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Language!

Language!. Where the language is used, how they are grouped, why distributed that way . Some Stats to Start with. The world has 7299 languages only 10 (including English) are spoken by at least 100 million people.

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Language!

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  1. Language! Where the language is used, how they are grouped, why distributed that way

  2. Some Stats to Start with • The world has 7299 languages only 10 (including English) are spoken by at least 100 million people. • They include: Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Mandarin, Hindi, Bengali, Arabic, Japanese • 500 Million People speak English and it is the official language of 50 countries • Mandarin has more speakers but is clustered mainly in China.

  3. Why so many English Speakers? • British dominance since the 1600’s and colonization throughout the world: • North America, United States and Canada • Ireland, Scotland, Wales • South Asia • South Pacific • Southern Africa • And then there’s American dominance • South Pacific, Caribbean, Philippines

  4. Dialect • Regional variations of a particular language • British vs. American English • Spelling, Vocabulary, Pronunciation • The “King’s English” known as British Received Pronunciation • Cockney English known as the working class language • Dialects in the US • East Coast, South, Midwest • Monolingual regions, Multilingual regions

  5. EVERY LANGUAGE HAS SLANG • Cockney Rhyming Slang- English odd humorous use of code phrases “going up the apples” • Pidgin languages-simplified forms of a language that use key vocabulary and limited grammar • Pidgin languages can evolve into separate languages-French Creole which is French with African dialectal sounds and vocabulary • Most former French colonies have a mixed language of French and Indigenous called Patois

  6. Lingua Franca? • French has historically been the bridge or utility language so it’s versatility coined the term “lingua franca” • Lingua Franca is used to describe any language that bridges peoples from around the world • In the 21st century English is accepted as the global “lingua franca”

  7. Language Families • Indo-European (2.5 Billion) • Sino-Tibetan (1.4 Billion) • Afro-Asiatic (284 Million) • Austronesian (244 Million) • Dravidian (203 Million) • Niger-Congo (172 Million) • Altaic (128 Million) • Japanese (122 Million) • Korean (67 Million)

  8. Language Families • Language Families • Language Groups • Language Sub-Groups For example: English comes from Indo-European family, Germanic Group, Western Germanic sub-group.

  9. Two Theories on European Language Development • Anatolian theory: states that some portion of prehistoric peoples from the Indian subcontinent migrated to what is modern day Turkey and then migrated further into Europe • Kurgan theory: states that some portion of prehistoric peoples from the Indian subcontinent migrated to central Asia and through the Eurasian steppe into Europe. • As a side: Genetic evidence proves that Europeans are descendants of prehistoric Aryan Indians

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