Culture Part 2: Language

AP Human Geography Westlake High School

Introduction
Only

30% of U.S. students graduate with 3 or more years of a foreign language 17% have had no foreign language at all! In contrast, 62% of graduates from Dutch high schools have learned at least THREE foreign languages!

Introduction Continued
There

are an estimated 7,299 languages in the world. Only 10 of them are spoken by at least 100 million people. The global distribution of languages is a result of: --interaction --isolation

Common Languages

Introduction Continued
Language:

a system of communication through speech, a collection of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning. Literary Tradition Official Language: used by the government for laws, reports, and official objects (signs, money, stamps, etc.).

Key Issue 1:
Where Are English-Language Speakers Distributed?

Origin & Diffusion of English

English

is spoken fluently by billion

people. English is an official language in over 50 countries!

English is Official
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Antigua and Barbuda Australia Barbados Belize Botswana Cameroon Canada Dominica Federated States of Micronesia 10.Fiji Islands 11.Ghana 12.Grenada 13.Guyana 14.India 15.Ireland 16.Jamaica 17.Kenya 18.Kiribati 19.Lesotho 20.Liberia 21.Malawi 22.Malta 23.Marshall Islands 24.Mauritius 25.Namibia 26.New Zealand 27.Nigeria 28.Palau 29.Papua New Guinea 30.Philippines 31.Rwanda 32.Saint Lucia 33.Samoa 34.Sierra Leone 35.Singapore 36.Solomon Islands 37.South Africa 38.Saint Kitts and Nevis 39.Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 40.Swaziland 41.Tanzania 42.The Bahamas 43.The Gambia 44.Tonga 45.Trinidad and Tobago 46.Tuvalu 47.Uganda 48.United Kingdom 49.United States 50.Vanuatu 51.Zambia 52.Zimbabwe

English Colonies
The

people of England migrated with their language when they established colonies all over the world (relocation diffusion!). More recently, the U.S. has been responsible for diffusing English to several places.

Origin of English in England

Celts

arrived around 2000 B.C. speaking Celtic. Around A.D. 450, tribes from mainland Europe invaded, pushing the Celts to the fringes

Areas where Celtic Culture Survives

Origin of English Continued

German Invasion: The invading tribes were the Angles (southern Denmark), Jutes (northern Denmark), & Saxons (northwestern Germany). England comes from Angles land. Their language was called englisc. Other people came and added their languages to basic English (including the Vikings in the 9th century).

Origin of English Continued

Norman Invasion: English is very different from Germany today primarily because the French-speaking Normans invaded England in 1066. In 1204, King John of England lost control of Normandy and entered a period of conflict with France. The Statute of Pleading in 1362 English mixed with French

Battle of Hastings

Bayeux Tapestry 1073-83

Dialects of English
Dialect:

a regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and cadence. Standard Language: a dialect that is well established and widely recognized as the most acceptable for government, business, education, and mass communication. British Received Pronunciation (BRP)

Dialects in England
Examples?

major regional dialects Origin of BRP 3 main groups today: --Northern --Midland --Southern

British vs. American English

Why

is American English different than British English? New things needed new words Americans wanted independence from Britain Isolation New vocabulary for new inventions

Dialects in the U.S.

Settlement

in the East --New England --Middle Atlantic --Southeastern Current Dialects Differences in the East --Isogloss: geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs; boundary that divides word usage.

Example of U.S. Isogloss

Dialects in the U.S. Continued

Pronunciation

Differences

--Southern --New England --Midwest

Lets

listen to dialect differences (a.k.a. accents!): http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_atlas.php

So
Where are English-language speakers distributed?