GEO 201 Chapter 4

1. GEO 201Chapter 4 Speaking About Places The Geography of Language

2. Speech is a basic aspect of culture • We use it to: • Pass on traditions • Pass on learning • Preserve a way of life Language is essential to communication and so influences political, social, and economic institutions. Political boundaries often follow language boundaries

3. Physical features of the land can affect the distribution of languages. • barrier – isolation – no change or mixing of languages • Barriers like rough terrain can create linguistic refuge areas.

4. Language is a system of communication which uses speech, a collection of sounds that are understood by a group of people to have the same meaning – most of the time. • Fig. 4.1, p. 108 • We use language to name or rename a place or a person. • Through this naming, we claim the place or person as our own.

5. Many languages, although not all, are accompanied by a system of writing and have a literary tradition. • Many languages spoken on earth today may have evolved from a common tongue (language). • Reflecting on Geography, p. 109

6. Themes: Region • People in different parts of the world speak different individual languages, and language is a central part of culture. • We learn about culture through language. • As the culture changes, so do some elements of language: • Gay – used to mean “happy” • Other examples????

7. Usually, speakers of separate languages can’t totally understand each other -- even 2 different speakers of English. • In contrast, in a country you may have speakers who use a dialect of the dominant language. • A dialect is a variant form of a language where mutual comprehension is possible • A dialect is a regional variant of a language and is distinctive enough in vocabulary and pronunciation to label its speaker as coming from one particular place or another.

8. About 6,000 languages and even more dialects are spoken today • When different linguistic groups come into contact, a pidgin language forms, characterized by a very small vocabulary derived from the languages of the group with whom they came into contact: • West African Pidgin English (used in trade) • See handout When pidgin acquires a fuller vocabulary and becomes the native language of a group, it is then called creole.

9. When there is a country where many different languages are spoken, one language rises above all the others to become the lingua franca in that area. • It is the language of communication and commerce spoken across a wide area • Swahili in East Africa • Pidgin in West Africa • English worldwide When a person can speak 2 languages fluently, we say that person is bilingual. If a person speaks many languages, that person is a polyglot.

10. A. Language Families • a collection of languages that are related because of a common ancestor • when words in different languages sound alike or almost alike, they must be related. Ex: Spanish and Italian • language families are broken down into Branches: a collection of languages that have a common origin but split into languages • See handout and pp. 110-111

11. Language Families • Branches • Groups (sometimes) • Languages • Dialects

12. B. Indo-European Language Family • nearly ½ of the people in the world speak an Indo-European language • the largest and most widespread language, English, belongs to this family • looking at individual words of the Indo-European Family, one is able to see similarities • P. 111 • Handout

13. Indo-European is the largest language family and English belongs to this family • English comes from languages spoken for only the last 1500 years • England was invaded by tribes called the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons from the area of Denmark and part of Germany

14. England means “Angles Land” • English is a combination of these dialects • There were similarities among these languages, so they were known as Germanic Languages • Over time and because of subsequent invasions, English changed • As English became more politically secure, their language diffused around the world through the establishment of colonies

15. We know English reached our shores first in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia and then in 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts • Other British colonies were formed in Africa, Asia, and on many islands in the Atlantic,Pacific, and Indian Oceans. • By the 1950s, English was the official language in countries where ¼ of the world’s population lived. • That changed when most colonies gained independence in the early 1960s.

16. Other Indo-European Branches and Languages • Romance Languages – branch • Developed from Latin, the Roman language; hence the name Romance • 5 most widely used languages are French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & Romanian • Another, Catalan, has fewer speakers • These languages spread because of colonizing efforts

17. Sino-Tibetan Family(Sin0=China) • Second only to Indo-European in size • Burmese-Tibetan Branch has 400 languages African-Asiatic Family - #3 in size - thousands of languages - most have no written language (no literary tradition) - Arabic and Hebrew

18. Niger-Congo Family • Spoken by 95% of Sub-Saharan Africa • Contains 6 branches • Benue-Congo Branch is the largest and contains half the languages in this family • Other branches: Adamawa-Eastern, Gur, Kwa, Mande, & West Atlantic • Swahili is the most important language of the Benue-Congo Branch • Official language of Tanzania and the lingua franca of east Africa. It has a strong Arabic influence from Muslim traders.

19. Other African Languages – less widely used • Nilo-Saharan Family • Found in north-central Africa • A few million speakers • Has 6 branches: Fur, Koma, Maba, Saharan, Songhai, & Chari-Nile (the number of speakers is small) Khoisan Family - found in southwest Africa - uses clicking sounds - the most important language in this family isHottentot

20. Theme: Mobility • Languages were often spread through relocation diffusion • Because of mobility, migration, some languages are no longer spoken in their place of origin • Languages change when people migrate, picking up new terms and blending them into the language • Earliest speakers of Indo-European languages lived in southern and southeastern Turkey called Anatolia 9,000 years ago

21. According to the Anatolian Hypothesis, the earliest diffusion of people who spoke an Indo-European language had to do with the beginnings of agriculture • As farms spread, so did the people and their languages • As people became more dispersed, they lost contact with others and languages changed creating new groups of Indo-European Language Family • Some disagree with this hypothesis saying people moved and languages changed because of horses and their movement, not because of farming.

22. Another hypothesis is the Kurgan Hypothesis which says that the rise of Indo-European languages took place in the central Asian steppes 6,000 years ago • So there is disagreement among those who care about such things • What we do know is that some Indo-European languages were spread through conquest: British Empire, the Roman Empire • The language of the conqueror usually takes hold: Latin in the Roman Empire and English in the British Empire

23. Austronesian Diffusion • Language began in S.E. Asia 5,000 years ago. • Spread southward to Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Easter Island, Hawaii, and Madagascar • Used small boats in their migration, great sailing skills • Took perhaps thousands of years • 2500 miles covered • Island hopping

24. Religion and Linguistic Mobility • Those who spoke a particular language may have helped to spread a particular religion. • Ex: Arabic / Islam • Arabs initially spread their religion by taking over territory • The Qur’an, until recently, was only in Arabic. Certain languages have religious status; Latin – Roman Catholic Arabic – Islam Hebrew -- Judaism

25. When a religious book is translated into a particular language, it can help save a dying language • Wales -- Welsh • Saved this Celtic language from becoming extinct

26. Language Boundaries • Geographers try to place boundaries on a map to show where different languages are found. • The border of usage of an individual word or pronunciation is called an Isogloss. • In the U.S. there are 3 isoglosses on the east coast: Northern (r – less, cah for car), Midland (Police and Balmer for Baltimore), & Southern ( clipped and extended ( hi and te ent) • P. 119, map

27. Some words become outdated: ice box instead of refrigerator or even fridge. • Slang terms can become quite common • refers to words and phrases that are not part of a standard, recognized vocabulary for a given language but are used and understood by some or most of its speakers • sub-cultures have their own slang whose words are not readily understood by outsiders. Was it designed that way??? • it’s another way that language changes over time • There can also be a blending of 2 languages: Spanglish

28. Theme: Globalization • The diffusion of some languages has brought about the demise of other languages. • 10,000 years ago there were about 1 million people and 15,000 languages • Today, there are almost 7 billion people speaking 40% as many languages • Some believe all but 300 languages will be extinct or dying by 2100 • Some believe 3,000 languages are endangered • Diffusion has increased the number of speakers of some languages like English while other languages have been eliminated.

29. As people die off so do some of their languages. • Language Hotspot – places where languages are endangered

30. Technology, Language, & Empire • This ranges from the ability to write down the spoken word to using the internet with all that it offers • In this technological world, some languages tend to dominate, like English. • The predominance of English corresponds to technological superiority. • Writing, itself, came about as early as 5300 years ago in Sumer, Mesopotamia, and Egypt – mainly for record keeping and some literature. • Later documents were copied by hand

31. Followed by the use of the printing press • When colonial empires developed, language spread with the conqueror. • Language can help hold a country or an empire together • P. 121, map • Even though most colonies are now independent, the languages imposed on them often remain. • Ex: Cameroun, French and English

32. You can find English in Africa, S. Asia, the Philippines and the Pacific Islands. • In some areas the language of the colonizers or former colonizers becomes the language of the elite/ educated. • On the internet you can get something translated instantly • P. 123 & 125

33. Theme: Nature/Culture • Language interacts with the environment in 2 ways: • Physical habitat shapes language – the words used • Environment can guide migrations of those speaking various languages: Go here, not there. Habitat and Vocabulary A language is rich in words to describe a particular habitat or climate feature like snow. EX: English developed in wet coastal plains of N. Europe. Not a lot of words to describe mountains.

34. Habitat Shapes Language Areas -- Migration • Environmental barriers and natural routes have sent different linguistic groups onto certain paths. • Prevailing winds/water influence the path of a ship • Mountains divide – France and Spain • Open areas make movement easier • Inhospitable areas can provide isolation and refuge and are called Linguistic Refuge Areas • Today, isolation has pretty much been overcome, so it doesn’t play the role it once did.

35. Theme: Cultural Landscape • Language is just about everywhere on the landscape: • Road signs • Billboards • Graffiti • Store sign • Signs on lawns This reflects the dominant language, can show bilingual areas, or troubled areas. Linguistic landscapes can give out messages that are friendly, unfriendly, or political.

37. Quebec has tried to get rid of signs in English even though Canada is officially bilingual. • Ireland has signs in Gaelic, and they’d like to eliminate signs in English.

38. Toponyms –Place names: • Show history • Describe lay of the land • Named for people There are 2 parts to a place name: generic and specific GenericSpecific -villeCatonsville -burg Frost burg - polis Anna polis

39. In the United States you can trace the migration paths of people through toponyms. • New England Term: Center/Corner either north, south, east, or west. You’ll find a repetition of names when people moved on and settled elsewhere: Troy Center, Michigan Center • Midland Terms: Gap, Cove, Hollow, Knob, or –burg; Ex: Hare Hollow, Cumberland Gap, Kentuck Knob, Fredericksburg • Southern Terms: Bayou, Gully, Store; Ex: Gum Gully, Cypress Bayou, Hall’s Store

40. Place names remain even after the culture has evolved, changed, or died out. • Smaller towns tend to hold on to original names • Ex: Maori names in New Zealand; 40% of small towns have Maori names; however the 4 largest cities in New Zealand have European names • P. 135, Doing Geography & Maps