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Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Language and Religion: Mosaics of Culture. Language & Religion. Mentifacts: the central, enduring elements of a culture expressing it’s values, & beliefs, including language, religion, folklore, artistic tradition

shelley-howell
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Chapter 5

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  1. Chapter 5 Language and Religion: Mosaics of Culture

  2. Language & Religion • Mentifacts: • the central, enduring elements of a culture expressing it’s values, & beliefs, including language, religion, folklore, artistic tradition • components of the ideological subsystem of culture that help shape the belief system of a society and transmit to succeeding generations • dynamic, in constant evolution

  3. Language • Is the means of transmission of culture and the medium through which its beliefs and standards are expressed

  4. Language…. • the most important medium to transfer culture • Can determine perceptions, attitudes, understanding, responses of a society • an organized system of spoken words by which people communicate with each other with mutual comprehension

  5. Language numbers • Prehistoric times: 10,000 to 15,000 tongues • Cultural divergence • 7,000 or so remaining: 20 to 50%, no longer being learned/ dead • 2100 A.D.: estimate is 600 approx. current languages in existence • Today: greater than ½ world’s population speak only 8 languages

  6. World distribution of living languages, 2004 - of perhaps 6800 languages still spoken today Asia: 33% Africa: 30% Pacific area: 19% Americas: 15% Europe: 3% Estimated 1-2 languages lost each week

  7. Language diversity • Gradations between languages • Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, & others sound differently, but all use kanji characters • European languages: Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian • Arabic: a number of related but distinct tongues • Sub-Saharan languages: 1500+ languages & language variants

  8. Languages spoken • Highest numbers in millions: • Mandarin (China): 1076 • English: 551 • Hindi/Urdu (India, Pakistan): 498 • Spanish: 427 • Russian: 267 • Bengali (Bangladesh, India): 215 • Portuguese: 195 • Malay-Indonesian: 176 • Japanese:132 • French: 131 • German: 128

  9. Language families • A group of languages descended from a single, earlier tongue (classification by sounds) • Estimated: 30 to 100 language families worldwide • Romance languages • Latin in the Roman Empire, collapse = cultural divergence • Emergence of several different, but related languages • Protolanguage (ancestor) • For romance languages: Latin

  10. Indo-European Family • Largest family • Spoken by ½ world • 8700-10,000 years old • From Agri-Rev. & near the Caspian Sea

  11. Genetic classification • Classification of languages by origin & historical relationship • Germanic languages: • English • German • Dutch • Scandinavian

  12. Language distribution • Can include a large area, yet only yield a small number of speakers • Example: Amerindian language families • 3 families • Close relationship with Asian languages • Corresponding with waves of migration

  13. World language families

  14. Language spread • Spatial diffusion process • 1. Relocation of massive population (dispersion of speakers) Bantu of Africa

  15. Language spread • 2. Adoption (acquisition of speakers) results from: • 1. Conquest • 2. Religious conversions • 3. Superiority of culture • Adoption becomes a necessity: • Medium of commerce, law, civilization, personal prestige

  16. Spatial diffusion occurs: • Relocation diffusion (transported by cultural dominance) • The to expansion diffusion & acculturation • Example: hierarchical diffusion • India – English prestigious • Africa – English use more impressive than Swahili • Barriers to diffusion: • Cultural – Greeks • Physical - mountains, Pyrenees & Basque

  17. Language change • Separate language formation: • 1. Migration • 2. Segregation • 3. Isolation

  18. Language change • Change within a language: • 1. Syntax • 2. Borrowed • 3. Discover/colonization/technology

  19. Dominance of English • Indo-European / offspring of proto-Germanic • 5th – 6th centuries: • migration of Danish, North German Frisian, Jutes, Angeles, and Saxons • many dialects, West Saxon dominated (Standard Old English) • 1066: Norman Conquest • in 11th century French dominated nobility • 1204: tie with France severed • Middle English (French enriched) • 15th – 16th centuries: Early Modern English

  20. Worldwide diffusion Since 1600s: 7 million English speakers increased to 375 million Today: 1.5 billion speakers 375 native 375 second language 750 with reasonable ability

  21. International English

  22. Speech communities • Standard language • Accepted community norms of: • 1. Syntax • 2. Vocabulary • 3. Pronunciation • Plus dialects & dialect of dominance • Reflecting areal, social, professional differences

  23. Dialects – speech variants • 1. Vocabulary • 2. Pronunciation • 3. Rhythm • 4. Speed • * Social dialects • Denote social class/education level • Usually follows standard language • * Vernacular • Non-standard language • Dialect native to locale, or social group

  24. Speech regions & dialect diffusion in the United States

  25. Pidgin • An amalgamation of languages • Pidgin is not a mother tongue of any of its speakers • A creation of essentially a new language • mixture of dominate languages • main languages broken down • “baby talk” • Past 400 years = 100+ new languages

  26. Creole • Created when pidgin becomes the first language of speakers who lost native tongue • Examples: • Swahili: Bantu dialects • Afrikaans: pidginized Dutch + African • Haitian Creole: pidginized French + African

  27. Lingua franca • Established language used habitually for communication by people whose native tongues are mutually incomprehensible • Examples: • Swahili • English • Hindi in India • Mandarin in China

  28. Official language • A designated single language for governments, school, universities, courts • Nigeria: 350 different languages, English is official

  29. Languages on the landscape • Toponyms – place names • 1. Historical • chester (Latin castra) = camp} Winchester • ing, ham (Anglo Saxon) = family, people, hamlet} Birmingham • burg (Latin for town) • Arabs: Cairo= victorious, Sudan = land of blacks, Sahara = wasteland

  30. Toponyms continued • 2. Borrowed from: • Heroes: Columbus, Ohio, Lincoln, Ill • Previous locations: Moscow, Idaho, Dublin, Calif • Distortions: Breukelyn = Brooklyn • Tribal names: maha = Omaha, kansa = Kansas • 3. Names consisting of 2 parts: • Generic – classifying • Specific – modifying or particular • Twin Falls, Hudson River, Bunker Hill, Long Island

  31. Religion - cultural rally point • A personal or institutionalized system of worship and of faith in the sacred & divine

  32. Impacts on culture • Formalized views • Economic patterns • Political structures • Religious landscapes • Scared places of landscape

  33. Religions – cultural innovations • Can be unique to single cultural group • Can be related to nearby or distant groups

  34. How to classify • Two distinctions • 1. Monotheism • 2. Polytheism • Three categories: • 1. Universalizing • 2. Ethnic • 3. Tribal

  35. Categories • Universalizing: • Buddhism • Christian • Islam • Ethnic: • Judaism • Hindu • Shinto • Tribal: • Animism • Shamanism World Patterns 1970 2002 Christian 933 m 2.0 b Islam 503 m 1.3 b Hindu 458 m 900 m Buddhism 180 m 360 m Judaism 14 m 14 m 14 m Secular 850 m Measure of affiliation More than ½ world population adheres to universalizing religions

  36. Principal world religions

  37. Innovation areas and diffusion routes of major world religions

  38. Judaism - ethnic • Monotheistic • Foundation to Christianity & Islam • 3,000 – 4,000 years old, Near East cultural hearth • Dispersion - immigration • Zionism - 1948

  39. Variety • Ashkenazim – (conservative liberal) • 80%, mixing of genders, dress, language • Liberal – reformed • Ultra Orthodox (shepardic) • Hebrew services, traditional dress, beards, hats, kosher food, no pork or shellfish, no mixing of genders at church • Landscape: • Synagogue (group most important – 10 men), vineyards

  40. Jewish dispersions, A.D. 70 - 1500

  41. Christianity - universalizing • Monotheistic • Parent religion: Judaism, Near East • Rapid expansion throughout Roman Empire – to underclasses • Accounts for nearly 1/3 world population (Protestant & Catholic)

  42. Expansion diffusion • Hierarchical: • first military outposts, cities • Contagious: • to surrounding populations • Relocation: • faith to the New World & Asia through the missionary system

  43. Christianity split • Fall of the Roman Empire • Catholic • Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Poland, Ireland • Latin America, Philippines, Africa • Protestant • West & northern Europe (The Netherlands, England, Germany) • Anglo-America, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South Africa • Sub-Saharan Africa • both present + traditional • Ethnic barriers: Japan, China India • Cultural hearth: not important today

  44. Christian landscape – Untied States • 20 denominations = 85% of population • Catholic • Florida, New England, Southwest, New Orleans • Utah: Mormon • South: Baptist, the Bible Belt • Upper Midwest: Lutherans

  45. Major religious regions of the United States

  46. Religious groups • Roman Catholic • Largest single church • Protestant faiths • Larger proportion of population • Biggest groups: Baptists, Methodists • Mormon • 2nd fastest growing church worldwide, 14 m • American developed religion • 80% of Utah’s population • Jewish • 6 m, concentrations: NYC, Chicago, Miami

  47. Religious landscapes • Parish church – • formed center of small towns • village commons (the Puritans) • Village church – • rural communities • Central cathedrals – • in plaza, focus of religious / secular life • Cemetery – beside church, or outskirts of town

  48. Islam (Muslim) - universalizing • Monotheistic • Parent religion: Judaism, Near East, 622 A.D. • Contagious diffusion • Arabia, Central Asia, No. India, North Africa • Relocation diffusion • Indonesia, So.Africa, Western Hemisphere • Cultural hearth – still important location today

  49. Islamic regions • Asia – largest absolute number • Africa – highest proportion, 42% • Indonesia – highest percentage of any country • Sub-groups: • Sunni: 80 to 85% of total • Shi’ites: Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen

  50. Spread and extent of Islam

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