Key Issue 3 Why Do Individual Languages Vary Among Places?

Dialects of English dialect- regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocab, spelling, and pronunciation Linguists map dialects using isogloss maps.

U.S. Dialect Maps Click to Explore Click to Watch

Tracing U.S. Dialects Through Time The 13 original colonies can be grouped into 3 dialect regions. New England- inhabited by settlers from England Southeastern- about ½ came from southeastern England, while the others represented a diversity of social-class backgrounds. Midlands- most diverse group— Quakers from north of England, Scots and Irish, German, Dutch, and Swedish migrants.

Making Connections Housing Styles

Current U.S. Language Use Some English words are specific to a dialect. Rural life Food Objects from daily activities Language differences tend to be greatest in rural areas because of limited interaction with people from other dialect regions. Mass media has reduced the number of regionally distinctive words.

Dialects of English: UK Languages with multiple dialects may recognize one as the standard language that is widely recognized as the most acceptable for government, business, education, and mass communication. Example England’s is known as British Received Pronunciation (BRP).

US… UK U.S. English language is noticeably different than U.K. English in 3 ways. Vocabulary (new objects, climate and geography). Spelling (Noah Webster’s dictionary) Pronunciation (limited interaction between speakers of varying dialects)

Key Issue 4 Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?

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Language Diversity in Multilingual States Having 2 languages can have positive and negative effects- some countries mange this better than others.

Belgium Southern Belgians (Walloons) speak French. Northern Belgians (Flemings) speak Flemish. Pressure from Flemish speakers led to the division of Belgium into two independent regions with each controlling their own cultural affairs, public health, road construction, and urban development.

Switzerland Peacefully exists with multiple languages Switzerland attributes success to decentralized government, in which local authorities hold most of the power, and decisions are frequently made on a local level Four official languages— German (65%), French (18%), Italian (10%), and Romansh (1%)

Nigeria 527 distinct languages- only 3 are widespread Languages represent tribal cultures, and these cultures do not always get along… leading to cultural and political tensions Is TOO MUCH diversity a bad thing?

Isolated Languages Isolated languages are languages that are unrelated to any other and are unattached to a language family. Basque- Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain Icelandic- geographically remote island Koro Aka- northeastern India

Going… Going… Gone Extinct Languages Gothic- totally extinct Native American- many face extinction Hebrew- Revived with the establishment of modern Israel Cornish- revived and taught in schools CLICK IMAGES TO LEARN MORE

Preserving Celtic Languages… Preserving Celtic Cultures Welsh- since 1988 (law) must be taught in school Irish Gaelic- led by young Irish citizens who want to distinguish Irish culture from English culture Scottish Gaelic- spoken by only 1% of Scots

Preserving Aborigine Languages Many Aboriginal languages and dialects became extinct because native languages were forbidden for many years under Australian assimilation policies. ExThere are less than less than 250 fluent speakers of Noongar, and the language is considered endangered Community/cultural groups- NOT the government- are leading the language preservation efforts in Australia.

Preserving Maori Languages More than 10% of the population is of Maori descent. The NZ government has adopted policies to preserve the Maori language- only 1% of the people speak the language. CLICK TO LISTEN

Maori Nonverbal Language Rubbing noses is the equivalent of shaking hands.

A Lingua Franca: The Global Dominance of English The language of international communication Has helped spread pop culture, scientific advancements, and international trade Is the second language of many people around the world

Expansion Diffusion of English African American gumbo, jazz, ebonics Appalachian holler, crick, double negatives Franglais French do NOT like English “creep” Spanglishparquin (parking), taipear (to type) Denglish use English slogan in advertising

Thinking Like A Geographer Could the use of translation technology end the use of English as a lingua franca?

Spanish in the USA Increasingly important language because of large-scale immigration from Latin America. Some communities now issue public notices, government documents, and advertisements in Spanish. Radio stations and TV now broadcast in Spanish in places where most of the 35 million Spanish speakers live. In reaction, 30 states and number of localities have laws making English the official language.

Unavision Univision's roots can be traced back to 1955, when Raul Cortez started KCOR- TV, a Spanish language independent station in San Antonio, Texas.

French in Canada Québec government has made the use of French mandatory in many daily activities. Québec faces challenges integrating a large number of immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America who don’t speak French. Immigrants prefer to use English as the lingua franca because of its greater global usage.

Role of the Internet Has strengthened the dominance of English as a lingua franca even though other languages are now more common than at beginning of the “internet revolution.” US still has great influence www Assigning domain names Search engines