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LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE. Chapter 6. Language and Political Conflict. Belgium: Flanders (Flemish/Dutch) Wallonia (French). Brussels officially bilingual. 2. 2. What Are Languages, and What Role Do Languages Play in Culture?.

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LANGUAGE

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  1. LANGUAGE Chapter 6

  2. Language and Political Conflict Belgium: Flanders (Flemish/Dutch) Wallonia (French) Brussels officially bilingual 2 2

  3. What Are Languages, and What Role Do Languages Play in Culture? • Language: A set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols used for communication • Standard language: A language that is published, widely distributed, and purposefully taught • Role of government in standardizing a language

  4. The Internet: Globalization of Language

  5. Language and Politics

  6. Non-English Speakers Political issue of speakers of Spanish and other languages vs. those desiring English only

  7. Language and Cultural Identity 7 7

  8. Federal level: officially bilingual Provinces: Quebec- officially French New Brunswick – only province officially bilingual Other provinces officially English Quebec vs. Canada 8 8

  9. Mutual Intelligibility • Isogloss: A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs • Criterion for a language: Speakers can understand each other • Problems • Measuring “mutual intelligibility” • Standard languages and government impact on what is a “language” and what is a “dialect” • Dialect: variant of standard language by ethnicity or region • Vocabulary • Syntax • Cadence, pace • Pronunciation

  10. English Speaking Countries Fig. 5-1: English is the official language in 42 countries, including some in which it is not the most widely spoken language. It is also used and understood in many others. 10 10

  11. Example of Dialect

  12. Minor Dialects Today 12 12

  13. What American Do You Speak? http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/ http://popvssoda.com:2998/ 13 13

  14. The Queens English A dialect is a regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. English has an especially large number of dialects. One particular dialect of English, the one associated with upper-class Britons living in the London area, is recognized in much of the English-speaking world as the standard form of British speech, known as British Received Pronunciation (BRP). 14 14

  15. Differences in Vocabulary and Spelling English in the United States and England evolved independently (Isolation) during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. U.S. English differs from that of England in three significant ways: vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. The vocabulary is different because settlers in America encountered many new objects and experiences, which were given names borrowed from Native Americans. Spelling diverged because of a strong national feeling in the United States for an independent identity. Noah Webster, the creator of the first comprehensive American dictionary and grammar books, was not just a documenter of usage, he had an agenda. Webster argued that spelling and grammar reforms would help establish a national language, reduce cultural dependence on England, and inspire national pride. 15 15

  16. Differences in Pronunciation Differences in pronunciation between British and U.S. speakers are immediately recognizable. Interaction between the two groups was largely confined to exchange of letters and other printed matter rather than direct speech. Surprisingly, pronunciation has changed more in England than in the United States. People in the United States do not speak “proper” English because when the colonists left England, “proper” English was not what it is today. 16 16

  17. British Slang WordsBelow are a few slang words commonly used in Britain. Bloke - man.'John is a nice bloke to know.' Botched - poor quality repairs.'He made a botched job of fixing the television.' Bottle - courage.'He doesn't have the bottle to ask her.' Cheesed Off - fed up Chuck it down - to rain, often heavily.'It is going to chuck it down soon.' Chuffed - If you are chuffed, you are happy with something. 'I was chuffed to win a medal!' Daft - Crazy / stupid Dosh - Money / cash 'I haven't got much dosh to give you.' Gobsmacked - Incredibly amazed.'I was gobsmacked when I saw my birthday presents.' Gutted - Not happy because of an event that has occurred that didn't go your way. 'I was gutted when I didn't win the race' Jammy - Used in place of lucky when describing someone else. 'He was very jammy winning the lottery'. Scrummy - Delicious. Shortened from scrumptious.'The food was very scrummy' Skint - Broke. No money.'I'm skint, I wont be able to buy the DVD today.' to Snog - to long kiss Telly - Television'I watched the news on the telly last night.' 17 17

  18. Classification by language families (groups of related languages) Why Are Languages Distributed the Way They Are?

  19. Major World Languages 20 20

  20. Language Formation • Linkages among languages marked by sound shifts, slight changes in a word across languages over time Milk = lacte in Latin leche in Spanish lait in French latta in Italian • Language divergence: Breakup of a language into dialects and then new languages from lack of interaction among speakers • Language convergence: When peoples with different languages have consistent interaction and their languages blend into one

  21. The Study of Historical Languages Backward reconstruction: Tracking sound shifts and the hardening of consonants backward to reveal an “original” language • Can deduce the vocabulary of an extinct language • Can recreate ancient languages (deep reconstruction)

  22. Historical Linkages among Languages • Indo-European language family • Proto-Indo-European language • Nostratic Language (ancient ancestor of Proto-Indo-European Language)

  23. Origins of Proto-Indo-European Renfrew Hypothesis: Began in the Fertile Crescent, and then • Europe’s languages from Anatolia • North Africa and Arabia’s languages from the Western Arc of Fertile Crescent • Southwest Asia and South Asia’s languages from the Eastern Arc of Fertile Crescent

  24. Agriculture Theory With increased food supply and population, migration of speakers from the hearth of Indo-European languages into Europe

  25. Dispersal Hypothesis • From the hearth eastward into present-day Iran • Around the Caspian • Into Europe

  26. The Language Sub-Families of Europe Romance languages Germanic languages Slavic languages

  27. South Asian Languages and Language Families Fig. 5-7: Indo-European is the largest of four main language families in South Asia. The country of India has 18 official languages. 31 31

  28. Languages of Subsaharan Africa • Dominant language family: Niger-Congo • Relatively recent migration • Continued recognizable similarities among subfamilies • Displacement of Khoisan family, now in southwestern Africa

  29. Nigeria • More than 400 languages • Nigeria a colonial creation • Choice of English as “official” language rather than any indigenous language

  30. How Do Languages Diffuse? • Human interaction • Print distribution • Migration • Trade • Rise of nation-states • Colonialism Elizabeth J. Leppman

  31. Effects of Spatial Interaction • Lingua franca: A language used among speakers of different languages for trade and commerce • Pidgin language: A language created when people combine parts of two or more languages into a simplified structure and vocabulary • Creole language: A pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary and has become the native language of a group of people

  32. Multilingualism • Monolingual state: A country in which only one language is spoken • Multilingual state: A country in which more than one language is in use • Official language: Government-selected language or languages to try to enhance communication in a multilingual state

  33. Global Language • English as lingua franca for • Commerce • Science • Travel • Business • Popular culture • Continued use of native languages for day-to-day activities

  34. Global Dominance of English One of the most fundamental needs in a global society is a common language for communication. Increasingly in the modern world, the language of international communication is English. When well-educated speakers of two different languages wish to communicate with each other in countries such as India or Nigeria, they frequently use English. 39 39

  35. 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) 40 40

  36. What Role Does Language Play in Making Places? • Place: The uniqueness of a location, what people do in a location, what they create, how they impart a certain character, a certain imprint on the location • Toponym: A place name • Imparts a certain character on a place • Reflects the social processes in a place • Can give a glimpse of the history of a place

  37. Changing Toponyms Major reasons people change toponyms • After decolonization • After a political revolution • To commodify or brand a place • To memorialize people or events

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