Why is English Related to Other Languages? CHAPTER 5 KEY ISSUE 2 Why is English Related to Other Languages?

There are EIGHT MAIN BRANCHES of the Indo-European family. English is a language of the INDO-EUROPEAN family. This is the most widely spoken family, with about 46% of people on Earth speaking one of its tongues. There are EIGHT MAIN BRANCHES of the Indo-European family.

FIGURE 5-9 BRANCHES OF THE INDOEUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY Most Europeans speak languages from the Indo-European language family. In Europe, the three most widely used branches are Germanic (north and west), Romance (south and west), and Slavic (east). The fourth major branch, Indo-Iranian, clustered in southern and western Asia, has more than 1 billion speakers, the greatest number of any Indo-European branch

Let’s look at the largest four languages of the Indo-European family.

Four most widely spoken branches 1.) Germanic branch Spoken primarily in northwestern Europe and North America Divided into High and Low Germanic subgroups English is classified in the Low Germanic subgroup English belongs to Indo-European, the world’s most widely spoken language family. Indic 438 languages spoken in India, including 29 with at least 1 million speakers. Iranian Major languages include Persian (aka Farsi) in Iran, Pashto (eastern Afghanistan and western Iran), and Kurdish (Kurds in western Iran, northern Iraw, and eastern Turkey). All written with the Arabic alphabet.

FIGURE 5-10 LANGUAGE GROUPS OF THE GERMANIC BRANCH Germanic languages predominate in Northern and Western Europe.

Four most widely spoken branches 2.) Indo-Iranian branch Spoken primarily in South Asia Subdivided into eastern group (Indic) and western group (Iranian)

Balto-Slavic branch Spoken primarily in Eastern Europe Divided into… East Slavic/Baltic Groups: most widely used language is Russian, followed by Ukrainian and Belarusian. West/South Slavic Groups: most spoken west Slavic language is Polish, followed by Czech and Slovak.

FIGURE 5-9 BRANCHES OF THE INDOEUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY Most Europeans speak languages from the Indo-European language family. In Europe, the three most widely used branches are Germanic (north and west), Romance (south and west), and Slavic (east). The fourth major branch, Indo-Iranian, clustered in southern and western Asia, has more than 1 billion speakers, the greatest number of any Indo-European branch

4.) Romance branch Spoken primarily in southwestern Europe and Latin America Most widely used are Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. Lingual divisions tend to correspond to the political boundaries of Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy.

FIGURE 5-13 ROMANCE BRANCH OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY Romance branch languages predominate in southwestern Europe.

ROMANIAN is the major outlier in the Romance branch; it uses sounds distinct from other Romance languages, and is separated from the others by Balto-Slavic speakers.

ORIGIN AND DIFFUSION OF ENGLISH Modern English has evolved primarily from the languages spoken by three Germanic tribes that invaded the British Isles in the 5th century. Angles- from southern Denmark Jutes- from northern Denmark Saxons- from northwestern Germany

The three invaders blended to create what became known as ANGLO-SAXON culture, and a new language- ENGLISH (named after the Angles).

Vikings from present-day Norway Over time, others invaded England and their languages influenced early English. Vikings from present-day Norway Normans from present-day Normandy in France.

FIGURE 5-15 INVASIONS OF ENGLAND The first speakers of the language that became known as English were tribes that lived in present-day Germany and Denmark. They invaded England in the fifth century. The Jutes settled primarily in southeastern England, the Saxons in the south and west, and the Angles in the north, eventually giving the country its name—Angles’ Land, or England. Invasions by Vikings in the ninth century and Normans in the eleventh century brought new words to the language spoken in the British Isles. The Normans were the last successful invaders of England.

The NORMANS ruled England for 300 years, from 1026 until the early fourteenth century. For this entire period, FRENCH was the official language of England. It was spoken by clergy and nobility, while the common-folk continued to speak English.

Global Diffusion of English- English language migrated across the world as Britain established a colonial EMPIRE. English is an official language in most former British colonies.

Widest extent of British Empire, 18th century

Countries where ENGLISH is a national language

Origin and Diffusion of ROMANCE LANGUAGES

Because communication in ancient Rome was limited, contact between the provinces was scarce. Each developed its own form of Latin, known as a Vulgar Latin. When the Empire collapsed and communication ceased altogether, each Vulgar Latin developed into a modern Romance language.

Linguists believe that a common proto-language was the foundation for the entire Indo-European family. Like other ‘superfamilies,’ this is speculative, but TWO MAJOR THEORIES prevail:

Nomadic Warrior Hypothesis MARIJA GIMBUTAS the Kurgan people of Central Asia were nomadic warriors used domesticated horses to conquer Eastern Europe and the Middle East between 3500 and 2500 bce FIGURE 5-18 ORIGIN AND DIFFUSION OF INDO-EUROPEAN (NOMADIC WARRIOR THEORY) The Kurgan homeland was north of the Caspian Sea, near the present-day border between Russia and Kazakhstan. According to this theory, the Kurgans may have infiltrated into Eastern Europe beginning around 4000 b.c. and into central Europe and Southwest Asia beginning around 2500 b.c.

Sedentary Farmer Hypothesis COLIN RENFREW the proto-language diffused from a hearth in Anatolia.. This ancient culture is believed to have become dominant through its innovative use of agriculture when most other cultures were still hunting and gathering. FIGURE 5-19 ORIGIN AND DIFFUSION OF INDOEUROPEAN (SEDENTARY FARMER THEORY ) Indo-European may have originated in present-day Turkey 2,000 years before the Kurgans. According to this theory, the language diffused along with agricultural innovations west into Europe and east into Asia.

FIGURE 5-9 BRANCHES OF THE INDOEUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY Most Europeans speak languages from the Indo-European language family. In Europe, the three most widely used branches are Germanic (north and west), Romance (south and west), and Slavic (east). The fourth major branch, Indo-Iranian, clustered in southern and western Asia, has more than 1 billion speakers, the greatest number of any Indo-European branch

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