Cougar Time Missing quiz or test? Chapter 6 Guided Reading

11/05 Bellringer +5 sentences How do you use language on a daily basis?

Language Language – a set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols that are used for communication.

How Language Changed the World

World Language Families

Major World Languages Pre-literate societies where spoken languages are not written downs are an endangered species-many are on the verge of extinction. August 1999 National Geographic article: 10,000 languages spoken at one time Today only about 6,000 remain About 300 are spoken by over 1 million people In another 100 years about ½ will be gone. Especially those not being taught to children.

Major World Languages It is difficult to classify languages and dialects. Some scholars treat Quebecan French as a separate language while others consider it a dialect. Many areas have a very complex linguistic geography- Africa-has perhaps 1,000 languages India has about 600

Major Language Families Percentage of World Population Fig. 5-11a: The percentage of world population speaking each of the main language families. Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan together represent almost 75% of the world’s people.

Language Terms Standard language-an official language sustained by the state in the form of state examination for teachers, civil servants and others. Dialect-regional variation of a standard language. Language family-a group of languages descended from a single, earlier tongue. Language subfamily-a further division of language families. Language-a means of communicating ideas or feelings by means of a conventionalized system of signs, gestures, marks or articulate vocal sounds. In short, communication is symbolic, based on commonly understood meanings or signs. Language is the heart of culture and a matter of cultural identity. Standard language is the language of the capital city. Dialect may be regional or by class-a change in the vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm and the speed at which a language is spoken. There is still mutually comprehension among dialects of the same language. Language families have a shared, but distant common origin. Language subfamilies-have more in common since they split from each other more recently. Language groups are further divisions of language subfamilies.

Regional differences in a standard language; Syntax-the way words are put together Vocabulary Pronunciation Cadence or rhythm Accents can reveal the regional home of a person. Sample isogloss map on the right- Northern dialect and its subdivisions are found in New England and Canada, extending southward to a secondary dialect are centered on New York. Midland speech is found along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey southward to central Delaware, but spreads more extensively across the interior of the US and Canada. The Southern dialect dominates the East coast from the Chesapeake Bay south. Examples-North Midlands & South pail bucket brook run or branch bossie to call cow Sook or Sookie or Sook cow co or come cow co-wench or co-inch or coo ee spider skillet or frying pan

Dialect-variants of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines- vocabulary-syntax- pronunciation- cadence-pace of speech Isogloss -A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs