The Geography of Language

1. The Geography of Language Geography 105, Week 6

2. What do you call it?

3. The Geography of Language • Basic Components of Language • Dialects, Accent, Linguae Francae, Pidgins, & Creoles • Language Families • Geography of English • Language Isolation and Language Extinction • Toponymy • Language Conflict

4. What is language? • A mutually agreed upon system of symbolic communication using sounds, gestures, marks, and signs • Offers the means of transmitting belief systems, customs, and skills from generation to generation • Different culture have distinctive languages or dialects

5. Spatial Nature of Language • Languages are regional—different regions have different languages, words, or dialects that serve their own needs • If a monolingual speaker cannot understand, considered to be distinct language • Dialects are variations of a distinct language that can still be understood

6. Dialects of English • Some English Dialects • Over 100 dialects of English • 30-40 in the British Isles alone

7. Dialect Vs. Accent • Accent—the way a group or person sounds • Pronunciation and musicality of speech • Roof, root, creek, bag • Dialect—accent plus grammar in speech • Includes word choice • PNW: rad, bro, bucket vs. pail • What words are unique to the PNW?

8. Dialect Map of the U.S.

9. Dialects, cont. • Idiom—from Greek idios, meaning own’s own • Figurative meaning different from its literal meaning • E.g.: Cut a rug • Meaning: to dance well • E.g.: Look a gift horse in the mouth • Meaning: Don’t be critical of a gift • Patois—rural or provincial speech • Vernacular—local use/form of language

10. Lingua franca • Lingua franca—an existing and well established language used widely that is often not the mother tongue • E.g.: Swahili serves as the lingua franca in Eastern Africa • Pidgin—a composite language consisting of a small vocabulary borrowed from the linguistic groups involved in international commerce • E.g.: New Guinea use of TokPisin

11. Pidgin and Creole • TokPisin • Use of common coopted vocabulary for business at the basic level • Gut bai • Tenkyu • Haumas • Creole—language derived from pidgin that has acquired full vocabulary and becomes the native language of the speakers

12. Louisiana Creole and Zydeco Clifton Chenier

13. Language Families • Language family—collection of languages with a common ancestor • 6,800 languages grouped into 120 language families

14. Language Family Tree

15. Language Family Map

16. Major Languages • Mandarin—885 million speakers • Sino-Tibetan family—China, Taiwan, Singapore • Hindi/Urdu—426 million speakers • Indo-European—Northern India, Pakistan • Spanish—358 million speakers • Indo-European—Spain, Latin America • English—343 million speakers • Indo European—British Isles, South Africa, Australia • Arabic—235 million speakers • Afro-Asiatic—Middle East, North Africa

17. Major Languages, cont. • Bengali—207 million speakers • Indo-European—Bangladesh, India • Portuguese—176 millions speakers • Indo-European—Portugal, Brazil, southern Africa • Russian—167 million speakers • Indo-European—Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine • Japanese—125 million speakers • Japanese and Korean—Japan • German—100 million speakers • Indo European—Germany, Austria, Switzerland

18. Geography of ‘English’ • Standard English known as “Received Pronunciation” • The pronunciation of educated British speakers in London • Split of American English 500 years ago • Begins with regional dialects and pidgins • Distinct varieties in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, etc.

19. English Today

20. Dialect Regions of the U.S.

21. Language Isolation & Extinction • Languages change over time and space • How do language change? • Language divergence • When one language splits into many • Latin becomes French, Spanish, Romanian • Language Convergence • When two languages merge into one • Maltese Language

22. Language Isolation and Extinction • How do languages change, continued • Language Isolate • A language that belongs to no family • Yuni in the southwestern U.S.; Haida in Alaska • Language Extinction • The death of a language • 300 languages have died since 1500 CE • Siuslaw, Tilamook

23. Endangered Languages of the World

24. The Study of Place Names • Toponymy—the study of place names • What can a place reflect? • Physical features—Shellrock Mountain • A function of something historical—Dog River • Current or past cultures in the area—Tillamook • Ideas such as patriotism—Independence

25. Top Ten Place Names in U.S. • Clinton • Franklin • Madison • Washington • Chester • Marion • Greenville • Springfield • Georgetown • Salem

26. Unusual Place Names

27. Language Conflict • Conflict of language and place names is common • Macedonia’s name angered Greece

28. Language Conflict • Arabian Gulf or Persian Gulf

29. Conflict at Home • Cesar Chavez Boulevard? • MLK? • What about the new bridge?

30. Navajo Code Talkers • Consider the Navajo Code Talkers role in WWII; are there cultural conflicts that come to mind between the Navajo Volunteers and other troops? • What are some historical and practical reasons that the code talkers were used?