Language
Chapter 5

Individual Language Survey:
How many languages do you speak?
What different languages are spoken by class members?

Dialects
What differentiates a dialect from a language?
Language = system of communication through speech
Dialect = a regional variation of a language (vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation)
What various dialects do we find in the U.S.?

Video: American Dialects
FSU Library: PE1702.A6 1987

"The geographic processes underlying the..."
The geographic processes underlying the development of distinctive dialects are the same as with the development of individual languages.
Migration
Spatial interaction
Geographic Isolation

Languages
Literary Tradition
Many spoken languages lack a written tradition – difficult to track
Official Language
What is the “Official Language” of the US?

ENGLISH
Why do we speak English in the US?
Nearly 500,000,000 speakers (1/2 billion)
# 2: behind Mandarin
Mandarin = clustered (China) / English = more diffuse (42 countries)

British English vs. American English?
“Are you looking for some craic?”
Jumper
Chips
Crisps
Fag
Queue
Flats
Lift

LANGUAGE DIFFUSION
We can use ENGLISH as a case study to demonstrate the process by which any language is spread around the world.
England as the hearth of English?

Video: The Story of English

Slide 11

How is English related to other languages?

Slide 13

Language Family Distribution

Indo-European Languages

Indo-European
Languages
Germanic
West Germanic
High Germanic (German)
Low Germanic (English, Dutch, Flemish, Afrikaans)
North Germanic
(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic)

Indo-European Languages
Romance
“Romans’ Language” (Same branch)
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian

Indo-European Languages
Celtic
Goidelic (Gaelic)
Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic
Brythonic (Britannic)
Welsh, Cornish, Breton

BGL Assignment
The Languages of Europe (p. 93 – 96)
No questions to answer
Map ONLY!

Languages in South America
“Europe in South America” through language?
Portuguese?
Spanish?
Other languages?
Guyana?
French Guyana?
Suriname?
Native languages?

Languages in Africa
“Europe in Africa” through language:
French pattern of exploration?
British pattern?
Portuguese pattern?

Languages in Nigeria
Language conflict / National Unity
Official Language =
ENGLISH (2%)
Lagos / Abuja

Languages in South Asia

Language Issues
Exploring the potential for language conflict….

Global Dominance of English?

Globalization and Language
Global Dominance of English / reactions?

Endangering local languages?
Extinct languages = no longer spoken / read in daily communication
Cornish (1777): Dolly Pentreath “I will not speak English – you ugly, black toad!”
Revival of Celtic languages

Slide 28

Slide 29

Concentrated Languages
Isolated Languages = limited geographic diffusion, unique due to geographic isolation
Basque (Pyrenees):
(“Remnant” language)
Icelandic
(“unchanging”)

Languages in Belgium

Languages in Switzerland

Slide 33

Slide 34

To what extent will people go to “protect” their language?