Diffusion of Languages

Diffusion Sound Shifts – charting of the diversification of languages over time; e.g. octo (Latin), otto (Ita), ocho (Spa), … Deep Reconstruction – find vocabulary of an extinct language and go backward; Proto-Indo European William Jones (>200 yrs. ago) – Sanskrit similar to Greek and Latin Jacob Grimm – related languages have similar, but not identical consonants; e.g. vater (Ger) … vader (Dut), father (Eng) – softening over time 4 Tasks: Reconstruct the ancient language, find the hearth, routes of diffusion, and peoples’ ways of life

8% 2/25 in empire .5% of the world

(Indo-European branch is highlighted) The Language Tree – “Mother Tongue” (Indo-European branch is highlighted)

Divergence – differentiation over time and space; languages branch into dialects, become isolated, then new languages—Quebec and Potuguese Convergence – linked to human mobility (relocation diffusion); complicates rules of reconstruction—800, 1066 Replacement – modification of a language by stronger cultures (acculturation); e.g. Hungarian surrounded by Ind-Eur, Basque? Clues: Linguists look for environmental vocabulary (landforms, vegetation,…)

Conquest Theory: Hearth is Ukraine (>5,000 yrs Conquest Theory: Hearth is Ukraine (>5,000 yrs. ago); people used horses, wheel, and trade, spread language westward (sound shifts)2/25 Agriculture Theory: Hearth is Anatolia (Turkey - >10,000 yrs. ago); Ukraine relied on pastoralism, not farming Farming people of Anatolia moved N & W Distance decay from source area; some non-farming people held out (Basque in Spain) Drawbacks: Anatolia not ideal for farming, some evidence states Proto-Indo-European language spread eastward first Mountains, trees, monkeys… all present in that area—7,00-9,000 years ago Renfrew Model – 3 hearths: Anatolia - Eur, Fertile Crescent (West) – N. Afr. & Arabia, Fert. Cres. (East) – Iran through India

3 Maps Illustrating Possible Routes of Language Diffusion as Stated by the Agriculture Theory

Nostratic – Pre-Proto-Indo-European, speakers were hunters-gatherers, source of many other language families Pacific Diffusion – Austronesian starts in China to Taiwan (>6,000 yrs. ago) then SE to New Zealand American Diffusion – Joseph Greenberg’s Hypothesis: Amerind – oldest, largest, Na-Dene, then Eskimo-Aleut Modern Language Mosaics – influenced by literacy, technology (printing press), and political organization (rise of nation-states)

Spread of Pacific Languages

Greenberg Hypothesis

Modern Language Mosaics

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – “longest place name in the world”

US is changing – Hispanics are the largest minority (“Hispanicization”) > ½ are functionally illiterate in English (many early US immigrants were as well) English as a second language

English – becoming a lingua franca of the world (commerce and science) 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) Latin—French—German—English

Lingua Franca Ancient Mediterranean - “Frankish language” Today - “common language”, second language Pidgin – a lingua franca that has been simplified and modified through contact w/ other languages Creole Caribbean – mixing during slavery & colonizing Today – pidgin later adopted as mother tongue Creolization – lingua franca – becomes a pidgin – then becomes a creole language

Three African Lingua Franca

Multilingual states – all others Language & Culture Monolingual states – Japan, Venezuela, Iceland, Portugal, Poland Lesotho, … Multilingual states – all others Belgium – Dutch vs. French (Brussels officially bilingual) Canada – Quebec (French by law), English everywhere else

Languages in Belgium

Quebec vs. Canada

Official Language – often selected by the educated and politically elite to promote national cohesion; commonly language of colonial power Angola – Portuguese; Nigeria – English; French – Côte d’Ivoire **Allows people w/ different languages to communicate & keep their own language Toponymy – systematic study of place-names (can elicit strong passions) Leningrad – St. Petersburg; Bombay – Mumbai; Zaire – Dem. Rep. of the Congo