The Geography of Language

A. Introduction Language is at the heart of culture Without language, culture could not be transmitted Cultures of all sizes fiercely protect their language Linguists estimate between 5,000 and 6,000 languages are in use today

Table 5.1

B. Defining language A systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, gestures, marks, or especially articulate vocal sounds

C. The Language Tree A group of languages descended from a single, earlier tongue Example: Romance languages: Spanish, French, etc. Have a shared, but fairly distant origin (e.g. Indo-European)

The Language Tree – “Mother Tongue” (Indo-European branch is highlighted)

Major World Languages Language Family Major Language Numbers (in millions) Indo-European English 445 Hindi 366 Spanish 340 Sino-Tibetan Chinese 1,211 Burmese 32 Japanese-Korean Japanese 125 Korean 78 Afro-Asiatic Arabic 211 Malay-Polynesian Indonesian 154 Dravidian (India) Telugu 69 Altaic Turkish 61

D. Spread of Languages Their speakers occupy new territories, or because they acquire new speakers spatial diffusion Through massive population relocation in which culture is transported to and made dominant in a new territory relocation diffusion

D. Spread of Languages cont… When the advantages of a language are evident and it is adopted expansion diffusion with acculturation The people who are power seekers learn and adopt the language first, and then everyone else learns hierarchical diffusion

E. Theories on Diffusion of Languages Conquest Theory: Hearth is Ukraine (5,000 yrs. ago); people used horses, wheel, and trade, spread language westward (ex: vater = vader = father)

E. Theories on Diffusion of Languages cont… Agriculture Theory: Hearth is Anatolia (Turkey - 9,000 yrs. ago) Farming people moved N & W Distance decay from source area; some non-farming people held out (Basque in Spain) Drawbacks: Anatolia not ideal for farming, some evidence states Proto-Indo-European language spread eastward first

E. Theories on Diffusion of Languages cont… Renfrew Model – proposes that 3 hearths gave rise to language families: Anatolia – Indo-Europe; Fertile Crescent (West) – N. Africa & Arabia; Fertile Crescent (East) – Iran through India

3 Maps Illustrating Possible Routes of Language Diffusion as Stated by the 3 Theories

F. Language Diversity and Uniformity Preserving language diversity Hebrew: reviving extinct languages Celtic: preserving endangered languages Multilingual states (ex: Switzerland, Belgium) Isolated languages Global dominance of English English as a lingua franca (common language) Diffusion to other languages

F. Language Diversity and Uniformity Standard Language - a language that is published, widely distributed, and purposefully taught. Government usually plays a big role in standardizing a language.

Language and Political Conflict Belgium: Flanders (Flemish language) Wallonia (French language)

G. Dialects Dialect -variants of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines - vocabulary - syntax (grammar) - pronunciation - cadence (rhythm) - pace of speech Isogloss - A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs (ex: Pop vs. Soda)

The Great Pop vs. Soda Debate

Tomato Vinegar Mustard

What do you call "A large sandwich consisting of a long roll split lengthwise and filled with layers of meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments?"

It's Not the Sights, It's the Sounds The dialects of New York City and Pittsburgh are miles apart, and the highways that connect them are loaded with detours in pronunciation and vocabulary. SOURCE: New York Times Travel, March 17,2006

H. Mutual Intelligibility Means two people can understand each other when speaking. Problems: Cannot be measured Many “languages” fail the test of mutual intelligibility Standard languages and governments impact what is a “language” and what is a “dialect”