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Diffusion of Languages

Diffusion of Languages. Diffusion Sound Shifts – charting of the diversification of languages over time; e.g. octo (Latin), otto (Ita), ocho (Spa), … Deep Reconstruction – find vocabulary of an extinct language and go backward; Proto-Indo European

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Diffusion of Languages

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  1. Diffusion of Languages

  2. Diffusion • Sound Shifts – charting of the diversification of languages over time; e.g. octo (Latin), otto (Ita), ocho (Spa), … • Deep Reconstruction – find vocabulary of an extinct language and go backward; Proto-Indo European • William Jones (>200 yrs. ago) – Sanskrit similar to Greek and Latin • Jacob Grimm – related languages have similar, but not identical consonants; e.g. vater (Ger) … vader (Dut), father (Eng) – softening over time • 4 Tasks: Reconstruct the ancient language, find the hearth, routes of diffusion, and peoples’ ways of life

  3. 8% 2/25 in empire .5% of the world

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

  5. Divergence – differentiation over time and space; languages branch into dialects, become isolated, then new languages—Quebec and Potuguese • Convergence – linked to human mobility (relocation diffusion); complicates rules of reconstruction—800, 1066 • Replacement – modification of a language by stronger cultures (acculturation); e.g. Hungarian surrounded by Ind-Eur, Basque? • Clues: Linguists look for environmental vocabulary (landforms, vegetation,…)

  6. Conquest Theory: Hearth is Ukraine (>5,000 yrs. ago); people used horses, wheel, and trade, spread language westward (sound shifts)2/25 • Agriculture Theory: Hearth is Anatolia (Turkey - >10,000 yrs. ago); Ukraine relied on pastoralism, not farming • Farming people of Anatolia 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 • Mountains, trees, monkeys… all present in that area—7,00-9,000 years ago • Renfrew Model – 3 hearths: Anatolia - Eur, Fertile Crescent (West) – N. Afr. & Arabia, Fert. Cres. (East) – Iran through India

  7. 3 Maps Illustrating Possible Routes of Language Diffusion as Stated by the Agriculture Theory

  8. Spread of Pacific Languages

  9. Greenberg Hypothesis

  10. Modern Language Mosaics

  11. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – “longest place name in the world”

  12. US is changing – Hispanics are the largest minority (“Hispanicization”) • > ½ are functionally illiterate in English (many early US immigrants were as well) • English as a second language

  13. One Global Language? • Esperanto Experiment • occurred in early 1900s • based on Latin & other Eur. languages • failed – not a global tongue (Indo-Eur.), lacked practical utility • English – becoming a lingua franca of the world (commerce and science) • Latin—French—German—English

  14. Lingua Franca • Ancient Mediterranean - “Frankish language” • Today - “common language”, second language • Pidgin – a lingua franca that has been simplified and modified through contact w/ other languages • Creole • Caribbean – mixing during slavery & colonizing • Today – pidgin later adopted as mother tongue • Creolization – lingua franca – becomes a pidgin – then becomes a creole language

  15. Three African Lingua Franca

  16. Language & Culture • Monolingual states – Japan, Venezuela, Iceland, Portugal, Poland Lesotho, … • Multilingual states – all others • Belgium – Dutch vs. French (Brussels officially bilingual) • Canada – Quebec (French by law), English everywhere else

  17. Languages in Belgium

  18. Quebec vs. Canada

  19. Official Language – often selected by the educated and politically elite to promote national cohesion; commonly language of colonial power • Angola – Portuguese; Nigeria – English; French – Côte d’Ivoire • **Allows people w/ different languages to communicate & keep their own language • Toponymy – systematic study of place-names (can elicit strong passions) • Leningrad – St. Petersburg; Bombay – Mumbai; Zaire – Dem. Rep. of the Congo

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