 languages on earth, 2,447 are endangered and 916 are dying Languages are endangered or dying because parents are not teaching them to their children The regions of Earth with the largest number of dying languages are the South Pacific, Latin America, and North America

Endangered Languages In Australia and New Zealand, English is the most widely spoken language and the native Aboriginees and Maroi languages are struggling to survive In North America, 142 Native American languages are dying in the U.S. alone Efforts are being made to reawaken these languages but it proving to be difficult

Preserving Languages Many efforts are being made by organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union to preserve endangered and dying languages The Celtic branch of the Indo-European family is of particular interests due to its cultural connection to so many cultures throughout Northern and Western Europe

Preserving Languages The Celtic branch is divided into two groups: Brythonic and Goildelic Brythonic includes those people who fled west and south to escape the invading Angles, Saxons, and Jutes and consists of the Welsh, Cornish, and Breton languages Goildelic includes the languages of Scotich Gaelic and Irish Gaelic

Isolated and Extinct Languages Some languages bear no similarity to any other language…this is due to their isolation from others Isolation can help to preserve a language or lead to its demise Isolated languages are unrelated to any other language and are not a part of any languages family. They are considered vigorous as long as they are in full use in the community and are being learned by children as their first language. Basque, from the Pyrenees Mountains of northern Spain and southern France, is an example of a vigorous isolated language in Europe

Isolated and Extinct Languages Icelandic is not considered an isolated language since it is part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family, but due to its distance from other languages and cultures, it has changed less than any other language in its branch Because of this, it is known as an unchanged language since Iceland has had so little interaction with other cultures

Isolated and Extinct Languages An extinct language is one that was used by people in daily activities but is no longer used Examples of extinct languages are Latin, Aramaic, Ancient Greek, and Old English The loss of many languages is a reflection of globalization as people choose to use a widely used language instead of their native one, causing their native language to disappear over time

New and Growing Languages Even though the total number of languages is declining, some are being invented and revived New Languages are classified as such if they are discovered to be separate from any other language, group, branch, or family Some languages are even discovered from time to time Growing Languages are those that may have been extinct or endangered but have made a significant comeback Hebrew is an example of a growing language after it was made the official language of Israel in 1948

Big Question & Key Terms Describe the difference between endangered, extinct, isolated, unchanged, new, and growing languages. Give examples for each. Endangered Languages Isolated languages Unchanged languages Extinct languages New languages Growing languages