THE GEOGRAPHY OF LANGUAGE Geography 105, Week 6

What do you call it?

The Geography of Language Basic Components of Language Dialects, Accent, Linguae Francae, Pidgins, & Creoles Language Families Geography of English Language Isolation and Language Extinction Toponymy Language Conflict

What is language? A mutually agreed upon system of symbolic communication using sounds, gestures, marks, and signs Offers the means of transmitting belief systems, customs, and skills from generation to generation Different culture have distinctive languages or dialects

Spatial Nature of Language  Languages are regional—different regions have different languages, words, or dialects that serve their own needs  If a monolingual speaker cannot understand, considered to be distinct language  Dialects are variations of a distinct language that can still be understood

Dialects of English  Some English Dialects Some English Dialects  Over 100 dialects of English  in the British Isles alone

Dialect Vs. Accent  Accent—the way a group or person sounds  Pronunciation and musicality of speech  Roof, root, creek, bag  Dialect—accent plus grammar in speech  Includes word choice  PNW: rad, bro, bucket vs. pail  What words are unique to the PNW?

Dialect Map of the U.S.

Dialects, cont.  Idiom—from Greek idios, meaning own’s own  Figurative meaning different from its literal meaning  E.g.: Cut a rug Meaning: to dance well  E.g.: Look a gift horse in the mouth Meaning: Don’t be critical of a gift  Patois—rural or provincial speech  Vernacular—local use/form of language

Lingua franca  Lingua franca—an existing and well established language used widely that is often not the mother tongue  E.g.: Swahili serves as the lingua franca in Eastern Africa  Pidgin—a composite language consisting of a small vocabulary borrowed from the linguistic groups involved in international commerce  E.g.: New Guinea use of Tok Pisin

Pidgin and Creole  Tok Pisin  Use of common coopted vocabulary for business at the basic level  Gut bai  Tenkyu  Haumas  Creole—language derived from pidgin that has acquired full vocabulary and becomes the native language of the speakers

Louisiana Creole and Zydeco Clifton Chenier

Language Families  Language family—collection of languages with a common ancestor  6,800 languages grouped into 120 language families

Language Family Tree

Language Family Map

Major Languages  Mandarin—885 million speakers  Sino-Tibetan family—China, Taiwan, Singapore  Hindi/Urdu—426 million speakers  Indo-European—Northern India, Pakistan  Spanish—358 million speakers  Indo-European—Spain, Latin America  English—343 million speakers  Indo European—British Isles, South Africa, Australia  Arabic—235 million speakers  Afro-Asiatic—Middle East, North Africa

Major Languages, cont.  Bengali—207 million speakers  Indo-European—Bangladesh, India  Portuguese—176 millions speakers  Indo-European—Portugal, Brazil, southern Africa  Russian—167 million speakers  Indo-European—Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine  Japanese—125 million speakers  Japanese and Korean—Japan  German—100 million speakers  Indo European—Germany, Austria, Switzerland

Geography of ‘English’  Standard English known as “Received Pronunciation”  The pronunciation of educated British speakers in London  Split of American English 500 years ago  Begins with regional dialects and pidgins  Distinct varieties in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, etc.

English Today

Dialect Regions of the U.S.

Language Isolation & Extinction  Languages change over time and space  How do language change?  Language divergence When one language splits into many Latin becomes French, Spanish, Romanian  Language Convergence When two languages merge into one Maltese Language

Language Isolation and Extinction  How do languages change, continued  Language Isolate A language that belongs to no family Yuni in the southwestern U.S.; Haida in Alaska  Language Extinction The death of a language 300 languages have died since 1500 CE Siuslaw, Tilamook

Endangered Languages of the World

The Study of Place Names  Toponymy—the study of place names  What can a place reflect?  Physical features—Shellrock Mountain  A function of something historical—Dog River  Current or past cultures in the area—Tillamook  Ideas such as patriotism—Independence

Top Ten Place Names in U.S.  Clinton  Franklin  Madison  Washington  Chester  Marion  Greenville  Springfield  Georgetown  Salem

Unusual Place Names

Language Conflict  Conflict of language and place names is common  Macedonia’s name angered Greece

Language Conflict  Arabian Gulf or Persian Gulf

Conflict at Home  Cesar Chavez Boulevard?  MLK?  What about the new bridge?

Navajo Code Talkers  Consider the Navajo Code Talkers role in WWII; are there cultural conflicts that come to mind between the Navajo Volunteers and other troops?  What are some historical and practical reasons that the code talkers were used?